SGN October 9, 2015 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

Issue 41 Volume 43

SEC 2 PG 1

Seattle Gay News

FRIDAY October 9, 2015 FREE!

25¢ in bookstores & newsstands

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

LGBTQ community LGBT seniors at risk, meets with new Seattle study says Tom Rasmussen asks for City funding to train Parks and Recreation caregivers Superintendent Safety and LGBTQ programming among top concerns

A new study shows Seattle/King County LGBT seniors are at risk for “widespread social and health disparities” – amarahospicecom

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

coincided with the release of a new study on LGBT seniors by Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, based at the UW School of Social Work.

Titled “At Risk and Underserved: LGSeattle City Council member Tom Ras- BTQ Older Adults in Seattle/King County,” mussen has proposed $75,000 in funding the study details “widespread social and Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Jesús Aguirre speaks with community to help train service providers to care for health disparities experienced by LGBTQ members during his “Listening Tour” October 5 – Photo by Dylan Teague McDonald older adults in Seattle and King County.”

LGBT seniors.

by Shaun Knittel Rasmussen made the proposal at an OcOn October 5, Seattle’s LGBTQ ComSGN Associate Editor see parks page 7 tober 6 Budget Committee meeting which see lgbt seniors page 5

District 3 City Council race turns ugly

Charges made that Pamela Banks supporters bought 37th District Dem endorsement

City Council member Bruce Harrell – komonews.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Less than a week after City Council member Kshama Sawant and her District 3 challenger Pamela Banks faced off in a heated one-on-one debate, charges surfaced that Banks supporters bought a key endorsement.

Sawant and Banks squared off on October 4 in an often tense debate, with Banks labeling Sawant as ego-driven and divisive, and Sawant replying that her opponent was supported by big business and political insiders.

Only two days later, the story broke that Sawant supporters have filed ethics charges see district 3 page 5

ISIS throw more Gay men to their death:

What, if anything, can be done to stop this horror?

Ninevah ISIS Gay execution – Courtesy of Shaun Knittel

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The photos are horrible to look at. The words are disgusting to read. But we cannot look away. We mustn’t ignore the fact that on what has become almost a monthly showing of barbarism and bigotry, Islamic State (ISIS) militants throw men off of the

tops of buildings because they are found guilty of being Gay. On October 4, ARA reported that ISIS murdered two Iraqi men for being Gay. ARA News is a Syrian independent press agency concerned with covering local developments across Syria, including its Kurdish see isis page 14

Nissan Supports Equality on Every Road You Travel Proud partner of the 2015 Gay Softball World Series #SameTeam for Equality

Congratulations to local team, the Seattle Maulers, for placing 3rd in the 39th Annual Gay Softball World Series C Division

This summer, Nissan hit a home run with its partnership with the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) and its 39th Annual Gay Softball World Series event in Columbus, Ohio.

The event made GSWS history with more than 185 softball teams competing from 43 cities across the United States and Canada.

The multi-division tournament was more than just a ball game. The 9-day event also featured opening and closing ceremonies, community events, celebrity performances and more.

“Nissan has the most diverse consumer base of any automotive manufacturer and is eager to champion grassroots LGBT events that give consumers a chance to interact with both our vehicles and our LGBT and ally employees,” said Rick Ash, Senior Manager, Nissan Marketing. “It’s an honor for Nissan to bring more visibility to all of the LGBT athletes who competed.”

Since 2013, Nissan has scored a perfect 100 in the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equality Index for its LGBTinclusive policies and commitment to the

2 Seattle Gay News

“Nissan has the most diverse consumer

community. The company was among the fastest risers in the history of the index.

base of any automotive manufacturer and

Nissan’s commitment to the LGBT community starts with its own employees.

The company strives to ensure internal policies and benefit packages are inclusive of everyone. And Nissan’s Gay Straight Alliance at Nissan (GSAN) is the driving force behind the company’s LGBT outreach efforts, focusing on its hometown of Nashville as well as on other regional LGBT events.

is eager to champion grassroots LGBT events that give consumers a chance to in-

DiversityInc Magazine also named teract with both our vehicles and our LGBT Nissan to its 2015 Top 25 Noteworthy

and ally employees,” said Rick Ash, Senior Manager, Nissan Marketing. “It’s an honor for Nissan to bring more visibility to all of the LGBT athletes who competed.”

October 9, 2015

Companies list for the second year in a row.

The company is an active member of the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce and a sponsor of the annual National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention. Nissan’s Diversity Office—with the help of GSAN—has sponsored several workshops for area business leaders where they can share diversity best practices for creating an inclusive environment for employees and supporting the LGBT community in Middle Tennessee.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 3

Stay informed with AlertSeattle

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor When emergencies happen it is important to stay informed. Now, with AlertSeattle you can!

People who sign up with AlertSeattle will receive real-time, official notifications from the City of Seattle during emergencies say officials.

AlertSeattle is a free service that allows you to sign up online to receive customized alerts via text message, email, voice message, and on social media (Facebook and Twitter).

This service is provided by the City of Seattle at no cost; however, message and data rates may apply so check with your provider about whether or not these fees will apply to you.

In addition to emergency alerts, you can also choose to receive customizable community notifications. These will include notifications about severe weather, safety, health, utility disruptions, major traffic incidents, and more.

For more information, visit alert.seattle. gov.

New Amphitheater for Volunteer Park Architectural Team Hired Volunteer Park Trust (VPT) has been working with Seattle Parks and the local community to replace the dilapidated performance stage in Volunteer Park. VPT has now hired an experienced architectural team to conduct a feasibility study exploring community preferences and technical requirements for a new amphitheater.

Design phase for the project is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2016. ORA Architects will direct the study with Walker Macy Landscape Architects. ORA Lead Architect Owen Richards, AIA, is well known for his work on McCaw Hall. Walker Macy has extensive public outdoor performance space experience.

The stage is a vital part of Volunteer Park’s infrastructure and is widely used for performances, festivals, and community celebrations. The current brick structure, built in 1971, is in poor condition and its replacement is long overdue. Among its many inadequacies are bad acoustics, inadequate backstage space, and absence of weather protection. The stage lacks fundamental features needed to successfully present music, theatre, dance, film, and other events.

The $20,000 year-long study is VPT’s first step toward creating a replacement amphitheater. The study is funded by the City

4 Seattle Gay News

October 9, 2015

Park-goers enjoy a concert in Volunteer Park – volunteerparktrust.org

of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund, and is being managed by the VPT Amphitheater Project Task Force, a group of neighbors and community volunteers committed to improving the park.

VPT will hold a public meeting to answer questions and seek community input on Thursday, October 15th from 6-8:00 p.m. in the Seattle Asian Art Museum audi-

torium in Volunteer Park (1400 E. Prospect St.).

For detailed information on the park, its history, Volunteer Park Trust, and the Amphitheater Project, please visit www.volunteerparktrust.org and download the full RFQ.

Celebrating 41 Years!

district 3

continued from cover alleging that her City Council colleague Bruce Harrell bought the 37th District Democrats’ surprise endorsement of Banks on September 21.

Sawant supporters Pam Keeley – a member of the 37th district Democrats board – and Jonathan Rosenblum charge that: • someone paid for a block of 15 new memberships in the 37th District Democrats organization, • that only 10 of the new members actually lived in the district, • that they all showed up at the group’s endorsement meeting wearing Bruce Harrell campaign T-shirts, and • Harrell appeared to be instructing them how to vote.

Several of the new members were employees of a single company – East Side for Hire, a for-hire car service. Their memberships were paid by money order, and the money orders were all numbered sequentially, indicating they’d been purchased at the same time and in the same place.

According to Keeley, at least one of the new 37th District members was instructed by his employer to join, which would be illegal.

The Harrell campaign denied the allegations in a Facebook post.

“The facts alleged [in] the complaint below are untrue. We have submitted declarations under penalty of perjury that the 15 members who joined the 37th were not part of our campaign and our campaign did not pay for any members’ dues,” their statement said.

“The campaign never even knew who these members were during the endorsement process and they were never intro-

Pamela Banks in District 3 debate – Photo by Alex Garland © 2015 / via capitolhillseattle.com

duced to members of the campaign.”

The chair of the Democratic organization, Rory O’Sullivan also posted a statement, saying that any ethics violations were the fault of his organization and not of the Harrell campaign.

Since Sawant is a member of the Socialist Alternative party and not a Democrat, she is disqualified from getting a Democratic organization’s endorsement. The 37th District did not endorse anyone for Dis-

trict 3 in the primary election, and Sawant supporters hoped for a “No Endorsement” again.

The 43rd District Dems also voted a “No Endorsement” in their meeting last month.

If the ethics complaint proves to be true, it will confirm Sawant’s charges that Banks is being bankrolled by political insiders and developers. If they are not proven, it may support Banks’ charge that Sawant is nasty and divisive.

lgbt seniors continued from cover

The money proposed by Rasmussen would support a pilot program to train 100 practitioners in culturally competent care for LGBT seniors, and would be matched by in-kind contributions by Caring and Aging with Pride.

Caring and Aging with Pride is sponsoring a national survey on LGBT seniors, of which Fredriksen-Goldsen’s study is a part.

Rasmussen explained the pilot program’s goals by analogy to “parent parenting,” the increasingly common phenomenon in which adult children now care for their aging parents.

“Being a caregiver is extremely difficult,” Rasmussen said.

“The big challenges for anyone are to gain trust and confidence. It can be very, very difficult to win that trust, even if you are a son or daughter. It does take training, and that is what this program will do.”

Fredriksen-Goldsen’s local study surveyed 203 LGBT people aged 50 to 85 in Seattle and King County. The national project will involve 2,400 LGBT adults in total, aged 50 to 99. Launched in 2010, the project is the first ongoing nationwide longitudinal study examining the health and well-being of LGBT aging adults.

The number of LGBT seniors in Seattle and King County is expected to double by 2030, and they face higher risks of disability, poor health, mental distress, and isolation, the study found, along with a social service sector unequipped to deal with their needs.

Among other problems facing LGBT seniors, the study found that: • More than two-thirds of study participants have experienced three or more incidents of victimization in their lifetimes.

City Council Member Tom Rasmussen – www.seattleweekly.com

Almost 70% had been verbally assaulted and 40% were threatened with physical violence.

• More than one in five participants visited the emergency room in the previous year.

• Although the majority of participants are college graduates, nearly one-quarter were living below 200% of the federal poverty level (incomes of less than $23,540).

• Participants were at high risk of social isolation, with more than 45% living alone.

• Most human service providers lack

Visit us online www.sgn.org

adequate training to serve LGBTQ older adults. Some 16% of participants reported being denied services or given inferior care based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

• One in six participants was fearful of obtaining services outside the LGBTQ community.

One of the main barriers facing LGBT seniors is the lack of culturally competent service providers, Fredriksen-Goldsen said.

“Many providers lack the communication skills to talk with LGBTQ older adults

October 9, 2015

Meanwhile, the District 3 race continues to be one of the most expensive in the city. Sawant was first to reach the $300,000 donation mark with just under $326,000 raised as of October 5. Banks is close behind with $299,160.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I have contributed to the Kshama Sawant campaign.)

about their lives,” she said. “For example, if a transgender older adult needs nursing home care, the staff often has no idea how to treat the person respectfully and ensure appropriate care.

“So LGBTQ older adults are often reluctant to seek services and may be forced back into the closet, because they don’t know if they’re going to have culturally appropriate providers.”

While awareness about LGBT people has increased dramatically among the general population, Fredriksen-Goldsen said the older members of that population remain largely invisible.

“People don’t think they exist,” she said.

“When they think of LGBTQ people, they think of young people. What we often hear from providers is, ‘I really want to help support those people, but we don’t have any of them here.’”

On the other hand, the survey also found many positive features. For example, many LGBT seniors have developed supportive communities, and 90% said they were satisfied with their lives. The majority exercised regularly, and nearly half attended religious services or participated in spiritual activities.

While Seattle is known as one of the most LGBT-friendly cities in the country, Fredriksen-Goldsen said it is surprisingly lacking in services for aging LGBT people.

She welcomed Rasmussen’s proposal to fund training for care givers.

“As Seattle and King County’s population ages and becomes increasingly diverse, there is a growing need for providers who are trained to work with LGBTQ older adults,” she said. “This initiative is an important first step in helping to address that need.”

Seattle Gay News 5

6 Seattle Gay News

October 9, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

The Mayor’s budget: What’s in it for you?

Mayor Murray announced his budget recommendations September 28 – www.birchstreet.net

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced his new budget recommendations in a September 28 speech to the City Council. Running to 761 pages, the budget asks for $5.1 billion in funding.

Council member Kshama Sawant has already denounced the Mayor’s plan as “mostly another business-as-usual budget” and said she will hold her own “people’s budget” meeting on October 27 at City

parks

continued from cover mission sponsored a meet and greet between the community and the new Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent inside the Miller Community Center (330 19th Ave. E., 98112 just north of E. Thomas St.). The two-hour event, which was open to the public, had more than 20 people gathered to hear directly from the new man in charge of Seattle’s vast parklands: Superintendent Jesús Aguirre.

Aguirre oversees over 400 parks and open areas, and over 6200 acres of parkland.

And one thing has become clear ever since the first public park within the city limits of Seattle, Denny Park, was gifted to the city by David T. Denny in 1884: Seattleites love – and use – their parks. The LGBTQ community has a special connection to two parks in particular (although LGBTQ people arguably use at least some part of every park and recreational land available to the public) and those, of course, are Cal Anderson Park and Volunteer Park.

Cal Anderson Park (1635 11th Ave., 98122) includes a fountain, texture pool and reflecting pool, promenade paths, landscaping, a shelter house, a plaza, a children’s play area, a wading pool, a lighted sports field, and a number of oversize chess boards, the underground Lincoln Reservoir, Bobby Morris Playfield and unfortunately lots and lots of violent crime which has ranged from sexual assault to stabbings and muggings. Simply put – the park which bares the namesake of Washington state’s first openly Gay legislator from the 43rd District, Senator Cal Anderson (officially renamed in 2003 from its original 1901 name, Lincoln Park) is not safe at night and depending on whether or not it is the weekend, it isn’t too safe during the day either.

Volunteer Park (1247 15th Ave. E., 98112) is located on Capitol Hill. Volun-

Hall. Sawant held a similar meeting last year, and ended up offering a number of amendments to Murray’s budget.

The highlights of the Mayor’s budget include a number of items addressing the key social concerns of Seattle residents – housing prices, income inequality, and crime.

Murray wants to create three new City positions to deal with recommendations coming from his Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) task force. One of the new staffers will focus on lobbying state legislators, because some HALA rec-

teer Park is home to the Volunteer Park Conservatory and the Seattle Asian Art Museum and sits on a whopping 48.3 acres of land as well as the Volunteer Park Reservoir and Volunteer Park Water Tower.

For years the park was the site of the annual Seattle Pride Rally. Today, the Seattle Pride Parade folks use the park for their annual Pride Picnic – designed for LGBTQ youth and families to enjoy as an alternative to bar and nightclub events. It is the kickoff and ending location for the annual AIDS Walk. And the bushes and trees that line the parks walkways at night played host to men, cruising for sex, after dark for decades. In 1997 however, Seattle Police Department officials declared the days of anonymous sex in the west end of the park over for good and began to make arrests of men found engaging in, or in some cases, attempting to engage in sexual activity in the park. Eventually judges stopped hearing the cases and lawyers stopped seeking prosecutions and the police stings and the sex have both since died down. While Volunteer Park is largely regarded as being a safer space for LGBTQ people than Cal Anderson Park is, there has been a fair share of assault (even attempted kidnapping) cases over the years.

Seattle LGBTQ Commissioners asked that attendees “bring your ideas, suggestions, and concerns about Parks and Recreation for LGBTQ children, youth, adults, seniors, and families.” A number of people heeded that request.

Here are some of the things that people

Visit us online www.sgn.org

ommendations depend on changes in state law.

Thirty-six new City staffers will be hired to make sure new construction projects deal successfully with car, bike, and pedestrian traffic. The money to hire them will come from increasing the fees on projects that block street or sidewalk traffic.

Murray also asked for a $1.5 million increase in the amount budgeted for homeless services. The extra money will fund expanded hours at nighttime shelters, and a new 100-bed shelter in Lower Queen Anne.

In addition, $1.5 million will go to community health clinics, and $240,000 to services at three new tent city encampments on public land. The City Council set aside funds for tent cities on private land in last year’s budget.

The Mayor budgeted for two new staffers at the Office of Labor Standards (OLS), the agency charged with enforcing the City’s Minimum Wage, Wage Theft, Paid Sick and Safe Time, and Job Assistance Ordinances.

An additional $200,000 for OLS will fund outreach and education, so that employees know what they are entitled to, and employers also know what they are expected to give their employees.

Murray is adding $650,000 in new funding for the Youth Empowerment Initiative,

a program that connects young workers to jobs with private business and non-profit employers.

On the other hand, the Mayor did not ask for any increase in funding for Career Bridge, a similar program for men of color. Career Bridge is currently budgeted for $400,000. Urban League CEO and City Council candidate Pamela Banks had called on Murray to double funding for that program.

Murray wants money for SPD to hire 30 new officers in 2016, a down-payment on his goal of putting 100 new officers on the street. The Mayor also wants to hire 35 more firefighters.

According to Murray’s budget, SPD will put body cameras on every officer, at a cost of $1.8 million in City funds, with the federal government kicking in another $600,000.

Murray wants the City to contribute $5 million to help expand Pronto Bike Share to new parts of town, and add electric bikes to the mix. The City’s money will act as matching funds to attract a $10 million federal grant.

Murray also included new money for local cultural institutions. The Nordic Heritage Museum, Town Hall, and the Burke Museum will each get $500,000, and the Seattle Opera will get $200,000.

Cal Anderson Park – google.com

brought up: • Some community members would like to see an increase in the amount of dog parks that Seattle Parks and Recreation currently offers.

• A Transgender parent of a disabled youth praised Seattle Parks and Recreation for holding an “all gender-swim” day and would like to see more of that offered.

• Public safety was a big concern for homeless folks who are Transgender and say that the police are harassing them while letting “rich white privileged straight people get away with smoking pot and drinking wine out in the open.” Still, others talked about the security problems that some homeless people have created in and around Cal Anderson Park.

• Seattle Parks used to be open 24 hours a day, but are no longer; a request was made to take a look at usage and time and see if we can’t return to allowing parks to be open 24-7.

• Request that programming for LGBTQ seniors is taken into account.

• Because the LGBTQ community does not have a community center, some people

recommended that perhaps a public/private partnership between the department and the community could exist where the department allows usage of one of their facilities and the community runs/funds it.

• One man asked about the availability of some community centers to be used as a temporary overnight shelter for the homeless community.

• SEE SOMETHING YOU LIKE OR SOMETHING MISSING FROM THIS LIST? Reach out and contact the parks department ASAP.

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 7

Seattle Parks and Recreation is poised to receive $4 million/year in new funding starting in 2016. Yet no dedicated funding for any programs for LGBTQ teens, Queer youth of color, or LGBTQ seniors has been identified. If you are interested in changing that, send Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Aguirre an email at jesus. aguirre@seattle.gov and tell him what you would like to see at Seattle Parks as far as LGBTQ programming is concerned.

ACLU sues Kansas to enforce Obergefell

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The ACLU is asking a federal judge to order the state of Kansas to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, and recognize same-sex couples as lawful parents of children they conceived through artificial insemination.

The civil rights group is representing two Kansas couples – Casey Smith and her wife Jessica Smith who were married in California in 2013, and Christa Gonser and her wife Carrie Hunt who married in Canada in 2007. Both couples have children conceived through artificial insemination.

The couples charge that Kansas is still

refusing to recognize their marriages, in spite of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June.

In their petition, they argue that Kansas treats female spouses of women who conceive through artificial insemination differently than it treats male spouses of such women, which they say is illegal under the Obergefell decision.

The Smiths have also filed a similar action in a Kansas state court.

Tom Witt, executive director of the LGBT rights group Equality Kansas, said he knows of at least two other couples in Kansas who are facing the same situation.

“The one thing that we’ve been keeping our eyes open for is exactly this scenario

– that the [Sam Brownback] administration would go back on its word, and that it would start treating same-sex couples as second-class citizens,” Witt said. “It’s intolerable.”

After the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages in June, anti-Gay Kansas Governor Sam Brownback said he would respect the law and recognize Gay and Lesbian couples as legally married.

A 1968 Kansas state law says that children born as a result of artificial insemination, “shall be considered at law in all respects the same as a naturally conceived child of the husband and wife so requesting and consenting to the use of such technique.”

Gonser, however, stated in her affidavit that Kansas University Hospital would not list her and her wife as parents because its computer software only has an option for naming a mother and a father.

She said she later contacted the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to request a birth certificate, but was told by the Office of Vital Statistics that, “since I was in a same-sex marriage, I could not be listed as a parent on my children’s birth certificates.”

“She told me that I would have to obtain

a second parent adoption in order to be listed as a parent on my children’s birth certificates,” Gonser stated.

“This just shows that recognition is not yet realized in Kansas, which means, in our view, we need a permanent injunction,” said Doug Bonney, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas.

The two couples had already filed a suit for recognition of their marriages before the Supreme Court ruled in June, and the U.S. District Judge in their case granted a declaratory judgment in August, based on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell.

However, the judge put off issuing an injunction compelling Kansas to comply, saying he hoped the state would voluntarily fall in line with the Supreme Court ruling.

State officials submitted affidavits and other documents showing that county officials were granting marriage licenses and certificates, and that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Office of Vital Statistics was recording them.

But on October 5, the ACLU filed a new complaint charging that its clients were being denied equal recognition in the matter of birth certificates for their children.

Republicans in disarray Chaos as House Speaker candidate withdraws

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, said to be the odds on favorite to succeed John Boehner as Speaker of the House, threw the GOP caucus into disarray when he withdrew his name from consideration on October 8.

McCarthy’s candidacy was derailed when about 40 hardline right wing Republicans announced they would support Congressman Dan Webster of Florida. With the loss of that many votes, McCarthy might have won nomination by the GOP caucus, but would have been short of the 218 votes needed to win election when his name was submitted to the full House.

“I am not the one to unify the party,” McCarthy told his caucus, according to New York Republican Peter King.

“As shocked members left the room there was a sense of total disarray, with no clear path forward and no set date for a new vote,” the New York Times reported.

Until future notice, John Boehner remains Speaker, although he has resigned from the post.

McCarthy seemed certain to succeed Boehner until he blurted out that the House Select Committee on Benghazi was merely a political stunt to wreck Hillary Clinton’s political career. At that point Webster and Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz decided to challenge him. Webster had previously mounted an unsuccessful challenge to Boehner.

Kevin McCarthy, friend of the FRC Although McCarthy was the so-called “moderate” in the race for Speaker, he has a long history of support for anti-Gay extremists.

He is, for example, a supporter of the Family Research Council (FRC), listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

8 Seattle Gay News

In 2010, when SPLC added FRC to its list of hate groups, the anti-Gay organization struck back with an open letter signed by a number of Republican Congressmen – McCarthy included – and other right-wing leaders.

In the letter, McCarthy promised to “stand in solidarity with Family Research Council, American Family Association, Concerned Women of America, National Organization for Marriage, Liberty Counsel and other pro-family organizations that are working to protect and promote natural marriage and family.”

That was not McCarthy’s first foray into political Gay bashing. As a freshman Congressman in 2007, he voted against ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act), which would have barred discrimination based on sexual orientation. As a member of California’s Assembly in 2002, he voted against civil unions and for the state version of DOMA, defining marriage as “one man and one woman.”

McCarthy has earned a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee because of his firm stand against reproductive choice. He voted against Obamacare, and has voted repeatedly to repeal the measure, because he objects to insurance coverage for contraceptive care.

Daniel Webster, friend of the Duggars Congressman Daniel Webster, candidate of the Christian right faction of the Republican Party, is a personal friend of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and an in-law of Gil and Kelly Bates, another Christian reality TV couple.

Webster is the friend of even worse people, however. He homeschooled all six of his children, using a curriculum developed by a group called the Advanced Training Institute, formerly headed by Bill Gothard.

Gothard believes in an almost Puritan version of Christianity. His homeschool courses discourage dating, for example, and

October 9, 2015

Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy – www.slate.com

he frowns on rock music – even “Christian rock” – and Cabbage Patch dolls.

Gothard also believes that a father should be able to veto his daughter’s suitors.

A woman who works outside her home is suspect, in Gothard’s eyes, because by doing so she’s putting herself under the authority of a man who is not her husband.

Gothard stepped down as head of his institute in 2014, however, after reports that he had sexually harassed multiple women and failed to report allegations of child abuse in the organization.

Jason Chaffetz not a friend of women Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the third candidate in the race, also has a long record of anti-Gay positions.

In 2013, he was a cosponsor of the socalled Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, the Republican reply to the landmark Supreme Court decision USA v. Windsor, striking down DOMA. The Republican measure was the first attempt to authorize discrimination against

same-sex couples under the pretext of First Amendment religious freedom protections.

Although the bill did not advance, it offered the enemies of equality a rhetorical framework for subsequent campaigns.

At the same time as he was trying to undermine marriage equality, Chaffetz was one of the Republican Congressmen who voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act because the measure included language explicitly protecting Lesbians and Trans women.

In 2009, Chaffetz unsuccessfully tried to block the District of Columbia’s marriage equality law from going into effect, claiming that “I represent the majority of Americans on this issue.”

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 9

10 Seattle Gay News

October 9, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 11

12 Seattle Gay News

October 9, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

California gets first-in-the-country Transgender health benefit law Two additional laws benefit LGBT Californians

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer California got a first-in-the-country Transgender equality law when Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 703 on October 7.

The measure requires all companies that do $100,000 or more worth of business with the state to offer their Transgender employees exactly the same health care and other benefits as they do for cisgender workers.

The law will take effect January 1, 2016.

It was introduced by California senator Mark Leno of San Francisco and sponsored by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Equality California, and the Transgender Law Center.

“California law already stipulates that employers cannot deny transgender people health care and other benefits, but a loophole in state law has allowed companies that contract with the state to refuse equal health coverage,” Leno said.

“This bill closes that loophole. Denying equal benefits to employees at the same company based on gender identity is harmful and wrong.”

“In signing SB 703, Governor Brown has made California the first state in the nation to refuse to contract with businesses and other entities that discriminate against their

transgender employees in benefits,” said NCLR Government Policy Director Geoff Kors.

“Once again, California’s governor and legislature are leading the nation in ending discrimination and ensuring that taxpayer funds don’t go to those who discriminate.”

Heathcare that includes surgery as well as other transition services is necessary for Trans people, but is often denied by employer-paid health care plans. SB 703 makes complete health care coverage for Trans workers a requirement for all companies seeking to do business with the state.

“When transgender people are denied equal access to health care, we are singled out for serious health risks and financial hardship,” said Transgender Law Center Executive Director Kris Hayashi in a statement. “Providing equal benefits makes economic sense and will help protect transgender workers and our families.”

Brown also signed two other measures that will benefit the LGBT community.

AB 959, the LGBT Disparities Reduction Act, will ensure that LGBT individuals in California have their health needs more accurately monitored.

Sponsored by Equality California, the bill allows state agencies that oversee health and well-being programs to collect voluntary information about sexual orientation

California Governor Jerry Brown – Associated Press

and gender identity (SOGI) when collecting other types of demographic data.

“While we have accomplished much in recent years, both in California and nationwide, eliminating healthcare disparities suffered by LGBT people is one of the next major chapters of our movement,” Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur said in a statement.

“The pervasive discrimination still confronting our community shows up in our overall health, with high rates of substance abuse, depression and suicide, but we can’t begin to treat the problem if we don’t know

its size. This legislation will help public programs target those most in need.”

Brown also signed AB 960, which provides that unmarried couples using assisted reproduction to have children will be recognized as legal parents on the same terms as married parents from the moment their child is born.

The law benefits LGBT couples who use home insemination methods to have children.

Intrigue in the Vatican

Factions feud as Synod on the Family opens in Rome

Pope Francis talks with cardinals as he leads the Synod on the Family in the synod hall at the Vatican, October 5, 2015 – Max / Reuters

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Catholic Church revealed a seamy side of bitter factionalism as opposing groups of bishops fought to publicize their agendas, and even tried to manipulate the Pope as the Vatican’s Synod on the Family opened in Rome.

The synod, a meeting of bishops that will set Church policy, opened October 4 with the Church still dealing with the fallout from the Pope’s meeting with anti-Gay American Kim Davis.

The Vatican tried to play down the significance of the meeting with Davis, saying she was only one of “several dozen persons who had been invited by the Nunciature to

greet him.”

“Such brief greetings occur on all papal visits and are due to the Pope’s characteristic kindness and availability,” a Vatican statement said.

“The Pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects.”

The Vatican spokesperson added that “the only real audience granted by the Pope at the Nunciature was with one of his former students and his family.”

Had Davis not made a big deal about her brief conversation with Pope Francis, the Vatican might not have revealed that the “former student” in question was Gay, and that his boyfriend was included among his

Visit us online www.sgn.org

family members.

The former student, Yayo Grassi, released a video of the encounter featuring Francis embracing and kissing his boyfriend, Iwan Bagus, without any protest or disclaimer from the Vatican.

At the same time, the Vatican did not walk back the Pope’s endorsement of “conscientious objection” to same-sex marriage.

In other words, Francis endorses Davis’s actions even if he didn’t want to explicitly endorse her.

People close to the Pope also let Vatican reporters know through back channels that Francis would replace the Papal Nuncio, or ambassador, in the United States. The Pope apparently believed that Cardinal Carlo Vigano had set him up by making sure that Davis was in the receiving line when Francis made his public appearance at the Nunciature.

Vigano is reportedly close to Davis’s lawyer, Mat Staver from the group Liberty Counsel, and as the Vatican’s representative in the U.S. was active in NOM’s campaign against same-sex marriage. He was appointed Nuncio by the notoriously anti-Gay Benedict XVI. The Cardinal is required to offer to retire when he turns 75 in January 2016. Popes often decline to accept such pro forma offers to step down, but Francis is said to have decided to accept Vigano’s.

Meanwhile, widely different views on the family – and the possibility of Gay and Lesbian families – emerged from the opening days of the Vatican synod.

According to Vatican spokesperson Fr. Tom Rosica, the bishops recommended

that Catholics should “stop using condescending language such as ‘pity’ towards homosexuals and find ways to welcome them as sons and daughters of the Church.” “[The bishops said] there must be an end to exclusionary language and a strong emphasis on embracing reality as it is. We should not be afraid of new and complex situations,” Rosica reported.

“The jubilee of mercy requires a language of mercy, in particular in speaking about homosexuals or gay persons. We do not pity gay persons but we recognize them for who they are. They are our sons and daughters and brothers and sisters.”

On the other hand, one prominent Cardinal brushed off suggestions that there would be significant changes in Church teaching.

“If you have come to Rome with the idea that you are going to witness a spectacular change in church doctrine, you are going to be disappointed,” French Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois told a press conference.

“Nor do you need a synod to work that out. All you have to do is listen to the pope’s homilies on the family, week after week at his Wednesday public audiences.”

Vingt-Trois’ remarks led Vatican spokesperson Msgr. Bruno Forte to reply that “the synod has not come together to say nothing.”

In his opening speech to the synod on October 4, Pope Francis said the Church must have “its doors open to welcome all those who knock” and not “point the finger in judgment” of others, but later he seemed to ask the bishops to stop arguing about sexuality and “move forward.”

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 13

Vatican sacks two priests, one Gay, one not

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer As the Vatican’s Synod on the Family grapples with controversial questions of sexuality, the Vatican sacked two priests, one Gay and one not.

Father Krzystof Charamsa was fired after he disclosed that he is Gay and has a boyfriend. Father Gino Flaim was suspended after suggesting that homosexuality is worse than pedophilia.

Ironically, Charamsa held a post in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican agency charged with protecting Catholic dogma. He came out in a press

isis

continued from cover region.

“On Sunday afternoon, Daesh (ISIS) called on the people of Mosul to gather in the square of Bab al-Toub [in the city of Mosul] in order to witness the execution of the two men,” an eyewitness told ARA News. “The victims were taken to the top of a building and were brutally thrown off the roof.”

These murders follow reports on Twitter account Terrormonitor.org, that two other men were murdered in the city of Nineveh in the same fashion.

In July, Islamic State militants threw two men off a building for “being Gay” before stoning them to death. In April militants fighting in Syria brutally stoned two Gay men to death only seconds after they were photographed embracing and “forgiving” them. And at the beginning of June, militants threw three men, accused of being Gay, from the top of a high building in front of a huge crowd of bloodthirsty onlookers.

The baying crowd were then encouraged

14 Seattle Gay News

conference featuring his Catalan partner and other Gay rights activists the day before the Vatican synod was to begin.

“I know that the Church will see me as someone who did not know how to fulfill his duty, who is lost and who is not even with a woman but with a man!” he said.

“I dedicate my coming out to all gay priests,” Charamsa continued. “I wish them happiness even if I know that most of them will not have the courage to make the gesture I have made today.

“To my Church, I want to say that I reject and I denounce the current atmosphere of exasperating homophobia. Open your eyes to the suffering of gay people, to their

desire for love.”

Catholic priests are required to be celibate, so having a boyfriend would automatically require the Church to dismiss Charamsa. The Church also teaches that acting on Gay impulses is sinful, although the impulses themselves are only “objectively disordered,” and not sinful in themselves.

A Vatican spokesperson characterized Charamsa’s press conference as “grave and irresponsible.”

Flaim was suspended after a TV interview in which he said he could “understand pedophilia” but “I’m not sure about homosexuality.”

“Unfortunately there are children who seek affection because they don’t receive it at home and I understand that some priests can give in [to the temptation],” Flaim said.

“Pedophilia is a sin, and like all sins has to be accepted, also,” but “homosexuality is a disease.”

Flaim’s archdiocese said he would be suspended pending an investigation.

Flaim was made to issue a statement saying his remarks “do not represent the positions of Trento archdiocese and the general sentiment of the parish.”

to surge forward and stone the men, who had been horrifically injured on impact, to death with a mass of rocks.

In August, several Gay Muslims told the U.N. Security Council, “We are hated, and our suffering and death brings joy to people.”

On August 24, the United Nations Security Council met to discuss LGBT persecution for the first time in its history. A Gay Muslim man, calling himself only “Adnan” gave his testimony over the phone, speaking from an undisclosed location, where he lives in fear.

The meeting was convened to discuss the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS) and its attacks on LGBTQ people. Adnan’s testimony was an upsetting description of running from one homophobic attack after another since 2013 – at the hands of not only ISIS, but the Iraqi army, other Iraqi citizens, and even his own family.

“There were militiamen or security men who – if they found out someone was Gay – would arrest him, rape him, torture him. There were lots of murders supervised by the Iraqi Army,” said Adnan in his testimony to the U.N. Security Council.

“Videos came out of people being burned alive or stoned and you can see soldiers in them. I have seen a video where some Gay men had ropes put around their necks and they were dragged around the streets, and people were throwing stones at them. And when they were half-dead, they were set on fire. Some people had their rectums glued up and were then left to die in the desert.”

When ISIS took control Adnan was in college. Militia members began to visit his family’s home and threaten his life. His family turned against him; and because being Gay in Iraq is punishable by death, and he couldn’t get help from police or the state, he fled.

“They [ISIS] hunt them down one by one,” said Adnan. “When they capture people, they go through the person’s phone and contacts and Facebook friends. They are trying to track down every gay man. And it’s like dominoes. If one goes, the others will be taken down too.”

Adnan has been personally attacked by groups of people on the street. One time, he says, three people knocked him to the ground and shaved his head. Another time, he was beaten and kicked “almost uncon-

scious,” he said.

Jessica Stern, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), says that ISIS militants have killed at least 30 people for the perceived crime of sodomy. The violence particularly plagues Iraqi and Syrian LGBT people. However, murder is the most extreme form of violence. In addition to men perceived as Gay, Trans-identified people and Lesbians are among those who have been raped and killed.

The OutRight Action International (formerly known as IGLHRC or the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission) has been tracking reports of Islamic State-led homophobic murders on a timeline.

But many of the speakers discussed facing just as much of a threat from their own families as from ISIS. “If I’d stayed, ISIS would have come for me and killed me the way they’ve killed others. If ISIS didn’t get me, members of my family would have done it,” Adnan said.

October 9, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 15

Legal Services MARTIN SJOLIE

www.sgn.org

Over 20 Years Experience

Last Will, Power of Attorney & Health Care Directive (Living Will)

$500.00/Person or $750.00/Couple for complete, personalized services.

(206) 841–1373 www.sjolielaw.com

Auto accidents, DUI, Small business needs.

www.sgn.org

16 Seattle Gay News

October 9, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

religion & spirituality

HOME & SPECIALIZED SERVICES

Gary D. TorGerson Co. Expert Painting and Repairs Rot Repair: siding, doors, windows, porches and decks.

Lead-Safe Certified

See photographs of our work at www.TorgersonCompany.com Email: info@torgersoncompany.com Contractor Registration #: GARYDTC134CJ Phone: 206-781-0999

Health and Personal Services

www.sgn.org

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 17

18 Seattle Gay News

October 9, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 9, 2015

Seattle Gay News 19

20 Seattle Gay News

October 9, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!