SGN October 28, 2016 - Section 1

Celebrating 42 Years!

Issue 44 Volume 44

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VP nominee Sen. Tim Kaine: Democratic landslide Equality Act a “priority” in Washington, Elway for Clinton administration Poll predicts

Vice President nominee Sen. Tim Kaine – Photo courtesy of evbuc.com

by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News In an exclusive interview with PGN, US Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic nomi-

nee for vice president, recently shared his views on LGBT issues and what his position in a Clinton administration might look like. This Oct. 21 interview started out adsee TIM KAINE page 12

Democrats lead across the polls in WA – Images courtesy clipart.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Democrats will sweep to victory in Washington state, according to the last Elway Poll to be released before election day.

“Washington Democrats are poised for a

good day on November 8,” pollsters reported.

“With two weeks until voting ends, Democrats enjoy a 16-point advantage over Republicans in party identification. Their top-of-the-ticket candidates have strengthsee ELWAY POLL page 5

Hillary Clinton announces City Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez pulls “Better than Bullying” support for Walkinshaw initiative to combat bullying in schools over negative ads

Lorena Gonzalez – Photo courtesy of theurbanist.org

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Seattle City Council member Lorena Gonzalez pulled her endorsement of congressional candidate Brady Walkinshaw on

October 24, in response to a Walkinshaw TV ad attacking his rival, Pramila Jayapal.

Walkinshaw and Jayapal are competing to replace retiring Rep. Jim McDermott in the 7th District. Walkinshaw’s ad labeled see GONZALEZ page 7

Hillary Clinton – Photo courtesy of pbs.org

WASHINGTON DC – On Thursday, October 27, the Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization – praised Hillary Clinton’s just-announced “Better than

Bullying” initiative, which aims to provide students, families and educators with resources to better combat the epidemic of bullying in our nation’s schools. The effort, which would include $500 million of fundsee HILLARY CLINTON page 21

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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Celebrating 41 Years!

INITIATIVE 735: We need to stop big money to protect LGBTQ rights Editor: The Constitution was written to give ALL individuals a voice (one person, one vote), but it has taken women’s suffrage, civil rights, and LGBTQ equality to even approach that aspiration. But the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC has worked against those hard-fought victories by allowing extremely wealthy individuals to spend unlimited amounts of anonymous money supporting the candidates they choose. They can drown out everyone else by monopolizing the media.

Allowing Citizens United to stand says, “I don’t care who you are. I have money. I can override anything you try to accomplish because money is influence.”

As an LGBTQ person, I support Initiative 735 on this November’s ballot as a way to protect our community and our political process.

Don’t get me wrong; there are millionaires and billionaires on both sides of the political spectrum. However, about 75% of the top mega-wealthy donors give to

ELWAY POLL continued from cover

ened their leads; Democrats are leading in four of the six statewide down-ballot races; and voters are more likely to vote for Democrats than Republicans for the Legislature by a 4:3 margin.”

According to the prestigious poll’s findings, Hillary Clinton has a 48% to 31% lead over Donald Trump. Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson is at 6%, with the Greens’ Jill Stein barely registering at 1%.

US Sen. Patty Murray is far ahead of her Republican rival, former GOP State Chairman Chris Vance. Murray is at 58%, her highest-ever level of support, while Vance gets only 34%.

Gov. Jay Inslee is holding steady with a 12-point lead over Republican challenger Bill Bryant. Inslee is ahead of Bryant by a 51% to 39% margin. The Democratic incumbent enjoys a 91% to 3% lead over Bryant among Democrats, who outnumber

conservative Republicans, according to opensecrets.org. More importantly, that doesn’t count all of the anonymous donations allowed by the ruling. This is dangerous to our LGBTQ community. Why do conservative politicians speak out against gay marriage when 55% of the US population supports equality? Why was there an anti-transgender bathroom bill in Washington, a forward-leaning state? Because there’s money behind it.

We can’t allow the mega-wealthy to use their money to socially engineer a future that leaves the LGBTQ community behind.

Allowing the unregulated flow of money allows politicians who demonize LGBTQ people to retain the spotlight. We have many pressing issues to worry about – income inequality, climate change, and gun control. However, undisclosed money is going to people and organizations that direct people’s anger in the wrong direction. By stoking people’s homophobia, they are distracted from other, more serious issues.

Most importantly, keeping anti-LGBTQ vitriol in the public spotlight continues to

inspire events like the Orlando shooting.

It causes young queers to hate themselves, and allows groups to demonize transgender people for political gain.

Money has influenced politics since time immemorial. Initiative 735 won’t fix that completely. But it will make Washington the 18th state to go on record telling Congress to overturn Citizens United and make sure that all donations in elections are regulated and publicly disclosed.

Lessening the influence of Big Money in politics will not stop all the racists, bigots or homophobes. But we have to do what we can to hinder those who foment fear and hate for monetary gain. And when Citizens United is overturned, at least we will know where the anti-LGBTQ money is coming from. This November, please vote “Yes” on Initiative 735.

Republicans in Washington state. Bryant leads among Republicans 83% to 9%, and also among independents by 47% to 36% but still trails due to Inslee’s advantage with his fellow Democrats.

Democratic candidates also lead in races for auditor, lands commissioner, and insurance commissioner.

Democrat Tina Podlodowski, an out Lesbian and former Seattle city councilmember, is picking up steam against her Republican rival for secretary of state, incumbent Kim Wyman. Wyman now leads by only 4 points, 41% to 37%, within the poll’s margin of error.

In the race for lieutenant governor, Democrat Cyrus Habib is in a statistical tie with Republican Marty McClendon.

The poll shows that almost nobody knows the candidates for Washington state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction. Nearly two-thirds of voters remain undecided in each race.

The Elway Poll also found three statewide initiatives headed for victory.

I-1433, to increase the state minimum wage to $13.50 over four years, is ahead by a 58% to 32% margin. The measure gets overwhelming support, 68%, in King County.

I-1491, which would prevent seriously mentally ill people from gaining access to firearms, is at 67% support, with only 18% opposed. The measure even gets 56% support in conservative Eastern Washington.

I-1501, to protect seniors and their caregivers from identity theft, is at 72% support.

On the other hand, the proposed carbon tax, I-732, is in trouble. Only 40% support the measure, and 32% currently oppose it, leaving 28% undecided. Historical experience suggests that undecided voters usually break towards the No side.

I-1464, a complicated public campaign financing measure, gets 36% support, with 23% opposed and 41% undecided.

The Elway Poll interviewed 502 likely voters by both cellphone and land lines between October 20 and October 22. The margin of error is 4.5 points.

Pijper Day Evergreen Graduate Army Veteran

From left: Hillary Clinton, Patty Murray, Jay Inslee, Tina Podlodowski & Cyrus Habib – Photos courtesy of theodysseyonline.com, blog.thenewstribune.com, mediad.publicbroadcasting.net, nwprogressive.org & housedemocrats.wa.gov

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Celebrating 41 Years!

Beware stealth Supreme Court candidates

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A cabal of political conservatives, religious extremists, anti-tax campaigners, and tech billionaires is backing a group of challengers hoping to unseat three sitting justices of the Washington Supreme Court.

In Supreme Court Position 1, David DeWolf is running against incumbent Justice Mary Yu. Position 2 features Greg Zempel running to replace Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, and in Position 6, Dave Larson is challenging Justice Charlie Wiggins.

Even a cursory look at the challengers’ voters’ guide statements reveals a slew of right-wing code words that spell bad news for LGBT folks.

DeWolf, for example, favors “restraint” and says, “We need judges who will do their job – no more and no less.” Translation: “We need judges who won’t expand rights for the LGBT community or other marginalized communities.”

Zempel says “our state Supreme Court has become too political.” Same translation.

Larson “believes in judicial restraint.”

Same translation.

All the challengers are supported by forprofit initiative promoter Tim Eyman, who regularly sends out mass tweets on their behalf. Eyman has a long-standing grudge against the Supreme Court, which struck down several of his unconstitutional initiatives, and he hopes to replace the incumbent justices with more favorable ones.

DeWolf is endorsed by the NRA, and his website proudly proclaims his support

Greg Zempel – Photo courtesy of zempelforjustice.org

for the Discovery Institute, a pseudo-scientific think tank that promotes the idea of “intelligent design.”

In a statement to SEAMEC, Zempel claims that he has “had the benefit of knowing and having in my life a number of gay and lesbian friends.” He also states that “Referendum 74 is the law of the land and would be fully supported as such by myself.”

Nevertheless, Zempel is endorsed by a right-wing Christian group called We Believe, We Vote, based in the Tri-Cities. The group’s “Five Guiding Principles” for endorsing candidates includes the following: “The marriage of one man and one woman is the natural foundation of all human society, and the means by which children ought to be brought into the world and

taught the basic values of our civilization.

“Government has a duty to recognize and protect the family and must not grant alternative relationships the same status and privileges.

“Families, not public education, should decide what, when, and how children are introduced to controversial subjects dealing with moral issues.”

Zempel’s staff says that We Believe, We Vote did not ask for anything “in writing” from the candidate and that Zempel does not agree with their statement. Nevertheless, he has not repudiated their support, and their endorsement is still displayed prominently on his website.

Zempel is also supported by the charter school group Stand For Children, which gave him $116,000 in hopes of unseating Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, who authored the decision declaring charter schools unconstitutional.

The primary donors include Connie Ballmer, wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix; and Vulcan Inc., owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Vulcan and Ballmer were also among the primary backers of the ballot initiative that authorized charter schools and was subsequently voided by the high court.

As for Zempel’s opponent, yes, Madsen authored the infamous decision in Andersen v. King County that delayed marriage equality in this state for six years. But she is also the author of numerous progressive rulings striking down Tim Eyman–sponsored initiatives and upholding funding for

the state, worked to hold the first hearing in the history of the US Senate on the effect of immigration policies on women, and she has been honored by the White House as a ‘Champion of Change.’ That work mirrored her work in the state legislature to advocate, however difficult it was in a minority position, for immigrants, for workers, and for all of her constituents.”

Elaine Rose, CEO of Planned Parenthood Votes, said she knew Jayapal as someone who “didn’t care if she got credit” and was always looking for “the right thing to do” for women in Washington state.

“It’s a shame,” Rose continued, “that we have to stand here…talking about a misleading ad against a woman fighting for women to have a voice.”

Jayapal has also earned the support of LGBT activists with more than a decade of advocacy for equality, ranging from national figures like Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality to local activists like Danni Askini, Sarah Toce, and Rita Smith.

In an email to SGN, Walkinshaw’s campaign manager Kyle Layman denied that his campaign was taken aback by the outpouring of support for Jayapal.

“To the contrary,” Layman wrote, “we have seen people from across the community rally in response to Sen. Jayapal’s reaction to our fact-based contrast.”

Walkinshaw supporters Sally Bagshaw, Sharon Tomiko Santos, Gael Tarleton, Debora Juarez, Dolores Sibonga, and Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney released a statement on October 27 reaffirming their endorsements of him, Layman noted.

“We’re excited to support Brady because we’ve seen his work in office and his ability to bring us together,” they said.

“We believe that evaluating the records of candidates for office is not only legitimate, it is necessary. A candidate’s record of performance in office is the most relevant indicator available to voters on how they would perform as a member of Congress.”

Walkinshaw also defended his TV ad in an email to SGN, saying, “It is appropriate…and also necessary, for candidates to campaign on their issues and their records. What we’ve offered is a contrast between two candidates on our records, and our records are extremely relevant to the kind of representatives we would be for this district…”

“I am running for Congress because I love the Northwest,” Walkinshaw continued. “I believe we need a representative who will focus on delivering for our district on the issues that matter most, like housing and homelessness, transportation, and working together to fight against climate change. When I first joined the legislature, my husband and I traveled across the mountains to meet with Republican legislators in their districts.

Those relationships were critical in passing landmark legislation to reform our criminal justice and mental health systems. I’m proud of my record, and I’d be honored to serve this district in Congress.”

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Seattle Gay News 7

GONZALEZ

continued from cover Jayapal “ineffective” and accused her of missing crucial votes in the state Senate, where she represents the 37th Legislative District.

“I am disappointed by these recent attacks,” Gonzalez said in a statement, explaining that she was a friend of both candidates.

“I simply cannot continue to support Brady in name or otherwise and, today, I am officially withdrawing my endorsement.

I continue to be 100% fully behind Pramila because she is the best-qualified candidate who will fight for issues, like comprehensive immigration reform, that are important to the Latino community.”

Gonzalez’s statement was read by One America head Fé Lopez at a press conference featuring dozens of Jayapal supporters. Also on hand were Jayapal’s colleagues from the state Senate, labor leaders, and community supporters.

Although Walkinshaw sought to brand Jayapal as “ineffective,” Senate Democratic Leader Sharon Nelson called her “one of the most effective legislators I’ve seen in my time in office…”

“These are desperate attacks from the Walkinshaw campaign,” Nelson added.

“She has numerous accomplishments to her name that are remarkable from anyone, much less a first-term legislator. These include: passing legislation to secure over $5 million in funding for pre-apprenticeship programs for women and people of color; working with all chambers and the governor’s office to expand access to all forms of contraception for women on Medicaid; saving an International Baccalaureate program at Rainier Beach High School; and investing millions of dollars into the first-ofits-kind Southeast Economic Opportunity Center that will bring higher education to the Rainier Valley for the first time.”

(l) Brady Walkinshaw & Pramila Jayapal – Photos courtesy of heraldnet.com

Democratic Floor Leader Sen. Christine Rolfes and Sen. Kevin Ranker, one of the two Democratic budget negotiators for the Senate, also gave statements praising Jayapal’s record.

Ranker noted that he had also missed the budget vote mentioned in Walkinshaw’s TV ad, and that neither his presence nor Jayapal’s would have made any difference in the outcome. The budget passed 27-17.

In addition to the statements from elected officials, Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) President Jeff Johnson and Secretary-Treasurer Lynne Dodson made a statement in support of Jayapal.

“Advertisements suggesting that Sen. Pramila Jayapal is an ineffective legislative leader should he held in the same regard as Donald Trump saying, ‘No one respects women more than I do,’” they said.

“The WSLC has worked with Sen. Jayapal for 16 years on immigration reform, minimum wage, and many other social justice and workplace issues. She led one of the largest voter registration drives in

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public schools.

Getting down to practicalities, Yu and Madsen are almost certain to win their races. The most at risk of the three incumbent justices is thought to be Charlie Wiggins, who was first elected to the Supreme Court in 2010.

Again, a constellation of billionaire charter school supporters and business groups – Steve and Connie Ballmer, Vulcan Inc., Bill Gates, and the Building Industry Association of Washington, among others – have put $550,000 behind a PAC called Citizens for Working Courts to support Wiggins’ challenger, Dave Larson.

According to the Seattle Times, Gates and a handful of other donors have poured an additional $900,000 into a late-campaign ad barrage to defeat Wiggins, and the incumbent justice is also the target of a separate PAC, Judicial Integrity Washington, funded by Clark County billionaire Ken Fisher, Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman Jr., and Seattle Mariners president John Stanton.

The PAC has spent $350,000 on Willie Horton–style TV ads accusing Wiggins of releasing a convicted child molester. The ad is so over the top that a group of prominent legal experts has demanded that it be taken down.

The demand to remove the offensive ad was signed by former US Attorney John McKay, retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, former King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Roe, and Seattle University Law School Professor Dave Boerner.

Two suspects arrested in Olympia execution-style murder of Gay teen

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Two suspects are in police custody after their arrest Wednesday for the executionstyle murder of 18-year-old Dakota Tyree Walker in the Capitol Forest because the men learned he was about to turn himself – and the suspects – in for committing a series of thefts in the Olympia area, police said.

Detective Sgt. Cameron Simper of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office told media on Wednesday that the young man was involved in a volatile domestic relationship with one of the suspects. Walker had grown weary of the criminal lifestyle and had decided to turn himself and his two partners in to law enforcement, Simper said.

It took three days to identify Walker’s body, partly because the young man did not live in Washington. His bullet-riddled body was found in the bushes at Margaret McKenny Campground last Thursday by a woman walking her dog.

During the murder investigation, police found that Walker and the two male suspects, aged 29 and 31, worked together in the Olympia area as property and identification thieves since August.

“The young victim, at 18 years old, was frankly sick of the lifestyle he was living; he was sick of committing these crimes, and in fact wanted out,” Simper said. “It is believed that he was going to come forward and bring this information forward to law enforcement so he could escape from the relationship.”

Before Walker could do that, the two suspects learned of his plans, said police.

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18-year-old victim Dakota Tyree Walker – Photo courtesy of facebook.com

They allegedly lured him to the Capitol Forest under false pretenses and then shot him to death.

The coroner made the positive identification using fingerprints.

According to Simper, detectives were able to identify the suspects using a combination of technology, social media, and tips from the public. The two suspects were then arrested without incident and booked into the Thurston County Jail for investiga-

October 28, 2016

tion of first-degree murder.

Simper says that both suspects admit to being present during the murder, but each blames the other for pulling the trigger.

Walker’s sister, Trisha Biggs, said his family had become suspicious that Walker was in some kind of trouble because they had no idea where he was. Even after they were told that the body of their family member had been found in Washington, they remained confused as to why he was

even in the state.

“He was a very big sweetheart,” said Briggs. “I honestly don’t know how he fell into all of this.”

Walker and his family are originally from Los Angeles, said police. The family recently spent time in Ohio and then moved to Albany, Ore. It is alleged that Walker met the two suspects in Ohio and they all met up in Olympia to commit crimes.

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" I am honored to serve the people and communities of the 37th District and ask for your continued support.

- Sharon Tomiko Santos" Paid for by the Friends of Santos Campaign, P.O. Box 78606 Seattle, WA 98178

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Seattle Gay News 9

LGBT HISTORY MONTH

The Johns Committee: A 1950s “witchhunt” for LGBTs

by Christiana Lilly South Florida Gay News Courtesy of Philadelphia Gay News For many people, their memories of their college years are filled with football games, parties and cramming for exams.

For others, it’s horrific flashbacks of being stalked on campus, hours of interrogation and questioning, if someone they interacted with was an investigator.

For students and teachers at some of the top universities in Florida, this is a part of their history, the harassment of the Johns Committee.

“While generally speaking, we live in a society that’s accepting of people and their private lifestyles, the Johns Committee left us a legacy of intolerance,” said Jim Schnur, the special collections librarian at University of South Florida – St. Petersburg. “It was just how abhorrent they were, how many lives they attempted to destroy.”

It was 1956 when the state formed the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, better known as the Johns Committee, as it was headed by State Senator Charley Johns, a Democrat from Starke, Fla., who had also served as Acting Governor for a year-and-a-half.

The country was in the midst of the Red Scare, and the committee was out to find civil-rights activists and integrationists, namely settings its sights on the NAACP. Soon, however, the committee decided to go after a target that wasn’t so strongly represented: LGBT people.

Art Copleston was one of them. Growing up moving from city to city in Florida, he graduated from high school in 1950 and joined the Air Force. After serving nearly four years, he was able to use the G.I. Bill to attend the University of Florida; his first day of school was on his 25th birthday in 1957. He had plans to study industrial management and move ahead in life.

However, the Johns Committee tried its best to knock him down. Copleston was “a disastrous closet case” and only told a select few friends at his school that he was gay, knowing they were, too.

“I had no money and the family had no money and I had to get a source of income and I knew I was gay. I had to hide it because, at the time, you didn’t dare mention that to anyone,” he said.

During a summer semester, he was hanging out with some gay friends at a bar across the street, The Burger House, when a friend leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“One of the gay guys whispered to me that there was a guy sitting at the bar watching me,” he recalled. “My tipster said, ‘I hear that there is some sort of a gay investigation going on by possibly the state officials and maybe this guy is from that group.’”

Copleston said the man was John Tileston, a police officer with the university.

The very next day, the same friend told him in the cafeteria that he had been pulled from class and interrogated. Being proudly out, he said he was excited to stand up to investigators. A few weeks later, when the fall semester started, it was Copleston’s turn. He was pulled out of class and met by officers in standard Johns Committee uniforms: light blue with a matching hat, a holster with a pistol and knee-high, shiny black boots. Copleston was thrown in a squad car and taken into an interrogation room in the administration building with covered windows, a table with three wooden chairs, a light bulb dangling from the ceiling and a tape recorder.

This was years before Miranda Rights, and he had no legal representation. For hours, Tileston questioned Copleston about his homosexuality and whom he knew to be gay. He said he refused to give them the answers they wanted. After the interrogation, Copleston noticed that his mail was taking longer to get to him and discovered it was being intercepted by the committee.

Later, he learned his roommate was ac-

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Art Coplestone 2014 – Photo courtesy of SFGN

Art Coplestone 1957 – Photo courtesy of SFGN

tually an informant planted by the Johns Committee; one night after a party, the roommate undressed in their dorm and touched himself, coming onto Copleston and asking if he had ever been with a man before. When asked about it later, he proudly admitted he was getting paid by the committee, which helped him with college tuition, Copleston said.

“I never knew where one of the investigators was going to suddenly appear in my daily life. It could be walking down a sidewalk, in a classroom, outside my dorm door, at any time in the day or night. I never knew when they were going to be there watching me,” he said. “That was, I think, one of the most debilitating things that came out of this whole thing for me. It was exhausting as well as terrifying.”

Copleston said his friends didn’t socialize on campus, out of fear of being seen together.

To keep any semblance of a social life, they would escape to Daytona Beach or Jacksonville for the weekend. Even so, he was interrogated two or three more times, he said, including being pulled out of class while he was taking his accounting final exam.

“It was the same crap every time,” he said.

“I want people to know what happened.”

Despite the fear and stress, Copleston graduated from the University of Florida with honors and a 3.8 GPA. He immediately left the state.

It wasn’t just students who were targeted; it’s believed 15 professors at the university were also targeted, including Professor Sigismond Diettrich, who served as the esteemed chairman of the geography department. He was called to a hotel in Gainesville for an interrogation, where he discovered a colleague told the committee that Diettrich tapped his foot in the bathroom sometimes, and he believed it was to encourage sexual advances from men.

After the interrogation, Diettrich was so embarrassed and ashamed that he took 85 aspirin pills and attempted to jump out the window of his office building. He didn’t go through with the suicide attempt, but resigned from the university.

“I have lost all I had, all I lived for in my proud vanity,” he said, according to Schnur’s thesis. “If I’ll have to leave my beloved Florida … I shall go forth in humility.”

The committee also set its sights beyond Gainesville, interrogating students and professors at Florida State University and University of South Florida. Oddly enough, it was the committee itself that would be its own downfall. In 1964, the committee published “Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida,” nicknamed “the purple pamphlet” for its coloring, with the intention of warning the public about the dangers of gay people.

Instead, people were outraged with the content and photos of the pamphlet [http:// www.miaminewtimes.com/news/f lorida-legislature-once-published-anti-gaypamphlet-full-of-softcore-porn-7707547]

– photos of a man receiving fellatio in a bathroom stall, a man tied up with rope while wearing a G-string and a glossary of “homosexual terms and deviate acts” such as “fairy,” “butch,” “69,” “71” and more.

In the pamphlet, the committee claimed that 60,000 Floridians were “active homosexuals” with “an insatiable appetite for sexual activities and find special gratification in the recruitment to their ranks of youth.” Finally, the goal was to “keep their hands off our children.”

Reacting to the public outcry that taxpayer money was used to create “state-sponsored pornography,” the committee was not given funding to continue its witch-hunt. “[Johns] asked fellow lawmakers to ‘close the office, lock up the records and save the taxpayers of Florida the remainder of the $155,000 appropriation,’” according to John Howard, author of Carryin’ on in the Lesbian and Gay South. “Claiming that the FLIC operated exclusively under the ‘executive session’ provision of the 1885 constitution, the legislature sealed all public records of this agency from inspection until Dec. 31, 2028.”

For nearly three decades, the Johns Committee was buried in history, its reign of terror forgotten by Floridians, committee members’ names still remaining on some school buildings to this day. But in 1991, Schnur, the special-collections librarian, would be instrumental in unearthing the truth.

A graduate student at the time, he was coming up with a thesis on Florida history when he came across the Johns Committee.

He requested records on the committee, but discovered that the 30,000 pages of records were sealed for decades due to an archaic amendment in Florida’s 1885 constitution.

“Long story short, after some battles that took place where a lot of us were very involved, the records were finally opened in July 1993,” Schnur said. “They were heavily redacted and they damaged the original documents, they mutilated the original documents. My thesis came out in 1995 and I wrote basically the first institutional history of the Johns Committee.

“We have a lot of great records about the Sons of the Confederacy, but we don’t have very much on the LGBTQ experience.”

Pouring over the documents, Schnur read transcripts of interviews, with investigators asking students and teachers “intimate, humiliating questions.” He said the investigators were especially interested when they were interrogating someone about lesbian relationships. However, they didn’t seem concerned when straight men admitting to having thoughts of pedophilia or had touched young children.

“Instead of making a copy and making up the copy but preserving the originals, they destroyed [records],” Schnur said. “The state of Florida was put into a tough predicament because the state had destroyed people’s lives. There

October 28, 2016

were lots of lists of names.”

Four years after Schnur completed his thesis, Allyson Beutke DeVito was a student at the University of Florida and was assigned a documentary film project. Her professor encouraged her to research Virgil Hawkins, the first African-American to be admitted to the university’s law school after a Supreme Court battle; he withdrew his application in exchange for a court order to desegregate the university’s colleges.

As Beutke DeVito looked into Hawkins’ history, she discovered he was forced to travel to Miami and wait for hours in a hot, humid basement to be questioned by the Johns Committee. One thing led to another, and she discovered Florida’s dirty secret, starting with its hunt for African-Americans, and later, LGBT people. While compiling data, she came across Schnur’s master’s thesis.

Over the next year, she produced “Behind Closed Doors.” [http://www.behindcloseddoorsfilm.com/johns.htm] In her documentary, Beutke DeVito interviews those who were terrorized by the committee, and also attempted to reach out to those on the committee itself. She made contact with Senator Johns’ son, who kept postponing the interview until finally canceling.

She also discovered communication between the university’s president during the witch-hunt, J. Wayne Reitz, and Johns; he happily allowed him on campus. Today, the student union is named after Reitz.

“We would eat lunch at the Reitz Union,” she said of her days as a student. “You realize all the things that kind of happened during that time period. It was definitely not something that I had expected to find when I first read about Virgil Hawkins.”

In 2011, another documentary was made on the Johns Committee, this time at the University of Central Florida. [The documentary was titled The Committee – http:// www.thecommitteedocumentary.org/.] After this past summer’s attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people, the film was revived and broadcast on more than 100 PBS stations across the country. [http://today.ucf.edu/undefined-55/] Today, Copleston lives in Palm Springs, Calif., and volunteers for the Democratic Party. He has done a few speaking engagements about the Johns Committee, and most of his audiences are surprised to learn about its activities.

“This was allowed to happen. This was a clear representation of mass thinking throughout this society during the ’50s.

Homosexuality in the ’50s was really an aberration,” Copleston said. “We were considered really different and really sick, sick people. People need to know that this went on, that this happened.”

It’s been so buried, in fact, that the University of Florida’s alumni magazine named Johns to its list of distinguished alumni in 2005. (He was quickly removed when the Alumni Association was told of his legacy.)

“It definitely has taught me to know your history, to question the past, to look at things with a critical eye,” said Beutke DeVito, who is now a faculty lecturer at the University of Kentucky.

Christiana Lilly’s foray into journalism began at 11, when she put together a one-page gazette for classmates recounting field trips, announcing the lunch menu and other important news. Today, she’s a freelance journalist who covers a plethora of topics, including contributing regularly to South Florida Gay News. There, she covers health, religion, law and activism impacting the LGBT community. She has won multiple awards for her coverage, including stories on conversion therapy and youth homelessness. Christiana grew up in Asia as the daughter of a Foreign Service Officer and now calls Fort Lauderdale home with her fiancée.

Celebrating 41 Years!

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October 28, 2016

Seattle Gay News 11

It wasn’t Patient Zero, new study says; HIV went back to early ’70s

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Gaetan Dugas has been unfairly demonized as Patient Zero, the guy who kicked off the HIV epidemic in the US, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.

A Gay flight attendant, Dugas died of AIDS in 1984. Later that year, an article in the American Journal of Medicine traced many early HIV infections to Dugas. In the article he was identified as Patient O, O standing for “outside California.”

Over time the O became a 0 and the term Patient Zero was born. Dugas was identified as Patient Zero in Randy Shilts’s book And the Band Played On, for example. The term is still used to this day to describe the index case of an outbreak as with Ebola in West Africa.

AIDS was first recognized as a specific disease in 1981 when a constellation of previously unrelated symptoms began appearing in Gay men.

However, a research team at the Univer-

TIM KAINE

continued from cover dressing my conversation with Kaine at the Democratic National Convention the night he was officially nominated.

TK: I am surprised I was even capable of delivering a coherent sentence that evening, I had so much adrenaline in my body.

PGN: You looked like the happiest of warriors I’ve ever seen. Explain to me the process of elected officials evolving on LGBT issues over the years, particularly yourself.

TK: I’ll make it personal since I can tell my story better than others. I’m pretty religious – I take my Catholicism pretty seriously – but I’m a civil rights lawyer too. I’m really committed to equality.

For a long time, I was battling for equality for LGBT folks in the workplace and housing and hate crimes, but I had the more traditional view about marriage. That didn’t cause me any real cognitive dissonance; I just thought, you know, well, marriage is different.

In my state, I was lieutenant governor, which meant president of the Senate. It was 2004 and my legislature decided – it was a Republican legislature – to do one of the marriage amendments in the Virginia Constitution. As the Republicans were putting it together, I remember having conversations with some of them, and I didn’t like the way they drafted it. I was sort of sympathetic to some of it, but it was just so over the top. I remember making suggestions to them about what I thought they could do to make it a little more humane. What they told me was one of two things: Some of them said, “Look, the goal here is we want to make Virginia really hostile to LGBT folks so they won’t come to Virginia.” That was shocking to me that they would be that blunt with me.

But then the other one that might have been even more disappointing to me was, I had colleagues who would say, “Yeah, you’re right. This really sucks, but if we do this we can earn some credit with our base and they’ll let us do some more moderate or progressive things on other issues, like funding higher education and stuff.” I was like, “Wow, so you’re really just going to just treat this group of people as your castoffs, and if

12 Seattle Gay News

Gaetan Dugas “Patient Zero” in 1981 – Photo courtesy of patientzerotohero.weebly.com

sity of Arizona developed a new method of reconstructing the genetic code of HIV, and began to analyze stored blood samples, many of which dated to hepatitis studies from the 1970s.

After screening 2,000 samples from New York and San Francisco, the researchers not only identified HIV in samples dating back to the early seventies, but they were able to get eight complete HIV genetic codes.

That gave scientists the information they needed to build HIV’s family tree and trace when it arrived in the US. “The samples contain so much genetic diversity that they could not have originated in the late 1970s,” Dr Michael Worobey, one of the researchers, said.

“We can place the most precise dates on the origins of the US epidemic at about 1970 or 1971.”

The researchers also analyzed the genetic code of the HIV found in Dugas’s blood.

The results of that analysis showed that the virus in his blood was not the “father” of the US epidemic.

you can kick them around for a while, maybe you can do somebody else some good?”

That really started my transition.

The referendum did go on the ballot. By the time it was voted on, I was governor. I campaigned against it and was really glad when I joined the [US] Senate in 2013 to sign onto the amicus brief that the Democratic senators put in to promote marriage equality at the Supreme Court. I’m really happy that I had another chapter in public life beyond being governor and that I’ve gotten to not just see but be a small part of the gains that we’ve made.

PGN: As vice president, you’re also president of the Senate and preside over the Senate. Some people are predicting it’s possible the Democrats and Republicans will be split down the middle on the Equality Act. How does it make you feel that you might be the one vote that brings nondiscrimination for LGBT people into law?

TK: I tell you, it would be the easiest vote I ever cast. As you know, I’m a co-sponsor of that act. I think it’s really important that we do it. In fact, I just talked a little bit about this very issue here at Penn State a few minutes ago to a great student audience.

You’re right: In theory, I could break the tie. I had to break four or five ties when I was lieutenant governor in Virginia, so it’s possible I could do that in the Senate. Sadly, though, as you know from watching the Senate, they’ve sort of turned every piece of legislation into a 60-vote filibuster and cloture vote rather than the 50 votes on the merits, so it means that the number of ties is dramatically dropping. But if the Equality Act ever was a tie, that would be just about the easiest vote I ever [cast].

PGN: If the Democrats don’t take control of the Senate, do you or will the Clinton administration have any maneuvering pressure to put on Sen. Mitch McConnell to get him to bring the Equality Act to the floor?

TK: That’s a good question. If we posit it that way, OK, we win – I think we’re going to take the Senate too – but whether we’ve taken it or not, what is the likelihood of getting the Equality Act to the floor and then getting over that 60-vote threshold? The Republicans clearly would not allow it to be a 50-vote threshold; they’d want it to be up at 60 votes. What would be the possibility of it?

I really think this election is going to send a real mandate for pro-equality policies. It is also going to show the Republican Party, in my estimation, how deeply unpopular they’ve become with certain groups of voters, including millennials, including minorities, including new Americans. There are few issues that are more important to millennials than equality of all kinds, including LGBT equality. Millennials overwhelmingly believe in it, and the Republican Party, if they lose the presidency for the third election in a row – that’s hard to do now – they’re going to have to do some soul-searching and say, “Wow. Why are we so unpopular with young voters?” They’re going to reach the conclusion that the LGBT-equality issue is one of [the reasons].

Whether or not we have a majority, we won’t have 60 [votes], so we’re going to need some Republican votes. I have a feeling the outcome of this election is going to be a pretty clear mandate for pro-equality policies.

PGN: The Williams Institute recently reported that at least 13% of LGBT seniors are worried about housing issues. What can we do on that front?

TK: I know that’s got to be a big issue in Philly; it is in so many cities. This is the area I worked in as a fair-housing lawyer for 17 years in Virginia, and have done a lot of work around affordable housing as a mayor and governor, too.

Here’s some good news: I don’t think we need to create a new program that doesn’t exist. There is a program: it’s the Low-Income Tax Credit Program [LITC] that allocates tax credits to states, and then states have housing-finance agencies that use those tax credits to promote the construction of affordable rental housing. It’s a very, very good program. The states kind of tailor it to their own circumstances, which is fine.

Everybody I talk to in the affordablehousing area says, “Look, you have a program that works. It’s just not funded at a robust enough level.” So Hillary and I have a proposal to just take that LITC program and dramatically increase the funding so we can produce more affordable rental housing.

Here’s another reason we have to do it, just demographically. Before the collapse of the economy in 2008 and 2009, we had home ownership rate up to nearing 70%, and that

October 28, 2016

“Gaetan Dugas is one of the most demonized patients in history and one of a long line of individuals and groups vilified in the belief that they somehow fueled epidemics with malicious intent,” Dr Richard McKay, a science historian at the University of Cambridge, said.

The new study suggests that Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the historical starting point of the global HIV pandemic. From there it spread to the Caribbean and the US around 1970.

“In New York City, the virus encountered a population that was like dry tinder, causing the epidemic to burn hotter and faster and infecting enough people that it grabs the world’s attention for the first time,” Worobey said.

“Just as Kinshasa was a key turning point for the pandemic virus as a whole, New York City looks like a turning point and acts as this hub from which the virus moves to the West Coast and eventually to Western Europe, Australia, Japan, South America and all sorts of other places.”

was probably too high. Now it’s coming back down to about 62%, and it’s probably going to go down to more like 60%. As the home ownership rate falls to what might be kind of an equilibrium for a while, you’ve got to have more rental housing. If more people are renting or staying in a rental property longer, and the population is growing, you’ve got to have more rental housing. That’s why this LITC program is so important.

PGN: I saw a campaign commercial recently by a PAC that features Judy Shepard [mother of Matthew Shepard, victim of an antigay hate crime]. What concrete steps will the Clinton administration take regarding hate crimes against the LGBT community?

TK: One of the things that I’m really interested in – and it’s related to hate crimes – is the bullying issue. The statistics about LGBT kids getting bullied at school is vastly disproportionate to other kids. Also, LGBT suicide rates are troubling, and that’s connected to the bullying phenomenon.

I’ve been giving some thought to that one.

There’s a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act called Title IV, which is school-security monies. Virtually every district gets them. Schools that get Title IV monies should be able to use those monies for anti-bullying activities. Bullying not only affects LGBT students obviously – though they suffer from it disproportionately – but it affects others too. I think a real focus on anti-bullying is important.

When I was DNC chair, we were pretty involved in the “It Gets Better” campaign to try to get adults of all kinds to basically just look at the kids of today, the students of today, and say, “Hey, look. You may be going through a tough time now and struggling with issues because you’re an adolescent. Hey, we all did. But you’ll get through it; it’ll get better. You just should celebrate who you are.” I think it’s really important for adults – especially adults in leadership positions – to preach that message so not only can kids feel more comfortable in who they are, but it also has a way of reminding students who might be prone to bullying others that that’s not cool behavior.

PGN: Do you want to say anything regarding your vice presidential opponent, who supports conversion therapy and seems to be a very anti-LGBT person?

Celebrating 41 Years!

TK: We could talk about a lot of evidence about Mike Pence when he was governor of Indiana. The one that I think was the sharpest was the one that brought Indiana to national attention, which was an effort to pass a bill under the guise or label of religious freedom, which was really inspired by a desire to allow people to treat LGBT folks as second class, and to make that OK and legal. That really backfired for the state. Businesses in the state urged [Pence] not to do that: “Don’t sign that

bill.” The Republican governor of Georgia wouldn’t sign [a] bill similar to it when the legislature put it on his desk.

Even after the business community said, “Don’t do this,” he did it anyway, and then businesses were threatening to leave the state or, if they expanded, to expand elsewhere.

Business looking to move to Indiana said, “We’re not going to come.” The front page of the Indianapolis newspaper had to run a fullpage editorial: “Fix this law,” saying, “Don’t turn us into a poster child for bigotry. Don’t

put socially extreme views ahead of the economic future of the state of Indiana.” Eventually, they had to partially back down.

But even today, when asked, “Does there need to be legal protection so that people can’t be discriminated against on the grounds of [being] LGBTQ?” he says that’s not a priority for him. Well, it is a priority for Hillary Clinton and me, and that’s why we’re such strong supporters of the Equality Act at the federal level.

Mark Segal is the nation’s most awardwinning commentator in LGBT media.

His recently published memoir, And Then I Danced: Traveling the Road to Equality recently was named Book of the Year by the National Lesbian Gay Journalists Association.

Courtesy of Mark Segal and Philadelphia Gay News

Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner post a Letter to Trump On October 10, Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner posted this Letter to Trump, written by Julianna Baggott, on their Facebook page.

Dear Donald Trump, I will not accept your apology for bragging about sexually assaulting women. In fact, as a woman, I strongly reject it until you stand up and apologize to everyone you need to ask for forgiveness. I’m going to start the list for you here, knowing that it’s not even close to the full account of those you’ve hurt.

But this is where you can begin: To everyone you denied housing to with that ugly little code-letter C for Colored; To the then-15-year-olds Yusef Salaam and Antron McCray, 14-year-olds Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson, and 16-year-old Korey Wise. You took out fullpage newspaper ads calling to reinstate the death penalty before their trials. They’ve all been exonerated based on DNA evidence. I want you to apologize to them for your behavior decades ago, but also for your behavior now. As of this week, you’re still publicly insisting that they’re guilty.

Stop it. Apologize.

To Khizr and Ghazala Khan, father of the Muslim US soldier killed in combat, US Army Captain Humayan Khan, recipient of a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal; To all our soldiers and veterans, because when you tore down US Army Captain Humayan Khan, you tore all of them down.

To all of our POWs. How dare you denigrate their enormous sacrifice.

You should include a public apology to Sen. McCain.

To all who suffer PTSD. How dare you – having never seen a moment of combat – insinuate that they’re weak.

To all those who are disabled, their families and loved ones. I’ve been awed by their toughness. You should be too.

To Serge Kovaleski, the New York Times reporter who you openly mocked on film and then lied about it, as if a lie is a kind of apology.

To my daughters, my sisters, my mother, and the women I admire and rely on. To all of us in this country. I don’t just want your apology for bragging about assaulting them – you’re comments are sickening. I want apologies to all the women you’ve called dogs and pigs and slobs and Miss Piggy, to all the women you’ve demeaned and belittled when the mic didn’t catch you.

To Rosie O’Donnell, Megyn Kelly, Elizabeth Warren, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and Hillary Clinton – for suggesting to your angry crowds that someone

(l) Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner – Photo courtesy of facebook.com

shoot her. Twice.

To President Obama for years of your racist birther rhetoric and to all of us for lying about those years – on film – of pushing your racist birther rhetoric.

To the women of the future who you want to punish for seeking abortions, to all the women who’ve had abortions and had to hear your call for punishment.

To our rich history – to the immigrants who came to this country and flourished.

To all of the immigrants who make our country stronger every day.

To all the immigrant families that will be torn apart under your plan.

To my fellow Muslim Americans. In fact, I want an apology to freedom of religion itself. It’s one of the principles this country was founded on.

To all those who have already been affected by the hate-mongering that you incite. To the brokenness we’ve already suffered because of the hatefulness of your rhetoric.

To the Black Lives Matters Movement.

To the entire community of people of color. I want an apology for not condemning David Duke and white supremacists.

To Colin Kaepernick. He doesn’t need to go looking for another country to live in – as you said like a third-grader on a playground. Kaepernick is peacefully and

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patriotically fighting for the best version of this country.

To the LGBTQ community, who need to have their rights protected, not threatened by a president who would strongly consider appointing judges to overthrow marriage equality.

To the transgender community, who need to be protected in every state in the country, treated with equal access to everything from bathrooms to employment, fair housing, health care, and education.

To all the people you’ve stiffed, refusing to pay what you owe – carpenters, dishwashers, painters, glass company workers, a plumber, waiters, real estate brokers… I want an apology to your own lawyers.

To all those you’ve bullied with lawsuits, knowing that the costs wouldn’t affect you but would ruin them.

To all those you’ve ruined.

To your first two wives, both of whom alleged that you were abusive.

To all the people you could have helped if you’d actually donated to all the places you’ve lied about donating to – including your own foundation.

To all of the good things in our country that would have been made stronger if you’d actually paid your tax bill instead of desperately cashing in loopholes – our

schools, our research community searching for cures for cancer, our police and firefighters, our hospitals, our infrastructure, our social programs…

To everyone who actually does pay their taxes fairly – without searching desperately for loopholes.

To those who pay taxes because it’s simply the law, and to those who pay them because they believe it’s how we keep our country stable, on the most basic level, it’s how we thrive and grow, and it’s how we care for each other during the toughest of times.

To all the students who paid for classes at Trump University, not just the ones who are suing the university for being a sham.

To the environment. I want an acknowledgement that you said that global warming is a hoax – it’s on tape – and I want you to apologize [for] lying. Apologize to the environment, our world.

To all those who’ve died of gun violence and all their loved ones.

I want you to apologize for your terrifying comments on nuclear weapons.

I want you to apologize to our allies for your unhinged, off-the-cuff comments on major international issues.

I want you to apologize for your com-

October 28, 2016

Seattle Gay News 13

see LETTER TO TRUMP page 21

Equality for All

“Erin has been like a mother to me since I was a boy - before my father passed away, before I came out, and my mother didn’t know what to do with me. I always knew I belonged in the Jones family. Life has not always been easy, but Erin has always made me feel safe and challenges me to be the best person I can every day. This is what she wants for every child in this state.”

— Josh

Erin Jones is an award-winning teacher, former statewide Assistant Superintendent for Student Achievement, and current school district leader who will help EVERY child succeed.

Learn more at ErinJones2016.org Paid for by Friends of Erin Jones PO Box 23125 | Seattle, WA 98102 Phone: (360) 433-8922 | Twitter: @erinjones2016

14 Seattle Gay News

October 28, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

I-1433 benefits the LGBT community

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer “Hello,” Ariana Davis coughed into the phone.

A grocery worker and member of UFCW Local 21, Davis is also the citizensponsor of Initiative 1433, a measure that would raise the state minimum wage to $13.50 by 2020 and also offer workers paid sick and safe days.

She agreed to talk with SGN on her lunch break about the initiative she’s been working hard to pass.

“Ironically,” Davis continued, “I’m sick today, but I still have to be at work.”

Because she works at the Renton Highlands Safeway, she and her fellow workers are not covered by Seattle’s paid sick days ordinance, or by our minimum wage law.

Davis herself makes a decent wage, $20 an hour, but it took her a long time – 10 years – to get there. The starting pay for a grocery worker represented by UFCW, she explains, is 10 cents above minimum wage. Nonunion workers don’t even get the extra 10 cents.

“That’s why it’s extremely important to pass I-1433,” she says. “It took me a long time to make a living wage. I know what it’s like. I care about the people who are just starting out.”

Grocery workers represented by the union are also entitled to sick days, “but you have to be sick for three consecutive workdays before it kicks in,” Davis says.

“By then most people are over it.”

An out Lesbian in an industry with large numbers of LGBT workers, Davis believes

Ariana Davis – Photo courtesy of ted s. warren/ Associated Press

passing I-1443 is crucial for her community.

“It’s really a human rights issue,” she explains. “Especially for Trans people.

Trans people are four times more likely to live in poverty – some with as little as $10,000 a year income.

“And couples raising kids. They’re three times more likely to live in poverty as straight couples with kids. In short, it’s good for everyday people who work fulltime and want to make a living wage.”

Polling shows I-1433 very likely to pass, with 58% support statewide and a whopping 68% in King County. Davis says the polling squares with her experience col-

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lecting signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

“Personally, I got over 1,000 signatures on my own,” she told SGN. “Most people were really supportive.”

Support has been coming from some unexpected quarters too. The GSBA, an LGBT-friendly business group, has also endorsed I-1433.

“I-1433 is a chance to address stagnant wages that have not kept up with the rising cost of living in Washington state,” the group says on its website.

“To be competitive in this economy, we need to be able to attract and retain talent.

A higher minimum wage makes Washington more competitive as Oregon and California also work to implement similar wages.”

The Raise Up Washington coalition, which got I-1433 on the ballot and is working to get it passed, includes unions, LGBT groups, human rights advocates, and progressive businesses.

If and when I-1433 passes, it will raise the minimum wage for more than 730,000 workers, putting $600 more in the pockets of minimum-wage workers every month.

More than one million workers will also get paid sick and safe days for the first time.

October 28, 2016

Seattle Gay News 15

16 Seattle Gay News

October 28, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 28, 2016

Seattle Gay News 17

18 Seattle Gay News

October 28, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 28, 2016

Seattle Gay News 19

EDUCATE. INSPIRE. TAKE ACTION.

Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals: 1933 - 1945 This important exhibit

reveals the ruthless Nazi united states holocaust memorial museum

campaign against gay men, who were among those deemed “enemies of the state.”

A touring exhibit of the USHMM WITH CONTEMPORARY PHOTO ESSAY

robin hammond

WHERE LOVE IS ILLEGAL

Presented alongside a contemporary photo essay, Where Love is Illegal, these exceptional exhibits explore an ongoing narrative of persecution and bold resistance.

Where Love is Illegal is the work of acclaimed photojournalist Robin Hammond.

Open Sundays and Wednesdays 10am - 4pm | September 11 - October 31 Plan your visit at HolocaustCenterSeattle.org call to schedule community and student groups: 206-582-3000

Community Tours : Richard

School Tours: Julia

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS GILMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION Carter Subaru | Congregation Tikvah Chadashah | First Security Bank GSBA | Lifelong Aids Alliance | Pride Foundation| Seattle Gay News Henry and Sandra Friedman HOLOCAUST CENTER FOR HUMANITY

2045 Second AVE, Seattle | Second & Lenora Learn more about the Center’s important work at HolocaustCenterSeattle.org 20 Seattle Gay News

October 28, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

HILLARY CLINTON continued from cover

ing in states all over the country, explicitly includes policies that would protect and provide resources for LGBTQ students and their families. LGBTQ students, and especially trans youth, disproportionately face bullying in schools. In 2012, the HRC Foundation surveyed 10,000 LGBTQ youth about the difficulties they face at school and at home. The survey found that three-quarters of transgender students feel unsafe in school settings. It also found that LGBTQ youth are about twice as likely as non-LGBTQ youth to be excluded for being different (48 percent), to be verbally harassed (51 percent) or physically attacked (17 percent) at school.

“As Donald Trump’s rhetoric continues to foment violence and encourage division among Americans of all ages, Hillary Clinton is bringing real solutions to

LETTER TO TRUMP continued from page 17

ments on reinstating torture and killing the innocent families of terrorists, which has only strengthened terrorists’ claims against us, made it easier to recruit, and made us more of a target.

I want you to apologize to the nation of young people who’ve had to hear all of your hideous comments and to their parents, many of whom had to explain the ugliness of the world to their children, the ugliness that you have embodied, day after day, in-

fight the bullying and abuse that so many LGBTQ youth face on a daily basis,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “We know from our own research and work in schools that growing up LGBTQ in America today is not easy. Hillary Clinton’s comprehensive anti-bullying plan is a crucial and welcome step toward improving the lives of our youngest, most vulnerable Americans.”

Clinton’s plan includes the development of comprehensive anti-bullying laws and policies, specifically to address bullying on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion; addresses cyberbullying; provides resources to educators to address and head-off bullying before it escalates; provides increased resources in schools for victims of bullying; and promotes further behavioral health programming in schools. The plan allows for states to tailor their own policies and programs based upon local communities’ needs.

For more information visit https://

www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2016/10/27/better-than-bullyinghillary-clintons-plan-to-create-saferschools-for-our-kids/ HRC’s Welcoming Schools program works to combat bullying and build safe and welcoming elementary schools across America with trainings for schools and resources for parents, teachers, and administrators.

Recently, Welcoming Schools released a Back-to-School Guide to equip parents, teachers, and allies of transgender students with information and resources to ensure that their schools are welcoming and safe for LGBTQ – and particularly transgender – youth and the children of LGBTQ parents. http://hrcassets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws. com //welcoming-schools/documents/ Back_To_School_Packet.pdf HRC endorsed Hillary Clinton in January of 2016. With 1.5 million members and supporters nationwide, HRC is implementing an unprecedented organizational effort to register and mobilize the nation’s pro-

equality majority, and elect pro-LGBTQ candidates up and down the ballot. In 2016, HRC expects that the pro-equality vote will be larger, stronger, and more energized than at any point in history.

sult after insult, vulgarity after vulgarity.

I want you to apologize to boys who, from watching and listening to you, might have gotten the mistaken impression that bullying and lying and bragging about assaulting women and assaulting women have anything to do with being a good man.

To all those who have dedicated their lives to journalism, forgoing more lucrative careers, because they wanted to dedicate themselves to giving witness, to digging for the truth.

I want an apology to the freedom of the press.

I want an apology to the truth itself.

I want you to sit in a room and watch

the tapes of everything you’ve stated – many times over, knowingly on camera – that you then lied about having said, also all on camera. I want Americans to be able to watch you watch those tapes, back to back, and for you to acknowledge all of the bald-faced lies and apologize to the American people, once and for all.

And, in honor of the truth, I want you to apologize to all those who have supported you. You’ve lied to them and incited them to violence, and the rest of us won’t accept that behavior as it spills out; they’re going to find their lives much harder – in their workplace, in society, in their schools, in the legal system…

I don’t expect you to understand my stance. You divide and categorize people, but most of us see ourselves as part a beautifully diverse country. We take care of each other and we stand up for each other.

When you set your sights on one group of Americans, you tear us all down, piece by piece. And when we stand up for each other, we mend those tears and become stronger.

This is what standing up for others looks like. This is what stronger together looks like.

October 28, 2016

Seattle Gay News 21

Visit us online www.sgn.org

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Courtesy of Human Rights Campaign

Julianna Baggott

Take anti-LGBT language out of defense bill, senators say

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A group of US senators led by Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) – and including both of Washington’s senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell – are demanding that anti-LGBT language be stripped out of the pending defense appropriations bill, called the NDAA. The language, contained in what is called “the Russell Amendment,” was passed by the House but is absent in the Senate version of the NDAA. The senators hope to remove the language in the conference committee that will try to reconcile the differing versions of the bill.

Under the Russell Amendment, religiously affiliated organizations that receive federal funds could claim a right to use those funds to: • fire an employee who uses birth control or who is pregnant and unmarried; • fire an employee who marries a samesex partner; or • refuse to interview someone because they follow a religious tradition different from the employer’s.

“If enacted, [the Russell Amendment] would vastly expand religious exemptions under the Civil Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to allow religiously affiliated organizations receiving federal funds to engage in discriminatory hiring practices – using taxpayer dollars to harm hard-working Americans who deserve to be protected from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, religious identity, or reproduc-

Steve Russell – Photo courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

tion and other health care decisions,” the senators wrote in a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

“Our government should have no part in funding discrimination. [The Russell Amendment] is at odds with the values and beliefs that continue to advance our great nation.”

The letter was signed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Dick Durbin (DIll.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Sherrod Brown (DOhio), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (DWash.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand

(D-N.Y.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Cory A. Booker (DN.J.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Jon Tester (D-Mt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.),

Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-Me.), and Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.).

Human rights and LGBT organizations also called for the Russell Amendment to be scrapped.

“We’re pleased to see so many senators step forward and agree that taxpayer dollars should never be used to discriminate,” HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy said.

“The Russell Amendment is a sweeping expansion of taxpayer-funded discrimination that undermines existing nondiscrimination protections for LGBT Americans.

This provision is terrible policy created by an even worse process – it was adopted in the dark of night despite bipartisan opposition and never having had a hearing. This has no place in the annual defense bill. Sen. McCain should stand with the majority of fair-minded Arizonans – and Americans all across the country – and drop this discriminatory provision.”

“The Russell Amendment is one of the most significant threats to LGBT people and women we have seen in Congress in years,” Louise Melling, SACLU Deputy Legal Director and Director of the ACLU Center for Liberty said.

“It must be removed from the defense bill – freedom, equality, and fairness are at stake. The ACLU is proud to stand with Sen. Blumenthal and the 41 other signers of this letter as a show of force in rejecting taxpayer-funded discrimination.”

In addition to HRC and the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State issued statements opposing the Russell Amendment.

Trump cuts off fundraisers for GOP

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Donald Trump is done with high-dollar fundraising events, his national finance chair told the Washington Post on October 25, and will focus instead on hustling up online donations.

Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s finance chief, told WaPo that Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee for the GOP and the Trump campaign, held its last formal fundraiser on October 19. The luncheon was in Las Vegas on the day of the final presidential debate.

“We’ve kind of wound down [highdollar fundrasing],” Mnuchin said. “But the online fundraising continues to be strong.”

Instead of raising money, Trump will be doing more of the in-person political rallies he relishes, Mnuchin explained.

“We have minimized his fundraising schedule over the last month to emphasize his focus on political [events],” Mnuchin said. “Unlike Hillary, who has been fundraising and not out and about, he has constantly been out and about.”

The problem for the Republican Party organization is that they get a much bigger share of the take from Trump Victory events than they do from online contributions. The RNC has collected $40 million from Trump Victory events as of September 30.

Mnuchin’s statement means that the Trump campaign has effectively cut off the flow of money to the Republican Party.

Meanwhile, other GOP leaders also cut off funds to Trump’s campaign, announcing on October 26 that they were putting a whopping $25 million into six Senate races in a last-ditch attempt to stop Trump from dragging the entire GOP down with him.

22 Seattle Gay News

Steven Mnuchin – Photo courtesy of bloomberg.com

The investment from Senate Leadership Fund, a powerful super PAC linked to Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, comes as Democrats shift resources from Hillary Clinton’s now almost certain victory to down-ballot contests in hopes of delivering her a congressional majority.

Steven Law, Senate Leadership Fund president and a McConnell ally, admitted that the GOP may well lose its Senate majority. The new spending push was de-

October 28, 2016

signed to close a growing funding deficit, he added.

RNC officials said that party leaders, including Chairman Reince Priebus, are continuing to bring in resources for the party.

“The RNC continues to fundraise for the entire GOP ticket,” said spokeswoman Lindsay Walters.

While Hillary Clinton herself held her last fundraiser on October 26, her campaign has scheduled 41 other events

through November 3 featuring high-profile surrogates like her daughter Chelsea, running mate Tim Kaine, and Cher.

Trump, who initially boasted about self-funding his campaign, did not begin fundraising in earnest until late May and has lagged far behind his Democratic rival. As of September 30, his campaign had raised only $219 million to Clinton’s $499 million.

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Rutgers cyber-spying defendant pleads guilty, gets plea deal

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor It was one of the most talked-about death-by-suicide cases of all time. For whatever reason, when 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, a freshman in his first weeks at Rutgers, ended his life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge in September of 2010, his story struck a chord with the American people.

Dharun Ravi secretly recorded Clementi kissing another man and showed it to other students while the two were roommates at Rutgers. The invasion of privacy and sharing of his sexual orientation against his wishes is said to be what pushed Clementi to suicide.

Mainstream media reported on Clemen-

ti’s suicide, more attention was paid to LGBTQ college students who had been targets of bullying students – and for the most part ignored – and donations and support began to pour into organizations, like The Trevor Project, that aid young people that might be suicidal.

Now, six years later, his tormentor, the ex-roommate who violated his privacy and “outed” him at Rutgers University, has accepted a plea deal and will serve zero jail time. On Thursday, inside Middlesex County Superior Court in New Brunswick, N.J., Ravi pleaded guilty to attempted invasion of privacy.

Ravi had been convicted of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy, but a New Jersey appeals court overturned the conviction in September and ordered a new trial.

Ravi cut a plea deal and was sentenced to probation and time already served on Thursday. Ravi had served 30 days in jail from the sentence from the original case.

Judge Joseph Paone said Ravi, an information technology worker in New York City, has demonstrated that he has lived a “law-abiding life for a substantial amount of time.”

“His youth and immaturity did not provide him with the tools necessary to help him understand the consequences of his actions,” Paone said. “He did not consider his conduct would cause serious emotional harm to Mr. Clementi.”

“He just wants to disappear,” Ravi’s attorney, Steven Altman, said outside the courtroom.

Clementi’s parents, Joe and Jane, said in

a statement that witnesses of cyber-bullying “need to stand up for victims like Tyler who can’t stand up for themselves.

“We call on all young people and parents to think about their behavior and not be bystanders to bullying, harassment, or humiliation,” the statement said. “Interrupt it, report it, and reach out to victims to offer support. If this had happened in Tyler’s case, our lives might be very different today.”

In the wake of their son’s death, Clementi’s parents founded the Tyler Clementi Foundation, an organization that seeks to prevent bullying through inclusion, assertion of dignity, and acceptance, as a way to honor the memory of Tyler Clementi, a son, a brother and a friend. Go to www.tylerclementi.org for more information.

Identify as Transgender in the United States,” Williams Institute researchers Andrew R. Flores, PhD; Taylor N. T. Brown, MPP; and Jody L. Herman, PhD estimate that adults who identify as Transgender are less likely to be white and more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities when compared to the US general population.

Adults who identify as African-American or black, Latino, or Hispanic, and adults of another race or ethnicity are more likely than white adults to identify as Transgender.

The study estimates that 0.5% of white adults, 0.8% of African-American or black adults, 0.8% of Latino or Hispanic adults,

and 0.6% of adults of another race or ethnicity identify as Transgender.

The report continues, “Estimates of the percentage of adults who identify as transgender by race vary among the states. The percentage of white adult residents who identify as transgender ranges from 0.3% in North Dakota to 0.6% in Georgia. The percentage of African-American or black adult residents who identify as transgender ranges from 0.4% in Montana and North Dakota to 0.9% in Georgia. The percentage of Latino or Hispanic adult residents who identify as transgender ranges from 0.4% in North Dakota to 1.0% in Georgia. The percentage of adult residents of other races or eth-

nicities who identify as transgender ranges from 0.4% in Iowa to 0.9% in New Mexico.

The District of Columbia is notable for having the highest proportion of adult residents who identify as transgender among each racial and ethnic group represented in the report: white (1.6%), African-American or black (3.7%), Latino or Hispanic (3.4%), and adults who identify as another race or ethnicity (2.5%).”

According to the report, in Washington, 0.55% of white persons identify as Transgender, as do 0.83% of African-Americans or blacks, 0.92% of Latinos or Hispanics, and 0.72% of those identifying as another race or ethnicity.

Adults who identify as Transgender are more racially and ethnically diverse than the US general population

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Adults who identify as Transgender are more racially and ethnically diverse than the US population overall, according to a new study released by the Williams Institute.

The new study is the first of its kind.

According to the institute, it’s the first to provide estimates of the racial and ethnic makeup of adults who identify as Transgender in each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

In “Race and Ethnicity of Adults Who

No big surprise: Trump sued for anti-Gay discrimination

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

A former employee is suing Donald Trump for permitting anti-Gay harassment and discrimination at one of his businesses.

Eleazar Andres, a Gay man once employed at the Trump National Golf Course in New Jersey, charges that he endured harassment and even physical assault on the job, and that when he complained to management, he was fired.

Andres came out at work in 2014. After that, he says, other employees began harassing him, calling him “maricón” and the Englishlanguage equivalents, “fag” and “faggot.”

In one incident, a fellow employee threw rocks at Andres, hitting him in the head and sending him to the hospital.

According to court documents, Andres’ direct supervisor actually witnessed several incidents of verbal and physical abuse.

Andres also lodged several formal complaints with this supervisor, detailing ongoing harassment. The supervisor did nothing to ameliorate the situation.

Following his hospitalization in the rock-throwing incident, Andres complained to one of the golf course managers.

The manager promised to take care of the problem but later reneged.

When Andres asked for information about his attackers for a police report he

24 Seattle Gay News

Photo courtesy of tcpalm.com

planned to file, the manager refused. Andres filed the police report anyway and informed management that he no longer felt safe going to work. Management promptly fired him.

All of this amounts to sexual orientation harassment, a hostile work environment based on sexual orientation, discrimination based on sexual orientation, and unlawful retaliation, Andres charges in his suit. He is also suing Trump’s golf course for assault and battery.

He argues that the club is liable “for the

October 28, 2016

acts constituting hostile work environment” and “sexual orientation harassment” because it “failed to properly address” his complaints and “failed to implement any preventative or remedial measures to protect against unlawful harassment” and discrimination.

Andres’ suit lists a variety of training programs and policies recognized by the courts as effective tools for combatting discrimination. Instead of implementing these policies, Andres argues, the club displayed

“egregious” and “willful indifference” to his ceaseless homophobic harassment, an indifference that allowed the mistreatment to escalate dangerously.

Rather than taking “proper corrective action,” the club terminated Andres’ employment “as a result of his complaints of workplace harassment and discrimination,” which constitutes unlawful retaliation under New Jersey law.

Andres also charges that his former employer is liable for the assault and battery he suffered at the hands of the golf club’s employees.

Trump’s attorneys deny almost all of Andres’ charges. They admit that Andres’ co-workers did throw rocks at him, but they are attempting to blame Andres himself, arguing that his claim is barred by the socalled “doctrine of unclean hands.”

In other words, Trump’s lawyers say that Andres himself is “guilty of inequitable conduct” and is “a wrongdoer with respect to” his own lawsuit – that Andres somehow fostered or provoked the discrimination against him, or committed some other serious wrongdoing.

The case is now in court-ordered mediation. Should that fail to resolve the dispute, the lawsuit will proceed to trial.

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