SGN December 22, 2017 - Section 1

Celebrating 43 Years!

Issue 51 Volume 45

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Seattle Gay News

Trump tax bill: What’s in it for us?

4th Circuit OKs Trans troops

Turns down Trump bid to stop enlistments

Original photo courtesy of US Air Force

Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer What’s in the new Trump tax plan for the LGBT community? Absolutely nothing, unless you’re very, very rich – or you’re an

accountant or tax attorney with very, very rich clients.

According to an analysis published by the AFL-CIO, investment banks, hedge

see TAX BILL page 5

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an attempt by the Trump administration to prevent enlistment of Transgender service members.

In a short, two-paragraph order issued December 21, a three-judge panel of the

appellate court upheld a lower court stay on Trump’s executive order barring Trans folks from enlisting in the military. Enlistments can go forward pending final litigation in the case, the judges said.

That means the Pentagon will begin accepting Trans enlistees starting January 1.

US District Judge Marvin Garbis ruled

see TRANS TROOPS page 5

Lambda Legal seeks Porn site must defend itself documents after Trump against claims of HIVadministration restricts use positive actors, judge rules of seven words at CDC

HRC and artist Robin Bell protested on December 20, 2017 with a powerful display projected across the front of Trump’s DC Hotel. – Photo by Liz Gorman / Bellvisuals.com

WASHINGTON, DC – [On December 20, 2017], Lambda Legal filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for any and all documents and communications from the Trump-Pence administration regarding

their prohibition of the words “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “sciencebased” in any budget documents from the

see BANNED WORDS page 4

The Armory, former site of kink.com production studios in San Francisco.

– Photo by Armory Studios

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A porn website must defend itself against a lawsuit brought by actors who

allege they were infected with HIV while working on porn films.

US District Judge James Donato ruled

see KINK.COM page 5

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HRC projects CDC’s “banned words” onto Trump Hotel

HRC and artist Robin Bell protested on December 20, 2017 with a powerful display projected across the front of Trump’s DC Hotel – Photo by Liz Gorman / Bellvisuals.com

[On Tuesday evening, December 19] HRC filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records related to the TrumpPence Administration’s directive to ban words like “transgender” and “diversity” at the CDC WASHINGTON, DC – [On Tuesday evening, December 19] the Human Rights Campaign and artist Robin Bell projected the CDC’s banned words onto the side of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that the Trump-Pence Administration banned the use of seven words by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Tonight’s projection on the Trump Hotel, which lasted for roughly half an hour during rush hour, included the banned words – “transgender,” “fetus,” “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “evidencebased” and “science-based” – and concluded with a declaration from the LGBTQ community: “We will not be erased.”

In conjunction with the enormous light display, HRC has filed a Freedom of Infor-

BANNED WORDS continued from cover

Centers for Disease Control (CDC), other divisions of [the Department of Health and Human Services] (HHS), or any government agency. Lambda Legal, joined by the Human Rights Campaign and the National Center for Transgender Equality, also sent a letter today demanding a meeting with the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Michael Mulvaney, the head of the agency that coordinates budget submissions, to get some answers.

“The CDC is no place for politics.

Censoring our nation’s public health agency isn’t just an Orwellian joke – it endangers lives. Our most vulnerable family – transgender people, women, communities of color, and everyone living with and at higher risk of HIV – will suffer first and most from being erased,” said Rachel

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mation Act (FOIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for any and all records, including communications with the CDC, relating to the banned words from November 2016 onward.

“Our message for the Trump-Pence Administration is this: You cannot erase us. We will meet attacks on our community with a resolve to be louder and more visible than ever before,” said David Stacy, HRC’s Director of Government Affairs. “Furthermore, the American public deserves to know the degree to which the Trump-Pence Administration has interfered with the lifesaving work of the CDC. It was not long ago that the government tried to ignore the reality of the HIV and AIDS crisis to the detriment of millions. This kind of erasure has potentially catastrophic consequences beyond the words used by the CDC – it could impact the very programs most vital to the health of transgender people, women, youth and others.”

Reports initially surfaced on Friday in the Washington Post that the Trump-Pence Administration’s Department of Health

and Human Services forbid CDC officials from using several words in critical budget documents. The CDC regularly engages in research and work impacting marginalized communities, including efforts to reduce health disparities among the transgender community. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/wordsbanned-at-multiple-hhs-agencies-includediversity-and-vulnerable/2017/12/16/9fa09 250-e29d-11e7-8679-a9728984779c_story. html?utm_term=.890369ee7925] The “word ban” appears to be just part of the ongoing effort by the Trump-Pence Administration to erase LGBTQ from reports and data collection. Earlier this week, Politico reported that the administration also kept hidden 10,000 comments on the Trump-Pence proposal granting exemptions for faith-based organizations in healthcare while only posting submissions that praise the administration’s policies. [https://www.politico.com/ story/2017/12/18/hhs-faith-based-rulewithholding-comments-236759] Following the light protest at the Trump

International Hotel, for the remainder of the evening beginning at 8pm ET, the display began projecting onto the side of the eight-story Human Rights Campaign headquarters at the corner of Rhode Island Ave and 17th St. NW in Washington, DC. A video of the display is available at https://www.facebook.com/humanrightscampaign/videos/10156013018483281/

B. Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal. “At the height of the AIDS epidemic, Ronald Reagan refused to say the words HIV and AIDS. Precious lives were lost because the government ignored us and pretended we didn’t exist. Never again.”

The censorship of the CDC is only the latest in the Trump-Pence administration’s attempt to erase LGBT people and everyone living with HIV. Earlier this year, HHS removed questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in its annual consumer assessment survey for participants in programs funded under the Older Americans Act. After public outcry, the question about sexual orientation was reinstated, but the question regarding gender identity is still missing.

The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, which has been working on HIV prevention among transgender people, who are at a disproportionate risk for HIV and face

significant hurdles to access vital health care, will be affected by the censorship.

“A prohibition on use of these words will only worsen existing health disparities,” said Scott Schoettes, HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal. “We will do everything in our power to get to the bottom of this and fight it. If this administration does not reverse this directive, they will end up with blood on their hands.”

Lambda Legal has requested documents from the Trump-Pence administration before in relation to anti-LGBT directives to government agencies and sued when those requests were denied. In August, Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit to compel the US Departments of Education and Justice to release information about their decision to withdraw guidance detailing the protections transgender students have under Title IX after the Trump administration failed to comply with FOIA requests and refused to release any documents.

“Why the administration would want to tie the hands of policymakers trying to serve vulnerable populations is beyond comprehension,” added Max Isaacs, Lambda Legal Law Fellow. “The public has a right to know what language restrictions have been put in place, who is subject to them, and why the administration created this dangerous and misguided policy.”

Read the letter at https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/dc_20171220_ language-restrictions.

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.

December 22, 2017

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.

Courtesy of the HRC

Courtesy of Lambda Legal

Celebrating 43 Years!

TAX BILL

continued from cover funds, and other Wall Street firms are the biggest winners from this tax bill.

The richest 1% of households would receive 83% of the tax cuts, and the richest 0.1% would get an average tax cut of more than $148,000. The tax bill is full of complex tax gimmicks that would encourage tax dodging while enriching lawyers and accountants.

On the other hand, the average household making less than $75,000 would pay more in taxes by the year 2027. In all, 70 million households making less than $100,000 eventually would pay more.

Even worse, the tax bill features a repeal of one of the key elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare). By repealing the ACA mandate to buy health insurance, the tax bill will cause health care premiums in the individual market to rise by at least 10%. Some 13 million people would lose health insurance, and as many as 15,000 or more people would die every year because of inadequate medical coverage.

The Republican budget already would cut Medicaid and Medicare by $1.5 trillion, and Speaker Paul Ryan has signaled that the huge budget deficit produced by cutting taxes for rich individuals and corporations will result in further cuts to social programs.

By limiting the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, the Republican tax bill would reduce state and local funding for education, infrastructure, and other essential public services we all depend on.

A new backdoor school voucher program would give tax breaks for tuition at private K-12 schools. Republican leaders in Congress also plan to use the deficit they created as an excuse to cut federal funding for education and other essential services.

Washington state Dems reject the bill All of Washington state’s congressional Democrats rejected the GOP tax bill.

Sen. Patty Murray, one of seven Senate Democrats named to the House-Senate conference committee, labeled the measure “a terribly partisan bill that funnels even more money to those at the very top, at

TRANS TROOPS continued from cover

on November 21 that the Trump ban probably violates the equal protection rights of Transgender people, and that barring them from military service pending trial would harm them.

Garbis’ ruling followed a similar one on October 30 by another federal judge in

KINK.COM

continued from cover that Kink.com and its CEO, Peter Acworth, must answer the suit brought by former employees. Kink.com, based in San Francisco, specializes in fetish porn and is said to be one of the largest fetish sites in the world.

Three actors, two male and one female, sued Acworth in 2014, claiming they contracted HIV while filming various porn videos. The studio claimed that the actors should be compensated by Atain Specialty Insurance Company, which issued Kink. com its liability insurance policy.

The judge, however, agreed with the insurance company that its “physical-sexual abuse exclusion” exempts the insurer from covering claims arising from the kind of sexual activity depicted in Acworth’s films.

For example, one porn star, who no longer works in the industry, made a Bound in Public scene in 2013. Bound in Public is a Gay site on Kink.com, featuring men in BDSM roles.

During a film shot at Kink.com’s studio, the Armory in San Francisco, the actor

Sen. Patty Murray – Photo courtesy of US Senate

Rep. Pramilia Jayapal – Photo courtesy of Twitter

Rep. Adam Smith – Photo courtesy of US House Office of Photography

“A terribly partisan bill that funnels even more money to those at the very top, at the expense of hardworking families and future generations... it’s hard to overstate the cruelty of the TrumpRepublican bill” – Sen. Patty Murray

“The GOP tax scam bill is an all-out war on any idea of opportunity in this country.”

– Rep. Pramila Jayapal

“The tax bill endangers important mandatory spending priorities on which middle-class and working Americans rely.”

– Rep. Adam Smith

the expense of hardworking families and future generations.”

“From the millions of Americans who will lose health coverage or see their premiums go up, to the middle class families who will see their tax bill increase in the coming years, to the pristine region of Alaska that will open to drilling, it’s hard to overstate the cruelty of the Trump-Republican bill,”

Murray said in a December 19 statement.

“It’s also hard to overstate the hypocrisy of so-called fiscal conservatives who apparently didn’t think twice about blowing a massive hole in our deficit and endangering Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid – all so they could dole out more tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and the Trump family.”

According to Seattle-area Rep. Pramila Jayapal, “The GOP tax scam bill is an allout war on any idea of opportunity in this country.

“It’s a massive tax break for the ultrawealthy on the backs of middle-class families,” she added. “It’s outrageous that Republicans in the House voted to pass this love letter to their largest donors and corporations…

Washington, DC. A third judge in Seattle also ruled against the administration on December 11.

In an August memorandum, Trump gave the military until March 2018 to revert to the pre-Obama policy prohibiting openly Transgender people from joining the military. The memo also barred the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgery for active-duty military personnel.

The Obama administration had set a

deadline of July 1, 2017, to begin accepting Transgender recruits. But Trump’s Defense Secretary, James Mattis, postponed that date to January 1, 2018. Trump’s executive order then postponed that date indefinitely.

Joshua Block, an ACLU attorney who represents the Transgender plaintiffs in the Maryland case, said he was happy the appeals court saw through the government’s “smokescreen” and refused to delay enlistment any further.

says he was blindfolded and then “forced” to perform oral sex on dozens of “untested, unidentified members of the general public.”

The actor, identified in court documents only as “John Doe,” added that he had a cut in his mouth during the performance and tested positive for HIV two weeks later.

The actors’ lawsuit charges that they were “forced” to have unprotected sex, and told they’d be “out of a job” if they asked to use condoms.

In 2015, Kink.com attorney Karen Tynan told Courthouse News not to be fooled by “the sensational nature” of the allegations brought by former actors.

“None of these claims were made at the time of the shoots, and are easily refuted both by detailed shoot records, our testing protocols, and the video footage itself,” Tynan said.

In 2013 Kink.com was also charged by several women employees with worker safety violations, and with offering former employees “hush money” in exchange for keeping quiet about injuries.

According to a report in SF Weekly, one former employee claimed she was permanently scarred by a public flogging at the Folsom Street Fair, and other women filed

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“With this heist, Republicans have branded themselves as the party of billionaires and giant corporations – they are robbing the American people and showing zero remorse.”

Seattle’s other congressman, Adam Smith, also denounced what he called “reckless tax cuts,” saying “they put at risk crucial agencies and programs, such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), military pensions, and Medicare. In addition to massively benefiting the wealthy and corporations, as well as reducing revenue by more than a trillion dollars, the tax bill endangers important mandatory spending priorities on which middle-class and working Americans rely.”

The Justice Department, which argued for the ban in court, was not happy, however.

“We disagree with the court’s ruling and are currently evaluating the next steps,” Justice Department spokesperson Lauren Ehrsam said in a statement.

The administration could appeal the 4th Circuit decision to the US Supreme Court.

Kink.com CEO Peter Ackworth – Photo courtesy of Twitter

– and later settled – a lawsuit over a pay cut.

Another former actress, Eden Alexander, said she was told, “I am never, ever to even utter the words ‘workers’ comp.’” The company then offered her a small payment in compensation for her injuries.

Actress Aaliyah Avatari said she was

never offered workers’ comp after losing her virginity on a Kink.com shoot in a performance that she said left her “shattered completely.”

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religion & spirituality

HOME services

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Health services

December 22, 2017

Celebrating 43 Years!

PEOPLE IN GLASSHOUSES SHOULD THROW PARTIES Ring in 2018 under Seattle’s most iconic fireworks display as Chihuly Garden and Glass transforms into the ultimate New Year’s Eve celebration.

DECEMBER 31, 2018 | 8 PM – 1 AM Party includes: • Entrance to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibition (between 8 PM and 10 PM).

• Dancing to the Michael Benson Band.

• A delicious array of bites and desserts.

• DJ and photo booth in Collections Café.

• Two drink tickets, party favors and a celebratory sparkling wine toast at midnight.

$

250

inclusive of tax and gratuity

NEWYEARSATCHIHULY.COM Call 206.905.2100 for more information.

No host bar – Limited seating. Please remember the party is 21+, there is no entry without ID and all guests should arrive by 10pm.

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December 22, 2017

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