SGN December 30, 2016 - Section 1

Celebrating 42 Years!

Issue 53 Volume 44

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Remembering George Michael

2016 Film Recap

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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Barack Obama: most LGBT- Biggest local LGBTQ friendly president in history news of 2016

President Barack Obama – Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer When Barack Obama turns the presidency over to Donald Trump at noon on

January 20, he will leave office as the most LGBT-friendly president in US history.

Obama’s agenda was impeded by Republican control of the US House of Repsee BARACK OBAMA page 3

Seattle Space Needle dons the Pride flag – Photo by Elaine Thompson/AP Photo

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor While it is true that 2016 will go down in history as one of the worst for LGBTQ

people (the Pulse shooting, anti-Trans initiatives, etc.), we still have a great deal to look back on with pride in Seattle as far as this year is concerned. While there is still a see LOCAL LGBTQ page 5

Anti-LGBT clergy chosen to Biggest national LGBTQ bless Trump at inauguration news of 2016

Franklin Graham – Photo courtesy of huffpost.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Donald Trump has selected a bevy of anti-LGBT clergymen to pray over him at his January 20 inauguration.

The list announced on December 29 includes Franklin Graham, Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Pastor Paula White, Bishop Wayne Jackson, and see ANTI-LGBT CLERGY page 6

Eric Fanning – Photo courtesy of vivaboy.com

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The LGBTQ community endured one of its toughest years in recent memory in 2016. While there were few moments of

triumph, nobody can deny the sadness we experienced due to violent attacks against our community, and the onslaught of antiTransgender legislation we had to fight see NATIONAL LGBTQ page 8

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December 30, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

BARACK OBAMA continued from cover

resentatives after the 2010 election, by the obstructionism of Senate Republicans, and by lukewarm support from some members of his own party. Nevertheless, he built a solid record on LGBT issues.

Obama’s administration supported the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act – the first recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in federal law.

Obama signed the measure into law in his first year in office, on October 28, 2009.

His signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare), signed in March 2010 after almost a year of political wrangling, included a requirement that insurance providers cover preexisting conditions. This meant that HIV-positive people could buy insurance at affordable rates and access medical treatment.

Obama also supported repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), a remnant of Bill Clinton’s failed attempt to allow Gay and Lesbian troops to serve openly. Repeal legislation was enacted in December 2010 – during the “lame duck session” while Democrats still retained a majority in the House.

In July 2011, Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Joint Chiefs Chair Admiral Mike Mullen sent Congress a formal certification that repealing DADT would not harm military readiness, thus finalizing the repeal process.

Although Obama supported measures to ban the use of so-called “conversion therapy” against minors and released a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) study condemning the practice, he was not able to get the congressional support necessary to pass a bill to that effect.

Congressional support was also lacking for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would have protected

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LGBT employees from workplace discrimination. Even though Democratic congressional leaders publicly supported both ENDA and the conversion therapy ban, they were unable – or unwilling – to pressure enough of their colleagues to go along.

The prospects for legislative action on LGBT rights got even worse after the 2010 election, when the president lost his Democratic majority in the House. After that, Obama relied on executive orders and administrative guidelines to expand protections for LGBT Americans.

The most famous example of executive action came in February 2011, when the president and then-Attorney General Eric Holder announced that they had concluded that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional and that consequently the administration could not defend it in federal court. The US Supreme Court ultimately agreed in its Windsor decision in June 2013.

Obama and the Justice Department also advocated in favor of a constitutional guarantee of marriage equality for same-sex couples, a position the Supreme Court vindicated in its historic decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.

After both court rulings, Obama directed cabinet officers to review federal statutes and regulations to ensure that the rights of same-sex couples were protected and incorporated into federal law.

In July 2014, Obama signed an executive order requiring all companies that do business with the federal government – in other words, every major company in the country – to prohibit workplace discrimination against LGBT employees.

The Obama administration also reinterpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to protect Transgender people under existing prohibitions against discrimination on account of sex. Recently the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and some federal courts

have expanded this interpretation to protect sexual orientation also.

An Obama executive order also required hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid payments to ensure that the rights of LGBT patients are respected by allowing individuals to designate visitors, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Based on the first-ever national study of housing discrimination against LGBT people, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) adopted a rule in January 2012, and subsequent guidelines in 2015, to ensure that HUD’s core housing programs and services are open to all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Obama administration released the first-ever comprehensive National HIV/ AIDS Strategy for the United States in 2010, and later updated it through 2020, in part to address the disparities faced especially by Gay and Bi men of all races and ethnicities and Transgender women of color.

At the international level, a 2011 presidential memorandum directs all federal agencies engaged abroad to ensure that US embassies and foreign service officials promote and protect the human rights of LGBT people. In 2015, Obama also appointed the State Department’s first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons, Randy Berry.

Since many of these accomplishments rest on executive orders or administrative guidelines developed under Obama appointees, they are very much at risk in a Trump administration.

Imagine, if you can, HUD Secretary Ben Carson overseeing federal nondiscrimination protections. Or Labor Secretary and fast-food billionaire Andrew Puzder worrying about how to apply Title VII to LGBT employees. Or Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pausing, while negotiating an oil deal with his friend Vladimir Putin, to lecture him on LGBT rights.

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Celebrating 41 Years!

LOCAL LGBTQ

continued from cover great amount of work left to do, Seattle’s LGBTQ population made some advances in 2016, and we continue to see more and more allies on our side when our rights are challenged, our safety is called into question, and our children are bullied.

Seattle Gay News has compiled a list of some of the biggest LGBTQ local news items of 2016: WASHINGTON SAFE ALLIANCE COALITION DEFEATS I-1515 This year, a coalition of organizations and individuals across Washington state joined together to defend long-standing anti-discrimination laws, especially for the Transgender community. The Washington SAFE Alliance successfully prevented I-1515 organizers from gaining the number of signatures needed to put the anti-Transgender initiative on the ballot.

Local leaders in the Transgender movement, like Gender Justice League’s Danni Askini, rolled out an education campaign to inform people of the facts: survey results by the National Center for Transgender Equality that show that 53% of Transgender people reported being harassed or disrespected in a place of public accommodation, and that fears of sexual assault or rape (because Transgender people use the bathroom that is consistent with the gender they identify with) are unfounded.

It worked. On July 11, it was announced that the campaign for I-1515 did not qualify for the ballot, and nondiscrimination protections remain on the books.

Seth Kirby, chair of Washington Won’t Discriminate, the main campaign to defeat I-1515, said, “In a matter of mere months, the No on I-1515 campaign mobilized thousands of grassroots supporters and united an unprecedented coalition of transgender Washingtonians and their families, more than 150 businesses, hundreds of faith leaders, education advocates, and more behind the simple notion that discrimination has no place in our state.”

The Washington state legislature passed a law in 2006 that provides protection for Transgender people against discrimination in employment, housing, credit, lending, insurance, and places of public accommodation. Still, right-wing conservatives introduced a number of anti-Transgender “bathroom” bills at the start of the 2016 session, all of which failed. Republicans were upset over new language in the administrative code of the state’s Human Rights Commission that explicitly protects the right of Transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. It now reads that where public and private buildings offer gender-segregated facilities (not gender-neutral restrooms), any individual must be allowed to use the facilities “consistent with that individual’s gender identity.” The policy went into effect December 26, 2015.

SPD SAFE PLACE PROGRAM EXPORTED AROUND NATION Seattle Police Department’s Safe Place program saw unprecedented growth in 2016, as police departments from around the nation adopted the program – including the Orlando Police Department, following the Pulse nightclub tragedy.

According to LGBTQ Liaison Officer and the program’s creator, Jim Ritter, Louisville, Kentucky; Vancouver, BC; Orlando; and Tucson, Arizona, have all recently adopted the program. He said about 30 other cities have also expressed interest.

Safe Place is a campaign against bias crimes that labels businesses as LGBTQ allies and trains employees to call 9-1-1 to report hate crimes while harboring victims

until police arrive. The campaign also includes a webpage with resources and an anonymous reporting form at www.SPDSafePlace.com.

Seattle police unveiled their Safe Place rainbow-shield stickers in May 2015 alongside Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea), a local social justice organization that works on anti-crime initiatives with the department for the LGBTQ and allied communities.

Since its debut, some 4,000 coffee shops, retail stores, banks, and other businesses in and around Seattle have asked to join the Safe Place program.

HOMELESSNESS ON THE RISE Few issues grabbed local headlines in 2016 as much as homelessness. And for good reason: the number of homeless people in Seattle has reached a tragic level. In the Seattle–King County area, there are about 10,000 homeless people living on the streets or in shelters. There are nearly 3,000 people in Seattle who are unsheltered. The number of homeless or unsheltered people in our city rises each year and yet no solution has been reached.

Homelessness is growing much faster in King County than the county’s overall population. More people are without homes in the Seattle area than in other cities our size. Only New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas areas have bigger homeless populations than King County.

We know that LGBTQ people – teens in particular – are disproportionately impacted by homelessness. National numbers put LGBTQ homeless teens at 40% or more of the total of homeless teens living on the streets or in shelters in America.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray called the issue a crisis and has asked for federal dollars to help. That call has gone unanswered by the feds. Nearly 6,000 units of affordable housing have been built, more than in any city except New York or Los Angeles. Still, it’s not enough.

Between the shootings (among other reported crimes) at and closure of the Jungle to RV parks and homeless encampments, the problem persists. This year, Seattle spent about $50 million on programs to address homelessness, including $7.3 million the mayor and City Council set aside when Murray declared a homelessness state of emergency in November 2015. Millions more will be spent in 2017. All told, King County officials estimate that a billion dollars or more has gone to help the county’s homeless over the past decade.

SEATTLE FEELS THE BERN While running his grassroots campaign for president, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Seattle became a thing. In August 2015 Sanders made a visit to Seattle that grabbed headlines, as he was blocked from speaking at a at a Social Security anniversary celebration at Westlake Center, due to a disruption by Black Lives Matter protesters. Later that evening Sanders spoke to more than 12,000 potential voters inside UW’s Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Then, on March 20 of this year, Sanders returned to Seattle. Only this time, he spoke in front of 10,000 people at Seattle’s Key Arena. Sander’s campaign messages that the nation’s economic, campaign finance, and criminal justice systems are being “rigged” and criticism of the pharmaceutical companies for rising drug costs seemed to strike a chord with Seattleites. He vowed to recalibrate the economic disparities he accused corporate America of creating by raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, among other promises.

Sanders returned to Seattle again – only this time to a much bigger venue: Safeco Field. On March 25, Sanders drew more than 15,000 supporters, making a final push for a decisive win over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton in the March 26 Democratic caucuses.

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Sanders was after the 101 (out of 118 total delegates) at stake in Washington to be awarded proportionally based on the results of the caucuses. The remaining 17 unpledged party and elected leader votes – including Gov. Jay Inslee and the state’s congressional delegation – had already said they would support Clinton.

Sanders predicted a big turnout would give him a victory in the caucuses and send a message “loud and clear: the billionaire class cannot have it all.” Citing favorable polls, Sanders said a win in Washington could propel him to later victories in Oregon and California and eventually the nomination.

While Sanders did win 74 delegates, the nomination went to Clinton, who ultimately lost to Republican candidate Donald J. Trump.

Still, nobody can deny that Sanders had Seattle “feeling the Bern” in 2016.

DONALD TRUMP’S VICTORY SETS OFF PROTESTS AND SCHOOL WALKOUTS In Seattle, a group of about 100 protesters gathered in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, blocked roads, and set a trash bin on fire after the election results were announced.

Shortly after, thousands of middle and high school students across Seattle walked out of classes to protest President-Elect Donald Trump and his policies. Students who walked out of class got an “unexcused absence,” according to Seattle Public School.

THE GSBA GUARANTEE The Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) celebrated 25 years of scholarships to future leaders, and this year they awarded the largest amount in a single year, $410,000. The most recent class of 55 scholarship recipients began the school year knowing they have the support of GSBA members, the community, and business leaders who have given so generously to make such significant and positive changes for each of these scholars.

The GSBA has made a deeper and more impactful level of commitment to their scholars by ensuring that they provide scholarships throughout the students’ four years of undergraduate school. The goal is to support them from the start of school until graduation. They will expand economic opportunities for the graduating scholars as they become future members and business leaders.

“It is no longer about just getting students into college; it’s about getting them through college,” said GSBA Public Policy & Communications Manager Matt Landers.

The GSBA is committed to supporting students beyond the dollar. Financial barriers are one of the major reasons students do not graduate from college. By significantly decreasing and in most cases eliminating this barrier, the GSBA has opened doors for students to focus on one of the biggest factors related to a student’s ability to persist through to graduation, feeling connected to a community.

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL HELD FOR PULSE VICTIMS Seattle residents joined thousands of others from around the nation – and the world – by holding a candlelight vigil to condemn the Pulse mass shooting tragedy last June. The Seattle event was held at Cal Anderson Park and was produced by a number of local LGBTQ organizations, backed by Mayor Ed Murray’s office.

The vigil started with a chorus singing “We Shall Overcome,” followed by Mayor Murray, as he expressed grief at the loss of so many members of the LGBTQ community in Orlando.

“We are gathered this summer evening

December 30, 2016

during the month when we celebrate Pride to share our grief and to support each other as we absorb the news of the largest mass shooting in our nation’s history and the largest act of violence against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community in the history of this nation,” said Murray. “We gather tonight in solidarity with those who lost their lives and we offer our support to their families and to the people of the City of Orlando.”

“We are also here this evening because of the slaughter of our brothers and sisters was meant to spread fear throughout the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community across this nation,” he continued. “We will as we have in the past face this fear. We will not be intimidated. We will stand together and we will be strong.”

Several South Sound community groups, including Rainbow Center, Oasis Youth Center, and the City of Tacoma, also held a candlelight vigil at Tollefson Plaza in Tacoma for the victims of the Orlando shooting. Further south, three community groups (Capitol City Pride, Unity in the Community, and Interfaith Works) held a vigil at Sylvester Park in Olympia.

SEATTLE BANS CONVERSION THERAPY The Seattle City Council unanimously voted to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth, becoming the third American city to independently outlaw the practice.

Under the new ordinance, mental health providers are barred from offering or advertising conversion therapy to minors. The practice, which claims to help Gay people overcome same-sex attraction, has been widely discredited by mental health professionals and called potentially harmful by the World Psychiatric Association.

Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez introduced the bill in July, calling conversion therapy a “harmful practice that needs to end.”

“Being gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, or transgender is not an illness, nor is it something that needs a cure,” she said at the time.

Anyone found to be practicing such therapy on people younger than 18 will now be subject to a civil violation carrying penalties of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent ones. The city will also spend around $50,000 advertising primarily to LGBT youth to raise awareness that the therapy is now banned.

SPD PARTNERS WITH TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY ON NEW POLICY The Seattle Police Department (SPD) released a training video on March 10, produced in partnership with members of the Transgender community, highlighting the steps officers will take to ensure that Transgender individuals are treated with dignity and respect during all contacts with police.

The video, produced by the department’s Education and Training Section, was prepared in accordance with the department’s Transgender policy unveiled on January 1.

The video includes personal stories from Transgender individuals in the community.

Under SPD policy, officers shall consider a person to be Transgender if the person identifies themselves as Transgender or upon a reasonable belief that a person may be Transgender. The policy also regulates searches of Transgender individuals, ensuring that they are provided the opportunity to express a preference for the gender of an officer conducting the search. The policy also allows Transgender individuals in police custody to request to be transported and housed alone whenever possible.

A majority of SPD employees completed Transgender interaction training.

SPD joins several other jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and Boston in enacting Transgender interaction policies.

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Celebrities shun Trump inaugural Elton John, Celine Dion, Garth Brooks all decline invitations to perform

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Donald Trump may have to rely on the talents of a 2010 America’s Got Talent runner-up to grace his inaugural festivities, because all the name performers his team has contacted have refused to appear.

Celine Dion is the latest star to turn down the Trump team. TheWrap, an entertainment industry website, reported on December 21 that the singer declined an invitation to perform at a Trump inaugural ball.

According to the report, Dion was picked to perform by Mark Burnett, producer of Celebrity Apprentice and the planner of the Trump festivities. Burnett reportedly enlisted Trump’s friend and fellow Las Vegas hotel owner Steve Wynn to deliver Dion.

Wynn promised to do so but failed, TheWrap said. Dion flat out refused to appear.

A spokesperson for Wynn denied the claims, however.

“Mr. Wynn was not asked to book specific performers for the inauguration, nor did he ever make a commitment to find specific performers,” the spokesperson said.

Another source, identified only as “a Hollywood insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity,” told TheWrap that Wynn had also tried to book country star Garth Brooks for the January 20 inaugural events but failed with him as well.

The Trump team is reportedly so desperate to book A-list talent that they are willing to pay performers to appear.

“They are willing to pay anything,” a source told TheWrap. “They told me, ‘We’ll

From left: Garth Brooks, Elton John and Céline Dion all declined invitations to perform at Trump’s inaugural – Photos by wexfordhub.com, cloudfront.net and closerweekly.com,

pay their fees.’ Most of these artists’ fees are in the six to seven figures.”

The source said the Trump negotiator also offered to pay him for delivering top talent, saying, “Name your price.”

“I couldn’t do it,” the insider said. “Not even for a billion dollars.”

Another unnamed source, identified as “a veteran inaugural organizer,” told TheWrap that “it is unusual to pay artists for the inauguration, considered a high-profile, high-prestige, patriotic gig.”

“I’ve never heard of talent being compensated,” the source said. “Nor have I heard of

talent recruiters being compensated.”

The Trump team denied they were trying to buy performers for the inauguration.

“No one with any official position at, or official relationship with, the Presidential Inaugural Committee, is engaging in the conduct described,” said Boris Epshteyn, spokesman for Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee.

“We are focused on organizing an exciting and uniting celebration of freedom and democracy while following all rules, regulations, and appropriate standards of conduct.”

In November, Anthony Scaramucci, a spokesperson for Trump’s presidential transition team, told BBC News that Elton John would perform at the festivities, but John issued a strong denial.

John’s publicist, Fran Curtis, said flatly “Incorrect. He will NOT be performing.”

To date, the only person confirmed to perform at the Trump inauguration is Jackie Evancho, the second-place finisher in the 2010 season of America’s Got Talent. She is set to sing the national anthem before Trump takes the oath of office.

North Carolina banning same-sex mar-

inauguration.

Alongside him will be Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, who once threatened to deny sacraments to Catholic officeholders who voted for marriage equality or reproductive choice.

White, who runs an evangelical megachurch in Florida, brokered meetings between Trump and other evangelical leaders in hopes of convincing them that Trump was godly enough to win their support.

She once accused the Supreme Court of trying to radically redefine marriage “via the conduit of judicial and executive fiat.”

Jackson was an original supporter of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have written a ban on same-sex marriage into the US Constitution. Oddly enough, he was later accused by rival clergymen of promoting homosexuality when videos emerged of a bizarre “ordination” ceremony in which Jackson laid on top of prostrate candidates for the ministry.

Rabbi Hier will be the only non-Christian clergyman at the inauguration, and he is the only one without an anti-LGBT record. In fact, Hier runs the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance, which recognizes LGBTQ persecution under the Nazis.

ANTI-LGBTQ CLERGY riage, claimed pro-LGBT businesses encontinued from cover

Rabbi Marvin Hier.

Graham, son and spiritual heir of Billy Graham, recently preached that Carrie Fisher and George Michael are in hell if they failed to repent and accept Jesus before they died.

In the past, Graham has referred to LGBT people as “the enemy” and characterized LGBT rights as “evil.” He also supported a constitutional amendment in

able predators, praised Russia’s anti-Gay propaganda law, and accused Marvel’s XMen franchise of turning kids Gay. Graham even went to the extent of refusing to buy cookies from a group of Girl Scouts because they accepted Lesbian and Trans girls into their programs.

Rodriguez, head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, once called marriage equality the “legal catalyst for the marginalization of Americans who embrace a biblical worldview.”

He will deliver the opening prayer at the

Lesbian assistant coach sues Drake University for discrimination

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Lesbian assistant basketball coach has filed a federal lawsuit against Drake University, claiming she was forced out of her job after coming out.

Courtney Graham was assistant coach of the women’s basketball team at Drake, located near Des Moines, Iowa. In her complaint, she says that after she brought her then-girlfriend, now her wife, to a game in November 2014, head coach Jennie Baranczyk slowly stripped her of her duties and finally asked her to resign.

Baranczyk is also a defendant in the lawsuit, which charges sexual orientation discrimination, two counts of retaliation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and harassment.

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Former assistant coach Courtney Graham – Photo courtesy of equilibrioinformativo.com

December 30, 2016

According to Graham, Baranczyk told her she “was not acting like herself” and forced her to take time off shortly after Baranczyk learned of her sexual orientation.

Graham also charges that she was subsequently left out of team meetings and scouting trips and subjected to hostile interactions at work.

Graham said she was asked to resign in May 2015 without reason, and that she ultimately resigned under duress roughly three weeks later.

Drake released a statement on December 28 denying Graham’s allegations.

According to the university, Graham made similar claims in a complaint to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, which subsequently dismissed her complaint.

“Drake University and head women’s basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk have a

strong commitment to diversity, tolerance, and nondiscrimination,” the Drake statement said. “Consistent with university policy regarding personnel matters and out of respect to the parties involved, we will not provide further comment.”

In 2014, Drake scored two out of five possible stars on the Campus Climate Index, a national ranking of universities on LGBT inclusiveness. The rating questionnaire was filled out by Drake students, because the university’s administration did not even bother to respond to a survey request from the Index.

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December 30, 2016

Seattle Gay News 7

NATIONAL LGBTQ continued from cover

made for a trying 365 days.

But the truth remains that we are a resilient community, and a global one at that.

The beauty of LGBTQ people is that we don’t scare easy; we aren’t shying away from the obstacles or stymied by the violence and loss we’ve had to face this year (and previous years). Make no mistake about it: The LGBTQ community is taking 2017 head-on in our worldwide fight for equality, our goal of personal safety, and the work of documenting our history.

Seattle Gay News has compiled a list of some of the stories that made headlines around the world and impacted the LGBTQ community.

PULSE NIGHTCLUB MASSACRE On June 12, Omar Mateen, a 29-yearold American Muslim, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a terrorist attack/hate crime inside Pulse, a Gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. He was shot and killed by the Orlando police officers after a three-hour standoff that gripped the nation. Pulse was hosting Latin Night, and most all of the victims were Latino. It was both the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter and the deadliest incident of violence against LGBT people in United States history. It was also the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

In a 9-1-1 call shortly after the shooting began, Mateen swore allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and said the shooting was “triggered” by the US. killing of Abu Waheeb in Iraq the previous month. He later told a negotiator he was “out here right now” because of the American-led interventions in Iraq and in Syria, and that the negotiator should tell the United States to stop bombing ISIL. Initial reports said Mateen may have been a patron of the nightclub and used Gay dating websites and apps, but FBI officials said they have not found any credible evidence to substantiate these claims. The CIA also conducted an investigation and said it found no links between ISIL and Mateen.

The reaction and condemnation of the event was swift and heartfelt. Across the country people gathered by the thousands in candlelight vigils to grieve and give hope for the future. In Seattle, a vigil was held at Cal Anderson Park, with more than a thousand people attending.

Seattle Gay News made a commitment to focus on the victims, not the crime, as a way to honor the memory of the lives that were taken that night. Here, for the last time this year, are the names of the community members killed at Pulse on that bloody Sunday morning in June: Stanley Almodovar III, 23 Amanda Alvear, 25 Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26 Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 Martin Benitez Torres, 33 Antonio D. Brown, 30 Darryl R. Burt II, 29 Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24 Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 Simon A. Carrillo Fernandez, 31 Juan Chavez-Martinez, 25 Luis D. Conde, 39 Cory J. Connell, 21 Tevin E. Crosby, 25 Franky J. Dejesus Velazquez, 50 Deonka D. Drayton, 32 Mercedez M. Flores, 26 Juan R. Guerrero, 22 Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 Paul T. Henry, 41 Frank Hernandez, 27 Miguel A. Honorato, 30 Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 Jason B. Josaphat, 19 Eddie J. Justice, 30 Anthony L. Laureano Disla, 25

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Christopher A. Leinonen, 32 Brenda L. Marquez McCool, 49 Jean C. Mendez Perez, 35 Akyra Monet Murray, 18 Kimberly Morris, 37 Jean C. Nieves Rodriguez, 27 Luis O. Ocasio-Capo, 20 Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 Eric I. Ortiz-Rivera, 36 Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25 Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 Christopher J. Sanfeliz, 24 Xavier E. Serrano Rosado, 35 Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25 Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 Shane E. Tomlinson, 33 Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 Luis S. Vielma, 22 Luis D. Wilson-Leon, 37 Jerald A. Wright, 31 DONALD TRUMP IS ELECTED THE 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Republican candidate Donald J. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in a very close race for President of the United States in November. For weeks leading up to the election, nearly all public-opinion polls showed Clinton with a small lead.

But Trump scored surprising come-frombehind victories in several key swing states, including Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, which helped push him past the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana was elected as his vice president.

The reaction to Trump winning the race was initially one of shock. But as the reality of a Trump/Pence presidency set in, thousands of people took to the streets to protest in major cities around the country under the hashtag #NOTMYPRESIDENT. Additionally, calls for a revote amid allegations of Russian hacking, the fact that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes, and the overall disdain for Donald Trump because of his offensive comments and actions led to a partial recount that did not change the outcome of the race.

The LGBTQ community in particular has cause to worry. Aside from Vice President-Elect Pence being staunchly antiLGBTQ, President-Elect Trump has begun to fill his cabinet with folks who either view the LGBTQ community unfavorably or have demonstrated such in the past, having taken action against the community by supporting anti-LGBTQ laws, so-called “reparative (ex-gay) therapy” and more.

Currently there has been no action yet taken by the future Trump administration to take away rights that the community has gained in recent years, such as marriage equality. In fact, Trump has stated that the issue is over and he has no intention of revisiting it. This, of course, offers little consolation, as our community knows all too well how quickly that can change.

Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017.

STONEWALL INN NAMED US HISTORIC LANDMARK The Obama administration this year, through the Department of Interior, took unprecedented steps to recognize moments in LGBT history.

Amid Pride celebrations in June, President Obama designated as a national monument the area around the Stonewall Inn where riots in 1969 kicked off the modern Gay rights movement.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell also issued the first-ever National Park Service “theme study” to identify places and events associated with the history of LGBT Americans.

JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA DIES Antonin Scalia, the US Supreme Court

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justice most hostile to equal rights for LGBT people, died suddenly and unexpectedly, in Texas. Scalia, 79, was found dead at the Cibolo Creek Ranch, a resort near of Marfa. He died in his sleep of natural causes. While his death was not “celebrated” by the LGBTQ community, it did provide some relief by opening a slot for perhaps a more liberal-minded justice.

In his dissent in the marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges, he asked, “Who ever thought that intimacy and spirituality were freedoms? And if intimacy is, one would think freedom of intimacy is abridged rather than expanded by marriage.”

He also called the majority opinion in that case “the furthest extension in fact – and the furthest extension one can even imagine – of the Court’s claimed power to create ‘liberties’ that the Constitution and its amendments neglect to mention. This practice of constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine, always accompanied (as it is today) by extravagant praise of liberty, robs the people of the most important liberty they asserted in the Declaration of Independence and won in the Revolution of 1776: the freedom to govern themselves.”

In his dissent in Romer v. Evans, the 1996 decision overturning Colorado’s Amendment 2 (which would have prevented any governmental unit within the state from enacting or enforcing Gay-inclusive antidiscrimination laws), Scalia wrote, “The Court has mistaken a Kulturkampf for a fit of spite. The constitutional amendment before us here is not the manifestation of a ‘bare … desire to harm’ homosexuals … but is rather a modest attempt by seemingly tolerant Coloradans to preserve traditional sexual mores against the efforts of a politically powerful minority to revise those mores through use of the laws.”

In Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 ruling overturning sodomy laws, Scalia’s dissent asserted that his fellow justices had “largely signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda, by which I mean the agenda promoted by some homosexual activists directed at eliminating the moral opprobrium that has traditionally attached to homosexual conduct.”

And in his 2013 dissent in Windsor v.

U.S., which invalidated the main section of the Defense of Marriage Act, he called the majority opinion “legalistic argle-bargle.”

Scalia’s death gave President Obama an opportunity to nominate a more moderate replacement. But even though Obama still had 11 months left in office, the Republican-dominated Senate took the position that the next president – not the current one – should get to choose Scalia’s replacement; any attempt to confirm said replacement has been blocked. Sadly, PresidentElect Donald J. Trump will pick the next Supreme Court Justice and has already said he or she will hold conservative values.

UNPRECEDENTED NUMBER OF ANTI-LGBT BILLS Nearly 200 anti-LGBT bills were introduced into state legislatures around the country, “more …than in any other time,” according to the ACLU One that passed into law in North Carolina, HB 2, garnered national attention, largely because of its scope. The law prohibited Transgender people from using a public restroom for the gender they are living as and barred any local government from having an ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

However, reaction to North Carolina’s boldly discriminatory new law quickly turned against the legislators who ushered it into being, including North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, who helped get the law passed and vigorously defended it in the media once it passed.

Following passage of the law, many corporations and major sporting events announced they would move out of the state.

The US Attorney General filed suit against

HB 2. And by year’s end, McCrory found himself losing his re-election bid to a challenger who opposed the law, a message to legislators pushing anti-LGBT legislation in the future that they could not count on the public in general to stand by and let them.

SENATE CONFIRMS GAY MAN AS SECRETARY OF THE ARMY In May, the US Senate confirmed the nomination of an openly Gay man to serve as Secretary of the US Army, the first openly Gay person to serve as the head of any military branch.

The confirmation of Eric Fanning, by voice vote, came very quickly after Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) lifted a hold he had put on the nomination.

The nomination comes just five years after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which had prohibited LGBTQ service members from being open about their sexuality.

Fanning previously served as the Army secretary’s principal adviser on management and operation. He was undersecretary of the Air Force from April 2013 to February 2015, and for half a year he was the acting secretary of the Air Force.

KATE BROWN ELECTED OREGON GOVERNOR Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s election was a ray of hope on Election Night 2016.

Brown’s win makes her the first openly LGBT person and first Bisexual person elected governor in the United States.

Brown had already been serving in the role of Oregon governor for more than a year as a result of being Oregon’s Secretary of State and next in the line of succession when her predecessor resigned amid a scandal.

But the victory against Republican challenger Bud Pierce affirmed that Brown would be allowed to serve four more years.

Brown secured 50.5% of the vote compared to the 43.8% won by Pierce.

PENTAGON LIFTS BAN ON TRANS MILITARY SERVICE After a yearlong review geared toward changing the policy, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter this year lifted the ban on openly Transgender people serving in the US armed forces.

Carter announced in June that the military would undo the medical regulation prohibiting transgender troops from serving openly.

Although Carter said the Pentagon would lift the ban “effective immediately,” the initial change only allowed existing Transgender troops to serve openly without fear of expulsion. Medical benefits, including transitionrelated care like gender reassignment surgery, weren’t available until October, and openly Transgender people still won’t be able to accede in the military until July.

GAVIN GRIMM CASE MOVES TO SUPREME COURT The US Supreme Court is on the cusp of another major LGBT rights decision after agreeing this year to review whether a Transgender student can use the school bathroom consistent with his gender identity.

Justices issued a writ of certiorari to take up the case of Gavin Grimm, who was denied use of the boys’ room at Gloucester County Schools in Virginia. Although the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Grimm’s favor, the Supreme Court placed a stay on the decision and agreed to take it up.

The Supreme Court agreed to review the decision even though the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Grimm, asked the court to turn it down.

If the court rules in Grimm’s favor, the decision could be a massive win for Transgender students, assuring them access to the bathroom consistent with their gender identity in schools nationwide.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

December 30, 2016

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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MoSS Alley MotorS, Inc. SpecialiStS in VolVo, Honda, toyota and Subaru

932 12th ave.

Seattle, Wa 98122 (206).325--.3992 www.mossalley.com Seattle’s most progressive auto shop!

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Celebrating 41 Years!

WEEKLY PETS: Adoption Center

HARRIET

Sunday – Wednesday | 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Thursday – Saturday | 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Phone: (425) 649-7563 Email: adoption@seattlehumane.org

Meet Harriet, an inconceivably adorable 3-year-old Pit Bull Terrier mix! She’s cute and athletic with enchanting wrinkles. Harriet will walk by your side on walks around town or trips to the local park. She’s a sweet and sensitive gal who will thrive in a home with a patient and loving family. Adopt this cutie today at Seattle Humane!

As with all of our dogs, Harriet has been spayed, micro-chipped, vaccinated, and behavior-tested. She will go home with a certificate for an examination by a King County veterinarian and an identification tag. PLUS, most dog adoptions include 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion and a training rebate when you complete a dog behavior course – a great way to start off on the right paw!

Introduce to children 8 years and older. Resident dogs are required to visit Harriet prior to adoption. Cat free home.

COLORS

Meet Colors, a 9-year-old fluffy calico girl who’s a fine feline! Colors is a sweetie who can’t wait to meet her new best friends and family today at PetSmart in Overlake, a Seattle Humane satellite location where she is currently cozied up. Come find her there today and make her day-- you’ll be glad you did!

As with all of our cats, Colors is spayed, microchipped and vaccinated. All of our cats have been tested for Feline Leukemia/FIV and go home with a certificate for an examination by a King County veterinarian and their very own identification tag and collar. PLUS, most cat adoptions include 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion – a great way to start off on the right paw!

Location: PetSmart in Overlake

Visit us online www.sgn.org

December 30, 2016

Seattle Gay News 13

Pot, meet kettle: George Soros denounces Donald Trump

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Billionaire Democratic Party supporter George Soros has denounced Donald Trump as a threat to democracy in a December 28 article on the Project Syndicate website.

“Democracy is now in crisis,” Soros writes.

“Even the US, the world’s leading democracy, elected a con artist and would-be dictator as its president. Although Trump has toned down his rhetoric since he was elected, he has changed neither his behavior nor his advisers. His cabinet comprises incompetent extremists and retired generals. What lies ahead?”

While affirming his faith that “democracy will prove resilient in the US,” Soros worries that under Trump “the US will be unable to protect and promote democracy in the rest of the world. On the contrary, Trump will have greater affinity with dictators.”

Soros is a well-known backer of the Democratic Party and liberal causes in general. According to Inside Philanthropy magazine, he donated more than $11 billion to various causes between 1979 and 2011.

Among the recipients of Soros’s largesse are MoveOn.org, Media Matters for America, the Ella Baker Center, Green For All, the Center for American Progress, the Apollo Alliance, and the Climate Policy Initiative.

No wonder that the conservative publication Human Events named him “the most destructive leftist demagogue in the country” in 2011.

George Soros – Photo courtesy of fortune.com

However, Soros himself doesn’t have clean hands when it comes to the source of his billions. As CEO of Soros Fund Management, he has often been accused of currency manipulation and insider trading.

In 1992, for example, Soros triggered the “Black Wednesday” currency crisis in Britain by short-selling $10 billion worth

of British currency. The pound collapsed, forcing Britain to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, a precursor of the Eurozone. Soros made $1 billion in profits; British investors lost $3 billion.

Again in 1997, Soros short-sold Thai currency, causing the Thai government to devalue its money, thus setting off a fi-

nancial chain reaction that threatened the economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.

Ultimately the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had to step in with a multibillion-dollar rescue package, but it would take the Thai economy until 2001 to recover.

Commenting on currency crises, Nobel Prize–winning economist Paul Krugman suggested that international currency manipulators should be named after Soros. “[N]obody who has read a business magazine in the last few years can be unaware that these days there really are investors who not only move money in anticipation of a currency crisis but actually do their best to trigger that crisis for fun and profit,” Krugman wrote in 1999. “These new actors on the scene do not yet have a standard name; my proposed term is ‘Soroi.’”

In 2005, Soros was convicted by a French court of insider trading because of a deal in which he bought up undervalued shares in newly privatized French companies. He was fined the equivalent of $900,000.

Soros then appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, but his claim was rejected. In October 2011 the court ruled that Soros had been well aware of the risk of breaking insider trading laws.

Some observers have suggested that the Democratic Party met electoral defeat exactly because of its ties to Wall Street insiders like Soros.

Gay neo-fascist Milo Yiannopoulos gets $250K book deal

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos – who has made a career out of being a sneering racist, sexist, and transphobe – has signed a book deal with Threshold Editions, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster.

According to the Hollywood Reporter newspaper, Yiannopoulos will get an advance of $250,000 for a book to be titled Dangerous. The book will reportedly be about “free speech.”

“They said banning me from Twitter would finish me off. Just as I predicted, the opposite has happened,” Yiannopoulos bragged to the newspaper.

“Did it hurt Madonna being banned from MTV in the 1990s? Did all that negative press hurt Donald Trump’s chances of winning the election?”

Yiannopoulos was banned from Twitter in July after tweeting racist and sexist slurs against Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones.

“I met with top execs at Simon & Schuster earlier in the year and spent half an hour trying to shock them with lewd jokes and outrageous opinions. I thought they were going to have me escorted from the building – but instead they offered me a wheelbarrow full of money,” Yiannopoulos told the Hollywood Reporter.

“Every line of attack the forces of political correctness try on me fails pathetically.

I’m more powerful, more influential, and more fabulous than ever before, and this book is the moment Milo goes mainstream.

Social justice warriors should be scared – very scared,” he said.

Although he has stated publicly that he would rather be straight if he could, Yiannopoulos launched a speaking tour in 2015 titled “The Dangerous Faggot Tour.”

He had previously been banned from some campuses because of his outspoken racist and sexist views – notably his defense of rape culture – but all his appearances

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Milo Yiannopoulos – Photo courtesy of heatst.com

went on as scheduled. Some, however, were disrupted by protestors.

At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Yiannopoulos publically humiliated a Transgender student. Holding up the student’s photo, Yiannopoulos asked, “Have any of you come into contact with this person?

“This quote-unquote nonbinary trans woman forced his way into the women’s locker rooms this year…

“He got into the women’s room the way liberals always operate, using the govern-

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ment and the courts to weasel their way where they don’t belong. In this case he made a Title IX complaint…

“I have known some passing trannies in my life. Trannies – you’re not allowed to say that. I’ve known some passing trannies, which is to say transgender people who pass as the gender they would like to be considered…

“The way that you know he’s failing is I’d almost still bang him,” Yiannopoulos concluded.

He is currently planning to release a

feature-length film of the tour.

In January 2016, Yiannopoulos and YouTube personality Margaret MacLennan co-founded the Yiannopoulos Privilege Grant, “a scholarship exclusively available to white men who wish to pursue their postsecondary education on equal footing with their female, queer, and ethnic minority classmates.”

Yiannopoulos is a practicing Catholic and an opponent of marriage equality, reproductive choice, and affirmative action.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Rockettes weep when they find out they’ve been booked to dance for Trump “Performing at Trump’s inauguration would be a betrayal of our LGBT colleagues”

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The iconic Radio City Music Hall dancers, the Rockettes, wept when they were told they’d been booked to dance at Donald Trump’s inauguration.

According to an interview with Marie Claire magazine, some dancers performed their 90-minute world-famous “Christmas Spectacular” show with tears streaming down their cheeks.

In the interview, a Rockette identified as “Mary” said the dancer next to her was distraught.

“She felt she was being forced to perform for this monster,” Mary told Marie Claire.

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable standing near a man like that in our costumes,” said another dancer in an email to her colleagues.

Most Rockettes have declined requests for interviews.

“But they’re afraid of losing their jobs if they do,” Mary said.

Then she added, “If I had to lose my job over this, I would. It’s too important. And I think the rest of the performing arts community would happily stand behind me.”

She and other dancers worry that performing for Trump would tarnish the Rockettes’ brand forever.

“This is making our show, our job, our name, branded as right-wing. An extreme right-wing,” Mary says. “There’s a reason why everyone else is turning this down.

Why are we not?

“This is not a Republican or Democrat issue – this is a women’s rights issue,” she continued. “This is an issue of racism and

The Rockettes during this year’s Radio City Christmas Spectacular – Photo by Amanda Schwab/ASSOCIATED PRESS

sexism, something that’s much bigger than politics. We walk into work and everyone has different political views. The majority of the stage crew are Trump supporters; there’s a ‘Make America Great Again’ bumper sticker on the crew doors at the side of the stage.”

But the majority of the staff are liberal, she added, especially the many LGBT em-

ployees at Radio City.

“It’s the ensemble. It’s the people in our wardrobe and hair department, some of whom are transgender,” she said. “These are our friends and our family, who we’ve worked with for years. It’s a basic human rights issue. We have immigrants in the show. I feel like dancing for Trump would be disrespecting the men and women who

work with us, the people we care about.”

When dancers began to object to performing for Trump, their union sent them a sternly worded letter saying they had a contractual obligation but perform. But the union has since changed its mind.

After a social media backlash, union officials said that performing for Trump would be voluntary.

Unfinished business: 103 federal court vacancies await Trump

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Donald Trump will inherit an unusually large number of federal court vacancies when he is sworn in on January 20.

According to the Washington Post, the 103 judicial opening that President Obama will have to turn over to Trump is nearly double the 54 positions Obama inherited eight years ago following George W. Bush’s presidency.

The federal court website lists 890 federal judge positions, ranging from district judgeships to the US Supreme Court.

The most prominent vacancy is the Supreme Court spot vacated when Antonin Scalia died on February 12, but there are also 14 circuit court vacancies to be filled.

The Supreme Court hears about 75 cases a year, but tens of thousands are decided at the circuit court level, affecting everyone who lives in the states included within those circuits.

Confirmation of Obama’s judicial nominees slowed to a crawl after Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015. Republican Senate leaders flat out refused to hold hearings on Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to succeed Scalia.

Democrats accuse Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Com-

Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to succeed Antonin Scalia – Photo courtesy of thedailybeast.com

mittee, of intentionally denying Obama’s nominees a fair hearing and running out the clock in hopes – now proven correct – that a Republican would succeed him.

Twenty-five Obama nominees are still awaiting a Senate vote, even though they have been approved with bipartisan support in committee, according to White House spokesman Eric Schultz.

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“Republican tactics have been shameful and will forever leave a stain on the United States Senate,” Schultz said. “Republican congressional dysfunction has now metastasized to the third branch of government, and that is not a legacy to be proud of.”

Democratic Sen. Pat Leahy, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, added, “Despite the fact that there are dozens

December 30, 2016

of qualified, consensus nominees pending on the Senate floor right now, we will finish this Congress having confirmed just 22 judicial nominees in two years. That is the lowest number since Harry Truman was president.”

Nevertheless, Obama will have a significant influence on the future of the federal judiciary. Despite his problems winning confirmation for his nominees, the Senate has confirmed slightly more of his nominees during his eight years as president – 329 – than the 326 confirmed during George W. Bush’s two terms.

When Obama took office, only one of the 13 regional circuit courts had a majority of Democratic-nominated judges. As he leaves office, nine do.

On the other hand, Trump has an opportunity to restore a Republican advantage.

According to Russell Wheeler, an expert on judicial nominations at the Brookings Institution, by mid-2020, Republican appointees would hold about half of the 673 district judgeships, as opposed to the current 34%.

Among the 179 circuit court judgeships, Democratic appointees now hold a slim 51% majority, but that could fall to about 43%, Wheeler said.

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Celebrating 41 Years!

JFS serves survivors of all kinds --- of the Holocaust; of civil wars, religious persecution and famine; of domestic violence; of inter-generational poverty; of circumstances that can upend lives in a heartbeat.

We want vulnerable people of all backgrounds to know they are not only welcome here but also will be treated with dignity and respect when they come to our doors. So we are sharing with you now, a statement that explicitly articulates who Jewish Family Service is here to help.

Post-election incidents of anti-Semitism have increased concern for many in our Jewish community.

Clients, staff, volunteers and donors are expressing heightened anxiety and fear.

These feelings of worry and uncertainty are rooted in a documented spike in hate incidents across our country. The Southern Poverty Law Center noted 867 hate incidents in the 10 days following the election, including 48 here in Washington. In fact, our state had the fourth highest number of documented incidents in the country --- higher than all southern states except Texas.

During the darkest days of the year, let us remember even a sliver of light can help illuminate a path.

We at Jewish Family Service are resolved to stand with the most vulnerable people in our community.

We are committed to providing services that honor the dignity of all human beings who turn to us.

Our history and values compel us to meet the particular needs of Jewish individuals and families.

This responsibility was at the core of our founding in 1892, and it remains as critical to us today as it was then.

And, our Jewish history and values compel us to provide services to vulnerable people of all races, religions and ethnic backgrounds.

We will continue our work with people in poverty to achieve lives of greater well-being, health and stability.

We are unwavering in our commitment to serve refugees and immigrants.

We are steadfast in our service to people of any sexual orientation and any gender identity.

We are committed to supporting people of all abilities to live as fully and independently as possible.

We affirm that people affected by mental illness and/or addiction deserve support in achieving and maintaining a positive quality of life.

We will be here for people affected by domestic violence and will not normalize abuse.

We believe the path to a just society begins when each of us values and honors the dignity of the other as highly as our own. Our tradition demands this.

But our experience has taught us that a just society is only truly possible when the sacred values we live out as individuals extend to our greater world.

So we are resolved --- to serve, to ally and to actively participate in building a just society.

Warm regards,

Michele Rosen Board President

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Rabbi Will Berkovitz Chief Executive Officer

December 30, 2016

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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