Celebrating 45 Years! Issue 5 Volume 47
FRIDAY February 1, 2019 FREE!
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Melissa Etheridge to perform at WorldPride in NYC SEC 2 PG 1
ArtsWest’s M. Butterfly a transformative experience SEC 2 PG 1
Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY
HRC releases annual State Equality Index ratings
Hundreds protest attack on Barcelona LGBTI Center
Image courtesy of HRC
by Allison Turner Human Rights Campaign HRC Foundation and the Equality Federation Institute released their 5th annual State Equality Index (SEI), a comprehensive report detailing statewide
laws and policies that affect LGBTQ people and their families, and assessing how well states are protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination. Because there are currently no comprehensive civil rights protections for LGBTQ people at the federal level, the
see EQUALITY INDEX page 6
Photo courtesy of Ada Colau Ballano
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Hundreds of people took to the streets in Barcelona on January 27 to protest an attack on the city’s newly opened LGBTI Center. The center opened January 19 as a
venue for LGBTI support and information services, organizations, art, and collective organizing. Center staff found that vandals had defaced the building’s entrance in the early hours of Sunday morning, January 27.
see BARCELONA page 5
SPLC statement on Victory Institute hails Supreme Court’s decision to queerest Congress in history lift injunctions against Trump’s transgender military ban
Photo by Kent Nishimura / The Washington Post / Getty Images
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (January 22, 2019) – The following statement is from Deputy Legal Director David Dinielli: “The US Supreme Court’s decision today to temporarily lift injunctions against the Trump administration’s ban on open service by transgender Americans is just that: temporary.
“The court allowed the legal challenges to Trump’s transgender military ban to continue in the federal courts. However, the court’s decision to lift the injunctions that have been blocking the ban means that transgender service members will face [cruel] discharges.
see TRANS BAN page 12
Photo courtesy of Victory Institute
by Reggie Greer Victory Institute WASHINGTON, DC – Three days into 2019, Victory Institute took a “Victory Lap” to celebrate the opening day of the 116th Congress. Ten openly LGBTQ people were sworn in to the 116th U.S. Congress
on January 3 – two to the U.S. Senate and eight to the U.S. House – the most LGBTQ people to ever serve in either chamber. The previous record was held by the last Congress with seven LGBTQ people serving – one in the Senate and six in the House. Half of the 10 LGBTQ members will now
see CONGRESS page 6