SGN May 19, 2017 - Section 1

Celebrating 43 Years!

Issue 20 Volume 45

Jeffrey Schwarz and The Fabulous Allan Carr

Robbie Turner hosts Cabaret at SIFF

SEC 2 PG 1

SEC 2 PG 1

Seattle Gay News

FRIDAY May 19, 2017 FREE!

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No visas for Chechen Trump literally driving refugees: Let ’em die, White House staff crazy State Department says WaPo reports

#EyesOnChechnya protesters – Photo by Tom Donohue / TMD Enterprises

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The US State Department has refused to issue visas to Gay Chechens fleeing perse-

cution in their country, according to Russian LGBT activists.

The Russian-based organization LGBT Network says about 40 Chechens have

see CHECHEN page 14

Unlike everyone else, Lorena Gonzalez is not running for mayor

Lorena Gonzalez – Photo courtesy of The Seattle Times

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer At least one prominent local pol is not running for mayor.

Seattle City Councilmember Lorena

Gonzalez announced she will not run for mayor in a May 16 press release.

“After speaking with my family and much consideration, I have decided to not enter the Seattle mayor’s race in 2017,” said

see GONZALEZ page 4

Donald Trump behind the wheel – Photo courtesy of TIME

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Donald Trump is quite literally driving his White House staff crazy, the Washing-

ton Post reports on May 18.

One Republican operative in frequent contact with White House officials described them as “going through the stages

see CRAZY page 11

AG Ferguson in Gavin Grimm case: Uphold transgender rights Washington leads multi-state effort in Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Gavin Grimm at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala – Photo courtesy of The Seattle Times

Attorney General Bob Ferguson is leading a coalition of 17 states and the District of Columbia in urging the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold the right of a transgender student in Virginia to use the school bathroom corre-

sponding to his gender identity.

“Policies barring transgender individuals from using the appropriate facilities for their gender are based in fear and violate the civil rights of our transgender community

see FERGUSON page 6

2 Seattle Gay News

May 19, 2017

Celebrating 41 Years!

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May 19, 2017

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Seattle Japanese American Citizens League presents Family 2.0: An API LGBTQ Gathering May 20 Free conference welcomes LGBTQIA+ Asian/Pacific Islanders and allies

FAMILY 2.0: AN API LGBTQ GATHERING NORTH SEATTLE COLLEGE Saturday, May 20 (9am-5pm) Everyone is invited to the FREE all-day conference “Family 2.0: An API LGBTQ Gathering” geared toward LGBTQIA+ Asian Pacific Islanders and their families and allies, on Saturday, May 20, at North Seattle College (9600 College Way N.).

The event is sponsored by the Japanese American Citizens League and North Seattle College, as well as local community organizations such as PFLAG, NQAPIA, Noor, Sneaky Deep Collective, Interplay, and more.

GONZALEZ

CONTINUED FROM COVER González in the statement.

“While being mayor of Seattle would be an incredible honor, I remain focused on the work we have yet to accomplish on the Seattle City Council.

“Over the next four years, I am uniquely positioned to continue protecting our immigrant and refugee families and championing paid family and medical leave, police reform, and housing affordability.”

Instead of jumping into the alreadycrowded mayoral race, Gonzalez said she will continue her run for re-election to her at-large City Council seat, one of the two atlarge seats up for election this November.

She faces only token opposition for the seat, as opposed to a grueling battle if she

Marsha Aizumi, author of Two Spirits, One Heart: A Mother, Her Transgender Son, and Their Journey to Love and Acceptance, on attending the first Family conference, writes: “Attending an API LGBTQ event like Family with my son and daughter-in-law, we were able to see people like us, so we didn’t feel so all alone and shared our stories of moving through fear, sadness and shame to unconditional love and acceptance which continued to bring healing to our lives. The Family event also gave me, a mother, hope that more families will support their children and more allies will become visible voices for my son and the LGBTQ community.”

The event is free, but registration is re-

chose to run for mayor.

With Mayor Ed Murray out of the race, Gonzalez would have had to square off against former US Attorney Jenny Durkan, former mayor Mike McGinn, labor leader and state Sen. Bob Hasegawa, spoken word artist and Black Lives Matter activist Nikkita Oliver, and nine others.

Gonzalez is a civil rights attorney and was once counsel to mayor Ed Murray, who warmly endorsed her first campaign for City Council in 2015.

As a new City Councilmember, González made a name for herself by sponsoring a number of progressive measures – a bill to ban conversion therapy, a secure scheduling ordinance, and a measure to create a legal defense fund for immigrants.

She has also promised to introduce an ordinance mandating paid family leave if the state legislature does not act on a statewide bill.

quired either online at apifamilyevent.com or beginning at 9am on Saturday, May 20, the day of the event, at North Seattle College. Workshops offered for both LGBTQ youth/adults, as well as allies, will include (but are not limited to): Immigrant Voices, Queer Muslim Perspectives, LGBTQ History in the US, Trans API History, and Family Acceptance.

The keynote speaker this year will be speaker and educator, Lydia Brown (autisticchoya.com): “I’m a writer, dreamer, activist/organizer, and speaker/educator.

Some of the many marginal identities/experiences I hold are that I’m autistic and multiply otherwise neurodivergent and disabled, queer, asexual-spectrum, genderqueer/non-binary and sometimes read as feminine, and transracially and transnationally adopted East Asian person of color from China (into a white adoptive family).”

The Seattle Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, which is leading the effort behind Family 2.0 ultimately hopes to build an Asian Pacific Islander support group within the greater Seattle area and to bring together other community groups to form a coalition.

Family is made possible by generous support from North Seattle College, a National JACL Legacy Fund Grant, the JACL National Youth/Student Council, NQAPIA, and private donors.

Bill Tashima, Seattle JACL Past Presi-

dent writes: “Although I am now a very happy, openly gay married man, I rarely talked about my struggles growing up in the closet. I have come to understand why the Nisei were so reluctant to talk about their experiences during the WWII incarceration, and have realized that it is important to share my experiences growing up.

Coming out may seem easier now, but admitting to the world that you are different is never easy. I want our LGBTQ community to know, you are not alone.”

About the JACL The Japanese American Citizens League, the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American civil rights organization, was founded in the 1920s to address issues of discrimination targeted specifically at persons of Japanese ancestry residing in the United States. The Seattle Chapter of JACL has been unafraid to tackle difficult and often controversial issues related to the wartime experience of our community and other civil rights issues. While the JACL’s founding mission was focused on protecting the civil rights of Americans of Japanese ancestry, today we are committed to protecting the rights of all segments of the Asian Pacific American community.

Courtesy of Seattle JACL

Seattle City Council member Lorena Gonzalez at City Hall – Photo by Mike Kane

GOTHIC SEATTLE PAGEANT Annual Gothic Pride Seattle Fundraiser May 28 Seattle’s only Gothic Pageant is back and we’re looking for our 2017 title holders!

Could one of them be you?

The Pageant will take place on Sunday, May 28th, at the Baltic Room (1207 Pine St.) in from 6-9pm. $7 cover. $2 off with Gothic Pride Seattle (GPS) patch. 21+.

For the past 15 years, Gothic Pride Seattle has had a presence in the annual Seattle Pride Parade. This allows members of the community to participate, join us on our float, and show support of Seattle Pride as LGBTQ members and allies. We are only able to do this through public fundraisers, and the tireless work of our volunteers, and our Pageant is the main fundraiser for this.

At the Pageant, contestants dress up in their finest Gothic and club wear, participate in

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May 19, 2017

a live Q&A with our emcees, and perform a solo dance, to compete for the opportunity to become a Gothic Seattle title holder.

Short intermissions are filled with local live musical performances. Our Pageant judges are made up of past title holders, local business owners, and involved community members. These title holders will be in the spotlight throughout their year-long reign, by planning events and fundraisers, starting with Seattle Pride events during the month of June as well as leading our Gothic Pride Seattle Parade float. These fundraisers help us to sustain our organization’s operations as well as allowing us to continue to participate in the parade and other community activities which foster involvement and camaraderie

within our community, and the communities around us.

About Gothic Pride Seattle Gothic Pride Seattle (GPS) is a federally recognized 501(c)3 organization. Formed in 2000, and incorporated as a Washington State nonprofit in 2014. We rely on donations and volunteers to continue our participation in the parade, to produce the Gothic Seattle Pageant, and host other events for and within the Greater Seattle area. To learn more visit: http://gothicprideseattle.org or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ gothicprideseattle.

Courtesy of Gothic Pride Seattle

Celebrating 41 Years!

It’s not about politics: From the wife of a transgender candidate

by Dawn Celeste McGregor Special to the SGN My husband is not a politician. He’s an activist. My husband is Mac McGregor and he is running for the Seattle City Council. He is a man who speaks his heart and knows how to engage others in his vision.

Mac is not rehearsed, nor does he regurgitate what people want to hear in order to get votes. I know this because the conversations we have in the privacy of our home or out having dinner with friends are the same as he has in front of hundreds of people. I’ve seen it time and time again.

To name a few: when he spoke comforting words to the community after two young gay men were murdered, and with the nonjudgmental training he gave the U.S. border patrol about gender and inclusion. The person I have late night conversations with about helping our community is saying the same things in front of hundreds of students at the University of Washington on gender and sexuality panels, and on the recent political panels for the Seattle City Council.

My husband is the real deal. He practices what he preaches and means what he says.

Why is this so important? We do not need one more superficial puppet in office. We need people for the people. We need authenticity and policy makers who have been marginalized, disenfranchised and have struggled. We no longer have the luxury of voting for candidates who know how to play the game. We need people like my husband holding offices that affect us all.

Mac is part of one of the most marginalized communities in our country at this time. There are places in the U.S. where people are rewarded for outing him in a public restroom, where he cannot safely go into either gendered restroom without being harassed and even fined. He looks like any other guy you would see in a men’s restroom, but with his birth certificate stating he was born “F,” he would be expected to join your daughter in the women’s room.

The transgender community does not have the freedom to choose where they are able to spend time away from their homes if there is any possibility of having to relieve themselves, just as same-sex couples, until recently, did not have the freedom to choose their legal spouse. These are basic human rights. And they should be considered common sense. Trans people using a restroom without fear … being able to marry whom you love … not being fired for sexual orientation or gender ... being paid the same, regardless of gender … seems pretty simple to me. Unfortunately, that is not the case. How do we change this? We vote in and support candidates who are from marginalized communities all over the country.

We show the world that dignity and civil liberties are important. And anything less will not be tolerated.

Mac was asked the other day why him being Trans should effect whether someone

Mac McGregor– Photo courtesy of The Seattle Times

would want to vote for him. His answer was simple. He explained that being a candidate from a marginalized community is a benefit to our society, but that alone does not make a person a good candidate. It’s about bringing diverse perspectives to the table, but that if anyone is going to listen to those insights it needs to come from a person who knows how to build bridges. Someone who can see the big picture and what would benefit everyone. It is critical to have real people, who have truly struggled, making policies and affecting laws – people who are active members of their community. People who volunteer, who act, who support all people in their civil liberties. People who know how hard it is to find an affordable rental in their city. People who truly value small businesses and have seen how difficult it is to own one when the fees are so high that they can’t even pay themselves a salary. People who have experienced what the community feels when they lose some-

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one to violence. People who recognize how much privilege it takes to spend hours in line on a weekday to get your child into a school that will benefit them. People who build tiny houses on the weekends, because they believe that homelessness is not solved by policy alone, but by community action as well. People who take action in their community by volunteering, interacting, and connecting with the community that they so dearly love.

What makes Mac McGregor a good candidate is that he has a unique perspective and has the skills to express that in a productive and inclusive way. Being transgender contributes to what created those attributes. However, what makes him a great candidate is that he is an active member of the community, that he has been advocating for the marginalized his entire life. He has first-hand experience with the concerns for the majority of people who are just trying to take care of their family – those who want

to simply live the best life they possibly can in the city they choose, and who want to feel safe doing so.

I believe that Mac McGregor is not merely a bleeding heart, but is a beating heart for all who struggle. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We cannot have a firstclass nation when we have second-class citizens.” Mac is here to lead people out of the shadows, and to “beat” for all of us when we can’t find the strength. One may think that because they don’t live in Seattle, this campaign means nothing to them. There is nothing further from the truth. Supporting Mac McGregor and the other candidates around the country who are stepping up to fight for civil rights raises all of us up. This singular act is something you can do that has the potential to change the dynamics of the world. www.votemacmcgregor.com

May 19, 2017

Seattle Gay News 5

Patty Murray introduces bill to end credit discrimination against LGBT Americans

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Senator Patty Murray – Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images

Washington Sen. Patty Murray is sponsoring legislation to prohibit credit discrimination against LGBT Americans.

The bill, known as the Freedom from Discrimination in Credit Act, or FDCA, was introduced May 17. A companion House bill will be offered by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey.

Murray’s bill would amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit credit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The current law prohibits discrimination in the provision of credit on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, and age.

Murray’s office said that congressional Democrats “are redoubling efforts to pass nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals” following Donald Trump’s ex-

ecutive order on “religious freedom.”

“No one should ever fear discrimination when trying to secure a roof over their head, seek a high-quality education, or receive a loan to start a small business, simply because of who they love or who they are,” Murray said in a statement.

“By coming together to ensure LGBTQ individuals are protected from this discriminatory practice once and for all, we can take an important step forward in our country and send a very clear message against President Trump’s anti-LGBTQ agenda.”

Fifteen states – including Washington – and the District of Columbia prohibit credit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In the rest of the country, it is legal for landlords, banks, schools, and businesses to deny LGBT people credit. FDCA would establish a national standard protecting LGBT people.

“No one’s ability to purchase a home or

finance their education or business should be denied simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.

“We thank Sen. Murray and Rep. Gottheimer for introducing this bill to help members of the LGBTQ community work toward achieving their dreams without fear of discrimination in the credit process.”

According to Murray’s office, the measure was introduced with 13 senators and more than 20 representatives as cosponsors.

FDCA is included as Section 11 in the much broader Equality Act, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to US civil rights law. That legislation currently has 220 senators and representatives signed on.

Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the prime sponsor of the Equality Act, is also signed on as a co-sponsor of FDCA.

FERGUSON

CONTINUED FROM COVER members,” Ferguson said.

The states, co-led by Ferguson and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. Gavin Grimm, a transgender high school student, filed a lawsuit after his school board changed district policy in reaction to some parents’ complaints, barring him from using the boys’ restroom. A federal district court dismissed his claim, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling and ordered the district court to continue hearing the case. Grimm brought his suit under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, which was set for argument in March. Ferguson and Schneiderman led a coalition of 18 states and the District of Columbia in filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court, asking the Court to uphold the right of transgender students to use school bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity. After the Trump Administration withdrew guidance that had been prepared to assist schools in avoiding discrimination against transgender students, the Court canceled the oral argument and sent the case back to the Fourth Circuit to reconsider in the absence of that guidance.

In his amicus brief just filed in the Fourth Circuit, Ferguson argues that in addition to constituting sex-based discrimination under Title IX, discrimination against transgender people harms states, poses serious public health risks and causes enormous harm to transgender people.

“Discrimination against transgender people has no legitimate basis and serves only to injure a group that is feared for being different,” the states’ brief asserts.

“It harms transgender people at work, at school, and in other settings, causing tangible economic, emotional, and health consequences.”

Transgender individuals face pervasive discrimination in school, violence, and harassment that are much higher than nontransgender students.

In the 2015 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 77 percent of respondents who were known or perceived as transgender in grades K-12 reported experiencing harassment by students, teachers or staff. More than half of transgender students (54 percent) reported verbal harassment, and more than a third reported physi-

6 Seattle Gay News

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at a press conference in Seattle – Photo by Karen Ducey / Getty Images

cal attack (24 percent) or sexual assault (13 percent).

A November 2016 report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed a sharp increase in hate crimes against transgender people. And since late 2016, at least nine transgender people, have been murdered in the United States.

Transgender individuals attempt suicide at a rate nine times that of the general population. A recent study found that transgender people denied access to bathroom facilities were nearly 20 percent more likely to attempt suicide than transgender people who had not.

The states’ amicus brief argues that there are proven, cost-effective ways to maximize privacy for users of school restrooms and other facilities without discriminating.

For example, Washington’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction offers

May 19, 2017

this guidance: School districts are to allow students to use the restroom that is “consistent with their gender identity consistently asserted at school,” and “any student – transgender or not – who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, should be provided access to an alternative restroom (e.g., staff restroom, health office restroom).” In this way, “students who may feel uncomfortable sharing the facility with the transgender student(s) [have] the option to make use of a separate restroom and have their concerns addressed without stigmatizing any individual student. No student, however, should be required to use an alternative restroom because they are transgender or gender nonconforming.”

Twenty states, including Washington, offer explicit civil rights protections for

transgender individuals. The Washington Law Against Discrimination and the Equal Educational Opportunity Law provide important protections for transgender and gender non-conforming students.

Deputy Solicitor General Alan Copsey was the lead author of the brief for Washington.

Oral argument in the case has not been set.

The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Courtesy of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General

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Celebrating 41 Years!

Investigate Jeff Sessions, Sens. Murray and Cantwell say

Senator Jeff Sessions– Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have signed a letter urging the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions was acting properly when he authorized

the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

Sessions had previously recused himself from participating in any investigations of the Trump campaign’s connections with Russia, but Trump fired Comey to terminate the FBI’s Russia investigation – at least according to Trump’s statements to NBC anchor Lester Holt.

“It is clear that Attorney General Sessions had an active role in the termination of Director Comey,” the senators wrote to Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

“This seems to be in direct violation of Attorney General Sessions’ recusal from ‘any existing or future investigations of any

matter relating in any way to the campaigns for president of the United States.’ At the time of his termination, Director Comey was actively leading the FBI’s investigations into both the attempts by the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential campaign and the ties of members/employees/representatives of the Trump campaign had, or have, with the Russian government or Russian intelligence services.”

The senators ask the inspector general to answer the following questions: • To what extent is Attorney General Sessions required to recuse himself from investigations into matters related to the Trump campaign under 28 CFR §45.2, or any other relevant rules and regulations?

• What was the scope of Attorney General Sessions’ publicly announced March 2, 2017, recusal?

• What is the timeline of Attorney General Sessions’ involvement in the removal of FBI Director James Comey?

• Did his involvement in Director Comey’s termination violate his recusal agreement or requirements, or other DOJ rules, regulations, and precedents?

Sessions’ involvement in the firing of Comey “injected the exact ‘partiality’ in these investigations he claimed to wish to avoid,” the senators charged.

“Further, the President’s recent admission that Comey was fired, at least in part, due to the Russia investigation only raises further questions about the role of the attorney general in the termination, his willingness to provide cover for a political decision, and both his and the Department of Justice’s ability to perform an independent investigation.”

In addition to Murray and Cantwell, the letter was signed by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

CRAZY

CONTINUED FROM COVER of grief.”

Another said some aides have “moved to angry,” frustrated with a president who demands absolute loyalty but undermines the credibility of his staff by sending them out with one message only to reverse course later with a contradictory tweet or comment.

A third source told the newspaper that Trump staffers are sticking around purely for self-interest, looking at White House service as a résumé builder.

“The real question is, how long do you put up with it?” this person said. “Every one of those people could get a better-paying job and work less hours.”

According to these inside sources, the Trump team is tired and frustrated. While Trump often blames his communications team or chief of staff Reince Preibus, staffers are telling friends that the real problem is Trump himself.

His management style encourages competing factions, they say, and that only results in chaos. Senior officials are finding it more and more difficult to cope, sources said.

One West Wing official reportedly stopped defending Trump altogether. Another said he was merely “trudging along.”

Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, said Trump was literally torturing his staff.

“It’s torture – torture because of everything that is happening externally, but it’s also torture because of how divided the White House is internally,” Fleischer said of the challenges that Trump’s staff members face.

Donald Trump (c) speaking with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (l) and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak – Photo courtesy of HO / AFP / Getty Images

“It makes it very hard to keep your head up and do your job.

“If you don’t give people something substantive to talk about in Washington, they will be plenty happy to talk about things that are personal, political, and scandal related,” he added.

Many staffers are turning to support groups of friends, confidants, and acquaintances to preserve their mental health, the Washington Post says. Friends will phone or text Trump staffers to check in, asking about their mental state and urging them to take care of themselves.

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Their position is undermined even more

by Trump’s notorious temper. According to a May 18 report in the New York Times, Trump is so angry over his political problems and his declining poll numbers, he’s even raged at his own son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Trump’s mood, according to two advisers who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity, has become “sour and dark,” and he has turned against most of his aides, even Kushner, describing them in a fury as “incompetent,” according to one of those advisers.

“The White House staff system is com-

pletely broken, maybe beyond repair,” Chris Whipple, author of The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, told the Washington Post.

“It is inconceivable that something like that could have happened on James Baker or Leon Panetta’s watch. The problem with this White House is that there is no one, including Priebus, who is able to tell the president what he doesn’t want to hear and until there is, this White House will be broken, will be dysfunctional, and so will Trump’s presidency.”

May 19, 2017

Seattle Gay News 11

HRC files amicus brief with major companies supporting Transgender student Gavin Grimm in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board

The 59 signing companies represent over 1.6 million employees and $670 billion in revenue

WASHINGTON DC – On Tuesday, May 16, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer civil rights organization, filed a “friend of the court” brief signed by 59 major U.S. companies supporting transgender student Gavin Grimm in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Grimm, a transgender boy, filed suit against the school board alleging it violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by denying him use of the boy’s restroom.

“These companies are sending a powerful message to transgender children and their families that America’s leading businesses have their backs,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Across the country, corporate leaders are speaking out because they know attacking transgender youth isn’t just shameful – it also puts the families of their employees and customers at risk.

Transgender students like Gavin are entitled to the full protection of the law, and must be affirmed, respected and protected in the classroom and beyond.”

Leading American businesses have long expressed a commitment to LGBTQ diversity and inclusion in their workforces as evidenced by inclusive policies, practices and benefits. Businesses realize being inclusive is not only the right thing to do – it just makes good business sense as well.

Companies that are inclusive of LGBTQ people and employees with LGBTQ family members are able to attract and retain the best and brightest across a wide spectrum of diversity, reap the benefits from increased engagement and productivity, and actively participate in the vibrant LGBTQ consumer marketplace.

Having built inclusive workplaces for their transgender employees or even transgender dependents of employees, companies have a vested interest in the legal land-

scape in which those employees and their dependents live, work or go to school.

The 59 companies, representing over 1.6 million employees and $670 billion in revenue, signing the brief are: Affirm, Inc.; Airbnb, Inc.; Akamai Technologies, Inc.; Amazon.com, Inc.; Apple; AppNexus Inc.; Asana, Inc.; Bloomberg L.P.; Box, Inc.; Codecademy; Credo Mobile, Inc.; Dropbox, Inc.; eBay Inc.; Fastly, Inc.; Flipboard, Inc.; General Assembly Space, Inc.; GitHub, Inc.; IBM Corporation; Indiegogo, Inc.; Intel Corporation; Kaiser Permanente; Kickstarter, PBC; Knotel, Inc.; Linden Lab; LinkedIn Corporation; MAC Cosmetics Inc.; Mapbox, Inc.; Marin Software Incorporated; MassMutual Life Insurance Company; Meetup, Inc.; Microsoft Corporation; Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; MongoDB Inc.; NetApp, Inc.; Next Fifteen Communications Corp; Nextdoor.com, Inc.; NIO; Pandora Media, Inc.; PayPal Holdings, Inc.; Postmates Inc.; Replacements, Ltd.; RetailMeNot, Inc.; Salesforce.com, Inc.; Shutterstock, Inc.; Slack Technologies, Inc.; Spotify USA Inc.; SugarCRM Inc.; The OutCast Agency; The Gap, Inc.; Tumblr, Inc.; Twilio Inc.; Twitter Inc.; Warby Parker; Weebly, Inc.; Williams-Sonoma, Inc.; Xerox Corporation; Yahoo! Inc.; Yelp Inc.; and Zendesk, Inc. The brief was authored by BakerHostetler, one of the nation’s prominent law firms.

“BakerHostetler is proud to represent our clients, including these 59 leading companies, in pursuing their missions of diversity and inclusion,” said BakerHostetler Partner Ona T. Wang. “This brief underscores the ongoing commitment of major U.S. corporations and HRC to the fight for the full protection of the law for all individuals,” added BakerHostetler Partner Edward J. Jacobs.

In June, a federal court ordered the

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Gloucester County School Board to allow Grimm full access to the restroom that corresponds with his gender identity, consistent with a ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In August, the Supreme Court of the United States halted the lower court’s order, allowing the school board’s discriminatory policy to remain in place while the court awaited an application by the school board to have its full appeal heard.

In March, the Supreme Court of the United States sent the Grimm case back to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals following the Trump Administration’s decision to rescind guidance that protected transgender children in schools. Because the Fourth Circuit’s original ruling was heavily based on the Obama Administration’s guidance, the Supreme Court has asked the lower court to revisit the case and rule on the underlying statutory question regarding the scope of Title IX. Title IX should be understood to prohibit discrimination against transgender students including with respect to restroom access, regardless of the guidance.

Last week, the lawyers representing Virginia transgender teen Gavin Grimm filed a brief in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals asserting that the case remains relevant even after Grimm graduates from high

school.

Allowing transgender people to access facilities consistent with their gender identity – something compelled for years by laws in 18 states as well as embraced by hundreds of cities and school districts around the country – has not resulted in problems. On the other hand, forcing transgender students to use sex-segregated facilities contrary to their identity can impose real harm on transgender students, further compounding the discrimination and marginalization they already face.

A recent study correlated the high suicide rates of transgender students with discriminatory bathroom restrictions, and, according to the Youth Suicide Prevention Program, more than 50 percent of transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday.

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. http://www.hrc.org/ Courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign

Gavin Grimm – Photo by Nikki Kahn / Washington Post

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CHECHEN

CONTINUED FROM COVER escaped the wave of kidnapping, tortures, and murders that swept up more than 100 of their Gay countrymen and are now in hiding in other parts of Russia.

They are unable to get the visas that would allow them to leave the country, LGBT Network spokesperson Svetlana Zakharova told BuzzFeed News.

In fact, just two Chechens have managed to secure visas and travel to safe countries since the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta first reported the campaign against Gay Chechens in April.

A “handful” have escaped Russia without visas, Zakharova said.

Both the US and the European Union (EU) have expressed diplomatic concern over the anti-Gay persecutions and called for the Russian government to investigate, but they have not offered assistance to Chechen refugees.

A US State Department spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that he could not comment on the visa denials, because “visa records are confidential under US law…”

The current ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, is regarded as a Putin puppet, and like Putin he is known to pursue critics inside and outside of Russia with the intention of killing them.

Meanwhile three French LGBT groups have filed a complaint against Chechnya with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Stop Homophobia, Mousse, and Comité

Russian police detain an LGBTQ rights activist in Moscow in 2015. Photo by Dmitry Serebryakov

IDAHO France accuse Chechnya of carrying out “a policy of genocide” against Gay people. They blame Kadyrov and other Chechen officials for a “wave of persecution.”

Spokesperson Etienne Deshoulières called Kadyrov “the organizer of torture camps with a desire to exterminate ho-

mosexuals.” Kadyrov has promised to rid Chechnya of Gay people by the beginning of Ramadan on May 27.

The French groups are urging the court to investigate Chechnya. Alexandre Marcel, who chairs Comité IDAHO France, said filing a complaint with the ICC was

“the only way to pursue Nazi behavior.”

According to Novaya Gazeta, at least 100 Gay men are being held in special concentration camps where they are subject to torture. At least three have died – one under torture, and two killed by their relatives.

“No reason” to ban same-sex marriage, liberal Muslim group says

Muslim LGBTQ marcher – Photo by Janek Skarzynski / Getty Images

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A German-based group of liberal Muslims says there is “no reason” to ban samesex marriage.

In a statement released May 16, to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), the Liberal Islamic Association said that other Muslims have it wrong when it comes to marriage.

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“If you argue spirit and purpose of marriage is offspring, then marriage has to be banned for, for example, retired people or infertile heterosexual couples, too,” the group said.

“If you argue children need to grow up with both genders as parents, then single parenthood would need to be banned.

“Even today children are raised by homosexual couples. No study proves this endangers children.

“Children, mainly, need love, emotional

May 19, 2017

security, and care – all of this can be provided (or rather, is already being provided) by homosexual parents.”

The Quran supports their views, they claim.

“The central verse in the Quran dealing with partnership and its general sense and use says: ‘And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy.

Indeed in that are signs for a people who

give thought.’ (30:21),” the group wrote.

“In the Arabic original the Quran does not talk of ‘man and woman’ but uses the word [azwaj], which means ‘pair/parts of a pair/partner/spouse.’”

According to their interpretation, the verse is worded so the people in question can be read as either male or female, because there is no definite gender attributed to them.

“The fathering of offspring is not named as the (primary) spirit and purpose of a partnership in the verse,” they explained, adding another Quranic verse to illustrate their point: “Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for [one’s] hope.”

The group says this proves that the basis for marriage in Islam is love, with both partners being seen as on the same level and aware of their responsibilities to each other, but not specifically limited by gender.

Therefore, the group says, Islamic marriages should not be defined by the partners’ gender, as long as at least one of the spouses is a Muslim and they meet the requirements of love and equality.

German law, which allows same-sex domestic partnerships but not marriage, is flawed, they added. Under Islamic law, marriage is a private contract between two parties and the government does not intrude into it.

According to a Pew Religious Landscape Study done in 2016, Muslims living in the US show a higher level of support for same-sex marriage than evangelical Christians do.

Forty-two percent of American Muslims support marriage equality, the survey found, while 52% oppose it. For evangelicals, the numbers were only 28% in favor and 64% opposed.

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May 19, 2017

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