SGN June 19, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Issue 25 Volume 48

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VICTORY! Threats mount Title VII protects LGBTQ against the CHOP, work of Black Lives Matter workers, SCOTUS says endangering protesters; Alt-right activist to warn White House 6-3 majority opinion written by Neil Gorsuch

Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The US Supreme Court ruled on June 15 that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act does indeed protect LGBTQ people from

discrimination on the job.

The decision was a stunning rebuke to the Trump administration, which argued that the law’s ban on discrimination on the

see SCOTUS page 8

“Together for Pride”

Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ organizations join forces to present three-day virtual Pride event promises to be a weekend of solidarity, June 26-28

Image courtesy of Seattle Pride

Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ Pride Month is going virtual with three days (June 26-28) of speakers, performances and activities courtesy of Gender Justice League, PrideFest, and Seattle Pride.

The three organizations, producers of Seattle’s largest Pride Month events – including Seattle Pride Parade, PrideFest

on Capitol Hill and at Seattle Center, Trans Pride and Seattle Pride in the Park – have joined forces to bring together elements from their respective events, plus new interactive offerings, in a virtual format at www.

TogetherForPride.org.

see TOGETHER page 24

that the CHOP is a modern day ‘Babylon’

Three Percenter militia group seen outside CHOP

by Renee Raketty SGN Staff Writer Conspiracy theorists, hate groups and members of the conservative media have all descended on the Capitol Hill Organized

Protest (CHOP), formerly known as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ). The six-block area claimed by Black Lives Matter protesters more than a week ago was the

see CHOP page 10

HRC designates Juneteenth as an organizational holiday

Photo by Alex Brandon / AP

WASHINGTON, DC (June 17, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign announced the establishment of Juneteenth as an organizational holiday.

“Juneteenth is the culmination of countless seen and unseen efforts by enslaved peoples and abolitionists. It is a clarion call that we still hear today, a call that we

have been pressed to answer thanks to the millions of people who are advocating for racial justice at Black Lives Matter protests, and in less visible ways,” said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “Every Juneteenth from

see JUNETEENTH page 23

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Celebrating 46 Years!

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Celebrating 46 Years!

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News from the HRC

by Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign In this week’s email I can share breaking news with all of you. Today, the Human Rights Campaign announced that we are suing the Trump administration over a new rule that would effectively sanction discrimination against LGBTQ people in their health care. This is the Human Rights Campaign’s first lawsuit as part of our new litigation practice.

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides critical civil rights protec-

tions, protections the administration has now eliminated through rulemaking. We cannot and will not allow Donald Trump to continue attacking us. LGBTQ people get sick. LGBTQ people need health care.

LGBTQ people should not live in fear that they cannot get the care they need simply because of who they are. It is clear that this administration does not believe that LGBTQ people, or other marginalized communities, deserve equality under the law. But we have a reality check for the Trump-Pence team: we will not let this attack on our basic right to be free from discrimination in health care go unchallenged.

We will see them in court.

But this is not all that I have to share with you today.

At this moment of great grief and transformation, our path forward is clear: the pursuit of justice. The pursuit of justice requires the dismantling of white supremacy and its unholy grip on the soul of our democracy. The pursuit of justice demands that we commit ourselves to the defense of Black lives and the declaration of the fundamental truth that Black Lives Matter.

As I shared in The Root, no person

see HRC NEWS page 26

Facing the systemic racism that keeps wages down

Staff Writers Mike Andrew • Sara Michelle Fetters Miryam Gordon • Albert Rodriguez Contributing Writers Rev. Barbara Allen • Ron Anders Madelyn Arnold • Alice Bloch Maggie Bloodstone • Beau Burriola Sharon Cumberland • Jessica Davis Tina Gianoulis • Anthony Greer Milton W. Hamlin • Nevin Jefferson Richard Kennedy • Shaun Knittel Liz Meyer • Jason A. Miller Jesse Monteagudo David Nguyen aka Teriyaki Temple Rod Parke • Don Paulson Jerry Peerson • Tim Peter • Jessica Price Scott Rice • Leslie Robinson MK Scott • Mark Segal • Gaysha Starr Sarah Toce • Paul Torres • Janice Van Cleve Ed Walsh • James Whitely Scott Wittet • Rex Wockner Cartoonist Ken Campbell Calendar Editor

Photo by Renee Raketty

Rick McKinnon

To the Editor:

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The growing strength of the Black Lives Matter movement gives me hope that we as a nation are finally poised to confront the reality of racial injustice, to acknowledge the structural racism of our past and our present, and to make changes. That will require examining and coming to terms with the racist history of many of our laws and policies. For me, labor law and policy is front of mind.

We can trace the through lines of systemic racism from when the first enslaved people were brought here over 400 years ago, to our nation’s seminal labor laws, to the suppressed wages of Black Americans today.

When Black people won freedom from slavery, they went from being paid nothing to being paid pittance wages, at best. Under the system of sharecropping and tenant farming in the South, Black people were as likely to owe the plantation owner as they were to come out a dime ahead. Southern states passed Black codes that brushed aside the 13th Amendment’s outlawing of slavery by criminalizing being Black. For example, under the Black codes, former slaves were required to sign restrictive labor contracts or be arrested as vagrants. Once convicted, they could be paid nothing because the 13th Amendment allowed involuntary servitude for convicted criminals.

Black women who had cooked and cleaned in plantation houses were paid next to nothing to do the same chores in the homes of wealthy white families. As railroads spread across America in the second half of the 19th century, the Pullman Company forced its newly hired Black porters to almost entirely rely on tips instead of a paycheck.

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When FDR and the New Dealers in Congress wrote the nation’s first comprehensive labor laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA) – which guarantee basic standards like a minimum wage, overtime pay, and the right to collectively bargain – some southerners in Congress made explicit their racial concerns. As a member of Congress said in explaining his opposition to the FLSA: “We may rest assured, therefore, that… it will prescribe the same wage for the Negro that it prescribes for the white man.…. You cannot put the Negro and the white man on the same basis and get away with it. Not only would such a situation result in grave social and racial conflicts but it would also result in throwing the Negro out of employment and in making him a public charge.”

In order to overcome the opposition of Southern Democrats, both laws excluded agricultural workers and domestic workers from their provisions, effectively leaving out most Black workers at the time. The FLSA also allowed states to have a lower a minimum wage for tipped workers, and it excluded people who are incarcerated.

Over time, some of the most egregious racially designed provisions in the FLSA were softened. In 1966, agricultural workers were included in minimum wage provisions, but still not those who work on smaller farms. Congress also included tipped workers in the FLSA in 1966, but at a “subminimal wage,” which is stuck at $2.13 an hour today. Most domestic workers were added to the FLSA in 1974, but it was not until 2015 that the Obama administration included people who care for the elderly and the disabled in their homes in

the FLSA protections.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, home care and child care workers organized unions under state labor laws and achieved through collective bargaining many of the benefits denied them under the FLSA and the NLRA (as did domestic workers via state domestic workers bills of rights). These victories were largely constrained to a dozen or so states with progressive state labor laws on the West Coast, the upper Midwest, and the northeast. Overtime pay still does not apply to farmworkers, and the child-labor protections in the FLSA remain weaker for children picking crops. Meanwhile, the NLRA still excludes farmworkers and domestic workers.

As a result of this legacy, intersecting with the through lines of other racially designed systems, the median earnings for Black women were $8,500 lower in 2017 than white women; for men the difference was $18,300. Black workers were 1.5 times more likely to make poverty-level wages than white workers in 2017.

If we are to create a society where all hard-working Americans earn wages that reflect the value of their work, where all hard-working Americans have access to good jobs, and where all hard-working Americans earn enough to care for and support their families, we must explicitly confront our racist history and failures head on.

Only then will we be able to make targeted changes to our laws and policies to address our race-driven legacy.

June 19, 2020

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In solidarity, David Rolf

Trump administration denies protections to Transgender people seeking health care in the midst of a pandemic and exactly four years after the Pulse Nightclub attack NEW YORK (June 12, 2020) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, criticized the Trump administration’s new rule stripping federal nondiscrimination protections for transgender people seeking access to health care. The implementation of this new rule comes on the fourthyear remembrance of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, which claimed the lives of 49 people in what is known as the deadliest attack on LGBTQ Americans.

The rule, finalized by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday, no longer recognizes gender identity as a protected class under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which established that it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of “race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs and activities.”

The Obama administration announced in 2016 that within Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, protections from discrimination on the basis of sex also applied to gender identity.

“On a day the world remembers and mourns the 49 lives lost in a senseless attack on our community four years ago in Orlando, the Trump administration has decided to continue its campaign to

Photo by Carolyn Caster / AP

further discriminate and attack LGBTQ Americans, specifically transgender people,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “This ruling encourages discrimination by stripping protections from LGBTQ people, disabled people, and others during a pandemic that threatens the most vulnerable. It is shameful, unnecessary, and unfortunately unsurprising. This is the 150th attack and counting against LGBTQ Americans from this cruel administration.”

GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project documents anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies under the Trump administration.

The list is available at www.glaad.org/tap/ donald-trump.

Today’s ruling could affect the more than 1.4 million transgender Americans, at a time of uncertainty over health care during the coronavirus pandemic, and as transgender people face an increasing number of violent attacks on their lives and in some cases, their very right to exist.

GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www.glaad. org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook and Twitter.

Courtesy of GLAAD

HHS rule reverses nondiscrimination protections in health care for more than 1.5 million Transgender people LOS ANGELES (June 12, 2020) – The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a final rule that reverses federal protections prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in health care.

The regulation could create added barriers to accessing health care for an estimated 1.4 million adults and 150,000 youth who identify as transgender in the US, including the significant number who have underlying health conditions that put them at particular

ACLU on Trump administration rollback of health care protections WASHINGTON, DC (June 12, 2020) – The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule today rolling back health care protections for transgender people, those seeking reproductive health care, and people with limited English proficiency, and limiting nondiscrimination protections for everyone. The rule applies to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the Health Care Rights Law. Louise Melling, deputy legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union, had the following reaction: “While people are facing alarming rates of unemployment, a loss of health insurance, and a global pandemic, the Trump administration has rolled back rules meant to ensure that people are not turned away from health care because of who they are or what language they speak. This is beyond heartless.

“The Trump administration has made a mission out of putting politicians and religious beliefs above a patient’s health care.

This is deadly and all of us should be outraged.”

For a summary of the ACLU’s comments on the rule when proposed, see www.aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/transgender-rights/over-132400-opposed-trumpsanti-trans-health-care-plan.

For an overview of cases involving transgender people being turned away from health care, see www.aclu.org/issues/lgbtrights/transgender-rights/transgender-people-and-health-care.

For an overview of our cases involving reproductive health care, see www.aclu. org/issues/reproductive-freedom.

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Courtesy of the ACLU

risk of serious illness related to COVID-19.

Recent research from the Williams Institute found that an estimated 320,000 transgender adults have underlying health conditions that could increase their risk for COVID-19-related illness. This includes 208,500 who have asthma, 81,100 who have diabetes, 72,700 who have heart disease, and 74,800 who have HIV. In addition, an estimated 217,000 transgender people are age 65 and older.

“Our research finds that transgender people experience health disparities compared to cisgender people and often lack access to health care,” said Jody L. Herman, scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute.

“They also face persistent discrimination in health care settings, which is a concern for many transgender adults.”

According to US Transgender Population Health Survey (TransPop), 57% of transgender adults had substantial concerns about receiving health care as a transgender person, including worries of being judged and getting diagnosed negatively because of their gender identity.

Transgender people who had substantial concerns about receiving inclusive and accepting health care were less likely to have a personal doctor or health care provider.

Those who had substantial concerns about receiving inclusive and accepting healthcare reported more days of poor mental and physical health in the past month.

According to the 2015 US Transgender Survey (USTS), conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, 23% of respondents did not seek needed medical care due to fear of being disrespected or mis-

treated as a transgender person.

One-third of USTS respondents reported a negative experience with a health care provider, such as being refused gender-affirming care, being asked invasive questions, and providers using harsh or abusive language when treating them.

“The changes to this rule could further harm transgender people’s health care access at a time when they face serious challenges related to COVID-19,” said Herman.

No federal statute expressly protects transgender people from discrimination in health care. The new rule removes from HHS regulations protections that were guaranteed under the agency’s former interpretation of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Section 1557 bans sex discrimination in federally funded health care. The original regulation stated that the law’s ban on sex discrimination applies to discrimination based on sex stereotyping and gender identity, consistent with numerous court decisions.

The Supreme Court is poised to address the breadth of sex discrimination protections in employment discrimination laws this month, which could affect the validity of the new HHS interpretation.

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.

Courtesy of the Williams Institute

Celebrating 46 Years!

GLAD lawsuit tests Trump administration’s reversal of health care protections for Transgender people under the ACA BOSTON (June 12, 2020) – Pangborn v. Ascend, a federal lawsuit brought

by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of a transgender man denied coverage for gender-affirming care, will test the legitimacy of the Trump administration’s reversal of [a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)] rule that had previously made clear that transgender people are covered under the ACA’s nondiscrimination provision known as Section 1557. The case alleges, among other claims, that Alexander Pangborn’s employer violated the ACA by categorically excluding insurance coverage for transgender people’s medical needs relating to gender transition.

Section 1557 of the ACA bars discrimination in health care access and insurance on the basis of sex as well as race, color, national origin, age, and disability. The HHS published a final rule today formalizing the Trump administration’s claim that Section 1557 does not protect transgender people from discrimination in health care, reversing the HHS’s prior interpretation of the law.

“The Trump administration’s new interpretation of Section 1557 contradicts the Affordable Care Act. It’s contrary to established case law, dangerous to transgender people, and can’t survive legal challenge,” said Jennifer Levi, GLAD Transgender Rights Project director. “Unfortunately,

the new rule is likely to confuse health care practitioners, insurers, and employers, and invites providers to turn away transgender people when seeking basic medical care.

This is yet another callous policy coming from an administration intent on appeasing the far right and ignoring sound legal and medical policies.”

“Alexander Pangborn is a hospice nurse who provides compassionate care every day to his patients and their families, yet he was denied access to the health care he himself needs,” said Chris Erchull, GLAD staff attorney representing Pangborn. “The purpose of the ACA is to ensure Americans have access to health care. The purpose and the legal meaning of the nondiscrimi-

nation protections in Section 1557 are to ensure that individuals like Alexander are not denied care because of anti-transgender prejudice or other bias. The Trump administration’s repudiation of those protections is both cruel and unjust. It will not hold up in court.”

Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation.

Courtesy of GLAD

HRC plans to sue the Trump administration for eliminating anti-discrimination health care protections WASHINGTON, DC (June 12, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced that it will file a lawsuit challenging the TrumpPence administration’s decision to roll back critical civil rights protections in the rule implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new rule will eliminate explicit protections from discrimination based on sex stereotyping and gender identity that have existed under law, thereby sanctioning discrimination against LGBTQ people in health care programs and activities.

“We cannot and will not allow Donald Trump to continue attacking us. Today, the Human Rights Campaign is announcing plans to sue the Trump administration for exceeding [its] legal authority and attempting to remove basic health care protections from vulnerable communities, including LGBTQ people. And, to add insult to injury, the administration finalized this rule on the anniversary of the Pulse shooting, where a gunman killed 49 people in an LGBTQ nightclub,” said HRC President Alphonso David.

“LGBTQ people get sick. LGBTQ people need health care. LGBTQ people should not live in fear that they cannot get the care they need simply because of who they are.

It is clear that this administration does not believe that LGBTQ people, or other marginalized communities, deserve equality under the law. But we have a reality check for them: we will not let this attack on our basic right to be free from discrimination in health care go unchallenged. We will see

them in court, and continue to challenge all of our elected officials to rise up against this blatant attempt to erode critical protections people need and sanction discrimination.”

The rule change comes in the midst of the twin epidemics of COVID-19 and racial violence. Over the past few months, we have witnessed a rash of horrific violence against Black and transgender people: 73% of all transgender and gender-nonconforming people killed violently are Black, and seven transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been violently killed since March 28 alone. LGBTQ people are also particularly vulnerable to both the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. The HRC recently published a research brief outlining these risks, finding that many in the LGBTQ community are uniquely vulnerable, as they are more likely to work in highly affected industries, often with more exposure and/or higher economic sensitivity to the COVID-19 crisis, are less likely to have health coverage, and are more likely to smoke and have chronic illnesses like asthma. One in five LGBTQ adults have not seen a doctor when needed because they could not afford it. Black LGBTQ adults (23%), Latinx LGBTQ adults (24%), and all transgender women (29%) are most likely to avoid going to the doctor because of costs.

The HRC has long fought against the Trump-Pence administration’s attempts to revise this rule in a way that would undermine protections for LGBTQ people since it was announced in 2019. The HRC, along with its coalition partners, submitted more than 120,000 public comments expressing concerns about the proposed rule that year, with 26,000 coming directly from HRC

members. This is the first lawsuit the HRC will file after announcing its new impact litigation initiative in October 2019.

The HRC will argue that the removal of protections against sex stereotyping and gender identity exceeds the administration’s authority to define sex discrimination under the ACA and grossly undermines the law’s primary goal of eliminating barriers and broadly expanding access to healthcare and health education programs. Section 1557 of the ACA prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs or activities. This landmark provision is the first of its kind to include protections from discrimination based on sex in the context of health care. The definition of “sex” has been consistently interpreted by numerous federal courts and agencies — including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — to include discrimination based on sex stereotyping and gender identity. The Office of Civil Rights at HHS has been successfully accepting complaints and enforcing the ACA to protect LGBTQ people since 2012 and HHS published a final rule implementing the ACA’s civil rights protections to include discrimination based on gender and sex stereotyping in 2016.

Fear of discrimination causes many LGBTQ people to avoid seeking health care, and when they do enter care, studies indicate that they are not consistently treated with the respect that all patients deserve. Studies by Lambda Legal show that 56% of LGB people and 70% of transgender and gender-nonconforming people reported experiencing discrimination by

health care providers – including refusal of care, harsh language, and physical roughness because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. According to a report by the National Center for Transgender Equality, 23% of transgender respondents did not see a doctor when they needed to because of fear of being mistreated as a transgender person, and a startling 55% of transgender respondents who sought coverage for transition-related surgery were denied.

According to the HRC Foundation’s analysis of the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys, 17% of LGBTQ adults do not have any kind of health insurance coverage, compared to 12% of non-LGBTQ adults.

Furthermore, 23% of LGBTQ adults of color, 22% of transgender adults, and 32% of transgender adults of color have no form of health coverage. This can lead to avoidance of medical care even when medically necessary and to severe economic hardship when medical care is ultimately accessed.

Learn more about Section 1557 in HRC’s fact sheet [at https://bit.ly/3ec19j6].

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

Courtesy of the HRC

NCLR denounces new HHS rule that undermines protections for LGBTQ Americans WASHINGTON, DC (June 12, 2020) – Today, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a rule that undermines clear federal protections against discrimination in health care based on sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity. This is the latest in a series of attacks by the Trump administration against the LGBTQ community.

“Today’s action by the HHS is not just a solution in search of a problem,” said Julianna S. Gonen, NCLR’s federal policy director. “It is a shameful expression of hostility toward a community that regularly suffers denials of care and negative treatment in our health care system.”

“LGBTQ people should know that

despite this mean-spirited move by the Trump administration, the Affordable Care Act’s underlying guarantee of health care access free from discrimination remains in place. While the federal government won’t help you, it also can’t stop you from going to court to secure your rights if that’s what it takes. The NCLR stands ready to assist anyone who has suffered mistreatment by a health care provider or health insurance company simply for being who they are.”

In May 2019, the NCLR released a statement condemning the proposed new rule announced by the Trump administration as “inviting mistreatment of the LGBT community, which will likely result in thousands of people going without essential

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health care services and coverage.”

The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) contained the first-ever federal ban on discrimination based on sex in our nation’s history, and the Obama administration issued rules making it clear that “based on sex” includes gender identity and sex stereotypes. This meant that most LGBTQ people who experienced discrimination in health care based on sexual orientation or gender identity could file complaints with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the HHS, in addition to seeking redress through private litigation. Today’s rollback tells LGBTQ people that the OCR is no longer a place to which they can turn.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding, the NCLR has maintained a longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and the LGBTQ community’s most vulnerable. More at www.nclrights.org.

June 19, 2020

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Courtesy of the NCLR

HRC: Supreme Court is on right side of history for LGBTQ rights WASHINGTON, DC (June 15, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, responded to a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court affirming that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. “This is a landmark victory for LGBTQ equality,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “No one should be denied a job or fired simply because of who they are or whom they love. For the past two decades, federal courts have determined that discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ status is unlawful discrimination under federal law. Today’s historic ruling by the Supreme Court affirms that view, but there is still work left to be done. In many aspects of the public square, LGBTQ people still lack nondiscrimination protections, which is why it is crucial that Congress pass the Equality Act to address the significant gaps in federal civil rights laws and improve protections for everyone.”

“There are truly no words to describe just how elated I am,” said Gerald Bostock, one of the petitioners, who alleges he was fired from his job as a child welfare services coordinator after joining a gay recreational softball team. “When I was fired seven years ago, I was devastated. But this fight became about so much more than me. I am sincerely grateful to the Supreme Court, my attorneys, advocacy organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, and every person who supported me on this journey.” He continued, “Today, we can go to work without the fear of being fired for who we are and who we love. Yet there is more work to be done. Discrimination has no place in this world, and I will not rest until we have equal rights for all.”

The Supreme Court determined that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status are forms of sex discrimination in the cases pending before it:

Image courtesy of HRC

In R.G. & G.R. HARRIS FUNERAL HOMES v. EEOC and AIMEE STEPHENS, Aimee Stephens worked as a funeral director at R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes. When she informed the funeral home’s owner that she was transgender and planned to come to work as the woman she is, the business owner fired her, saying it would be “unacceptable” for her to appear and behave as a woman. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in March 2018 that when the funeral home fired her for being transgender and departing from sex stereotypes, it violated Title VII, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in employment.

In ALTITUDE EXPRESS INC. v.

ZARDA, Donald Zarda, a skydiving instructor, was fired from his job because of his sexual orientation. A federal trial court rejected his discrimination claim, saying that the Civil Rights Act did not protect him from losing his job because of his sexual orientation. In February 2018, the full 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of discrimination based on sex that is prohibited under Title VII. The court recognized that when a lesbian, gay, or bisexual person is treated differently because of discomfort or disapproval that

they are attracted to people of the same sex, that’s discrimination based on sex.

In BOSTOCK v. CLAYTON COUNTY, Gerald Lynn Bostock was fired from his job as a county child welfare services coordinator when his employer learned he is gay. In May 2018, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider a 1979 decision wrongly excluding sexual orientation discrimination from coverage under Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination and denied his appeal.

Protection from discrimination in the workplace is more important than ever amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when unemployment rates are high and the prospects of finding a new job low. Recent data from the HRC shows that 17% of LGBTQ people and 22% of LGBTQ people of color reported becoming unemployed as a result of COVID-19, and 33% of LGBTQ people and 38% of LGBTQ people have had their work hours reduced. Five million LGBTQ people work in industries likely to be heavily impacted by the pandemic.

This much-needed victory also comes in the midst of the twin epidemics of COVID-19 and racial violence. Over the past few months, we have witnessed a rash of horrific violence against Black and transgender people: the HRC has found that 73%

of transgender and gender-nonconforming Americans violently killed since 2013 were Black, and at least 14 transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed this year alone. We have also seen the Trump administration attack LGBTQ and transgender access to health care by eliminating anti-discrimination health care protections.

These decisions impact areas of the law where Congress has prohibited sex discrimination, but there are too many places in law that lack these protections. The Senate should join the House and move immediately to pass the Equality Act, which would codify protections for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, credit, education, and jury service, as well as add muchneeded protections for sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in public spaces and services, as well as federally funded programs. Reintroduced in Congress in March, the bipartisan legislation has growing, unprecedented support, including from nearly 70% of Americans; hundreds of members of Congress; more than 250 major businesses; more than 500 social justice, religious, medical, and child welfare organizations; and more than 60 national trade associations, including the US Chamber of Commerce [and the] National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable. The US House of Representatives passed the bill on a strong, bipartisan vote of 236 to 173 in May of 2019.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Courtesy of the HRC

Interfaith Alliance – Supreme Court extends employment protections to LGBTQ+ Americans WASHINGTON, DC (June 15, 2020) – Today, the Supreme Court issued decisions in three major cases protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ workers. Katy Joseph, director of policy and advocacy at the Interfaith Alliance, shared the following: “Today, the court affirmed an inherent truth, holding that LGBTQ+ people are, and should be, protected from discrimina-

tion under federal law. In this challenging moment for our nation, the Supreme Court has delivered a watershed moment for equality. Every person, of all sexual orientations and gender identities, has inherent dignity and worth.

“Too often employers overstep the boundaries of personal religious freedom – the right to believe as we choose –

to impose their beliefs on others through staffing decisions and workplace culture.

Turning away LGBTQ+ job applicants and employees, or terminating their employment due to their identity, isn’t religious freedom – it’s discrimination.

“Today’s victory honors the legacy of Aimee Stephens, a trailblazer who sadly did not live to celebrate this moment. In her

honor, we will continue this fight. We urge the Senate to take up the bipartisan Equality Act, which passed in the House in 2019, to ensure that the members of the LGBTQ+ community are afforded the same constitutional rights as their neighbors.”

SCOTUS

Georgia after he joined a Gay softball team.

The Obama administration concluded that when Title VII barred discrimination on the basis of sex, that included protections for gender identity and sexual orientation, and Obama’s Justice Department supported legal claims made on that basis.

Trump reversed course, and Trump Justice Department lawyers argued that “the ordinary meaning of ‘sex’ is biologically male or female; it does not include sexual orientation. An employer who discriminates against employees in same-sex relationships thus does not violate Title VII as long as it treats men in same-sex relationships the same as women in same-sex relationships.”

In other words, as long as employers fire both Gay men and Lesbians, everything’s cool.

Writing for the high court majority, Gorsuch vehemently disagreed.

If an employer fires an individual for being LGBTQ, the employer “fires that per-

son for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” Gorsuch wrote.

“Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids. …the limits of the drafters’ imagination supply no reason to ignore the law’s demands. When the express terms of a statute give us one answer and extratextual considerations suggest another, it’s no contest. Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit.”

ing in states that don’t bar discrimination in their own legal codes.

In states like Washington, which does forbid discrimination against LGBTQ residents, there has been an unresolved legal question about federal employees – were they protected under state law, or were they under the jurisdiction of federal law, which, according to the Trump administration, did not protect them? Now they are unequivocally protected.

Some legal experts also believe that Gorsuch’s linking of the term “sex” to gender identity and sexual orientation will work against the Trump administration if and when its new rules excluding LGBTQ people from health care anti-discrimination rules is litigated. Lawyers representing LGBTQ plaintiffs could now argue, on the basis of Gorsuch’s decision, that bans on “sex discrimination” in the Affordable Care Act also protect LGBTQ Americans.

continued from cover basis of “sex” referred to biological sex at birth only, and not to gender identity or sexual orientation.

In an even more resounding rebuke to Trump, his nominee Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion.

The high court combined two separate cases into a single decision. In one, a Trans woman sued because her employer fired her when she transitioned. In the second case, two Gay men sued their employers when they were fired after being outed at work.

Aimee Stephens, the Trans woman in the first case, died before the decision was handed down. Donald Zarda, one of the Gay men, also died before the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

The remaining plaintiff is Gerald Bostock, who was fired from his county job in

8 Seattle Gay News

June 19, 2020

How does this change things?

Currently 21 states have their own laws prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Seven more provide that protection only to public employees. In the remainder, it was perfectly legal to fire employees because of the sexual orientation or gender identity.

The high court’s decision now gives federal legal protections to LGBTQ people liv-

Courtesy of the Interfaith Alliance

Celebrating 46 Years!

Reactions to historic SCOTUS ruling Lambda Legal: Today, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis sex, also protects employees from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Today’s decisions confirm workplace anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across the country.

Lambda Legal celebrates these rulings.

In the opinion, Justice Gorsuch wrote that when an employer fires an individual for being LGBT “fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.… the limits of the drafters’ imagination supply no reason to ignore the law’s demands.

When the express terms of a statute give us one answer and extratextual considerations suggest another, it’s no contest. Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit.”

“Finally. Today, the law, justice and fairness are on our side. Our nation’s highest court confirmed what Lambda Legal has argued for years, that discrimination against LGBTQ workers is illegal,” said Kevin Jennings, CEO of Lambda Legal.

“We have a long way to go in securing the full and undeniable civil rights of LGBTQ people, especially those in our community who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, for whom their sexual orientation or gender identity is only one of many barriers to equal opportunity in this country. But today’s victory is a necessary step forward

on the journey toward equal justice for all without caveats or qualifications.”

GLAAD: “The Supreme Court’s historic decision affirms what shouldn’t have even been a debate: LGBTQ Americans should be able to work without fear of losing jobs because of who they are. The decision gives us hope that as a country we can unite for the common good and continue the fight for LGBTQ acceptance,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

“Especially at a time when the Trump administration is rolling back the rights of transgender people and anti-transgender violence continues to plague our nation, this decision is a step toward affirming the dignity of transgender people, and all LGBTQ people.”

GLAAD also received the following statement from Gerald Bostock, the plaintiff in Bostock v. Clayton Co., one of the three employment discrimination cases decided today: “There are truly no words to describe just how elated I am,” said Bostock, a Georgia man who alleges he was fired from his job as a child welfare services coordinator after joining a gay recreational softball team.

“When I was fired seven years ago, I was devastated. But this fight became about so much more than me. I am sincerely grateful to the Supreme Court, my attorneys, advocacy organizations like GLAAD, and every person who supported me on this journey.”

Bostock continued, “Today, we can go to work without the fear of being fired for who we are and who we love. Yet, there is more

work to be done. Discrimination has no place in this world, and I will not rest until we have equal rights for all.”

Pride At Work: “We’ve said over and over that LGBTQ working people deserve the dignity and respect of being protected from discrimination at work and now the Supreme Court agrees. In this moment of national uncertainty, we all need some good news and this is a huge win for equality.

“Today, the Court recognized that discrimination based on someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity is rooted in sex discrimination. The approximately 11.5 million LGB people and 1.5 million transgender people in the United States are now protected from discrimination in workplaces across the country. While many lower courts already have recognized that, we now have clarity from the highest court in the land.

“Much appreciation and congratulations are due to the plaintiffs in these case, Aimee Stephens, David Zarda, and Gerald Bostock. It saddens me that Aimee Stephens can’t be with us to celebrate the win she fought for, but she helped make equality that much more real for millions of people.

We owe all of you a great debt for standing up and demanding to be treated equally under the law.

“Not every working person has the benefit of an inclusive union contract to protect them from discrimination on the job.

Until today, half of LGBTQ people lived in a state that had no law to protect them from discrimination. Economic justice for

marginalized communities is at the core of the labor movement’s work. Unions fight every day to ensure the dignity and respect of every working person and this decision helps advance that cause.

“We are not done. LGBTQ discrimination has not been eradicated with this decision. We are in the midst of a global pandemic that has disproportionately impacted our community both economically and medically. LGBTQ folk, especially Black and brown people, face harassment and violence in their daily lives.

“In particular, Black trans women are at risk as we’ve seen just these last few weeks with the murder of two Black trans women.

A Black transgender man, Tony McDade was also the victim of a police shooting just days after George Floyd was murdered by police. Thousands of immigrants, many of whom are LGBTQ, are still being held in cages at our borders. There’s still a lot we must accomplish to make real a truly just and equitable society.

“Twenty-two years ago, I got started in LGBTQ activism because I had been fired for being gay. Like far too many LGBTQ working people, my life was uprooted and I thought I’d never work again. I recovered, but not everyone does. Some never work in their field of expertise again. Some have far worse outcomes. But after today, it will be a lot harder for LGBTQ people to lose their job for who they are.

“Today we can celebrate, but tomorrow we get back to work ensuring America lives up to its ideals of liberty and justice for all.”

GSBA – US Supreme Court rules civil rights law protects LGBTQ workers

by Matt Landers GSBA Director of Public Policy & Government Relations SEATTLE (June 15, 2020) – This morning, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of protecting LGBTQ workers under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The National Center for Transgender Equality describes the cases as follows: “All three cases decided today by the highest court in the land address discrimination in the workplace. In Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman, was fired when she transitioned on the job. The Court has declared, once and for all, that discrimination against transgender people is unlawful, and that

their decision applies across the country.

This ruling is truly historic.

“Altitude Express v. Zarda and Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, are both cases where gay employees were fired simply because of their sexual orientation. [In today’s] decision, Justice Gorsuch wrote for the Court that ‘In Title VII, Congress adopted broad language making it illegal for an employer to rely on an employee’s sex when deciding to fire that employee. We do not hesitate to recognize today a necessary consequence of that legislative choice: An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law.’”

This ruling should also provide clear guidance to overrule the Trump administration’s rollback of trans healthcare pro-

tections from last week, although further legal challenges will be necessary to end the administration’s actions.

We are thankful that Washington state has had strong anti-discrimination protections since 2006, and we are proud that the rest of the country is making progress on catching up. We still need Congress to catch up with the Supreme Court and the overwhelming majority of Americans and pass full federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in other areas like housing, education, credit, jury service, and public spaces. We have more work to do to cement these gains, and to make sure that these protections make a difference in the lives of all Americans, but it also feels good to celebrate progress in this moment.

While celebrating this decision, it is almost important to recognize that the Civil Rights Act itself has clearly not ended discrimination toward any group, especially black people. Recognition in the law alone is not enough to safeguard many in our community. The legal rights of all LGBTQ people won’t be secure until we end the systemic ways that racism not only oppresses black people and other people of color – economically, socially, and in the voting booth. We must help people, including within our own community, understand that ending systemic racism is about dismantling systems that also harm all LGBTQ+ people.

National Fair Housing Alliance on SCOTUS ruling to protect LGBTQ individuals from employment discrimination WASHINGTON, DC (June 17, 2020) – In July 2019, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) was among almost 60 civil rights organizations that filed a joint amicus brief urging the US Supreme Court to ensure that anti-discrimination workplace protections apply to LGBTQ individuals. We applaud the Court’s recent decision to do exactly that.

In its ruling, the Court stated that, in conjunction with prohibiting employment discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, and national origin, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The NFHA is encouraged by the Court’s landmark decision, but we know that discrimination against LGBTQ individuals does not

end when they leave work. Those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer routinely face discrimination in other areas of life including housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.

We also know that many LGBTQ individuals are people of color and are therefore doubly vulnerable to acts of prejudice.

The SCOTUS ruling, while a key milestone, only opens the door to equality in one facet of life. What we hope is that this moment spurs the much-needed expansion of protection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Court’s interpretation of Title VII will influence lower court decisions on Title VIII/Fair Housing cases dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination; these fair

Visit us online www.sgn.org

housing claims should be enforced accordingly.

Another avenue through which LGBTQ protections could be expanded is the Equality Act. The bill, passed by a bipartisan vote in the House in May 2019, would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in a wide variety of areas, including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system. We urge the Senate to swiftly follow the House’s lead and pass this vital piece of legislation.

As an organization dedicated to ending systemic discrimination, the NFHA remains fiercely committed to ensuring that LGBTQ Americans are able to make a living without fear of discrimination and

that they are also granted fair access to housing and other important resources.

June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 9

Founded in 1988, the NFHA is a consortium of more than 200 nonprofit fairhousing organizations, state and local civil rights agencies, and individuals from throughout the United States. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the NFHA works to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through leadership, education, outreach, membership services, public policy initiatives, community development, advocacy, and enforcement.

Courtesy of the NFHA

CHOP

continued from cover scene of violent clashes between protesters and Seattle Police. The SPD subsequently abandoned its East Precinct in the wake of the encounters. While Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan described the area as a “block party atmosphere” bordering on a “summer of love,” during an interview with CNN, many argue that there is a darker side to the CHOP that is not apparent to the public.

Jack Posobiec, an American alt-right political activist famous for spreading conspiracy theories and posting highly edited content, claims to have spent three days and nights in the CHOP. He described a lawless area run by a “tinpot warlord,” adding that he has “plenty of sources” and to have “built out” a network of people local to Seattle.

“It is the post-modern Babylon… you got to shut it down folks, you have to shut it down,” he said. “This place is a disgrace.

An absolute disgrace…there is no rule of law here whatsoever.”

Posobiec referenced drug use and the use of weapons by the John Brown Gun Club and Antifa, which he says is “all over the place” in the CHOP. Posobiec pointed to a favorite target of those on the right, local rapper and activist Raz Simone, as a source of the violence.

“The media is completely lying to you when they say there is no armed security.

There is armed security,” added Posobiec.

“There is no autonomy. The ‘de-escalation’ is getting guns pointed at you...or having members of the crew run over and beat you down.

“Let’s be clear,” stressed Posobiec.

“This is still the United States of America.

There are still laws here and all of this is being documented.”

State Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-43rd), who lives just seven blocks from the CHOP and attends Central Lutheran Church, which borders the area, painted a different picture for Seattle Gay News. He stated that he walked through the CHOP on Monday to pick up bagels for his family without incident. He added that he believes much of the concern is based on misinformation, and took to Facebook to address the concerns of friends and legislative colleagues.

“In the last few days, I have had calls from friends around the country and legislative colleagues worried about my family’s safety, because of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” he wrote on Sunday. “When I return those calls, I like to walk a few blocks down to the CHOP and describe what I see: a lot of passionate people gathered to try to figure out how to make the world better...

One thing I am sure of: my neighborhood is a lot safer since the police stopped trying to dominate peaceful protestors.”

However, unlike Posobiec, some visiting the CHOP come to provoke and disrupt the work going on there. On Monday, this writer found herself standing next to an older man wearing a hat that read “Make America Great Again,” the popular campaign slogan of President Donald Trump, and carrying an American flag. The man’s intent seemed obvious: to elicit a reaction from the crowd. He got what he was looking for as a woman stepped forward and attempted to take his flag. A woman in the crowd said, “He came here looking for this.

Let him have it.” However, CHOP security and myself helped the man to depart the area safely. Later that day, a man who called himself Max showed up wrapped in an American flag with an African-American street preacher and uniformed Proud Boys by his side. The Proud Boys have been identified as a “designated hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Max, who described himself as an Air Force veteran of seven years, a Seattle resident and martial arts instructor at a Bellevue gym, had first appeared in the CHOP on Saturday waving an American flag. He was accompanied by self-identified members of the Three Percenters, a far-right paramilitary militia group, and Katie Daviscourt, a self-described “freedom fighter” and

10 Seattle Gay News

Three Percenter militia group seen outside CHOP

conservative citizen reporter. However, he denied any association with these groups.

During an interview on the conservative podcast “Republic Keeper,” Max explained that his intent was to gather support for his new organization, Seattle Police Council: “After researching Antifa… that is what led me to brainstorm and come up with my own group of unified minds, which seems to be what we all have in common when you take away the Proud Boy and you take away the ‘Republican’ or ‘Conservative.’

As humans we all agree to these liberties, right?” he said. “I agree things need to be fixed on the blue side, within the police force. That doesn’t mean be racist against the police now. That is what I feel is happening and that is what I am working on preventing – even if that means we have to create something new that stands between the people and local or federal government, that polices the police.”

During his interview Max discussed how he met Katie Daviscourt: “I definitely did not know Katie prior... I just stumbled across her profile as someone who was very active in the community... she’s engaged,” he said.

“She is definitely not biased. She’s openminded. That brought me to message her on Twitter as someone who can contribute.”

Daviscourt has been critical of the CHOP on social media. On Twitter, she has called on her supporters to “LIBERATE CHAZ” and said that it is time for “Patriots to come out and defend our country from Antifa terrorists.” In an Instagram video filmed on the state Capitol grounds during a protest of the Governor’s stay-at-home order, she introduces members of the Proud Boys and Three Percenters to her followers.

“Love it,” she says after a member of the Three Percenters speaks.

Daviscourt is also the 2020 campaign manager for State Representative Robert Sutherland (R-39th). In one Facebook post on June 9th, Sutherland described the role of a militia under the U.S. Constitution and asked, “Is the armed and violent takeover of sections of Seattle and their subsequent rejection of the USA an ‘insurrection’?” In another post on his campaign website on June 10th, he is pictured with an assault-style rifle along with two other individuals holding guns. Suther-

June 19, 2020

land stated that “...with other US cities suffering violent attacks from protesters” he joined other Snohomish citizens to “...defend our little town...from destruction.”

One member of the Three Percenters who joined Daviscourt and Max on Saturday is a popular creator on the videosharing social network TikTok. He was also seen later that day with members of his group who were armed with assault rifles and handguns near Central Lutheran Church. Under the moniker “BeardedTattedSniper54,” the member has 21,600 followers and 107 videos on his main channel.

The channel profile states that he is a veterinary technician and combat veteran. His TikTok videos range from complaints about censorship on the platform to duets with others; videos with animals; and profiles of his vehicles, a BMW car and a Harley Davidson motorcycle. BeardedTattedSniper54 noted that he had a second channel planned that was going to be “offensive as fuck.”

A deep dive into TikTok reveals an app full of conspiracy theories, hate group members, and mentions of Seattle’s CHOP. Another user, IAmTheSaint, who claims to live in the Seattle area, said that he was fired three times in the last six months due to members of Antifa doxing him. The user was seen at the CHOP on Monday. Many of his videos show Proud Boys engaged in social activities; mocking Antifa, the John Brown Gun Club, and the CHOP. Comments on his TikTok’s include alarming language about bombing the CHOP and one that simply stated, “Kill the population of chaz.”

It was not immediately known if this individual took part in the brutal theft and beating of a CHOP protester on Monday. A video of the beating has been uploaded to Twitter.

An interview with the victim has also been posted. The victim admits that he had been following and filming the Proud Boys on his cell phone as they left the CHOP. He stated that he took pictures of a white male and female who were driving a car with no plates and he continued to follow the other members of the Proud Boys further north.

“Some of them stopped at a bus stop and...more kept walking. They had a white minivan, like a Ford Windstar, parked.

It had its plates removed too,” the victim

recounted. “The back seats were out and there was a lot of stuff in the back. When I started getting closer, that is when they got aggressive. Up until that point I could just follow a half block away.

“I never struck a blow even after they started hitting me. There was the guy in the Mexican poncho. He struck first. There was the guy with the mustache and the gun in his holster. He was striking me. There were a couple people in the car. Some may have gotten out.

“The guy with the Proud Boys jacket and with his face exposed; he pulled a police baton out on me, which may or may not have been the cause of this (pointing to a welt forming on his forehead). It might have been a fist, I’m not sure. Their [modus operandi] was to knock me around a bit, get my phone – steal the phone – so I couldn’t get any footage.”

A spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department was unable to locate a police report by press time. However, he added that the SPD had seen the videos and urged anyone with more information to come forward and report it to the police.

It is not known what has caused the rhetoric surrounding the CHOP to escalate and result in violence, but some point to the president. Trump has continued to call for action against the CHOP and its inhabitants. In a tweet to Governor Jay Inslee and Mayor Durkan, he wrote: “Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped [sic] IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!” Trump followed that up with another tweet 38 minutes later in which he added that “Domestic Terrorists have taken over Seattle.”

Trump spent over four minutes of his remarks on Monday talking about the CHOP with White House reporters. “These people have taken over a vast part, a major part, a very good part of a place called Seattle,” he said. “These are violent people that are dealing violently and I think that what I’d like to see before we do something, I’d like to see the press get in there and cover it.

“The problem with what happened in Seattle is it spreads and all of the sudden they’ll say, ‘Let’s do some other city. And

Celebrating 46 Years!

let’s do another one.’ And we’re not going to let it happen.”

Posobiec, who is based in Washington D.C. and flew to Seattle to surveil the CHOP, boasted about his White House connections during a Periscope broadcast on Monday from Capitol Hill. “The White House has known we have been there the entire time, just so you know,” he explained. ”We are making sure the White House gets all this information.”

Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins asserted that she is deeply heartened by the work she sees going on as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement. “So many more people in our community are lifting up their head and starting to understand; starting to do good work in this area,” she told the SGN by phone. “It is being led – as it should be – by Black people who are giving us a gift by telling us their stories. It is really time for us to not only hear them but then to follow their lead in terms of doing things to break down systemic racism.”

Due to COVID-19, she has not had a chance to visit CHOP but warns the president to stay out of her state. “We live in this Washington, he lives in the other Washington and he should stay there,” she said. “We are here and I feel good about what this Washington is going to do moving forward.”

Photo by Renee Raketty

Employees call it retaliation for protest, Trader Joe’s says closed for Capitol Hill remodel

by Justin Carder Capitol Hill Seattle blog Trader Joe’s isn’t big on public relations and social media but its Monrovia, California corporate office has responded to CHS’s inquiry about the strange and sudden shuttering of the Capitol Hill store that employees say is retaliation for employee actions in support of Black Lives Matter protests and labor issues at the E Madison grocery.

A company spokesperson confirmed the employee group’s assertion that the location was closed Friday because “we did not have enough Crew Members available

to run the store.” But Trader Joe’s says its “temporary” closure is about construction work, not protests.

“During this temporary closure, we are taking the time to execute a remodel plan to address safety and security concerns that have developed over the last year,” the spokesperson said via email. “We will reopen the store as soon as these construction projects are completed, and it is our hope that we can welcome back our customers in the next week or two.”

The company spokesperson has not responded to phone calls or our attempts to follow up specifically about how the protest and employee involvement factored into the decision to close the store.

“I can assure you no Crew Members have been terminated,” the spokesperson did say.

CHS reported here on Friday’s sudden closure and employee group call for support to try to keep store #130 open. “We, a group of Store #130 workers who wish to remain anonymous, believe it’s no coincidence that the store was abruptly closed on the day that dozens of us took action in support of the movement for Black lives,” a statement from the employee group on the situation reads. “We know that the company will try to avoid the appearance of being antagonistic to the movement.” The group has posted a petition for customers to support the workers and “save” the store.

During the closure, Trader Joe’s say it is “continuing to pay our Crew Members for their scheduled shifts” and “perishable product that would expire prior to re-opening will be donated to our neighborhood food banks.”

“We appreciate that this is an inconvenience and value the patience and understanding of our customers,” the company spokesperson said. h t t p s: / / w w w. c a p i t o l h i l l s e a t t l e. com/2020/06/employees-call-it-retaliation-for-protest-trader-joes-says-closedfor-capitol-hill-remodel/ Reprinted with permission

SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM FESTIVAL JUSTICE IN MOTION Episode 1.5 Resources for Racial Justice

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

The Social Justice Film Festival stands in solidarity with black communities, and with organizers and protestors demanding justice and equity across the nation. We are committed to a global culture where it is not just equality but equity that is achieved on all levels. We will work to affirm the artists who make the art of filmmaking, and the public bearing witness from our per-

sonal lens and from the streets, an integral part of social change.

Justice Matters. Black Lives Matter.

In response to protests around the country and around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police, we at the Social Justice Film Institute feel it important to honor the social justice moment we’re living in right now.

As such, we’ve compiled a docu-

ment intended to share films and reading inspired by the mission of social justice and racial equity, as well as organizations to donate aid to in the fight for black lives and in protest of police brutality.

You can find our document for Racial Justice Resources at socialjusticefilmfestival.org/racial-justice-resources.

tigation charged Seattle police with excessive force directed largely at communities of color.

Since joining the Council, the SPOG relied on labor’s political muscle to help them in contract negotiations with the City of Seattle. Now, as they have to renegotiate a contract that was overturned by a federal court order, the SPOG will have to go it alone.

One June 4, the council’s executive board passed a resolution affirming that “systemic racism exists in the Seattle Police Department” and calling on the SPOG to become an anti-racist organization.

A meeting between SPOG officers and representatives of the council was supposed to assess the SPOG’s openness to change,

but many who attended the meeting found the SPOG unwilling to take concrete steps forward.

“Two weeks ago we gave yet another chance for the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild to make immediate and drastic changes to correct the systemic and institutional racism in the department,” said Joe Mizrahi, secretary-treasurer of UFCW 21 and a member of the MLK Labor Executive Board.

“That was not done, and tonight we followed through on our commitment for change by voting for accountability, for justice, for Black Lives Matter, and for reform by kicking the SPOG out of the council.”

June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 11

Courtesy of Social Justice Film Festival

Labor Council boots cops

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer MLK Labor, the central labor council for King County, voted on June 17 to expel the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) from its ranks.

The action came on a motion from the Highline Education Association, a teachers union. MLK Labor represents some 150 union locals, councils, and allied labor organizations. Now it has one fewer.

“As a union movement, it’s our responsibility to fight for all forms of justice,” said MLK Labor Executive Secretary-Treasurer Nicole Grant.

“In the Martin Luther King County

Labor Council, we believe that there can be no justice without racial justice. Any union that is part of our labor council needs to be actively working to dismantle racism in their institution and society at large. Unfortunately, the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild has failed to do that work and are no longer welcome in our council.”

“Since the killing of George Floyd, communities of color in Seattle and around the United States have spoken loud and clear that the status quo will no longer be tolerated,” she added. “We have listened to our community and responded by doing the right thing.”

The SPOG joined the ranks of the Labor Council in 2014, two years after a Justice Department “pattern and practice” inves-

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SCOTUS to Trump: Don’t touch DACA

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer In its second rebuke to the Trump administration in a week, the US Supreme Court ruled on June 18 that the federal government cannot shut down DACA, the program that allows 800,000 undocumented young people known as “Dreamers” to remain in the US. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the decision for a 5-to-4 majority, finding that

the administration failed to give an adequate justification for ending the DACA program.

Roberts was also part of the 6-to-3 majority that ruled federal law protects LGBTQ workers from job discrimination.

“We conclude that the acting secretary [of Homeland Security] did violate the [Administrative Procedure Act]” and that the decision to rescind DACA “must be vacated,” in other words, it is null and void, Roberts wrote.

In his decision, Roberts called the Trump administration’s “total rescission” of DACA

“arbitrary and capricious.”

Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh filed opinions that concurred with parts of the majority but overall concluded that the administration could end DACA. The high court majority said that the administration could resubmit a more detailed explanation for its action, but political pundits said the White House might not want to end such a popular program in the heat of a presidential campaign.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) choked up on the Senate floor moments after the Supreme Court announced its decision.

Schumer said he “cried tears of joy” and called the decision, as well as the court’s ruling Monday that existing federal law forbids job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status, “a bright ray of sunshine.”

NMAC hails Supreme Court decision preserving DACA WASHINGTON, DC (June 18, 2020) – NMAC today hailed today’s the Supreme Court decision that preserves DACA protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

“Today’s decision is a win not just for the immigrant community but for justice in immigration,” said Joe Huang-Racalto, NMAC’s director of government relations

and public policy. “After blatant abuses of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers by this administration, we finally have a voice of reason in the Supreme Court saying ‘enough.’ We hope that this is just the beginning of comprehensive immigration reform and of compassionate approaches to those seeking safety and a better life in the United States.”

NMAC leads with race to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic in America. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced its mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous electronic and print materials,

and a website (www.nmac.org). NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations, providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the HIV epidemic.

Courtesy of NMAC

OUR BIG FAT GAY PRIDE WEEK ISSUE IS COMING JUNE 26!

And we still have ad space available! if you're open for businesscontact Maggie Bloodstone at sgn2@sgn.org ('Pride advertising' in subject line).

The Pride Week issue will be distributed around the Seattle area, and will be online in its entirety. time is getting short, so contact us asap!

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June 19, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

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14 Seattle Gay News

June 19, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

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June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 15

with DESCOVY for PrEP® DESCOVY for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a once-daily prescription medicine for adults and adolescents at risk of HIV. It helps lower the chances of getting HIV through sex.

DESCOVY for PrEP is not for everyone: • It is not for use in people assigned female at birth who are at risk of getting HIV from vaginal sex, because its effectiveness has not been studied.

• You must be HIV-negative before and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP.

DESCOVY® is the smallest pill approved for PrEP. Actual size: 13mm x 6mm

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT DESCOVY (des-KOH-vee) This is only a brief summary of important information about taking DESCOVY for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DESCOVY FOR PrEP Before starting and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP: • You must be HIV-negative. You must get tested for HIV immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking DESCOVY. If you think you were exposed to HIV, tell your healthcare provider right away. They may want to do more tests to confirm that you are still HIV-negative.

• Many HIV tests can miss HIV infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or while taking DESCOVY. • DESCOVY does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to reduce the risk of getting STIs. • DESCOVY by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1.

Do not take DESCOVY for PrEP unless you are confirmed to be HIV negative.

DESCOVY may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking DESCOVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check or give you HBV medicine.

Ask a healthcare provider if DESCOVY for PrEP is right for you.

To learn more, visit AboutDescovy.com.

ABOUT DESCOVY FOR PrEP DESCOVY for PrEP is a once-daily prescription medicine for adults and adolescents at risk of HIV who weigh at least 77 pounds.

It helps lower the chances of getting HIV through sex.

DESCOVY for PrEP is not for everyone: • It is not for use in people assigned female at birth who are at risk of getting HIV from vaginal sex, because its effectiveness has not been studied.

• You must be HIV-negative before and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Do NOT take DESCOVY for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV infection or if you do not know your HIV status.

If you have HIV-1, you need more medicine than DESCOVY alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only DESCOVY, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat now and in the future.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY FOR PrEP DESCOVY can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About DESCOVY for PrEP” section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with DESCOVY. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking DESCOVY. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

*

,

Eligible patients may pay as little as a $0 co-pay.*

Actor portrayals

HOW TO TAKE DESCOVY FOR PrEP POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY FOR PrEP (cont’d) Common side effects in people taking DESCOVY for PrEP include diarrhea, nausea, headache, fatigue, and stomach pain.

These are not all the possible side effects of DESCOVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking DESCOVY for PrEP. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with DESCOVY for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING DESCOVY FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis.

• Have any other medical conditions.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with DESCOVY for PrEP.

• Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking DESCOVY for PrEP.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. If your partner is living with HIV, your risk of getting HIV is lower if your partner consistently takes HIV treatment every day.

• Get tested for other STIs. Some STIs make it easier for HIV to infect you.

• Practice safer sex by using latex or polyurethane condoms.

• Talk to your healthcare provider about all the ways to help reduce HIV risk.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

• Go to DESCOVY.com/prep or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit DESCOVY.com/prep for program information.

*Advancing Access® co-pay support is available for commercially insured eligible patients only. Subject to change; for full terms and conditions, visit GileadAdvancingAccess.com.

DESCOVY FOR PrEP, the DESCOVY FOR PrEP Logo, the DESCOVY Blue Pill Design, DESCOVY, the DESCOVY Logo, STEP UP. PrEP UP., ADVANCING ACCESS, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. ©2020 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. DVYC0244 02/20

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Celebrating 46 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 19

Carmelo’s Tacos 110 Summit Ave E Seattle, WA 98102

(206) 659-0159 carmelostacos@gmail.com

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on Instagram @

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Celebrating 46 Years!

Former Log Cabin Republican boss joins Trump administration This would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Gregory Angelo, former head of Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), has a new job.

According to the right-wing newspaper Washington Examiner, Angelo will now be working for Donald Trump’s Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The announcement came less than

a week after the Trump administration announced it would remove protections for sexual orientation and gender identity from national health care rules. The administration’s action is certain to make it even more difficult for Transgender patients to get access to appropriate health care.

Log Cabin Republicans is a national LGBTQ Republican organization. Its Washington state chapter has an active Facebook

page but little political influence.

Angelo, as LCR president, campaigned for Donald Trump in 2016, claiming he would do more for LGBTQ rights than Democrats would.

In 2019, after the Equality Act passed by a convincing 236-173 vote in the US House, Angelo petitioned Mitch McConnell to block it from getting a vote in the US Senate. The bill is still languishing in the Sen-

ate’s backlog of legislation and hasn’t even gotten a hearing.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy was created during the Reagan administration at the height of the so-called “war on drugs.” Under its charter, the group “must oppose any attempt to legalize the use (in any form) of illicit drugs.” The Trump administration has interpreted this to include legalization of recreational drugs like marijuana.

Silent BLM March, June 12

Photos by Josh Castle

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June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 21

Over 350 LGBTQ organizations call for transformational change in policing WASHINGTON, DC (June 17, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, released a letter joined by over 350 prominent LGBTQ and civil rights organizations, calling for structural change, for divestment of police resources and reinvestment in communities and for long-term transformational change in policing.

The full list of signers can be found below.

“Ongoing police brutality and systemic racism have plagued this nation for generations, and it’s time we join together to say enough is enough. It is time we take urgent and immediate action for structural change, for divestment of police resources and reinvestment in communities,” said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “Every day the racial violence that has filled our television, computer, and phone screens is a stark reminder of how far we still must go to ensure that the promise of America is not dependent on the color of one’s skin. [For] Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Stephon Clark, Freddie Gray, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Mya Hall, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and many more who were gone too soon, we are united to change the systems that target our Black and Brown siblings. The time for structural change and transformation is now.”

“Thank you to the 350+ LGBTQ organizations who stand united to urge immediate and urgent action to rectify a legacy of white supremacy and anti-Black racism that continues to lead to police violence and killing of Black people across the country,” added David. “The LGBTQ community is familiar with fighting against systems of power that are set up to serve the privileged few. We must speak out as strongly as we can and urge for change now.”

The letter reads, in full: “Black people have been killed, Black people are dying at the hands of police, our country is in crisis, and we all need to take action. We cannot sit on the sidelines, we cannot acquiesce, and we cannot assign responsibility to others. We, as leaders in the LGBTQ movement, must rise up and call for structural change, for divestment of police resources and reinvestment in communities, and for long-term transformational change.

Now is the time to take action, and this letter amplifies our strong calls for urgent and immediate action to be taken.

“Ongoing police brutality and systemic racism has plagued this nation for generations and has been captured on video and laid bare to the public in the United States and around the world. In 2019, more than 1,000 people were killed at the hands of the police. We mourn the unacceptable and untimely deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Stephon Clark, Freddie Gray, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Mya Hall, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and many more who were gone too soon.

“We have seen with increased frequency the shocking video footage of police brutality. Officers have been recorded instigating violence, screaming obscenities, dragging individuals out of cars, using unnecessary force, holding individuals at gunpoint, and kneeling on peoples’ necks to the desperate plea of ‘I can’t breathe.’ These occurrences are stark reminders of a police system that needs structural changes, deconstruction, and transformation. No one should fear for their lives when they are pulled over by the police. Parents should not have to ‘have a talk’ about how to engage with the police to their children. We as a nation are bleeding, and it is now, once again, time to call for

change at every level of government.

“The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, along with more than 400 other civil rights organizations, including LGBTQ organizations, outlined critical steps ranging from demilitarizing law enforcement to ending qualified immunity that must be taken at the federal level to end police brutality and create accountability.

In response to the continued violence, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), working closely with the Congressional Black Caucus and other leaders in Congress, introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 that reflects those core priorities which we support.

“We also call for a divestment of public funding from police and a reinvestment in communities. Specifically, both the power and scope of police responsibilities should be significantly curtailed, by shifting certain responsibilities – such as mental health crisis response – from armed police officers to the professionals who are properly trained and better equipped to manage those responsibilities. True change must include the following principles: Divesting of public funding from police and investing in our communities: Public funding should be shifted from police to reinvesting in our communities. Crime is often a symptom of scarcity and our frayed social safety net is sorely underfunded.

The United States spends twice as much on policing, prisons, and courts as it does on direct welfare programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and supplemental social security. Congress, states, and local governments can reduce incidents of crime and create healthy communities by investing in direct assistance programs, affordable housing, education, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and early intervention programs (including violence interruption programs).

Shifting most first responder responsibilities away from police: Our current crisisresponse system should place healthcare workers, like social workers and psychiatrists, at the frontline of immediate health crisis events, not police officers. Inadequate health care and a lack of social safety nets have led to increased police interaction with individuals experiencing mental health crises. As a result, police officers are often called to assist in mental health emergencies, despite having little or no relevant training. This should change.

End predictive policing: We must address and stop the current use of predictive policing techniques that disproportionately affect minority communities. Predictive policing forecasts crime using algorithmic techniques, based on historical crime data, to determine where to deploy police and who is most likely to commit a crime.

Not only does this dangerously reinforce discriminatory biases in the criminal justice system, resulting in overpolicing of vulnerable communities, such as people of color and those from the LGBTQ community, but there is a lack of transparency from agencies that employ this method.

Law enforcement agencies are often not required to share how or what data is being analyzed. Furthermore, these predictive technologies serve to escalate the level of enforcement and increase police presence in communities that are already oversurveilled. All law enforcement strategies must take into account the privacy concerns of the communities being policed, as well as the impact of over-policing on vulnerable communities. The use of predictive policing algorithms disregards both.

Police union contracts should be made public and officers held liable: Currently, police union contracts make it nearly impos-

22 Seattle Gay News

June 19, 2020

sible for civilians to view information about officers, including incidents of prior misconduct. In doing so, police officers are shielded from accountability for their actions. The disciplinary history of a police officer whose personnel records are riddled with instances of misconduct and bad behavior should not be protected from public scrutiny. Making these contracts public and removing barriers that restrict access to records of police misconduct would allow for greater transparency and oversight and are necessary for public safety. Police union contracts must also hold police officers financially liable for killings and excessive use of force, including ending paid administrative leave and eligibility to be rehired by police departments.

“As we consider these proposals, we should also evaluate how we reduce our overreliance on policing to secure public safety.

“We, the undersigned, call out for change and call out for change now. There is no state, no municipal jurisdiction, and no law enforcement agency where transformational changes are not necessary and urgent. When celebrating Pride Month this June, we must remember that the protests and riots from Compton’s Cafeteria to Stonewall were sparked by Black and Latinx transgender women calling for police reform due to harassment and mistreatment of LGBTQ people. We commemorate the history of the LGBTQ movement, namely our resistance to police harassment and brutality across the nation, when such violence was common and expected. We remember this time as transformative, where we overcame our pain and fear to push for the ability to live a more authentic and free life. Today, we join together again to say that enough is enough. The time for structural change and transformation is now.”

African American Office of Gay Concerns; African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC); AMAAD Institute; American Civil Liberties Union; American Protestant Union; Annapolis Pride; APAIT; APLA Health; Aqua Foundation for Women; Arianna’s Center; Asexual Outreach; Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN); AsylumConnect; Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network; AVOL Kentucky; B. Riley Sober House; Basic Rights Oregon; Baton Rouge Pride; Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice; Being Alive/People with AIDS Action Coalition, Inc.; Bet Mishpachah; BHT Foundation; Bi Women Quarterly; BiLaw; Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center; BiPOL; Bisexual Organizing Project (BOP); Bisexual Resource Center; BJF Interiors; Black Trans Advocacy Coalition; Black Trans Women Inc; Blue Ridge Pride Center, Inc.; Boston Gay Men’s Chorus; Boston Pride; Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center; Brooklyn Community Pride Center; Campaign for Southern Equality; Campus Pride; CANDLE; Care Resource Community Health Centers, Inc.; Cascade AIDS Project; CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers; Center on Halsted; Central Outreach Wellness; Cincinnati Men’s Chorus; Coastal Bend PRIDE Center; Colors+; Community Education Group; Compass LGBTQ Community Center; Contigo Fund; Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide; Dallas Voice/Voice Publishing Co.; Deaf Queer Resource Center; Desert AIDS Project; Diocese of Southern Ohio; Disciples LGBTQ+ Alliance - AllianceQ; Dolphin Democrats; Drag Story Hour- Arizona; East Bay Getting to Zero; EduTechnologic; End Hep C SF; Equal Rights Washington; Equality Arizona; Equality Business Alliance; Equality California; Equality Delaware Foundation; Equality Florida; Equality Michigan; Equality Nevada; Equality New

York; Equality North Carolina; Equality Ohio; Equality Prince William; Equality Texas; Equality Utah; EqualityMaine; Equitas Health; Equitas Health Institute; Family Equality; Fijate Bien Program/ MPact Global Action for Gay Men’s Health and Rights; FL NOW (National Organization for Women) ; Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus; Florida Trans Proud Inc; FORGE, Inc.; Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center; Frank Harr Foundation; Freedom for All Americans; Freedom Through Healing; FreeState Justice Maryland’s LGBTQ+ Advocates; Friendly House Inc/SAGE Metro Portland; GAPIMNY—Empowering Queer & Trans Asian Pacific Islanders; Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center; Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles (GFBLA); Gender Equality New York; Georgia Equality; Get Out And Trek (GOAT); GLAAD; GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz; GLBT Historical Society; GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders; GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality; GLSEN; GLSEN Southern Nevada; GMHC; Harvey Milk Festival, Inc; Harvey Milk Foundation; Have A Gay Day; Hawai’i Institute for Human Rights; Hearts on a Wire; Henderson Equality Center; Hester Street Fair, LLC; Hetrick-Martin Institute: New Jersey; Holyoke Pride; Hope & Help, Inc.; Horizons Foundation; Houston GLBT Political Caucus; Howard Brown Health; Hudson Pride Center; Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation; Human Rights Alliance Santa Fe; Human Rights Campaign; Identity, Inc.; Immigration Equality; Inside Out Youth Services; Institute for LGBT Health and Wellbeing; International Association of Providers of AIDS Care; InterPride; Jackson Pride Center; JustUs Health; KatKeo Properties LLC; Keshet; Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles; Lambda Legal; Latino LinQ; Lesbians of Color Symposium (LOCS) Collective, Inc.; Lesbians Who Tech & Allies; Leslie Lohman Museum of Art; LGBT Caucus of the California Democratic Party; LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland; LGBT Life Center; LGBTQ Allyship; LGBTQ Center OC; LGBTQ Center of Bay County; LGBTQ Community Center of Southern Nevada; LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert; LGBTQ Northwest Indiana / Northwest Indiana Pride; LGBTQ+Allies Lake County; Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club; Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY); Long Island LGBT Community Center; Lorain County LGBTQ+ & Allies Task Force; Los Angeles Bi Task Force; Los Angeles LGBT Center; Mass Equality; Math4cure; Mazzoni Center; Media for the Public Good, Inc. / OutCasting Media; Meroe & Wellness, LLC; Methodist Federation for Social Action; Movement Advancement Project; Nashville LGBT Chamber; Nashville Pride; National Black Justice Coalition; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Center for Transgender Equality; National Coalition for LGBT Health; National Equality Action Team (NEAT); National LGBT Cancer Network; National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC); National LGBTQ Task Force; National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals, Inc.; National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA); National Queer Theater; National Trans Visibility March; National Working Positive Coalition; New England Aces; New York City AIDS Memorial; New York City Gay Men’s Chorus; New York LGBT Network; North Carolina AIDS Action Network; North Shore Alliance of LGBTQ Youth; Oakland LGBTQ Community Center; Oasis Legal Services; Oklahomans for Equality; ONE Archives Foundation; One Colorado; One Orlando

Celebrating 46 Years!

Federal court orders Department of State to recognize US citizenship of child of Gay couple born abroad (June 17, 2020) – A federal court in Maryland today ordered the US Department of State to recognize the US citizenship and issue a US passport to one-year old Kessem Kiviti, a baby born abroad to a same-sex married couple, who was refused recognition as a US citizen from the moment of her birth by the Trump administration despite federal law giving her that right. The State Department insisted on treating Kessem as an immigrant because she was born abroad and is not related biologically to both parents.

“We are tremendously relieved that the court recognized what we always knew: that our daughter was a US citizen by birth,” said Kessem’s parents, Roee and Adiel Kiviti. “We are proud we taught our little girl to stand up for what’s right even before she could crawl. No child should be denied her rights because her parents are LGBT, and no family should have to endure the indignity we did.”

The lawsuit was brought by Lambda Legal and Immigration Equality and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis on behalf of the Kivitis, a married gay couple, and their daughter, Kessem, whom the Trump administration refused to recognize as a US citizen since birth, even though both of her parents are US citizens. Kessem was born abroad via gestational surrogacy, and while federal law dictates that a child born to two US citizens automatically becomes a citizen, the State Department has refused to recognize Kessem as a citizen because she is not biologically related to both of her fathers.

“After this week’s Supreme Court victory affirming that LGBT people cannot

be carved out from laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, today’s victory confirms once again that married samesex couples cannot be carved out from laws tied to marriage, as is the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Immigration and Nationality Act does not distinguish between the marital children of same-sex and different-sex couples. As the court noted, to do so would violate the clear terms of the law and raise grave constitutional concerns.” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior staff attorney at Lambda Legal and one of the lawyers of the family. “The law provides for the recognition of citizenship to the children born abroad of married couples who are US citizens. This provision applies equally to all couples regardless of whether the parents have a biological relationship with their children. It was callous and discriminatory for the State Department to refuse to recognize baby Kessem as the US citizen she is. Today’s victory shows how unlawful the Department of State’s

actions really were.”

“Today, the court rejected the State Department’s efforts to insert a biology requirement into the law where none exists and its resulting discriminatory treatment of the families formed by married samesex couples.” said Karen Loewy, senior counsel at Lambda Legal. “As the Supreme Court has made clear, the Constitution forbids the government from advantaging different-sex couples over same-sex couples in providing a benefit related to marriage.

This decision is a long overdue victory for this family and we hope it brings peace of mind to them and all LGBT parents in similar situations.”

Today’s decision dovetails a similar lawsuit pending before the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia also filed by Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality, and Morgan Lewis on behalf of married US-citizen couple Derek Mize and Jonathan Gregg and their daughter, Simone MizeGregg, whose citizenship is similarly being denied recognition by the State Department.

Roee and Adiel Kiviti married in California in 2013. They had their daughter Kessem via gestational surrogacy in Canada in February 2019. Because only Adiel has a biological connection to Kessem, the State Department disregarded Roee and Adiel’s marriage and treated Kessem as “born out of wedlock,” meaning that they required her to have a biological relationship to a US citizen parent who has resided in the US for five years to automatically obtain her US citizenship. This requirement is not meant to apply to the children of married US citizens.

“This is a huge victory for the Kiviti

family,” said Aaron C. Morris, executive director of Immigration Equality. “Yet another federal court agrees with us that a biological connection is not required for married US citizen parents to pass on citizenship to their children. This just makes sense. It’s love that makes a family, not biology. We will continue to fight this battle until the State Department ends its discriminatory policy.”

The Immigration and Nationality Act states that children of married US citizens born abroad are US citizens from birth so long as one of their parents has lived in the US at some point, but the State Department routinely denies that right to same-sex couples and their marital children. While different-sex couples are automatically presumed to both be parents of their children, same-sex couples are subjected to invasive questioning about how they brought their child into their family, and because one parent is not a biological parent, they are treated as if they are not married, and their children are not recognized as citizens unless the biological parent can meet additional criteria.

Read the decision in Kiviti v. Pompeo at www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/ md_kiviti_20200617_memorandum-opinion.

Read more about Kiviti v. Pompeo at www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/ kiviti-v-pompeo.

Read more about Mize v. Pompeo at www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/ mize-v-pompeo.

the organization’s work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Juneteenth is the annual commemoration of emancipation and the end of slavery that has been celebrated in the United States since June 19, 1865. It is often celebrated by organizing politically to strengthen civil rights for Black people in America.

Earlier this month, the Human Rights Campaign organized a letter, joined by prominent LGBTQ and civil rights organizations, condemning racism, racial violence, and police brutality while calling for action to combat these scourges. The

letter is now signed by 800+ leaders of the nation’s most prominent LGBTQ and civil rights organizations.

this year moving forward, employees at the Human Rights Campaign will have the opportunity to reflect on our shared journey, and how we can further racial equity, individually, organizationally, and globally.

None of us is free unless all of us are free, a truth made clear by the very fact that it took more than two years for news of emancipation to reach enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. With this designation, we proudly and publicly recommit to

continue working on behalf of all marginalized people for full equality.”

The decision to make Juneteenth an organizational holiday is one more articulation of the vision and commitment that David made to make racial equity a cornerstone of the HRC’s work when he joined the organization in August 2019, which includes adopting racial equity and inclusion principles for the staff, volunteer leadership, and boards; launching a transgender justice initiative; launching an initiative to address voter suppression efforts that further marginalize minority communities at the ballot box; and expanding the scope of

Alliance; one-n-ten; Openhouse; ORAM Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration; oSTEM; Our Family Coalition; Out & Equal; Out Boulder County; OUT Georgia Business Alliance; Out in Tech; Out in the Open; Out In The Vineyard; Out Leadership; Out on Film; OutCenter of Southwest Michigan; Outfest; OutNebraska; OutRight Action International; OUTspoken Leaders; Palm Beach County Human Rights Council; Pan Eros Foundation; Partnership Project; Peer Support Space, Inc.; Peoria Proud; PFLAG Cape Cod; PFLAG Crown Point (Northwest Indiana); PFLAG National; PFLAG NYC; PFLAG Olympia; PFLAG Orlando, Inc.; PFLAG South Miami; PFLAG Spartanburg; PFLAG Washington State Council; PFund Foundation; Philadelphia Family Pride; Phoenix Gay Men’s Chorus; Phoenix Pride; Planned Parenthood Keystone; Planned Parenthood Keystone’s Youth Programs (Rainbow Room, The Spectrum, The Curve); Plexus LGBT Chamber of Commerce; Point Foundation; PRC; Pride Arts (Pride Films and Plays); Pride at Work; Pride Center of the Capital Region; Pride Center West Texas; Pride Community Center, Inc (Brazos Valley, Texas); Pride Community Services Organization; Pride Films and Plays/Pride Arts; Pride Fund 1; Pride Law Fund; Project MORE

Foundation; Project No Labels; PROMO; Proud Haven Inc; Q Christian Fellowship; QLatinx; QLaw Foundation of Washington; Queens LGBT Center (Q-Center); Queer Connect, Inc.; Queer Kid Stuff; Queerocracy; Rainbow Elder Care of Greater Dayton; Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance; Rebellious PR & Consulting; Reconciling Ministries Network; Resource Center; Rhode Island Pride; Ring of Keys; Rockland County Pride Center; RUSA LGBT - Russian-speaking American Association; Sacramento LGBT Community Center; Safe Schools Action Network; SAGE -- Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders; SAGE Metro Detroit; SAGE Upstate; San Diego LGBT Visitors Center; San Diego Pride; San Francisco AIDS Foundation; San Francisco Community Health Center; San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® Womens Motorcycle Contingent; Sandhills PRIDE; Sarwood Inc.; SAVE Safeguarding American Values for Everyone; Seattle Aces and Aros; Seattle Choruses: SMC/SWC; Sero Project; SF LGBT Center; Side by Side VA; Silver State Equality-Nevada; SOJOURN; Southern Arizona Gender Alliance; SpeakOUT Boston; Spectrum Spokane; Stanislaus LGBTQ+ Collaborative for Well-Being; StartOut; Still Bisexual; Stonewall Columbus; Stonewall Democratic Club; Stonewall

Democrats of Central Ohio; Stonewall National Museum & Archives; Stonewall Sports - Richmond; SunServe; TBuddy; Tennessee Equality Project; Texas Pride Impact Funds; The Affirmative Couch, LLC; The Bearded Ladies Cabaret; The Box Gallery; The Bros in Convo Initiative; The Chroma Museum; The Cubbyhole Bar; The DC Center for the LGBT Community; The Diversity Center; The Fund for Community Reparations for Autistic People of Color’s Interdependence, Survival, and Empowerment; The Great Griffon; The Hetrick-Martin Institute; The Human Rights Alliance Santa Fe; The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center; The LGBT Asylum Project; The LGBT Center of Greater Reading; The LGBT Pink Panthers Movement; The LGBTQ Center Long Beach; The LOFT LGBT Community Services Center; The OUT Foundation; The Pride Center at Equality Park; The Pride Center of Maryland; The Rainbow Times; The San Diego LGBT Community Center; The Source LGBT+ Center; The Spahr Center; The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative; The Transgender Training Institute; The TransLatin@ Coalition; The Trevor Project; Three Dollar Bill Cinema (Seattle Queer Film Festival); TPAN; Trans In Color; TransFamily Support Services;

Transgender Assistance Program Virginia; Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund; Transgender Michigan; transnewyork; TransOhio; True Colors United; True Colors, Inc.; Truth Wins Out; TurnOut; Under T he A rc; UNITY COALITION|COALICION UNIDA; Uplift Outreach Center; Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance (UGLA); Valley AIDS Council; Valley Community Healthcare; Virtual Arizona Pride; Watermark; Waves Ahead Corp & SAGE Puerto Rico; WayOUT; Wenatchee Pride; White Mountains Pride; Whitman-Walker Institute; William Way LGBT Community Center; Woodhull Freedom Foundation; Yakima Pride; Yale GALA: Yale’s LGBT Alumni; Young Democrats of Georgia LGBTQ+ Caucus; Youth Outlook; Youth Pride, Inc.; Zebra Coalition

June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 23

JUNETEENTH continued from cover

Kiviti Family – Photo courtesy of Immigratioon Equality

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Courtesy of Lambda Legal

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

Courtesy of the HRC

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

PRIDE

New York Times: Pride 2020 Special Report NEW YORK (June 16, 2020) – To mark fifty years since the first Pride March, the New York Times today published a Pride special report [www.nytimes.com/spotlight/lgbt-pride], featuring LGBTQ voices on the challenges and possibilities of these troubled times.

Authors Jericho Brown, Carmen Maria Machado, and Thomas Page McBee reflect on a complicated moment for the

L.G.B.T.Q. community, reflecting on the question “What Does Pride Mean Now?” [www.nytimes.com /2020/06/16/a r ts/ author-gay-pride-2020.html] Andrea Jenkins, the first black, openly transgender woman to be elected to public office in the US, explains why she is Somber but Optimistic [www.nytimes. com/2020/06/16/us/andrea-jenkins-councilwoman-transgender-minneapolis.html].

Ted Loos explores what lockdown has meant for the creative work of LGBTQ Artists and Writers [www.nytimes. com/2020/06/16/arts/gay-lgbt-artistscoronavirus-theater-dance.html], and Scott James writes, as the pandemic ravages the country, there are concerns that the already marginalized group of transgender people will be further left behind [www.nytimes. com/2020/06/16/us/coronovirus-covid-

transgender-lgbtq-jobs.html].

To take part in the spirit and mission of Pride, charge up your computers, tablets and smartphones: the Times has compiled your digital online digest for Pride month events [https://www.nytimes.com/article/ gay-pride-2020-events-online.html].

Courtesy of the New York Times

TOGETHER

continued from cover For each of the three days, one organization is taking the lead in developing engaging program content – Gender Justice League (Trans Pride) will curate Friday, 5-10 p.m.; PrideFest, Saturday, noon-midnight; and Seattle Pride, Sunday, noon-6 p.m. Each day will offer a full schedule of program tracks, and featured sessions within each. As additional programming is added, daily hours may be extended.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the three organizations noted, “As producers of Seattle’s largest LGBTQIA+ Pride events, our organizations have made the collective decision to shift our annual large-group gatherings in June to a three-day event to remember. We are also working together to plan an in-person Pride event to be held later this year once it’s determined safer to resume community festivals.”

“We thank the hundreds of event sponsors, community partners, vendors and event participants for their continued support as our efforts now shift to creating a different kind of Pride – but one which continues to honor diversity and bring us together when we need it most,” the groups added.

The virtual programming schedule is currently in development, but early plans include: Day #1: Friday, June 26th – programmed by Gender Justice League (producer of Trans Pride) Gender Justice League will kick-off a robust three days of festivities with Trans Pride’s Friday Stage Show featuring a variety of local and national talent, workshops addressing a wide range of topics appealing to all ages, as well as youth activities and a series of trans-themed short films – in partnership with Three Dollar Bill Cinema and media partner 107.7 The End. Program sessions currently planned include storytelling and spoken word exploring the trials and joys of living in a queer disabled body presented by Gina Stella dell’Assunta; presentations by actress, writer, trans activist and motivational speaker Blossom Brown and black/ trans/queer poet, author and educator J Mase III; and a showing of The Most Dangerous Year, a 2018 feature documentary film about parents fighting for their transgender children’s rights. Trans Pride programming also includes a vital resource fair and online space to meet and collaborate with others from across the Northwest on social, racial and economic justice; accessibility for all, advocacy and activism.

Day #2: Saturday, June 27th – programmed by PrideFest (producer of PrideFest on Capitol Hill and at Seattle Center) For the second day of Seattle Virtual Pride, PrideFest will be doing a 12-hour live-cast including a family hour, queer youth Pride hour, a “preparing for Pride” hour, six hours of PrideFest mainstage programming, including hosts, artists, community features, and non-profit profiles, followed by a three- hour dance party from Uniting Souls. Headliners including Mary Lambert (from Macklemore’s “Same Love” and her Billboard charting single “Secrets”) and local treasures like the BeautyBoiz, a Latinx showcase led by Ruth

24 Seattle Gay News

Image courtesy of Seattle Pride

Soto, dance troupe Whim W’Him, drag queens, drag kings, old legends, and upand-coming musical stars. Everything seen on the PrideFest main stage, can be seen on the virtual PrideFest main stage, hosted

by Aleksa Manila and PrideFest Executive Director Egan Orion, and presented by Delta Air Lines.

In addition to the program sessions, Sunday will also feature a Nonprofit Virtual Exhibition Hall and Vendor Virtual Village – in which online attendees will be able to visit a wide variety of vendor “booths” in a virtual version of Seattle Pride in the Park (formerly known as the Volunteer Park Pride Festival).

Day #3: Sunday, June 28th – programmed by Seattle Pride (producer of Seattle Pride Parade & Seattle Pride in the Park) Seattle Pride’s programming will culminate the three days with four program tracks supporting its “Many Faces, One Pride” focus – Speakers, Activities & Activism, Performance and Q&A/Interactive. The programming will be a mix of live and recorded 20- and 40-minute sessions – as well as brief intermissions between each session and a mid-day lunch break during which attendees will be encouraged to order food from a queer-owned business.

Currently, the following sessions have been confirmed with more to be announced soon: The Power of Youth Activism: An Interview with Student Activists from Kennedy Catholic High School The Impact of COVID-19 on LGBTQIA+ Communities presented by Katie Hultquist, OutRight International Drag Shows performed by Seattle’s favorite Drag Queens & Kings, including Dolly Madison and Glitterous.

Immigrant & Refugee Community Rights & Social Media Organizing presented by Monserrat Padilla Prison Abolition Letter Writing Workshop for building relationships with LGBTQIA+ incarcerated people presented

by Black and Pink Vashon Island’s LGBTQIA+ History: An Interview with Historian Bruce Haulman Online Book Discussion focused on Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and the representation of LGBTQIA+ youth in literature Seattle Pride Karaoke

The organizers of Seattle Pride wish to acknowledge and stand in solidarity with other regional LGBTQIA+ organizations to condemn the senseless murder of George Floyd, standing together against racism in all forms. The LGBTQIA+ community knows firsthand the feeling of marginalization, and the importance of compassion and standing together – especially in this time of need. As with other impactful movements, the LGBTQIA+ movement also began with a protest. Much of Seattle Pride’s programming will be centered on matters of activism and centering black and brown voices.

June 19, 2020

The jam-packed day of LGBTQIA+ fun also includes virtual performances by the musical acts originally slated for Seattle Pride in the Park. Headlining the musi-

cal performances will be Washington artist and radical indigenous queer feminist, Black Belt Eagle Scout. Other fan favorites will include CarLarans, Chong the Nomad, Fly Moon Royalty, Latinrose, Sera Cahoone, and Stephanie Anne Johnson & The Hidogs. The musical performances will be hosted by KEXP’s Marco Collins and popular Seattle drag queens Donnatella Howe and Betty Wetter.

Later that evening attendees are invited to relive the pageantry of Seattle Pride Parades with a special retrospective of past parade highlights on-air and online at 11:30pm. hosted by Seattle Pride’s Official TV Partner KIRO 7. Seattle Pride’s other media partners include iheartradio stations, KNKX and MOViN 92.5.

Seattle Pride’s day is made possible with support from presenting partners Alaska Airlines and T-Mobile, platinum partner Salesforce, among many other community partners.

The three organizations dedicate this month to not only the LGBTQIA+ community, but to the black, brown and indigenous communities which deserve a full measure of solidarity, action and love as part of the continued fight for freedom and human dignity.

For more information and the latest updates to the list of featured speakers, performers and more, visit www.TogetherForPride.org. Also be sure to follow Gender Justice League, PrideFest and Seattle Pride on social media for ongoing updates and other information.

Courtesy of Together For Pride

Celebrating 46 Years!

“Rock For Pride” unites the LGBTQIA+ community A virtual love letter to the community, from the community – now online

Images courtesy of Jack Mozie

by Jack Mozie Special to the SGN “Rock For Pride 2020 – At Home Edition,” a free broadcast dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community bringing you messages of love from community leaders, nonprofits, drag performers, musicians, and more, has gone online.

The artists featured in the broadcast include: Jack Mozie, Sarah Toce, Aleksa Manila, Gaysha Starr, Atasha Manila, LatinRose, La Gorda, Queen Andrew, Garlic Man, Lorenzo, Fast Nasties, Jon Noble, The Duchess, Niyah Marie Gonzales and Amora Dior Black.

“Rock For Pride” is a collaborative effort by non-profits, community groups,

and artists in Washington and Oregon States, organized by Jack Mozie.

Supporting non-profits and community groups include: PFLAG Washington State Council, Seattle YMCA, The Seattle Lesbian, Seattle Women’s Pride, Entre Hermanos, Pride Asia, Somos Seattle, STIRY, and Northwest Queer Chorus.

As part of his commitment to the better-

ment of the LGBTQIA+ community, Jack Mozie is making “Rock For Pride” a free broadcast available on several platforms, including: YouTube, Mixer, Twitch, Facebook and Periscope.

Please go to www.jackmozie.com/rockforpride to watch “Rock For Pride 2020 – At Home Edition” online.

Capitol Hill Housing has new Community Roots Housing name and a new project bringing meals to affordable housing residents and business to local restaurants

by Lena Friedman Capitol Hill Seattle blog intern Affordable housing developer Capitol Hill Housing has branched out far from its start on 15th Ave E. Its new name reflects its expanded focus – Community Roots Housing.

“Our name has changed, but our mission as an organization has not,” CEO Chris Persons said about the change. “We remain committed to building vibrant, engaged communities, and our new name reflects our record of doing that – throughout the Seattle area.”

CHS reported here on the organization’s name search as it worked to winnow down a list of finalists.

The 12th Ave-based developer announced the new name this week as it continues its work on new projects across Capitol Hill and the city – as well as a new project that is building community, not mixed-use.

As the COVID-19 crisis compounds the stressors of food insecurity and unemployment across Washington, CRH is trying to offer its residents one less thing to worry about: meals for themselves and their families.

The organization has partnered with three other affordable housing developers – Mercy Housing Northwest, Bellwether Housing and SCIDpda – to deliver meals from local restaurants to residents living in affordable housing buildings. This Community Kitchens for Affordable Housing Residents Program is part of CRH’s larger approach to aid residents and commercial tenants during the COVID-19 crisis.

Donna Moodie, executive director of CRH’s Capitol Hill EcoDistrict, said this program is a group effort among the dif-

Photo courtesy of Terra Plata

ferent housing developers, funded by a $500,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation that will compensate restaurants preparing complimentary meals for these residents.

“The grant proposal was written together with the idea that we would all partake in the same mission of trying to get some meals to residents that were in need of food and that we would use restaurants that were in need of business to create the meals,” said Moodie.

A number of restaurants serving a variety of cuisines, including Osteria la Spiga and Zaika, have catered meals thus far, and the program hopes to add Palermo Pizza & Pasta, Terra Plata, Mamnoon, Ba Bar and more to the list.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Moodie explained there was an original intention to only use restaurants that are commercial tenants in CRH buildings – like Zaika and Palermo – but the search for viable restaurants expanded since certain spots were closing as a result of the pandemic and others lacked space to prepare the meals at a larger scale.

“They’re not cooking maybe exactly what they used to cook before the pandemic but they’re making really beautiful, nutritious, well-balanced meals for residents,” Moodie said.

Moodie has experience in the food industry as the owner of Capitol Hill’s Marjorie, and explained the restaurant may be donating meals to the program in the future but for now is being used as a space to gather meals from other restaurants for distribution.

“I have a food background as well and I hate wasting food, so it was really important to me to try to find out a way to do it and make sure we had accurate numbers,” Moodie said. “I was comfortable starting off a little smaller with the idea that we would build it to something a little bit more broad.”

Launched in 1976, Capitol Hill Housing began by acquiring old buildings to turn them into income-restricted housing.

As the organization grew, it moved into rehabilitating midsize buildings. When the housing pressures around central Seattle mounted, it lead the organization to embark on ambitious new construction projects under the mission of creating “vibrant and engaged” communities. Community Roots Housing’s growth is hoped to be a template for more affordable development in Seattle. Last year, city officials also came to 12th Ave Arts to sign the expansion and upzoning of Seattle’s Mandatory Housing Affordability program because the devel-

opment represented so many goals of the new legislative effort. CHS reported here on CRH’s next major Capitol Hill project, a planned eight-story “LGBTQ-Affirming Affordable Senior Housing” development on Broadway.

Meanwhile, its meals program began mid-May and currently serves residents of eight CRH buildings upon request, delivering food once a week as of now.

“We served 130 meals our first effort and then 200 the next time and we’ll keep increasing that,” Moodie said.

CRH owns 47 apartment buildings in Capitol Hill and beyond, accommodating households earning below $17,000 per year on average. CHS reported in March that Community Roots Housing will not be increasing tenant rent for the rest of the year and has created a COVID-19 Resilience Fund with over $250,000 to assist commercial tenants and residents.

According to Moodie, the meals program will run through the end of the summer and the Bank of America grant should cover its stated mission.

“There are many restaurants and many organizations that are committed to feeding people, and they’re committed to feeding people because the need is there,” Moodie said. “That need isn’t going to go away, it’s not going to be over when our grant is used up, it’s not going to be over when things start to return to what we call the ‘new normal.’ ”

June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 25

h t t p s: / / w w w. c a p i t o l h i l l s e a t t l e. com/2020/06/capitol-hill-housing-has-newcommunity-roots-housing-name-and-anew-project-bringing-meals-to-affordablehousing-residents-and-business-to-localrestaurants/ Reprinted with permission

millions continue to take to the streets to declare “Black Lives Matter,” and as a billionaire author with a gigantic megaphone continues to spout transphobic propaganda to her millions of followers. Tragedy does not happen in a vacuum, and each of these events shows how much work we still must do to ensure dignity and justice for all.

These two women deserve to have their names known. As our country faces a longoverdue reckoning with the violence and indignities that Black people have dealt with for centuries, we must affirm that Black Trans Lives Matter. And we must do everything we can to ensure that we create policies and laws that lift up our transgender siblings, and communities where transgender people are not targeted for who they are. Today, we mourn alongside Dominique’s and Riah’s loved ones and call for all of us to confront transphobia.

HRC NEWS

continued from page 5 going forward can be indifferent to the cost of our racist systems on the Black minds and bodies that are brutalized or the Black lives that are shattered every day. And this challenge to confront indifference includes, by necessity, our Black transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming siblings.

When we say Black Lives Matter, we must also mean Black Trans Lives Matter.

It is a shameful fact that for too long the LGBTQ movement has not done enough to protect, empower and listen to the transgender community – particularly those who are Black and Brown. This heartbreaking reality is compounded by the fact that our movement simply would not exist as we know it without transgender women of color and gender-nonconforming people of color. Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Stormé DeLarverie, Miss Major GriffinGracy, and countless others refused to bow before police brutality and oppression at Stonewall and changed our nation forever in the process.

What they were fighting for is the great struggle that we are still engaged in today. And we are fighting for a country that respects our dignity and fulfills the freedom that our Constitution professes to provide: liberty and justice for all. We are fighting for an end to an unjust system that was built with the goal of continued and perpetual oppression.

On Wednesday, I submitted a testimony to the House Judiciary Committee ahead of their hearing on the pressing issue of policing practices and law enforcement accountability, calling on Congress to take rapid action to address the role of law enforcement in perpetuating systems of oppression against our most vulnerable people. It’s not enough that we reform the system. We must also dismantle the systemic and structural racism that lingers throughout our society.

It is a fight that necessitates showing up for the most marginalized and demanding an end to white supremacy. It is a fight that does not end this week, or this month or this November. But it starts with all of us tak-

Image courtesy of HRC

ing action today in whatever ways we can.

And it requires that all of us vote in November for a president who shares this commitment to action. Thank you for fighting alongside us, and thank you to all who have been leading us in this work. This is the work of justice and healing. And by working together, we will finally bring equality to the world.

Remembering and Honoring Pulse Today, we come together to remember the lives of the 49 people – most of them young, LGBTQ and Latinx – killed in the attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016. In honoring their memory, we can never stop demanding action to address our nation’s epidemic of gun violence. That is why today, in partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, Giffords Law Center and Equality Florida, we released a new report highlighting the impact of gun violence on the LGBTQ community.

The report, entitled “Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ Bias and Guns are Taking Lives of Countless

LGBTQ People” [www.hrc.org/blog/pulse4-years-later-lgbtq-gun-safety-groupsrelease-report], notes that over 10,000 hate crimes in the US involve a firearm each year, which equates to more than 28 each day. The report also notes a marked increase in anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, especially against transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

From the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub four years ago, to the dozens of transgender and gender-nonconforming people killed by firearms over the last decade, our community is under attack and needs reform to improve our well-being. This report outlines the problem at hand and provides strong recommendations for helping build a better, safer future for our community, one that is free from gun violence.

Black Trans Lives Matter This week, two Black transgender women were killed: Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells in Pennsylvania and Riah Milton in Ohio. This horrifying news comes the same week that we remember the 49 people gunned down at Pulse in Orlando, as

J.K. Rowling This week, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling doubled down in using her massive platform to spread anti-trans propaganda while refusing to respond to outreach

by LGBTQ groups like the Human Rights Campaign. As one of the most famous women in the world and one whose work has inspired countless LGBTQ young people to imagine a world of acceptance and inclusivity, she bears an extra responsibility to ensure that her words do not do damage.

Trans women are women, and Rowling’s attempt to hide behind the mantle of trans-exclusive feminism hurts the trans, nonbinary, and feminist communities.

Rowling’s words are inflicting harm on the transgender and nonbinary communities, who are already among the world’s most marginalized and endangered populations.

If she won’t listen to advocates about the harm she is causing, she does not deserve her platform. We join with millions around the world in condemning these remarks while upholding the truths these books have taught us: love, compassion, and bravery will always rise above hatred, bigotry, and fear.

Courtesy of the HRC

LGB people who have undergone conversion therapy almost twice as likely to attempt suicide LOS ANGELES (June 15, 2020) – A new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that nontransgender LGB people who experienced conversion therapy were almost twice as likely to think about suicide and to attempt suicide compared to their peers who hadn’t experienced conversion therapy.

Using a representative sample of sexual minorities in the US, researchers examined whether experiencing conversion therapy is associated with suicidal ideation and attempts among non-transgender (cisgender and gender-nonbinary) sexual minority people, including lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and people who use other identity labels, such as queer.

Findings show that 7% of LGB adults age 18–59 in the US have experienced conversion therapy. The investigators also asked whether people received conversion therapy from a religious advisor, a health care provider, or both. An estimated 81% of people who have had conversion therapy received it from a religious leader, and 31% received it from a health care provider.

Conversion therapy is a discredited practice intended to change the sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression of LGBT people.

“Rather than being therapy, so-called ‘conversion therapy’ is a minority stressor that reinforces stigma and conveys that being LGB is abnormal and sinful, and should be rejected,” said study senior author

Ilan H. Meyer, distinguished senior scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute.

“We found that people who undergo conversion therapy are at increased risk of suicide ideation and attempts. This is a devastating outcome that goes counter to the purpose of therapy.”

According to the study, LGB people who experienced adverse childhood experiences, such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, were more likely to have undergone conversion therapy than those who did not experience adverse childhood experiences.

Undergoing conversion therapy was related to suicidality even after controlling for the effect of adverse childhood experiences.

26 Seattle Gay News

June 19, 2020

Key findings • Approximately 7% of LGB people in the US have experienced conversion therapy: 81% received it from a religious leader and 31% received it from a health care provider.

Some people received it from both religious advisors and health care providers.

• 4 out of 5 people who received conversion therapy received it from a religious leader.

• People who identified as gay or lesbian were more likely to experience conversion therapy than those who identified as bisexual or another sexual minority label (e.g., queer).

• The odds of experiencing conversion therapy were greater among people who as children lived with a parent or another

adult who was depressed, mentally ill, or suicidal; lived in a household with parental intimate partner violence; or reported emotional, physical, or sexual abuse.

• LGB people who experienced conversion therapy showed greater odds of having suicidal thoughts and attempts compared to LGB people who had not experienced conversion therapy: • 92% greater odds of lifetime suicidal ideation • 75% greater odds of planning to attempt suicide • 88% greater odds of attempting suicide resulting in no or minor injury Currently, 20 states and Washington, DC have laws banning the practice of conversion therapy on youth by licensed health care professionals. These laws do not cover religious providers.

“Leading medical and social services organizations condemn the practice of conversion therapy as ineffective and harmful,” said lead author John R. Blosnich, Assistant Professor with the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California. “Outreach to the public on the harms of conversion therapy is needed, particularly in areas where the practice is commonly used.”

About the study The report, “Sexual Orientation Change Efforts, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Suicide Ideation and Attempt Among

Sexual Minority Adults, United States, 2016–2018” appears in Research and Practice and is co-authored by John R. Blosnich, PhD, MPH, Emmett R. Henderson, MS, Robert W.S. Coulter, PhD, MPH, Jeremy T. Goldbach, PhD, MSSW, and Ilan H. Meyer, PhD. Research reported in this report is part of the Generations study, supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health, under award number R01HD078526. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

The Generations investigators are Ilan H. Meyer, PhD, (PI, UCLA); David M. Frost, PhD, (University College London); Phillip L. Hammack, PhD, (UCSC); Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD, (UCSF); Stephen T. Russell, PhD (University of Texas, Austin). and Bianca D.M. Wilson, PhD, (UCLA). The co-investigators are listed alphabetically.

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.

Courtesy of the Williams Institute

Celebrating 46 Years!

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

HRC mourns Egyptian LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazi WASHINGTON DC (June 16, 2020) – Today, Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, mourned the loss of Egyptian LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazi.

“Sarah was living her truth in a country where LGBTQ people are routinely arrested and imprisoned,” he said. “After experiencing government-sanctioned

harassment, discrimination, and even torture in her homeland simply for waving the Pride flag at a concert, an act that many elsewhere in the world take for granted, Sarah felt that she had no choice but to flee.

But even after escaping from Egypt, the wounds of her persecution persisted, and now she is gone. Sarah deserved more; we must demand accountability from all world leaders that place their LGBTQ communities in danger and work toward a world

where it is never legal to imprison someone simply for being who they are. My thoughts are with Sarah’s friends and family at this devastating time.”

The HRC helped draw attention to the plight of those arrested at the 2017 concert and called for their release in the global #ColorsRNotShame campaign. Same-sex sexual relations are still criminalized in 70 countries. Find out more [at https://bit. ly/3hN9VGv].

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

Courtesy of the HRC

HRC calls for cancellation of Puerto Rico TV show “La Comay”

WASHINGTON, DC (June 17, 2020) – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC), the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, is supporting local Puerto Rican LGBTQ advocates in their call for the cancellation of a popular show called “La Comay.” The show, featuring a puppet called La Comay, played

by Kobbo Santarrosa, has a long history of spreading racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic propaganda.

“La Comay’s long reign as the queen of trash television in Puerto Rico must end,” said HRC President Alphonso David.

“Kobbo Santarossa, hiding behind the puppet La Comay, has a long history of spreading racist, misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic propaganda. Given the backdrop of global protests calling for inclusive racial justice, Santarossa’s recent racist portrayal of a prominent Black Puerto Rican woman is careless, dangerous, and unacceptable. We can no longer allow pop culture figures to spread the sort of hate that has contributed to a recent uptick in killings of LGBTQ people on the island.

MEGA-TV would do well to get the memo and do right by Puerto Ricans by officially cancelling this hateful show.”

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s

Photo courtesy of MegaTV

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

Campaña de Derechos Humanos pide la cancelación del programa de televisión de Puerto Rico “La Comay” WASHINGTON, DC (17 de junio de

2020) – La Fundación de la Campaña de Derechos Humanos (HRC, por sus siglas en inglés), el brazo educativo de la organización de derechos civiles más grande de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, transgénero y queer (LGBTQ) del país, está apoyando a los defensores locales de LGBTQ puertorriqueños en su llamado a la cancelación de un popular programa televisivo llamado ‘La Comay’. El programa, con un títere llamado La Comay interpretado por Kobbo Santarrosa, tiene una larga historia de difusión de propaganda

racista, misógina, homofóbica y transfóbica.

“El largo reinado de La Comay como la reina de la televisión basura en Puerto Rico debe terminar”, dijo el presidente de HRC, Alphonso David. “Kobbo Santarossa, escondido detrás de la marioneta La Comay, tiene una larga historia de propagación de propaganda racista, misógina, homofóbica y transfóbica. Dado el telón de fondo de las protestas mundiales que exigen justicia racial inclusiva, la reciente representación racista de Santarossa de una prominente mujer negra y puertorriqueña es descuidada, peligrosa e inaceptable. Ya no podemos permitir que las figuras de la cultura pop difundan el tipo de odio que ha contribuido a un aumento reciente en los asesinatos de personas LGBTQ en la isla. MEGA-TV haría bien en obtener el memorando y hacer lo correcto por los puertorriqueños al cancelar oficialmente este odioso programa “.

La Fundación de la Campaña de Derechos Humanos es el brazo educativo de la organización de derechos civiles más grande de los Estados Unidos que trabaja para lograr la igualdad para las personas lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, transgénero y homosexuales. La HRC imagina un mundo donde las personas LGBTQ son aceptadas como miembros de la sociedad en el hogar, en el trabajo y en cada comunidad.

PrEP Action Kit gives health centers new tool for combatting HIV infections BOSTON (June 16, 2020) – Fenway Health, a nationally known LGBTQIA+focused community health center, has long made it its mission to serve the underserved. With roots in the AIDS crisis of the early 1980s that largely impacted gay men and trans women, Fenway Health remains a leader in HIV education and resources.

The advent of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been a game-changer in the fight to prevent new HIV cases, 70% of which occur among men who have sex with men (MSM). Recently, Fenway Health’s National LGBT Health Education Center published the PrEP Action Kit, which provides a roadmap for health care organizations to implement and/or advance an existing PrEP prescription program.

“Advancements in PrEP have been lifechanging for the sexual and gender minority communities, especially within communities of color, who are disproportionally impacted

by HIV,” said Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, direc-

tor of education and training programs at the Fenway Institute. “One in two Black MSM and one in four Latinx MSM will contract HIV in their lifetime. Black transgender women have an especially high risk. The PrEP Action Kit will add real value to health care centers serving Black and Latinx communities at increased risk for HIV.” Currently, two medications are available for PrEP: tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) and tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (TAF/FTC), and both have shown to be well tolerated by patients. Studies show that daily PrEP use can lower the risk of HIV transmission by more than 90% with strict adherence to the PrEP regimen. The CDC estimates that over one million people could benefit from taking PrEP. While the CDC specifies three groups who may benefit from PrEP use – MSM, heterosexually active people who engage in condomless sex, and people who inject drugs – usage has also been

Visit us online www.sgn.org

found to be effective among transgender women, cisgender women, and adolescents who are at risk for HIV. The PrEP Action Kit lays out the case for PrEP use to prevent new HIV infections and provides other health care organizations with a ready-made plan to navigate the complexities of PrEP for HIV prevention. The comprehensive kit includes information on establishing and managing an organization’s PrEP prescription program, provides the steps needed for implementation of the program, discusses patient engagement, and provides answers to common clinical questions.

The creation of the PrEP Action Kit is just one of the many ways Fenway Health and the National LGBT Health Education Center work to transform the health care landscape and educate health care providers. For nearly 50 years, Fenway Health has been a driving force in elevating the issues that directly impact the LGBTQIA+

and other marginalized communities. The PrEP Action Kit will help health care centers around the country learn more about the benefits of PrEP use and contribute to the fight to end new HIV infections.

June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 27

Since 1971, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhoods, the LGBTQIA+ community, people living with HIV/AIDS, and the broader population.

The National LGBT Health Education Center specializes in providing national training and technical assistance to health centers in order to optimize access to quality health care for LGBTQIA+ populations.

Courtesy of Fenway Health

Allyship - an organization of LGBTQ individuals fighting for economic and social justice. www.LGBTQAllyship. org, allyship@yahoo.com, (206) 279-8169.

American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us Another Gay Social Club! - www.meetup.com/AnotherGay-Social-Club/ Bellingham/Whatcom County - www.theslowlane. com/guide.html BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org.

Bremerton/Kitsap County - www.outwestsound.org Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org Cascade Rainbow Community Center (Mount Vernon) - (360) 840-8499 and on Facebook.

Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994.

Channel Q 103.3 FM - LGBTQ+ Talk Radio Network News and information, pop culture and music. radio.com COLAGE unites people with LGBTQ parents and caregivers into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities - www.colage.org DIFFA/Northwest (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). (206) 763-8885; www.diffanorthwest. org DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, (206) 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Network support & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, (206) 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, (206) 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025. In an emergency call 911.

Report domestic violence and sexual assault.

Equal Rights Washington - (206) 324-2570; www. equalrightswashington.org Everett/Snohomish Cty - www.gaysnohomish.org Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freelyspeaking.org Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, (206) 860-6969. www.gaycity.org Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country.

Generations Aging With Pride empowers elder LGBTQ adults to live with pride and dignity by promoting, connecting, and developing innovative programs and services that enhance belonging and support, eliminate discrimination, and honor the lives of older members of our community - (206) 393-3400; info@gapseattle.org; gapseattle.org GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - (206) 363-9188; www.thegsba.org HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. (206) 205-7837. For a comprehensive list of HIV/AIDS service organizations see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979.

Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com Lambert House - (206) 322-2515; www.lamberthouse. org LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge.

LGBT MS Connection - (425) 785-8593; lgbtmsconnections@comcast.net. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers.

Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance - (206) 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org Lion’s Main Art Collective - www.lionsmain.org MEN: Gay City: (206) 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: (206) 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Northwest Bears: www. nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians. net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.com; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks. org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples.org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www. seattle primetimers.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band. com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: (206) 388-1408, (206) 323-0750. www.seattlechoruses.org.

Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com

28 Seattle Gay News

community resources Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org Olympia/Thurston County - www.RainbowCenterOly. org Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition - http://outandproudgh.org PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: (206) 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: (206) 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: (206) 568-7777, qpnd@nwnetwork.org, www.nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: (206) 325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: (425) 483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington State Council: www.pflagwsc.org.

Peer Seattle (formerly Seattle Area Support Groups) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences.

(206) 322-2437; www.peerseattle.org PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), (206) 850-2070, www.aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, (206) 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, (206) 461-6910, www.multiculturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, (206) 322-7700, www.entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, (206) 781-3565, iya@ilelailai.org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), (206) 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Northwest Two Spirit Society, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/nw2spiritsociety/, Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, (206) 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; QBASS - Queer Black Alliance of the South Sound, (253) 256-1846, weareqbass@gmail. com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, (206) 322-7061, (206) 255-8951; Somos Seattle, somosseattle.org; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, www.utopiaseattlewa.org; VietQ Greater Seattle, vietqorganization@gmail.com Pierce County AIDS Foundation - (253) 383-2565; www.piercecountyaids.org Pride Foundation - (206) 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org Pride Lives - www.facebook.com/PrideLives/ Pride Radio 93.3 HD2 Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. (206) 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - (206) 682-6711; www.q-law.org Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - (206) 235-7235.

Queer Geek! - queergeekseattle.org Rainbow Center - Resource Center for Tacoma/Pierce County LGBTIQA community. Through education, advocacy and celebration, the Rainbow Center expands resources, and safe space for the LGBTQIA community.

June 19, 2020

Sponsors Tacoma Pride Festival. (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. www.voteseamec.org Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) i- SEE LISTING for Peer Seattle.

Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network - BiSeattle.wixsite. com/SBWN and on Facebook.

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. (206) 323-1768.

Seattle LGBTQ Commission - (206) 684-4503. www/ seattle.gov/lgbtq Seattle Out & Proud - (206) 322-9561; www.seattlepride.org Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org Sex Workers Outreach Project - https://seattle. swopusa.org Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - (206) 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays.

(425) 339-5298.

South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma, Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flag Football: www.cascadeflagfootball.org; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby.com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball. org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www.puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance.org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www. seattlegaybasketballassociation.com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam.org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www. seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@aol.com, www. teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www.theprideleague. com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, (206) 367-4064, www.teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@ camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934.

Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org Three Dollar Bill Cinema - TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival; Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival; Outdoor Cinema at Cal Anderson Park. www. threedollarbillcinema.org TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www.

SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www.genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born

Support Group: (206) 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: (206) 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; Lion’s Main Art Collective: www.lionsmain.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; [trans] ACTION: Trans* & Gender Non-Conforming Sex Workers’ Support Group - a safe, peer-led space. mail@utopiaseattle.org; TRANSform Washington: transformwashington.com; Trans Resource & Referral Guide: kctransguide.org; Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network: Funding the collective liberation of Trans women of color – https://m.facebook.com/ TWOCSolidarityNW/; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www.washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Ballard Lesbian Exchange (A.B.L.E.): We are Lesbians 60 years (generally) and up, living (mostly) in the north half of Seattle. The purpose of the group is to connect, socialize and support each other. ruthemilyvogel@gmail.com; Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS) - Lesbian Group at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. This is a gathering primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. (206) 720-5566, 1-888-292-1912; Coming Out Women Support Group of Tacoma: www. comingoutwomen.org; Festival of the Babes: www. festivalofthebabes.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Puget Sound Old Lesbian Organizing for Change: http:// psoloc.org, (253) 777-3357; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc.org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www.pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol. com; Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network: BiSeattle. wixsite.com/SBWN; Seattle Girls of Leather: www. sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www.tacomalesbianconcern.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot.com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks. org, (206) 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Coyote Central: www.coyotecentral.org; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students. WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools. (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa.org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www. globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, 1818 15th Ave @ E Denny Way, with additional support groups organized in smaller towns throughout King County, (206) 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: (206) 957-1665; www.llaa.org/HEYO; www.MatthewsPlace. com; The Mockingbird Society: (206) 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; New Horizons: social services and shelter for homeless youth, 2708 3rd Ave (in Belltown), (206) 374-0866, http://namin.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter. org; OKAY! LGBTQ+ Outreach for Kent Area Youth: (253) 859-0699 ext 3034. OKAY! is an open support group for youth ages 13-19 who identify as LGBTQ+. A program of Kent Youth & Family Services; OUT There Adventures: www.outthereadventures.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/ Puget Sound: (206) 325-7724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch. org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup Cherise.Alexander@ multicare.org; www.facebook. com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, (206) 326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - (360) 698-3335; www.kchaf.org; Roots Young Adult Shelter: 1415 NE 43rd St., (206) 632-1635; www.rootsinfo.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org; (206) 451-SAFE, (206) 451-7233 (non-emergency), 1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): (206) 860-9606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): (206) 524-7301 ext 111; www. streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: (206) 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, (206) 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; The Vera Project: fuels personal & community transformation through collaborative youthdriven engagement in music and art. (206) 956-8372; theveraproject.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, (509) 396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter.org; YouthCare/ Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): (206) 522-8412; YouthCare/ Orion Center Young Adult Shelter: 1828 Yale Ave @ Stewart St. (206) 622-5555; Youth in Focus: (206) 723-1479; www.youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): (206) 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273-TALK, www.yspp.org

Celebrating 46 Years!

Happy Pride!

We’re with you!

We’re a welcoming church congregation that would love to see you on Sundays!

Bring your partner/spouse, friends, family, children; we have room for everybody!

Come join us for worship on Sundays at 10:30 am.

We look forward to meeting you!

7706 25th Ave NW in Ballard Call Ann at 206-784-0883 for more information

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 19, 2020

Seattle Gay News 29

HOME SERVICES

HEALTH SERVICES TIDY'S HAUL IT ALL LAWN SERVICE / LANDSCAPING

offers a professional appliance and junk removal service at a competitive price. Also experienced lawn service, landscaping and yard work. Free Estimates.

Tidy, 206-354-8949.

30 Seattle Gay News

June 19, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

HAPPY PRIDE 2020

Jayne DeHaan, RE/MAX Metro Realty 206-963-3877 ladyj@jaynedehaan.com

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!

ADVERTISE WITH US! MAGGIE • 206-751-7454 RICK • 206-324-4297 SGN2@SGN.ORG Visit us online www.sgn.org

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Seattle Gay News 31