SGN June 21, 2019 - Pre-Pride - Section 1

Pride Calendar

Celebrating 45 Years!

Issue 25 Volume 47

FRIDAY June 21, 2019 FREE!

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Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY

Make PrEP free, Kamala Harris says

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris – Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP / Getty Images

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) debuted health care legislation on June 20 that would provide free PrEP medication to everyone with health insurance. Harris is a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

According to Harris’s office, one million Americans could benefit from access to PrEP, but only 7% of them currently have a prescription. Truvada, the drug commonly prescribed for PrEP, costs $20,000 per year, Harris’s office estimates, putting it out of reach for people without good health care insurance.

see KAMALA HARRIS page 10

AFJ: Kacsmaryk confirmation will harm millions in Texas

Matthew Kacsmaryk – Photo courtesy of CSPAN

WASHINGTON, DC (June 19, 2019) – Following today’s vote to confirm Matthew Kacsmaryk to a seat on the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:

“Matthew Kacsmaryk’s confirmation is going to cause suffering to millions of people in Texas, including many vulnerable individuals. Kacsmaryk harbors strong

see KACSMARYK page 13

AHEAD OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF STONEWALL, LGBTQ AND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS DECLARE:

Stonewall is now

Photo courtesy of Transgender Law Center

OAKLAND, Calif. (June 20, 2019) – This week Transgender Law Center (TLC) and partner organizations announced plans to mobilize in El Paso, Texas, and hold a National Day of Action on June 25th to hold the government accountable for the deaths of Black and brown trans women.

“On the first day of Pride, a trans migrant named Johana Medina Leon died

alone in a hospital after weeks of begging ICE for medical care while she was in immigration detention. Just a few days later, a Black trans woman named Layleen Polanco died at Rikers Island prison,” said Kris Hayashi, executive director of TLC, underscoring the urgency of this moment for trans communities. “When the govern-

see STONEWALL IS NOW page 3

GLAAD submits formal comment asking Trump administration to drop rule barring health care access for Transgender Americans

Photo courtesy of The Gender Spectrum Collection

NEW YORK (June 19, 2019) – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today formally submitted a comment to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) calling on the Trump administration to drop its pro-

posed rule that could eliminate health care access for transgender Americans across the country. Previously, the administration announced [it] would no longer con-

see GLAAD page 13

2 Seattle Gay News

June 21, 2019

Celebrating 45 Years!

Seattle Gay News

PRIDE

F O U N D ED 1974 MEMBER

2018

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Image courtesy of Transgender Law Center

STONEWALL IS NOW continued from cover

ment actively cages and kills us, it is telling the country to target us, too.”

At least eleven Black trans women have been murdered this year, including Layleen, who died in custody because she couldn’t afford $500 bail. Organizers of the Day of Action emphasize that #StonewallIsNow and that the same state that targeted LGBT people in 1969 is still killing them in prisons and detention centers, and inciting violence against them in public.

“We’re gathering in El Paso, Texas, on June 25th to show the country that we

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must not become numb to this kind of violence. We have to show up and take action,” said Ola Osaze, director of TLC’s Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project (BLMP).

“Since October, two Black trans women were murdered in Dallas, Texas, and a third survived a brutal attack. If our goal is to actually honor Stonewall, we must show up for the people most affected by state violence.”

Organizations joining TLC in El Paso include BLMP, Familia: the Trans Queer Liberation Movement, Mijente, El/La Para TransLatinas, and the Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee. They are encouraging supporters to host local actions all over the country and to express their support on

social media.

For more information on the National Day of Action, visit https://transgenderlawcenter.org/stonewall-is-now.

June 21, 2019

Seattle Gay News 3

The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender-nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation. transgenderlawcenter.org Courtesy of TLC

PRIDE

Nova Project High School students raise Pride Flags

Nova Project High School students raised the Trans Flag and Philly Pride Flag to recognize the origins of the LGBTQ+ movement at its 2nd Annual Pride Flag Raising Ceremony on Thursday, June 6th.

Nova Project is an alternative Seattle Public High School committed to social justice (https://novahs.seattleschools.org/) Nova is considered a “sanctuary school” for LGBTQ+ students.

80% of Nova students identify as

LGBTQ+ and 40% of Nova students identify as trans or non-binary Student remarks: “Thank you for coming to the Nova Projects 2nd annual Pride Flag Raising, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. This year we have put up the Trans Flag and the Philly Pride flag to recognize the origins of the LGBTQ+ movement, which was started by courageous queer and trans people of color.

“We are celebrating 50 years of Pride, of

revolution, and of fighting for our rights.

There are many ways to celebrate and get involved. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go, so while you’re celebrating at Volunteer Park, Trans Pride, or PrideFest, also try and get involved in activism in any way you can.”

In honor of Pride Month, the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, our LGBTQ+ youth and the adults who support them, please consider a donation to Nova High School:

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/alliance-for-education/nova-high-school.

You can learn more about Nova’s ongoing commitment to LGBTQ+ youth here: https://wearechannelq.radio.com/media/ audio-channel/lets-go-there-nova-highschool-all-community.

Courtesy of Nova School

Photos courtesy of Nova School

4 Seattle Gay News

June 21, 2019

Celebrating 45 Years!

BOOKS

Walt Odets to read from and discuss his new work: OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Reimagining Gay Men’s Lives at Town Hall June 27 WALT ODETS OUT OF THE SHADOWS: REIMAGINING GAY MEN’S LIVES THE FORUM AT TOWN HALL June 27 @ 7:30pm “Odets’s greatest strengths are his moving prose and ability to make the psychological material accessible and as fascinating and thought-provoking as the poignant stories. Gay men will find much to ponder here, but any reader can find meaning in this extraordinary, stirring invitation to re-examine assumptions about what it means to be gay and to have a good life.”

– Publishers Weekly Two decades ago, IN THE SHADOW OF THE EPIDEMIC: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS, by clinical psychologist Walt Odets, was published to wide critical acclaim and incited impassioned conversations in gay communities across the country. The book was an in-depth and compassionate examination of the emotional and psychological impact of AIDS on the lives of those living through the epidemic – those who faced the death of friends, the decimation of their communities, and, in many cases, their own impending deaths.

Now, Odets’s research and his decades of experience in private practice, activism, and personal life as a gay man have culminated in an authoritative new work: OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Reimagining Gay Men’s Lives (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).

In the book, Odets combines clinical analysis with powerful and moving personal stories – of friends and patients, and of his own, including loss of the love of his life to AIDS – to illustrate how childhood, adolescent, and adult stigmatization and trauma shape the trajectories of gay men’s lives. He also addresses the shocking statistics about young men living in the ongoing AIDS epidemic: In the United States today, approximately 600,000 gay men are living with HIV. About 2.4 percent of all gay men contract HIV every year, and 50 percent of gay eighteen-year-olds are expected to contract HIV by the age of fifty.

In his book Odets discusses, among other topics: • The origins and the idea of “the homosexual,” and the effects this narrow characterization has had on gay identities, selfexperience, relationships, and communities • The idea and the value of a “gay sensibility” • Growing up as a gay child, adolescent, and teenager, and the consequent struggles with trust, guilt, intimacy, and isolation • The obstructionism of psychiatric diagnosis, and the problems it raises in recovery from trauma • The hope, hopelessness, fear, and fantasy that gay men experience about relationships, and how relationships and sexuality might be reimagined As Odets closes a section of his book with a message of hope, “In childhood, most gay people have been handed a rule book of limitations to live by, rather than a songbook of possibilities. Being gay in an adverse society is a sometimes-daunting, sometimes lifelong task. But millions have found ways to have lives that authentically express who they are: the realization of gay lives is all around us . . . Crawling out from under the trauma of destructive early-life experience and the two epidemics, and into a new century of slowly shifting social values, provides us an opportunity to explore our possibilities, rather than live with limitations imposed by others. The time is ripe.” OUT OF THE SHADOWS is a poignant, thought-provoking, and groundbreaking exploration.

Walt Odets – Photo by Dianne Woods

Walt Odets will read from and discuss OUT OF THE SHADOWS on Thursday, June 27 at 7:30pm (doors at 6:30pm) at The Forum at Town Hall (1119 8th Ave @ Seneca St – west entrance). Tickets: $5. (206) 652-4255; https://townhallseattle.org/ Additional comments on OUT OF THE SHADOWS: “An insightful and thought-provoking book… A luminous humanity shines through, never more so than in the final chapter, the author’s highly empathetic, memorable story of the three men he has loved.”

—Michael Cart, Booklist “A copy of this vital book should be given to every politician, every educator, every journalist, to help transform the inadequacy of our dialogue about queer lives.”

—Andrew McMillan, poet “Out of the Shadows is the story of what it is to be gay and alive now… I wept with sorrow and pride at the persistent and contradictory life force running in a seam throughout the book. Out of the Shadows is a major addition to the literature of gay life and death, of the difficult task of finding forms of intimacy that humans need in order to thrive.”

—Jon Robin Baitz, playwright “Out of the Shadows is a beautiful book, perfectly and artfully balanced between acknowledging the trauma of HIV/AIDS and envisioning a future rich with possibility and joy… Compelling, compassionate, and at times even humorous, this is an important book that addresses, with great seriousness, both the demands of intimacy and powers of sexuality.”

—Michael Bronski, professor at Harvard University and author of A Queer History of the United States About Walt Odets Walt Odets is a clinical psychologist in private practice who has worked with and written about the psychological, developmental, and social lives of gay men for more than three decades.

His seminal book, In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS, which Duke University Press published in 1995, was selected by The New York Times as one of the “Notable Books of the Year.” The Advocate magazine reported that In the Shadow of the Epidemic was the number one bestselling book among gay men that fall. The following year, Out magazine named Odets “one of the 100 most impressive, influential and controversial gay men and lesbians of 1996.”

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Cover image courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Odets’s recent work has focused on the psychological aftermath of the HIV epidemic, the long-standing childhood and adolescent stigmatization and trauma experienced by young gay men, and the conventional idea of “the homosexual” and its negative influences on gay identities, selfrealization and relationships between men.

This work has culminated in a new book, OUT OF THE SHADOWS: Reimagining Gay Men’s Lives, which examines the hopes and new possibilities for gay men today. The book will be released by both Farrar, Straus and Giroux (U.S.) and Penguin Random House (U.K.) in June 2019.

Walt Odets earned his B.A. in philosophy from Wesleyan University in 1969, and after two decades working as a photojournalist and pilot, he completed a Ph.D. from the California Professional School of Psychology in San Francisco in 1989. A public advocate, he has consulted for the Shanti Project of San Francisco and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) in New York City, and has been a member of the AIDS task force of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA). He has also served as a clinical supervisor for the psychology intern program at Berkeley’s Pacific Center and as a member of the evaluation workshop on AIDS prevention held by the United States Congress Office of Technology Assessment.

A seasoned and engaging public speaker, Odets has presented to a broad range of groups, including The Gay Men’s Health Summit, the California Department of Health Services, the American Psychological Association, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Gay and Lesbian Health Conference, the American Psychiatric Association, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the State of New York Department of Health, the Yale University Institution for Social and Policy Studies, the Stanford Medical School and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Walt Odets is the son of the playwright Clifford Odets and the stage actress Bette Grayson. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and New York, and he presently lives in Berkeley, California, where he writes and maintains a private practice in psychotherapy.

June 21, 2019

Seattle Gay News 5

Website: www.waltodets.com Facebook: @waltodetsauthor Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

PRIDE

Union Pride 2019 to host a NO COVER 3-day celebration on Capitol Hill Union Seattle is excited to announce Union Pride 2019, a NO COVER, 3-day celebration and street party featuring outdoor bars, guest VJ’s, and you.

Union (1318 E Union St) will join with Bar Sue (1407 14th Ave) and take over 14th Ave (between E Union and E Madison Sts) creating one large venue with multiple spaces to enjoy your friends and celebrate. Featured VJ’s for the weekend are Trent Von, Eric Nelson, DJ Sessions, and DJ Tamm.

They will be performing outside with the music pumped all around to create one large fluid party for everyone.

Every day at 6pm our VJ’s will perform a special set: “Songs of Stonewall” featuring the best hits from the 1969 jukebox at The Stonewall Inn. This tribute is in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which will take you back to an era of

great music, bell bottoms, and the birth of the modern gay rights movement.

The owners of Union, Nathan Benedict, Steve Nyman, and Greg Scheaffer believe in creating community and giving back so there will be NO COVER to this event.

The main entrance will be on 14th Ave. Management is asking everyone to please remember good party etiquette: no outside containers, all bags will be subject to inspection, 21 & over/ID required, no smoking, and no negativity.

Schedule: Friday, June 28: 4pm to 2am; Saturday June 29: 2pm to 2am; Sunday June 30: 2pm to 2am.

Leave your worries at home and join the Union!

Union is located in the heart of the Seattle “Gayborhood” at the corner of 14th Ave & E Union St. Proudly serving the LGBTQ and Allied Community, Union features a full bar, specialty cocktails, delicious menu, fire-side lounge, year-round outdoor patio, music videos, and a daily happy hour beginning at 2pm. ​ From happy hour to our late night groove, Union has something for everyone.

Courtesy of Union Seattle

THE BIG LIFT: Uncle Ike’s enters third year of partnership with Entre Hermanos, expects Pride Month donations to be largest yet Uncle Ike’s is thrilled to renew its partnership with local nonprofit Entre Hermanos, which provides free sexual health care and immigration aid to members of the Latinx LGBTQ+ community.

As part of that partnership, Ike’s partners with vendors every year during Pride Month to donate a portion of proceeds to Entre Hermanos. From June 24-30, Ike’s will donate 5% of all proceeds to Entre Hermanos, and each participating vendor will match with their own 5%.

“Pearl Extracts is honored to partner with Uncle Ike’s in support for Entre Hermanos,” said Greg Shaw, their CEO. “We strongly believe that diversity enriches our community and we salute Entre Hermanos for the invaluable services they provide for the well-being of Seattle’s Latinx LGBTQ+ population.”

The “Big Lift” Pride fundraising drive raised $12,000 in 2017 and $37,000 in 2018. Based on the vendors participating this year, proceeds are expected to top $50,000, which would be the most a single cannabis retailer has ever donated to charity in Washington.

“We couldn’t do what we do without neighbors like Uncle Ike’s,” said Owen David, Entre Hermanos’ Development Manager. “Their generosity empowers us as we expand our ongoing medical case management and Spanish-language support groups, fight for immigrant rights, and organize around the 2020 Census.”

Continuing and expanding the “Big Lift” fundraiser is a high priority for Uncle Ike’s, as the work Entre Hermanos does is only getting more necessary. Many people in the Latinx LGBTQ+ community are hesitant to seek services like HIV testing and prevention counseling through traditional channels, especially in today’s political climate, so Entre Hermanos offers free and confidential HIV testing Monday through Friday.

They also do extensive outreach and education work, via events like the South Park Queer Pride Picnic, and other community workshops and forums. For people in the Latino community living with HIV, Entre Hermanos provides case manage-

6 Seattle Gay News

ment services and support groups. They also offer an extensive array of classes, clinics, and legal services to help undocumented immigrants dealing with immigration proceedings, including a program to assist with asylum proceedings for LGBTQ+ people who may be fleeing hate and discrimination.

Most importantly, their policy is that, “Our clients can obtain services regardless of immigration status and regardless of ability to pay. Our service is offered in Spanish or English and is culturally friendly for our Latino clients.”

Uncle Ike’s owner Ian Eisenberg stressed the importance of fundraising during Pride, and specifically fundraising for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community.

“We’ve never wanted to be one of those businesses who just put up a rainbow flag in the window and don’t actually do anything to support the LGBTQ+ community,” Eisenberg said. “Entre Hermanos is really doing the work, and we’re proud to help them do it.”

Uncle Ike’s and Entre Hermanos would like to thank all of this year’s participating vendors, listed below: • 1937 Farms • 4.20 Minis • American Hash Makers • Artizen

June 21, 2019

• Aurum Farms • Avitas • BotanicaSeattle • Burnwell • C4 Cannaburst • Cascade Crest Cannabis • Constellation Cannabis • Craft Elixir • Crystal Clear • Dabstract • Double Delicious • Elevate • Evergreen Herbal • Experience Organics • Exotikz • Fairwinds Cannabis • Falcanna • Flav • Freddy’s Fuego • Funky Monkey • Gabriel • Goodship • GreenMed Labs • Grow Op • Happy Apple • Hellavated • Herbs Herbz • Heylo • Highdrate • Honu • Hot Sugar • House of Cultivar • Journeyman • Lazy Bee • Leafwerx • Legends • Lemonnade • Magic Kitchen • Melo • Mr. Moxey’s Mints • Mfused • Northwest Cannabis Solutions • NW Wonderland • Oleum Extracts • PAX • Pearl Extracts • Phat Panda • Private Reserve • Puffin Farm • Ra • Regulator

• Royal Tree Gardens • Saints • Seattle’s Private Reserve • Sinners and Saints • Smokey Point Productions • Sourface • Spot • Sticky Frog • Stone Cold Sodas • Sweetwater Farms • Swifts • Techbud • THC Express • Topshelf WA • Trail Blazin’ • Velvet Swing • Verdure • Washington Bud Company • WA Grower • Wave Edibles • Willie’s Reserve About Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop Uncle Ike’s Central District opened as the 2nd adult-use cannabis shop in Seattle in September of 2014. By providing the lowest prices, best service and widest selection, Ike’s grew to become the #1 Pot Shop as voted by Seattle Weekly readers. Since expanded to White Center and Capitol Hill, with two new locations in the works, Ike’s continues to provide customers with the best cannabis at the best value.

About Entre Hermanos Founded by a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Latinos/as that saw the need for social, educational, and health support services in their community in the spring of 1991, Entre Hermanos strives to promote the health and wellbeing of the Latino Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and questioning community in a culturally appropriate environment through disease prevention, education, support services, advocacy and community building. This year marks their 27th year of service to the Latino LGBTQ+ community.

Courtesy of Uncle Ike’s and Entre Hermanos

Celebrating 45 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 21, 2019

Seattle Gay News 7

8 Seattle Gay News

June 21, 2019

Celebrating 45 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 21, 2019

Seattle Gay News 9

PRIDE Act fixes discrimination against LGBT couples in tax code WASHINGTON, DC (June 18, 2019) – Today, Reps. Judy Chu (CA-27) and Andy Levin (MI-09) introduced HR 3299, the Promoting Respect for Individuals’ Dignity and Equality (PRIDE) Act of 2019.

The PRIDE Act, which is scheduled to be marked up by the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, June 20 at 9:30 a.m., includes language from HR 1244, the Equal Dignity for Married Taxpayers Act, that would remove gendered language like “husband” and “wife” from the tax code to accommodate same-sex couples. Instead, tax filings will use “spouses” and “married couple.”

The PRIDE Act also includes HR 3294, the Refund Equality Act, which was introduced this month on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and corrects the tax code to allow same-sex couples who married before the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was struck down to claim the refunds they to which they are entitled. For

years, same-sex couples in states that recognized legal marriage were wrongfully denied federal refunds because DOMA did not allow them to file federal taxes jointly.

That law was overturned in 2013 by the Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Windsor, but the IRS still lacks the authority to override limitations in the tax code that limits to three years the period within which a married couple may file jointly after having filed separate returns. This bill would correct that to allow the IRS to provide refunds to same-sex couples who married in states that recognized same-sex marriage before DOMA was overturned. Rep. Chu issued the following statement: “Pride month is a chance for us to celebrate equality, and the victory that all love is equal. However, that is not the case in our tax code, where discriminatory language and restrictions are still intact. That is why I am proud to be introducing the PRIDE Act to make some commonsense fixes to

the tax code. First, it will erase gendered language that left out same-sex couples by only referring to a husband and a wife. We know that families come in all forms and it’s time our federal paperwork reflect that.

“Second, this bill will correct an older injustice against same-sex couples and put money directly back into the pockets of families who have earned it. For too long, discriminatory laws penalized same-sex married couples by denying them the ability to file jointly and claim tax refunds they were entitled. That injustice was finally corrected in the 2013 US v. Windsor decision, but restrictions in the code still prevent many of those families from claiming refunds for prior years. For instance, since certain states, including California Connecticut, California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, DC, adopted marriage equality before the ruling, some legally married same-sex couples were forced to file separate federal income taxes

for years. Because of IRS restrictions, these couples cannot amend their returns to claim reimbursement credits for many prior tax years. The PRIDE Act solves this problem. I am thrilled that this bill will be marked up in the Ways and Means Committee this week and I will continue to push to have this bill signed into law.”

In the Senate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is introducing companion legislation this week to also correct that IRS code post-US. v. Windsor.

The text of the bill can be found [at http://chu.house.gov/sites/chu.house.gov/ files/documents/PRIDE%20Act%20Text. pdf]. A section-by-section summary of the bill is [at http://chu.house.gov/sites/chu. house.gov/files/documents/PRIDE%20 Act%20section-by-section.pdf].

Courtesy of Rep. Judy Chu

10,000 LGBT teens protected from conversion therapy in 18 states with bans LOS ANGELES (June 18, 2019) – An estimated 10,000 LGBT youth ages 13-17 have been protected from receiving conversion therapy by licensed health care professionals in the 18 states that have banned the practice, according to an updated study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

Revised estimates show that approximately 16,000 LGBT teens in the 32 states without bans will undergo the practice by a licensed health care provider. An estimated 57,000 LGBT youth nationwide will receive the treatment from a religious or spiritual advisor.

Less than one in four approve of Trump’s LGBTQ policies Half support the Equality Act

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Only 24% of US adults approve of the Trump administration’s handling of LGBTQ rights, while 38% disapprove, according to a new Hill-YouGov poll released June 19.

The survey also found that half the respondents support legislation like the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Only 21% opposed such legislation while 19% had no opinion.

As would be expected, Republicans expressed stronger support for Trump’s LGBTQ policies than Democrats did, but neither group expressed majority support for the administration’s policies.

A mere 8% of Democratic respondents either “somewhat” or “strongly approve” of the administration’s handling of LGBTQ issues, compared to 47% of Republicans.

Sixty-seven percent of Democrats somewhat or strongly disapproved, as did 12% of Republicans.

Similarly, many more Democrats support legislation like the Equality Act than oppose it (66%-15%), and many independents agree (54%-22%). Even a slight majority of Republicans supported such legislation (33%-31%).

This year marks the 50th anniversary of

10 Seattle Gay News

the Stonewall Rebellion. The survey found that millennials were more aware of Stonewall than any other generation, with 30% reporting that they were aware of the 1969 events, compared to 24% of Gen Xers, 19% of Baby Boomers, and 25% of the so-called “Silent Generation.”

Nevertheless, a significant portion of the respondents said they did not know the historical circumstances surrounding Stonewall.

Of those who reported being aware of Stonewall, 33% of millennials, 23% of Gen Xers, 32% of Baby Boomers, and 21% of the Silent Generation said they’d heard of the event but did not know any details about it.

After the police raid on the Stonewall Inn was described to them, 54% of respondents said they would be at least somewhat surprised if something like that happened today, whereas 33% said they would be “not very” or “not at all” surprised.

The majority of respondents said they believe that in the past 50 years, conditions have improved for the LGBTQ community. Only 11% said conditions were worse, 12% said conditions were neither better nor worse, and 63% said conditions were better.

The online survey was taken on June 18, and involved a sample of 1,225 US adults.

The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

June 21, 2019

Conversion therapy is treatment intended to change the sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression of LGBT people. It is grounded in the belief that being LGBT is abnormal.

“This study indicates that these bans have a positive impact on the lives of LGBT youth,” said Christy Mallory, the state and local policy director at the Williams Institute and lead author of the study. “With growing support for these laws, we expect more states to consider similar bans in the future.”

National and state-level public opinion polls have found majority support for ending the use of conversion therapy on youth.

For example, a recent Ipsos/Reuters survey, conducted in partnership with the Williams Institute, found that 56% of US adults believe conversion therapy should be illegal.

The previous report, released in January 2018, provided the first estimates of youth in the US at risk of undergoing conversion therapy before they reach adulthood. At that time, researchers estimated 20,000 youth at risk of conversion therapy by a licensed health care provider in the 41 states without bans and 6,000 LGBT youth

protected by the nine state laws banning the practice.

The report also found that approximately 698,000 LGBT adults nationwide have received conversion therapy at some point in their lives, including about 350,000 who received it as adolescents.

“Research has found that youth who undergo conversion therapy are more likely to attempt suicide,” said study author Kerith J. Conron, Blachford-Cooper Distinguished Scholar and research director at the Williams Institute. “It’s vital that we educate families on the harms of this practice.”

Read the report [at https://bit. ly/2MX8RUV].

HARRIS

with insurance and make it more readily available.

In addition to making PrEP available without additional copays, insurance companies would be required by the Harris plan to cover any tests related to PrEP. The legislation also would create a grant program under the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that would give money to US states, territories, and tribal governments to increase access to the drug for people without insurance.

The bill would allow for $300 million in grants over five years.

The bill also orders the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to work with advocacy groups that represent the LGBTQ community and people of color on a public information campaign to raise awareness of the drug.

Finally the makes it illegal for life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care insurance companies to charge PrEP users higher premiums.

continued from cover PrEP has been found to reduce the risk of contracting HIV by up to 92% for those who take it on a daily basis.

Harris’s plan would require insurance companies to make PrEP medications available without copays – in other words, free – to policy holders.

“For too many in our country, lack of insurance coverage and exorbitant costs have put PrEP out of reach – and that needs to change,” Harris said in a statement.

“Nearly four decades since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis that took so many lives and caused countless others to live in fear, we can and will stop the spread of this disease.”

But the drug cost more than $20,000 a year in 2018, according to Harris’s office.

Harris’s office estimates that just 7% of the one million Americans who could benefit from the drug have a prescription. Her plan seeks to make the drug free for people

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 45 Years!

HRC on “civil rights disaster” of Trump-Pence administration ahead of 2020 campaign launch

WASHINGTON, DC (June 18, 2019) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization slammed the Trump-Pence administration for [its] attacks on LGBTQ people ahead of Trump’s 2020 campaign launch.

“Since Donald Trump and Mike Pence took office 29 months ago, LGBTQ people have been under constant attack by an administration that is hell-bent on ripping away our progress,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “But time and again, HRC’s grassroots army of more than three million strong has fought back, putting up roadblocks on this administration’s path of destruction and discrimination. In the months ahead, we will continue to turn resistance into action by making major investments to turn out the more than 10 million eligible LGBTQ voters in this country and millions more allies to ensure we defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and elect a pro-equality president who will fight for the rights of all Americans.”

Here are 29 horrific things Trump has done to attack or undermine LGBTQ rights since taking office 29 months ago (this list has been significantly curtailed for convenience. For the full, unredacted list of Trump-Pence’s attacks on LGBTQ people, go to hrc.org/timelines/trump):

1. Opposition to the Equality Act: Despite support from almost every segment of the US population and a majority of Republicans, President Trump opposed the Equality Act. Last month, the House passed the Equality Act, voting to guarantee critical nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people among other crucial rights.

2. Appointed horrifically anti-LGBTQ judges: Trump has appointed anti-LGBTQ judges with alarming anti-LGBTQ records to appointments at every level of the judicial system, including anti-equality Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.

3. Joked about Pence’s desire to hang gay people: In 2017, Trump joked about Vice President Pence’s anti-gay agenda saying “Don’t ask that guy – he wants to hang them all!”

In the Workplace 4. Banned transgender service members from the military: Against the expert advice of military leadership, medical authorities, budget analysts, 70% of Americans, and the armed forces of allied countries, Trump and Pence banned transgender people from serving in the military.

5. Rolled back Obama-era nondiscrimination protections: Trump’s Department of Justice upended previous DOJ interpretations of the Civil Rights Act that protect transgender and nonbinary workers from employment discrimination and ceased enforcing nondiscrimination protections as well as taking a hostile stance to LGBTQ workers in court.

6. Planned new rules to license discrimination: Trump’s Department of Labor issued a directive designed to allow federal contractors to claim a religious exemption to fire LGBTQ workers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

7. Kicked people living with HIV out of the military because of their status: The Department of Defense instituted a “deploy or get out” policy, which would remove military personnel living with HIV from service solely because of their status.

8. Created a hostile work environment for LGBTQ federal employees: According to Politico, “[The Trump administration] fostered a climate where six staffers who are LGBT described removing their wedding rings before coming to work in the morning, taking down photos of their partners and families, or ultimately finding new jobs further away from certain political appointees. They did not want to be identified; two said they feared being reassigned for being gay.”

couple born abroad via surrogate would be considered “born out of wedlock” and making it more difficult to obtain US citizenship.

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

In Health Care 9. Section 1557 Rule: [The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)] just published a proposed major change to the administrative rule interpreting Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to remove explicit protections for LGBTQ people in health care programs and activities by excluding LGBTQ people from protections from discrimination based on sex stereotyping and gender identity.

10. Advocated for the elimination of the entire Affordable Care Act: The Justice Department issued a legal filing arguing that the entirety of the Affordable Care Act should be overturned. This move would jeopardize health care for over 130 million people with pre-existing conditions like HIV and eliminate nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

11. Created a Religious Discrimination Division: HHS created a new office whose sole purpose would be to defend physicians and other medical professionals who decide to refuse care, including to LGBTQ patients.

12. Proposed cutting over $1.35 billion from PEPFAR budget: In his proposed FY 2019 budget, Trump cut $1.35 billion from, or 29% of, PEPFAR’s budget.

PEPFAR is the US government program that fights AIDS abroad.

In Schools 13. Guidance for schools on transgender students: The Departments of Education and Justice eliminated Obama-era guidance clarifying that schools must treat transgender students consistent with their identity. This encourages schools officials to permit harassment of transgender students, deny access to facilities consistent with gender identity, and refuse to use correct names and pronouns – all inflicting untold emotional harm.

14. Rejected complaints from transgender students: The Department of Education refused to respond to civil complaints filed by transgender students, including those who were barred from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. This increases the burden for transgender students to combat these harmful policies.

15. Suggested it is acceptable for schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students while accepting taxpayer funds: Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has refused to rule out federal funding for schools that discriminate against LGBTQ students and has declined to state she would otherwise intervene should discrimination occur.

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16. Sexual assault: DeVos rescinded Title IX rules related to schools’ obligations to address sexual harassment, including sexual violence. By eliminating the Obama-era rules, DeVos increased the standard of proof from “preponderance of the evidence” to “clear and convincing evidence,” making it more difficult for survivors of sexual assault to obtain justice.

LGBTQ people are disproportionately affected by sexual assault and harassment, and the stigma that many LGBTQ people face can make it more difficult for survivors to report.

17. Eliminated language protecting LGBTQ children participating in the 4-H program: The Trump-Pence administration ordered 4-H programs to remove a policy specifically welcoming LGBTQ children in the 4-H program, which led to the firing of an official who protested.

In Housing 18. Allowed emergency shelters to deny access to transgender people: Despite the fact that LGBTQ people are significantly more likely to experience homelessness in their lives, HUD Secretary Ben Carson has proposed a rule to permit emergency shelters to deny access or otherwise discriminate against transgender persons who are homeless. HUD also canceled a scheduled survey on LGBTQ homelessness.

19. Placed transgender prisoners in the wrong prison: The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) rolled back an Obama-era policy that housed transgender prisoners consistent with their gender identity. With transgender people experiencing sexual assault at higher rates than average, this decision only puts them at further risk of assault.

In Families 20. Allowed foster care programs to discriminate while accepting taxpayer funds: Trump undermined an Obama-era rule that banned discrimination on the basis of religion by foster care organizations receiving federal funds from HHS. This change could prevent thousands of LGBTQ parents from being able to provide stable and loving homes for over 400,000 children in foster care nationwide.

21. Refused visas to partners of diplomats: The State Department began refusing visas for same-sex partners of some diplomats and UN workers if they are not married.

22. Changed rules to deny surrogateborn children citizenship: The Trump administration has interpreted immigration rules specifically so the child of a same-sex

June 21, 2019

In Representation 23. Erased transgender people: Trump’s HHS proposed a new definition that would narrowly define sex as either male or female, unchangeable, and determined by birth. According to the New York Times: “The new definition would essentially eradicate federal recognition of the estimated 1.4 million [transgender] Americans.” In addition, agency staff, including those at the Centers for Disease Control, have been instructed to stop using the word transgender in official reports.

24. Eliminated information on LGBTQ rights, mentions, and representation on government websites: Within hours of Trump’s swearing-in, pages on LGBTQ rights and recognition were removed from government websites, including the White House.

25. Blocked questions regarding sexual orientation from consideration for the census: Trump and Pence have sought to block questions on sexual orientation from the census in order to erase LGBTQ people from official counts. This would, in turn, prevent the collection of crucial data that could help improve government programs and resources for LGBTQ people.

26. Refused to recognize LGBTQ people in National AIDS Day Address: Despite [LGBTQ people] being the community most affected by the epidemic, Vice President Pence has consistently refused to acknowledge [them] in his addresses on National AIDS Day. In the World 27. Embassy Pride flags: Pence defended the State Department directive to ban US embassies across the world from flying the LGBTQ Pride Flag during Pride Month.

28. Left the UN Human Rights Council: Trump and Pence, over LGBTQ and other issues, removed the United States from the UN Human Rights Council.

29. Chechnya: Trump and Pence refused to condemn attacks on LGBTQ people in Chechnya, where atrocities against queer people are horrific and ongoing.

With Donald Trump mired in lurid scandals and investigations that threaten his presidency, Mike Pence has flown under the radar, amassing enormous power in an administration hobbled by clueless advisors, inexperienced staffers, and a revolving cast of lawyers. Pence is exploiting that alarming leadership void by quietly spearheading a charge to radically undermine the rights of LGBTQ people and women, attack voting rights, undercut sound science, and enable the greatest assault on American institutions in modern history.

In 2018, the HRC mobilized 52 million Equality Voters nationwide to help elect pro-equality leadership in state and federal offices in six target states: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In those states, pro-equality candidates won 5/5 Senate seats and 4/6 governor’s mansions, and broke anti-equality trifectas or supermajorities in 4/6 states.

Now, the HRC will build upon the tremendous successes in these states to elect a proequality president in 2020.

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

Seattle Gay News 11

New law legalizes paid surrogacy, increasing family building options for LGBTQ community

by Lorna Marshall, MD Director of Center for Collaborative Reproduction Pacific NW Fertility & IVF Specialists The state of Washington made paid surrogacy fully legal January 1, taking a huge step forward for people who need to use a gestational carrier to build their families.

Options available and access to care are now vastly improved for same-sex male couples and others who desire a family but lack a healthy uterus to carry the pregnancy.

Today the term “surrogate” almost always refers to a “gestational surrogate” or “gestational carrier,” which means that the surrogate carries the pregnancy, but does not provide the egg to start the pregnancy.

Instead, an embryo is developed by in vitro fertilization (IVF) using sperm and eggs from the intended parents or from chosen donors, and then transferred to the surrogate’s uterus. The surrogate is not genetically related to the child she carries. Typically, same-sex male partners will use their own sperm and an egg donor for IVF, and the resulting embryo will be transferred into a gestational carrier.

Before this law was passed, legal parentage rights were complex and challenging for couples or individuals that rely on ges-

tational surrogates to expand their families.

Under this new law, intended parents can receive parentage rights and responsibilities at birth.

“Genetic surrogacy,” where the surrogate provides the egg and carries the pregnancy, has generally been considered riskier, because the surrogate has a genetic “claim” to the child. This new law allows genetic surrogacy, but restrictions such as allowing the surrogate to decide to keep the pregnancy until 48 hours after birth are clearly defined. For many same-sex male couples, this makes genetic surrogacy emotionally and legally challenging.

In the past, it has been legal for Washington residents to ask a family member or friend to carry their pregnancy, through an agreement referred to as “altruistic” or “compassionate” surrogacy. This is a big ask, since carrying a pregnancy is such a huge physical, emotional and financial commitment. Until this year, however, it was illegal for surrogates in Washington state to receive compensation beyond medical and other expenses.

As a consequence, many people who have needed a gestational carrier to build a family sought care from agencies in other states where paid surrogacy was legal, or, frustrated with the barriers, chose to abandon using a surrogate altogether.

Fertility centers like Pacific NW Fertility have offered gestational carrier cycles

for many years to same-sex couples, single men and women, and different-sex couples who lack a healthy uterus or have a medical problem that precludes carrying a healthy pregnancy, but could only work with patients who identified a “compassionate” surrogate or a paid surrogate from a neighboring state. This limited and fragmented the care that patients have received in the past. The new law promises a more streamlined approach to providing these complex services to Washington residents.

Senator Jamie Pedersen, who has four children with his husband using a gestational carrier, introduced and spearheaded the passage of Senate Bill 6037, which made Washington the first state to incorporate the latest version of the Uniform Parentage Act into law. In addition to allowing compensation beyond medical and other expenses to surrogates, the law provides safeguards to establish parentage for LGBTQ and other non-biological parents using assisted reproductive technologies to have a child.

This new law makes it much easier for Washington state residents to have a child using a gestational surrogate. Carriers can now undergo fertility procedures and obstetrical care in Washington state and avoid unnecessary travel. Intended parents will no longer need to leave the state to attend physician visits or the birth of their child. The law clearly establishes parentage

for the intended parents at the time of birth to a gestational surrogate, while specifically protecting the rights, health and well being of the person who chooses to become a surrogate.

The Seattle reproductive community has been preparing to support this new law and the expected demand for surrogacy services. At least three agencies that recruit gestational surrogates have opened their doors in Seattle. Mental health providers and family lawyers have prepared to provide counseling to intended parents, the proposed surrogates and their partners.

Fertility clinics like Pacific NW Fertility have increased staff to accommodate the demand for services. At least one obstetrical practice, Seattle Ob/Gyn, has identified key personnel to make the obstetrical experience as welcoming as possible for the surrogates and intended parents.

The Family Equality Council recently published a survey that showed that 48% of LGBTQ millennials actively plan to expand their families. Greater access to surrogacy options and legal recognition of non-biological parenting supported by this law are huge steps in recognizing this trend, a win for LGBTQ couples and all who rely on surrogacy to realize their dreams of having a family.

HRC: Congress must pass Speier Amendment, protect Trans troops WASHINGTON, DC (June 17, 2019) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, called on Congress to pass an appropriations amendment introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) that would prevent further implementation of Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military by eliminating funding for it.

“Transgender troops have served openly with distinction for years,” said HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride.

“The Trump administration’s ban on transgender troops goes against medical experts, military leadership, budget analysts, 70% of the American people, and the US House, who passed a resolution in March condemning Trump’s attacks on transgender service members. We are thankful to Rep.

Speier for her leadership on this amendment and call upon her colleagues to join her in passing it.”

Following Donald Trump’s initial tweets announcing his intention to ban qualified transgender people from serving in the military, the HRC joined six active members of the armed services, two individuals seeking to enlist, the Modern Military Association of America, and Washington state’s Gender Justice League as coplaintiffs in Karnoski v. Trump, one of four federal lawsuits filed challenging the ban.

Despite the string of court victories for transgender troops and recruits in federal district and circuit courts, the US Supreme Court recently stayed the preliminary injunctions that had been blocking the Trump-Pence administration from implementing [the] discriminatory ban. Earlier

this month, the US Department of Defense announced that [it] would begin discharging openly transgender service members who come out after April 12, 2019, beginning the discrimination against transgender service members even as several cases continue to make their way through the courts.

A diverse range of voices have opposed banning transgender people from serving in the military. Thirty-three former national security experts and military leaders, the American Medical Association, and the NAACP filed briefs in support [of] the cases filed to halt the Trump-Pence ban.

In testimony before Congress, all four service branch chiefs stated that open service for transgender patriots had not inhibited military readiness or unit cohesion.

In March, the US House of Representatives, in a bipartisan vote led by Rep. Joseph

Kennedy III (D-MA), passed a resolution condemning the ban.

That same month, former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen (ret.) penned a powerful piece supporting open service for transgender troops and opposing the administration’s arbitrary and animus-fueled policy.

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

MMAA statement on appointment of Mark Esper as acting Secretary of Defense

WASHINGTON, DC (June 18, 2019) – Today, the Modern Military Association of America (MMAA) – the nation’s largest nonprofit organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) military and veteran community – released the following statement on the appointment of Mark Esper as acting Secretary of Defense.

“Esper’s past anti-LGBTQ positions and most recent comments on transgender military service are cause for considerable concern as he is elevated to acting Secretary of Defense,” said MMAA executive

director and Navy veteran Andy Blevins.

“In this crucially important role, Esper has a solemn responsibility to ensure all of our nation’s service members and their families have the full support they need and deserve – including LGBTQ service members. Considering his deeply troubling past statements, we urge acting Secretary Esper to clarify his commitment to all military families.”

Earlier today, the Palm Center – an independent research center on public policy – highlighted Esper’s past comments specifically on transgender military

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June 21, 2019

service. The Palm Center pointed out that Esper lied about transgender military service during a June 6 CNN interview, where he claimed that “there’s no blanket ban” in the military on transgender applicants.

This is in direct conflict with the TrumpPence administration’s current transgender military ban, which among other discriminatory measures bars qualified transgender recruits from entering the military.

The MMAA and Lambda Legal are currently challenging the Trump-Pence administration’s discriminatory transgender military ban in court in the case of Kar-

noski v. Trump.

The Modern Military Association of America (MMAA) is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization for LGBTQ service members, military spouses, veterans, and allies. Created through the merger of OutServe-SLDN and the American Military Partner Association, the MMAA is “the voice of the LGBTQ military and veteran community.” Find out more at www.ModernMilitary.org.

Courtesy of the MMAA

Celebrating 45 Years!

Lambda Legal on anti-LGBT Kacsmaryk confirmation: this highly offensive appointment further damages our judiciary WASHINGTON, DC (June 19, 2019) – In response to the Senate confirmation of Matthew Kacsmaryk to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas Sharon McGowan, Chief Strategy Officer and Legal Director at Lambda Legal released the following statement: “Today the US Senate did further damage to our federal judiciary by confirming Matthew Kacsmaryk, yet another antiLGBT extremist who cannot be trusted to administer fair and impartial justice to the LGBT community, or anyone who does not align with his extreme views about gender and sexuality. In confirming Kacsmaryk, the Senate has given a lifetime appointment to a nominee who has denounced efforts to secure full formal and lived equality for LGBT people as part of a dangerous ‘sexual revolution’ and who has disparaged transgender people as ‘delusional.’ Kacsmaryk’s extensive record of anti-LGBT animus should have been disqualifying, as no reasonable person can believe that LGBT Americans will receive equal justice in his courtroom. The Senate’s confirmation of Matthew Kacsmaryk during the month when our nation marks the 50th anniversary of Stonewall is highly offensive, as it is completely anathema to our Constitution’s promise of equal protection under the law.”

Background: This month, 75 LGBTQ and allied groups led by Lambda Legal sent a letter to the Senate urging opposition to Kacsmaryk, surpassing even opposition to Brett Kavanaugh.

A bipartisan coalition of senators opposed Kacsmaryk’s nomination, who built his career on extreme opposition to any form of legal protections for LGBTQ people, including the Equality Act recently passed by the US House of Representatives.

His professional life has been marked by toxic rhetoric about members of the

Matthew Kacsmaryk – Photo courtesy of HRC

LGBTQ community: he has called transgender people “problematic,” claimed being transgender is a “delusion,” suggested the LGBTQ rights movement is “typified by lawlessness,” and called for a “long war” against nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. Kacsmaryk’s record also includes extreme hostility to reproductive freedom, including his strong criticism of the Supreme Court’s landmark precedent in Roe v. Wade.

In December, over 300 parents and

HRC responds to the confirmation of anti-LGBTQ Matthew Kacsmaryk WASHINGTON, DC (June 19, 2019) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, [responded] to the confirmation of anti-LGBTQ Matthew Kacsmaryk to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.

“Matthew Kacsmaryk is among the most anti-LGBTQ judicial nominees put forward by the Trump-Pence administration,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “He has a long history of virulently anti-LGBTQ opinions and positions – including his deeply disturbing opposition to same-sex marriage, his vocal hostility toward legal protections for gender identity and sexual orientation, and his shocking refusal to recognize the basic humanity of transgender people. Kacsmaryk fails the basic expectation of impartiality and commitment to equality under the law that we demand of every member of the bench. The Human Rights Campaign will continue to raise the alarm about Kacsmaryk and future nominees who refuse to protect the rights of all Americans.”

Matthew J. Kacsmaryk is a lawyer and political commentator with a long history

of horrific views on the LGBTQ community. Kacsmaryk has implied that transgender people are “delusional,” opposed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s position that sexual orientation and gender identity are covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, publicly slammed nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people throughout his career, and in opposing aspects of LGBTQ equality like same-sex marriage, has derisively dismissed equality as unwanted symptoms of a “sexual revolution.”

The Human Rights Campaign will continue to stand alongside coalition partners in demanding judicial nominees who uphold the legal rights of all people, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

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.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Courtesy of the HRC

caregivers of transgender youth also signed a letter opposing the nomination of Matthew Kacsmaryk, stating, “Confirming Mr. Kacsmaryk as a federal judge would send a damaging and dangerous message that the dignity of children like ours does not count in the courts, or in the US Senate.”

Read Lambda Legal report “Stacking the Courts: The Fight Against Trump’s Extremist Judicial Nominees” at https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/dc_20171220_ trumps-assault-on-lgbt-rights.

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

KACSMARYK

Alliance for Justice believes that all Americans have the right to secure justice in the courts and to have their voices heard when government makes decisions that affect their lives. We are a national association of 130 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society.

continued from cover

hostility to LGBTQ people and to women’s rights. Now, not only will he have the opportunity to curtail equal rights for millions within these communities but individual women and LGBTQ people who come into his courtroom seeking justice will have to face a judge who has expressed contempt for them. As a judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk is going to ruin lives, and there is no way to minimize that very sad fact.”

GLAAD

continued from cover sider gender identity as a protection under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which guaranteed any American the right to health insurance without any form of discrimination.

Currently, federal law requires HHS to hold a 60-day public comment period [https://www.regulations. gov/docket?D=HHS-OCR-2019-0007 ] directed toward the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) prior to the policy’s implementation.

GLAAD urges all LGBTQ Americans and allies to take a stand and urge the Trump administration to reverse course on [its] attack on transgender Americans.

GLAAD’s formal comment reads: “Time and again, the American people have confirmed they believe health care is not just a human right but also an American one as well. The most recent proof point came during the 2018 midterm elections, as it [demonstrated] how vital these values are – by electing political leaders whose sole

June 21, 2019

Courtesy of Lambda Legal

Courtesy of the Alliance for Justice

vision is improving access to health care, not restrict it. However, this new proposed rule [demonstrates] the Trump administration’s priority to prevent an estimated 1.5 million transgender people from vital prescriptions, screenings, and treatments – all of which would save lives. Should President Trump and his administration follow through with this new rule, blood will be on their hands.”

LGBTQ acceptance has been threatened by President Trump and his administration since the start of 2017. Not only has President Trump banned transgender Americans from serving in the nation’s armed forces but his administration has also opposed the Equality Act, a bill which would provide across-the-board protections for LGBTQ Americans at home, at work, and in their communities. The entire list of the Trump administration’s 114 antiLGBTQ actions can be found by going to GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project [https://www.glaad.org/trump].

Courtesy of GLAAD

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Celebrating 45 Years!

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