SGN August 21, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Issue 34 Volume 48

FRIDAY August 21, 2020 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

US District Court grants injunction

against enforcement of Idaho’s discriminatory, anti-Transgender HB 500

Photo by Rachel Leathe / Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP

WASHINGTON, DC (August 17, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, celebrated the news that US District Judge David Nye has granted a preliminary injunction against the

enforcement of Idaho’s discriminatory antitransgender law, HB 500, finding that the state’s interest was not justifiable but rather “an invalid interest of excluding transgender women and girls from women’s sports entirely.” While only an initial victory, the

Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention

President Barack Obama – Photo courtesy of DNC via AP

Read former President Barack Obama’s speech to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery, August 19, 2020 [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/ politics/barack-obama-speech-transcript/ index.html]

see HB 500 page 9

ACLU: “There is no license to discriminate in our Constitution”

ACLU commentary on House Ways & Means report about current HHS discriminatory policy and upcoming SCOTUS case Nov. 4

Good evening, everybody. As you’ve seen by now, this isn’t a normal convention. It’s not a normal time. So tonight, I want to talk as plainly as I can about the stakes in this election. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come.

see BARACK OBAMA page 4

Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention

Michelle Obama – Photo courtesy of DNC via AP Photo by Josh Willink from Pexels

The House Ways and Means Committee today [August 19, 2020] issued a press release [https://waysandmeans.house.gov/ media-center/press-releases/new-waysand-means-report-finds-hhs-allowed-federal-dollars-be-spent] and report [https:// waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats. waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/

Children%20At%20Risk%20Majority%20 Staff%20Report.pdf] finding that the federal Department of Health and Human Services is allowing taxpayer dollars to be given to organizations that discrimination against LGBTQ families.

see ACLU page 13

Read former first lady Michelle Obama’s speech from the 2020 Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery, August 17, 2020 [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/17/ politics/michelle-obama-speech-transcript/ index.html – includes link to full video of Michelle Obama’s speech]

Good evening, everyone. It’s a hard time, and everyone’s feeling it in different ways.

And I know a lot of folks are reluctant to tune into a political convention right now or to politics in general. Believe me, I get that.

But I am here tonight because I love this country with all my heart, and it pains me to see so many people hurting.

see MICHELLE OBAMA page 5

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August 21, 2020

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MUSIC

Special guests join DJ Disco Vinnie for Xanadu40: “ONJ vs ELO” this Sunday, August 23

by MK Scott SGN Contributing Writer Seattle’s own premiere DJ/VJ, Disco Vinnie, has been hosting an online show three times a week on Twitch since the COVID outbreak shut down clubs and weddings. In honor of Xanadu turning 40 he is creating an event this Sunday entitled “ONJ vs ELO”! This will be a night of all the greatest remixed music videos from both Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra, as well as a few others from people they’ve worked with, such as Andy Gibb, ABBA, Cliff Richard and the like. In addition one

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of our amazing followers, Matt Lattanzi, will be on board in the chat room all night long to answer questions and inquiries about Xanadu and Olivia Newton-John. Matt was Olivia’s first husband (plus father to her only child, Chloe) for nine years AND was a lead dancer in Xanadu (where they met and fell in love) as well as starring in several of her music videos.

Vinnie recently met up with Matt (and his current wife, Michelle) on the Oregon Coast, and it turns out they have been fans of his TWITCH series.

“So we all (and that means all the chat lounge peeps too) started talking about

Xanadu’s 40th” Vinnie told the SGN via Facebook, “and how much we all love ONJ and ELO, and I decided to do a themed Tea Dance on Sunday 08-23 in honor of Xanadu’s 40th. Matt’s gonna give me some behind the scene stories about Xanadu to share, it will be FULL of tons of Olivia videos, ELO videos and others they were associated with, and Matt is even going to ask Olivia if she could pop us a quick Audio or Video clip we could include.”

It is sure to be an evening of MAGIC! Show starts at 5pm at TWITCH.TV/ Discovinnie.

August 21, 2020

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BARACK OBAMA continued from cover

I’m in Philadelphia, where our Constitution was drafted and signed. It wasn’t a perfect document. It allowed for the inhumanity of slavery and failed to guarantee women – and even men who didn’t own property – the right to participate in the political process. But embedded in this document was a North Star that would guide future generations; a system of representative government – a democracy – through which we could better realize our highest ideals. Through civil war and bitter struggles, we improved this Constitution to include the voices of those who’d once been left out. And gradually, we made this country more just, more equal, and more free.

The one Constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. So at minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us – regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have – or who we voted for.

But we should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition, or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for and went to jail for; fought for and died for.

I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president.

I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies.

I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.

But he never did. For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.

Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.

Now, I know that in times as polarized as these, most of you have already made up your mind. But maybe you’re still not sure which candidate you’ll vote for – or whether you’ll vote at all. Maybe you’re tired of the direction we’re headed, but you can’t see a better path yet, or you just don’t know enough about the person who wants to lead us there.

So let me tell you about my friend Joe Biden.

Twelve years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I didn’t know I’d end up finding a brother. Joe and I came from different places and different generations. But what I quickly came to admire about him is his resilience, born of too much struggle; his empathy, born of too much grief. Joe’s a man who learned – early on – to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity, living by the words his parents taught him: “No one’s better than you, Joe, but you’re better than nobody.”

That empathy, that decency, the belief that everybody counts – that’s who Joe is.

When he talks with someone who’s lost her job, Joe remembers the night his father sat him down to say that he’d lost his.

When Joe listens to a parent who’s trying to hold it all together right now, he does it as the single dad who took the train back to Wilmington each and every night so he could tuck his kids into bed.

When he meets with military families

4 Seattle Gay News

who’ve lost their hero, he does it as a kindred spirit; the parent of an American soldier; somebody whose faith has endured the hardest loss there is.

For eight years, Joe was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision. He made me a better president – and he’s got the character and the experience to make us a better country.

And in my friend Kamala Harris, he’s chosen an ideal partner who’s more than prepared for the job; someone who knows what it’s like to overcome barriers and who’s made a career fighting to help others live out their own American dream.

Along with the experience needed to get things done, Joe and Kamala have concrete policies that will turn their vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality.

They’ll get this pandemic under control, like Joe did when he helped me manage H1N1 and prevent an Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores.

They’ll expand health care to more Americans, like Joe and I did ten years ago when he helped craft the Affordable Care Act and nail down the votes to make it the law.

They’ll rescue the economy, like Joe helped me do after the Great Recession. I asked him to manage the Recovery Act, which jumpstarted the longest stretch of job growth in history. And he sees this moment now not as a chance to get back to where we were, but to make long-overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody – whether it’s the waitress trying to raise a kid on her own, or the shift worker always on the edge of getting laid off, or the student figuring out how to pay for next semester’s classes.

Joe and Kamala will restore our standing in the world – and as we’ve learned from this pandemic, that matters. Joe knows the world, and the world knows him. He knows that our true strength comes from setting an example the world wants to follow. A nation that stands with democracy, not dictators. A nation that can inspire and mobilize others to overcome threats like climate change, terrorism, poverty, and disease.

But more than anything, what I know about Joe and Kamala is that they actually care about every American. And they care deeply about this democracy.

They believe that in a democracy, the right to vote is sacred, and we should be making it easier for people to cast their ballot, not harder.

They believe that no one – including the president – is above the law, and that no public official – including the president – should use their office to enrich themselves or their supporters.

They understand that in this democracy, the Commander-in-Chief doesn’t use the men and women of our military, who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation, as political props to deploy against peaceful protesters on our own soil. They understand that political opponents aren’t “un-American” just because they disagree with you; that a free press isn’t the “enemy” but the way we hold officials accountable; that our ability to work together to solve big problems like a pandemic depends on a fidelity to facts and science and logic and not just making stuff up.

None of this should be controversial.

These shouldn’t be Republican principles or Democratic principles. They’re American principles. But at this moment, this president and those who enable him, have shown they don’t believe in these things.

Tonight, I am asking you to believe in Joe and Kamala’s ability to lead this country out of these dark times and build it back better.

But here’s the thing: no single American can fix this country alone. Not even a president.

Democracy was never meant to be transactional – you give me your vote; I make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry. So I am also asking you to believe in your own ability – to embrace your own responsibility as citizens – to make sure that the basic tenets of our democracy endure.

August 21, 2020

Michelle Obama – Photo courtesy of DNC via AP

“Do not let them take away your power.

Don’t let them take away your democracy.

Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote. ” Because that’s what at stake right now.

Our democracy.

Look, I understand why many Americans are down on government. The way the rules have been set up and abused in Congress make it easy for special interests to stop progress. Believe me, I know. I understand why a white factory worker who’s seen his wages cut or his job shipped overseas might feel like the government no longer looks out for him, and why a Black mother might feel like it never looked out for her at all. I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there’s still a place for him here; why a young person might look at politics right now, the circus of it all, the meanness and the lies and crazy conspiracy theories and think, what’s the point?

Well, here’s the point: this president and those in power – those who benefit from keeping things the way they are – they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies.

So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win. That’s how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love. That’s how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected, how our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That’s how a democracy withers, until it’s no democracy at all.

We can’t let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what Americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this – all those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice.

Last month, we lost a giant of American democracy in John Lewis. Some years ago, I sat down with John and the few remaining leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement. One of them told me he never imagined he’d walk into the White House and see a president who looked like his grandson. Then he told me that he’d looked it up, and it turned out that on the very day that I was born, he was marching into a jail cell, trying to end Jim Crow segregation in the South.

What we do echoes through the generations.

Whatever our backgrounds, we’re all the children of Americans who fought the good fight. Great grandparents working in

firetraps and sweatshops without rights or representation. Farmers losing their dreams to dust. Irish and Italians and Asians and Latinos told to go back where they came from. Jews and Catholics, Muslims and Sikhs, made to feel suspect for the way they worshipped. Black Americans chained and whipped and hanged. Spit on for trying to sit at lunch counters. Beaten for trying to vote.

If anyone had a right to believe that this democracy did not work, and could not work, it was those Americans. Our ancestors. They were on the receiving end of a democracy that had fallen short all their lives. They knew how far the daily reality of America strayed from the myth. And yet, instead of giving up, they joined together and said somehow, some way, we are going to make this work. We are going to bring those words, in our founding documents, to life.

I’ve seen that same spirit rising these past few years. Folks of every age and background who packed city centers and airports and rural roads so that families wouldn’t be separated. So that another classroom wouldn’t get shot up. So that our kids won’t grow up on an uninhabitable planet. Americans of all races joining together to declare, in the face of injustice and brutality at the hands of the state, that Black Lives Matter, no more, but no less, so that no child in this country feels the continuing sting of racism.

To the young people who led us this summer, telling us we need to be better – in so many ways, you are this country’s dreams fulfilled. Earlier generations had to be persuaded that everyone has equal worth. For you, it’s a given – a conviction.

And what I want you to know is that for all its messiness and frustrations, your system of self-government can be harnessed to help you realize those convictions.

You can give our democracy new meaning. You can take it to a better place. You’re the missing ingredient – the ones who will decide whether or not America becomes the country that fully lives up to its creed.

That work will continue long after this election. But any chance of success depends entirely on the outcome of this election.

This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win. So we have to get busy building it up – by pouring all our effort into these 76 days, and by voting like never before – for Joe and Kamala, and candidates up and down the ticket, so that we leave no doubt about what this country we love stands for – today and for all our days to come.

Stay safe. God bless.

Courtesy of CNN

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Michelle Obama – Photo courtesy of DNC via AP

riating, because I know the goodness and the grace that is out there in households and neighborhoods all across this nation.

And I know that regardless of our race, age, religion, or politics, when we close out the noise and the fear and truly open our hearts, we know that what’s going on in this country is just not right. This is not who we want to be.

So what do we do now? What’s our strategy? Over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me, “When others are going so low, does going high still really work?” My answer: going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that’s drowning out everything else. We degrade ourselves. We degrade the very causes for which we fight.

But let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness

MICHELLE OBAMA

“It is up to us to add our voices I’ve met so many of you. I’ve heard your and our votes to the course of history, stories. And through you, I have seen this country’s promise. And thanks to so many who came before me, thanks to their toil and echoing heroes like John Lewis who said, sweat and blood, I’ve been able to live that promise myself.

‘When you see something that is not right, That’s the story of America. All those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much you must say something. in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their You must do something.’” kids. continued from cover

There’s a lot of beauty in that story.

There’s a lot of pain in it, too, a lot of struggle and injustice and work left to do. And who we choose as our president in this election will determine whether or not we honor that struggle and chip away at that injustice and keep alive the very possibility of finishing that work.

I am one of a handful of people living today who have seen firsthand the immense weight and awesome power of the presidency.

And let me once again tell you this: the job is hard. It requires clear-headed judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen – and an abiding belief that each of the 330,000,000 lives in this country has meaning and worth.

A president’s words have the power to move markets. They can start wars or broker peace. They can summon our better angels or awaken our worst instincts. You simply cannot fake your way through this job.

As I’ve said before, being president doesn’t change who you are; it reveals who you are. Well, a presidential election can reveal who we are, too. And four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn’t matter. Maybe they were fed up.

Maybe they thought the outcome wouldn’t be close. Maybe the barriers felt too steep.

Whatever the reason, in the end, those choices sent someone to the Oval Office who lost the national popular vote by nearly 3,000,000 votes.

In one of the states that determined the outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct – two votes. And we’ve all been living with the consequences.

When my husband left office with Joe Biden at his side, we had a record-breaking stretch of job creation. We’d secured the right to health care for 20,000,000 people. We were respected around the world, rallying our allies to confront climate change. And our leaders had worked hand-in-hand with scientists to help prevent an Ebola outbreak from becoming a global pandemic.

Four years later, the state of this nation is very different. More than 150,000 people have died, and our economy is in shambles because of a virus that this president downplayed for too long. It has left millions of people jobless. Too many have lost their health care; too many are struggling to take care of basic necessities like food and rent; too many communities have been left in the lurch to grapple with whether and how to open our schools safely. Internationally, we’ve turned our back, not just on agree-

ments forged by my husband, but on alliances championed by presidents like Reagan and Eisenhower.

And here at home, as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and a never-ending list of innocent people of color continue to be murdered, stating the simple fact that a Black life matters is still met with derision from the nation’s highest office.

Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.

Empathy: that’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. The ability to walk in someone else’s shoes; the recognition that someone else’s experience has value, too.

Most of us practice this without a second thought. If we see someone suffering or struggling, we don’t stand in judgment. We reach out because, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It is not a hard concept to grasp. It’s what we teach our children.

And like so many of you, Barack and I have tried our best to instill in our girls a strong moral foundation to carry forward the values that our parents and grandparents poured into us. But right now, kids in this country are seeing what happens when we stop requiring empathy of one another.

They’re looking around wondering if we’ve been lying to them this whole time about who we are and what we truly value.

They see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us all safe. They see people calling the police on folks minding their own business just because of the color of their skin. They see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here, that greed is good, and winning is everything because as long as you come out on top, it doesn’t matter what happens to everyone else. And they see what happens when that lack of empathy is ginned up into outright disdain.

They see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists. They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages, and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protestors for a photo-op.

Sadly, this is the America that is on display for the next generation. A nation that’s underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of character. And that’s not just disappointing; it’s downright infu-

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and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we’ve got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences.

And going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free: the cold hard truth.

So let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.

Now, I understand that my message won’t be heard by some people. We live in a nation that is deeply divided, and I am a Black woman speaking at the Democratic Convention. But enough of you know me by now. You know that I tell you exactly what I’m feeling.

You know I hate politics. But you also know that I care about this nation. You know how much I care about all of our children.

So if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this: if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.

I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man, guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic, and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth and trust science. He will make smart plans and manage a good team. And he will govern as someone who’s lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.

When he was a kid, Joe’s father lost his job. When he was a young senator, Joe lost his wife and his baby daughter. And when he was vice president, he lost his beloved son. So Joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents.

Joe knows what it’s like to struggle, which is why he gives his personal phone number to kids overcoming a stutter of their own.

His life is a testament to getting back up, and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward.

August 21, 2020

Now, Joe is not perfect. And he’d be the first to tell you that. But there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president. And his ability to learn and grow – we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for right now. Because Joe Biden has served this nation his entire life without ever losing sight of who he is; but more than that, he has never lost sight of who we are, all of us.

Joe Biden wants all of our kids to go to a good school, see a doctor when they’re sick, live on a healthy planet. And he’s got plans to make all of that happen. Joe Biden wants all of our kids, no matter what they look like, to be able to walk out the door without worrying about being harassed or arrested or killed.

He wants all of our kids to be able to go to a movie or a math class without being afraid of getting shot. He wants all our kids to grow up with leaders who won’t just serve themselves and their wealthy peers but will provide a safety net for people facing hard times.

And if we want a chance to pursue any of these goals, any of these most basic requirements for a functioning society, we have to vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored. Because right now, folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting. They’re closing down polling places in minority neighborhoods. They’re purging voter rolls. They’re sending people out to intimidate voters, and they’re lying about the security of our ballots. These tactics are not new.

But this is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning. We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. We’ve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for Joe Biden. We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can. We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they’re received. And then, make sure our friends and families do the same.

We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.

Look, we have already sacrificed so much this year. So many of you are already going that extra mile. Even when you’re exhausted, you’re mustering up unimaginable courage to put on those scrubs and give our loved ones a fighting chance. Even when you’re anxious, you’re delivering those packages, stocking those shelves, and doing all that essential work so that all of us can keep moving forward.

Even when it all feels so overwhelming, working parents are somehow piecing it all together without child care. Teachers are getting creative so that our kids can still learn and grow. Our young people are desperately fighting to pursue their dreams.

And when the horrors of systemic racism shook our country and our consciences, millions of Americans of every age, every background rose up to march for each other, crying out for justice and progress.

This is who we still are: compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another. And it is well past time for our leaders to once again reflect our truth.

So, it is up to us to add our voices and our votes to the course of history, echoing heroes like John Lewis who said, “When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something.” That is the truest form of empathy: not just feeling, but doing; not just for ourselves or our kids, but for everyone, for all our kids.

And if we want to keep the possibility of progress alive in our time, if we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in American history. And we have got to do everything we can to elect my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all. God bless.

Courtesy of CNN

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Seattle Colleges’ faculty and staff march on Capitol Hill office of chancellor Proposed cuts will hurt students, despite increasing administration spending

by Renee Raketty SGN Staff Writer Faculty and staff at Seattle Colleges marched on the Seattle College District’s Siegal Center on Friday, August 14th. The Harvard Avenue facility in the Capitol Hill neighborhood is where SCD Chancellor Shouan Pan, Ph.D., has his office. The chancellor had announced cuts and changes due to expected losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the cuts go too far they say.

The cuts have included food service and child care workers, who have been laid off.

Likewise, adjunct faculty jobs have been cut as new class sections have been cancelled. The physical education program will close while Business Technology Management, Apparel Design, Culinary and Carpentry programs are also being reviewed for possible closure.

Seattle Colleges have long been a favorite choice for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender students who live in Seattle or choose to relocate to the city. It is likely these students may have noticed the cuts as well. Financial aid and other student service staff have been furloughed. It is unclear how many of these positions will return. In the meantime, unions representing Seattle Colleges’ workers are concerned students may suffer from untimely delays and a lack of available services.

Classified staff from WFSE 306, Prostaff from AFT-SPS 6550 and Faculty staff from AFT 1789 made a list of demands that they posted to the door of the Seigal Center.

They demanded that cuts to administration also be considered and called for financial transparency.

The Seattle Gay News reviewed documents that the Seattle College District had submitted to the Washington State Audi-

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tor. The documents show that while expenditures on instruction fell to 41 percent in 2018 and 2019; the number of administrators increased. According to State of Washington’s Administrative and Mid-Level Salary Surveys from 2017 and 2020, there was a 79 percent increase in the number of administrators from 19 to 34 people in those years and the amount of spending on salaries went up 101 percent from $1.9 million to $3.9 million. The new positions included three associate vice-chancellors and an additional executive assistant for the chancellor, among other positions.

The salaries of administrative faculty continued to rise in recent years. A records request obtained by WFSE found that there were 169 administrators and exempt staff with an average salary of $97,000. Meanwhile, the average full-time faculty earns just $69,813 in 2019, according to the State of Washington’s Faculty Salary Surveys.

The SCD has more administrators than North Seattle or South Seattle Colleges but doesn’t serve any students directly.

The chancellor’s salary even outpaces the governor of Washington state by more than $120,000 by making $303,718 annually.

Seattle Colleges’ staff and faculty say that they have heard promises before that were never realized. A consolidation of administrative duties for example that SCD claimed would save money, titled “Achieving Systems Integration,” instead led to no decrease in the cost of administration, according to data SCD submitted to the State of Washington, but instead cost more.

This is one reason they are calling for a role in SCD worker decision-making.

The list of demands from the three unions at Seattle Colleges also call for a “progressive state tax structure to fund education” and “free student tuition.”

Photos by Renee Raketty

August 21, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

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Riot declared as Black Lives Matter protesters march on Seattle Police Officers Guild Officer union perceived as resisting reforms and excusing police misconduct

by Renee Raketty SGN Staff Writer A Black Lives Matter march to the Seattle Police Officers Guild building in the 2900 block of 4th Avenue South on Sunday resulted in multiple injuries and arrests. One officer was hospitalized but later released.

The march was organized to bring attention to the police union’s perceived efforts to protect officers accused of police misconduct and resist reforms.

The demonstration had kicked off at the International District Transit Station sometime after 7pm, where over 150 people had gathered to take part. The march remained peaceful until the protesters were met with a police line near their final destination.

The Seattle Police Department states that things took a turn when a firework was thrown and someone attempted to break out a police vehicle window. The Seattle Gay News cannot confirm this account.

A SPD commander gave an order to disperse shortly after 10pm. The protesters had become boxed-in on at least three sides before using a small building driveway to make an escape back to 4th Ave. S. The police gave pursuit and deployed pepper spray against them.

While back on 4th Ave. S the situation continued to escalate. A few fireworks and water bottles were thrown at the officers.

The SPD also claims rocks were thrown but this writer did not observe this. The SPD responded with a chemical irritant and a thick cloud was seen enveloping the officers. A handful of protesters reported seeing canisters releasing the gas. However, the SPD denies that tear gas was used, saying that officers only used less controversial crowd control means, such as pepper spray and blast balls.

Protesters and this writer choked on the gas or a chemical irritants in the air when police charged at protesters and expected them to run. Members of the press, including the SGN, and legal observers were violently pushed by SPD officers during their advance northbound which spanned several blocks.

Police cruisers, followed by bike officers, followed the demonstrators all the way back through the ID and, even, up First Hill. Video

footage shows officers tackling protesters to the ground to make arrests and stopping protest support vehicles for questioning.

This journalist had been threatened with arrest multiple times after they fell behind police lines – despite having their press credentials clearly visible. An SPD commander, however, escorted them out of the area. In all, eighteen arrests were made.

The SPD stated that the incident remains an

“active investigation.”

Dozens of the protesters identified themselves to this writer as members of the city’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community as the night progressed. A popular streamer, “Some Queer at a Riot,” carried the action on his live stream broadcast over the internet. The recording of the stream had garnered more than 2700 views

by Wednesday.

Photos by Renee Raketty

Visit us online www.sgn.org

August 21, 2020

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FDA approves HIV cure clinical trials

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved clinical trials of a new potential cure for HIV. If successful, the new trial will be conducted on human subjects and will test a gene therapy developed by biotech firm American Gene Technologies (AGT), based in Rockville, Maryland.

Known as AGT103-T, the new treatment involves removing some white blood cells from an HIV-positive patient, then inserting a gene that modifies the T-cells. This enables the cells to stop HIV replication.

The HIV-resistant T-cells are then infused back into the patient, where they can replicate themselves and inhibit HIV replication. A detailed, peer-reviewed paper on AGT103-T appeared in June in the journal Molecular Therapy.

Jeff Galvin, founder and chief executive officer of AGT, said in a statement, “I am confident AGT103-T will be an important step towards an eventual cure for HIV.” The company’s chief science officer, David Pauza, added, “This is momentous news that we have FDA approval to launch Phase 1 and conduct our first human trials.

We are beyond excited to reach this milestone. This brings us closer to our goal of transforming lives with genetic medicines.

Based on our successful commercial-scale product manufacturing runs and features of the product observed in our labs, this therapy has a high potential to be effective.”

Currently, antiretroviral drugs like Truvada are the most effective treatment for the virus. The downside, however, lies in adherence to the medication regime.

While the drugs are effective in reducing viral load, if patients stop taking them, the virus will begin to replicate again and

the patient may eventually become symptomatic. Some patients can also develop resistance to the medication or experience side effects.

If trials of the new gene therapy prove to be successful, researchers foresee reducing or even eliminating the need for HIV-positive patients to take further HIV medication.

The Phase 1 trial will be conducted in the Baltimore and Washington, DC, area at the Washington Health Institute, the University of Maryland, the Institute of Human Virology, and Georgetown University.

The initial trial will treat six patients, and researchers will look for specific biological signs the treatment is working. If all goes well, it might be extended to further patients.

The next step would have the test subjects suspend their antiretroviral therapy, to see if the gene therapy has prompted longterm remission or if they have been “functionally cured,” according to Galvin.

He said he hopes a Phase 2 trial, recruiting further patients, could be launched before the end of next year if the treatment works and is shown to be safe.

“The big question everyone has is, ‘When will it be available for me?’” said Galvin.

“I think it’s all dependent on demonstrating human efficacy, but we’ve already talked to five different pharma companies that are interested in this project. There is some history of gene therapy being licensed out of a pivotal Phase 2 for acute conditions, and I think the FDA is quite concerned about people that can’t tolerate antiretroviral therapy. I wouldn’t be surprised, if Phase 2 is successful, [that] there might be some limited license that might come out of that.

“If not, I would expect that it would be another two years past the end of Phase 2, so we’re talking 3-4 years from now as a minimum.”

The economic impact of COVID-19 intensifies for transgender people and LGBTQ communities of color In partnership with PSB Insights, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has been tracking the impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ community. In a series of reports, HRC has found that the virus is having a disproportionate economic impact on LGBTQ people in the United States, particularly on LGBTQ people of color and transgender or gender non-conforming people: they are more likely to have become unemployed, more likely to have their work hours cut, are more likely to feel that their personal finances are in worse shape and are more likely to be taking steps to actively prepare for the virus.

We thought this data might be of interest, given the Democratic National Convention’s focus tonight [Wednesday, 8/19/20] on “a more perfect economy.” HRC’s data clearly shows that there is still much work to be done

to fully include LGBTQ people and communities of color in the economic recovery.

In our most recent report [https://www. hrc.org/resources/the-economic-impactof-covid-19-on-black-lgbtq-people], which delved into the impact of COVID on Black LGBTQ people, we found that: • 31% of Black LGBTQ respondents had their work hours reduced due to COVID-19, compared to 23% of Black respondents, 28% of LGBTQ respondents and 22% of the general sample population.

• 18% of Black LGBTQ respondents became unemployed due to COVID-19, compared to 16% of Black respondents, 16% of LGBTQ people and 12% of the general sample population.

These economic realities have also led to financial challenges for Black LGBTQ people, causing many to make changes to their budgets and ask for delays in various expenses for necessities: • 36% of Black LGBTQ respondents have made changes to their household budgets, compared to 27% of Black respondents, 30% of LGBTQ respondents and 26% of the general sample population.

• 28% of Black LGBTQ respondents have taken out more cash from the bank, compared to 15% of Black respondents, 18% of LGBTQ respondents and 13% of the general sample population.

• 20% of Black LGBTQ respondents have checked to see if their bank account has overdrafted, compared to 14% of Black respon-

dents, 14% of LGBTQ respondents and 10% of the general sample population.

• 21% of Black LGBTQ respondents have asked for delays in paying their bills, compared to 17% of Black respondents, 14% of LGBTQ respondents and 12% of the general sample population.

• 23% of Black LGBTQ respondents have asked for delays in paying their rent, compared to 12% of Black respondents, 11% of LGBTQ respondents and 7% of the general sample population.

Courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign

LGBTQ Victory Institute launches Presidential Appointments Initiative

31 organizations aim to increase LGBTQ representation in the next administration WASHINGTON, DC (August 14, 2020) – Today, the LGBTQ Victory Institute launched its Presidential Appointments Initiative and announced four bold and history-making goals for the next administration as it considers its presidential appointments. A coalition of 31 organizations will support the effort, putting forward exemplary LGBTQ candidates for positions throughout the next administration and advocating for their consideration.

The coalition aims to make the presidential appointees the most diverse in history.

As part of the Initiative, the LGBTQ Victory Institute is calling on the next administration to: • appoint a Senate-confirmed openly LGBTQ cabinet member for the first time; • nominate an openly LGBTQ US Supreme Court justice for the first time; • appoint openly LGBTQ woman ambassadors, LGBTQ ambassadors of color, and transgender ambassadors for the first time; and • ensure that openly LGBTQ people receive equitable representation among presidential appointees and that they reflect the full diversity of the LGBTQ community.

“Presidential appointees have tremendous influence over the policies and direction of federal agencies and the executive branch, so it is essential LGBTQ people are included both in high-level positions and throughout the next administration,” said Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Institute. “There is an LGBTQ person qualified to fill nearly every position in the next administration, and this coalition is determined to help them navigate a complex appointments process to ensure we are well represented.”

With more than 4,100 appointees, at least 185 LGBTQ people must be serving at any given time to maintain a representation level equal to that of LGBTQ people in the US population. The coalition also aims to make the LGBTQ appointees the most diverse ever – ensuring that LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ women, and transgender and nonbinary people are well represented.

“Our appointments objectives are bold, but reasonable,” Parker continued. “The transformation in America’s electoral politics – with LGBTQ people being elected up and down the ballot – should be reflected

8 Seattle Gay News

August 21, 2020

in the next administration’s appointments process as well. America is ready for its first Senate-approved cabinet member, first US Supreme Court justice, and ambassadors that reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community. And we stand ready to support the next administration in appointing them.”

The Presidential Appointments Initiative – first launched by the Victory Institute during President Bill Clinton’s administration – achieved unprecedented success under President Barack Obama, who appointed approximately 330 LGBTQ people, the most in history. Of those, 158 were assisted by the Presidential Appointments Initiative. It coordinated with the transition team, developed relationships with key officials, and built a reputation for putting forward qualified candidates that excelled once appointed.

LGBTQ people interested in a presidential appointment in the next administration can learn more about the Presidential Appointments Initiative and share their resumes at victoryinstitute.org/PAI. A complete list of the coalition partners led by LGBTQ Victory Institute [follows]:

A Wider Bridge; AARP; AIDS United; Anti-Violence Project; Center for American Progress; Center for Black Equity; Council for Global Equality; Equality Federation; Family Equality Council; Gill Foundation; GLAAD; Human Rights Campaign; Lambda Legal; National Black Justice Coalition; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Center for Transgender Equality; National LGBT Bar Association; National LGBT Chamber of Commerce; National LGBTQ Task Force; National Minority AIDS Council; NOGLSTP; Out & Equal; Out in National Security; OutServe-SLDN; PFLAG; Pride at Work; Raben Group; SAGE; Transgender Law Center; Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The LGBTQ Victory Institute works to increase the number of LGBTQ people in public office and provides programming, services, and other support to ensure their success. More at victoryinstitute.org.

Courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Institute

Celebrating 46 Years!

The decision comes as fall sports in Idaho begin preseason practices and athletes across the state prepare for the upcoming athletic season – including the case’s plaintiff Lindsay Hecox, a cross-country runner on Boise State University’s women’s track team. Before today’s decision, Lindsay and other transgender athletes would be prohibited from participating in the upcoming athletic season if the bill was allowed to go into effect. Notably, the NCAA already has a policy for the inclusion of transgender athletes, which HB 500 would put Idaho in direct conflict with.

HB 500 forbids transgender girls and women from being able to play on sports teams with other girls and women, and it will subject all female athletes to the risk of invasive, expensive, and inappropriate testing. The bill was also opposed by business groups and medical professionals. Earlier this year, the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom for All Americans re-released a letter signed by 40+ national businesses opposing anti-transgender legislation such as the law that was blocked in Idaho today.

The HRC is grateful to the leadership of groups and activists on the ground that have been fighting against the spate of anti-LGBTQ legislation in Idaho, especially the coalition Moving Towards Freedom. The coalition is made up of the ACLU of Idaho, Add the Words, Beloved Bodies, the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, Legal Voice, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, and the Pride Foundation.

Lindsay Hecox and supporters outside the courthouse hearing arguments about Idaho's anti-trans law. – Photo courtesy of Legal Voice

HB 500

continued from cover law will be suspended while litigation is pending, which will prevent irreparable harm to the plaintiffs as well as other female transgender athletes. HB 500 bars transgender women and girls from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.

As the order recognizes, both HB 500 and another discriminatory anti-transgender law, HB 509, were “motivated by a desire for

transgender exclusion” and not related to any actual, legitimate policy goal.

“Today’s decision is a huge, positive step forward for transgender athletes in Idaho and around the country,” said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “Everyone should be able to play sports, and gender identity should not be a barrier to participation. We’re hopeful that the court will ultimately make the right decision to strike down HB 500 in totality, so that athletes such as Lindsay Hecox and others can continue to excel at the sports

they’ve poured themselves into, without having their identities used as a wedge against them.”

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

Trump can’t deny Trans health care, court says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Visit us online www.sgn.org

A US district judge ruled on August 17 that the Trump administration may not go ahead with new rules that allow discrimination against Transgender patients.

In a 26-page ruling, US District Judge Frederic Block said that Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in reversing Obama-era protections for Trans patients.

At stake is how to interpret key provisions in Section 1157 of the Affordable Care Act. The Obama administration issued a memo in 2016 stating that it interprets Section 1557’s ban on sex discrimination in federally funded health centers to also cover gender identity.

The new Trump-era HHS rule effectively erased any such protections by basing the rule on biological sex assigned at birth.

Judge Block, however, ruled that the new HHS regulation is contradicted by the US Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, in which it found that LGBTQ workers are protected under federal laws banning sex-based discrimination.

“The timing might even suggest to a cynic that the agency pushed ahead specifically to avoid having to address an adverse [SCOTUS] decision,” Block wrote in his ruling.

“But whether by design or bureaucratic inertia, the fact remains that HHS finalized the 2020 rules without addressing the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock.”

In issuing an injunction against the new HHS rules, Block did not decide whether the Bostock ruling should be applied to other areas of discrimination, but he said the courts should take time to weigh the ramifications of such a historic case.

“When the Supreme Court announces a major decision, it seems a sensible thing to pause and reflect on the decision’s impact,”

Block wrote. “[...] Since HHS has been unwilling to take that path voluntarily, the Court now imposes it.”

The Human Rights Campaign, one of several LGBTQ organizations that brought suit against the HHS rule, called the injunction a “crucial early victory.”

“We are pleased the court recognized this irrational rule for what it is: discrimination, plain and simple,” said HRC President Alphonso David in a statement. “[LGBTQ] Americans deserve the health care that they need without fear of mistreatment, harassment, or humiliation. [...] This rule should be permanently tossed out, and we will fight in court to ensure that it is.”

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Tanya Asapansa-Johnson Walker and Cecilia Gentili, two Trans women of color who charge they faced systematic anti-Trans discrimination in health care settings.

After being admitted to the hospital in 2013 for cancer treatment, Walker was subjected to invasive questions about her body, outed to staff and other patients, misgendered, and denied the HIV medication she needs to survive, according to a 70-page complaint.

Gentili was refused treatment after a doctor learned of her gender identity during a medical visit. When receiving treatment for psoriasis, the complaint filed in federal court states that her dermatologist “was more curious about her genitalia than anything else.”

August 21, 2020

Seattle Gay News 9

Tanya Asapansa-Johnson Walker (l) and Cecilia Gentili – Photos courtesy of HRC

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Celebrating 46 Years!

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12 Seattle Gay News

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Celebrating 46 Years!

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New House Ways and Means report finds HHS allowed federal dollars to be spent on LGBTQ and religious discrimination in the foster care system Committee Democrats release “Children at Risk: The Trump Administration’s Waiver of Foster Care Nondiscrimination Requirements” following an investigation led by Subcommittee Chairs Danny K. Davis and the late John Lewis WASHINGTON, DC – Today [August 19, 2020], House Ways and Means Committee Democratic staff released a new report that finds the Trump Administration deliberately caused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to fail its mandate to act in the best interest of abused and neglected children. In January of 2019, Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and then-Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight, the late John Lewis (D-GA), launched an investigation into the Trump Administration’s granting of a waiver to South Carolina that allowed federal funds to be spent in a discriminatory manner within the state’s child welfare system. As detailed in today’s report [https:// waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/democrats. waysandmeans.house.gov/files/documents/ Children%20At%20Risk%20Majority%20 Staff%20Report.pdf] the Chairs’ investigation found that: The waiver permitted discrimination within the child welfare system based on religion and sexual orientation, resulted in harm to LGBTQ children and families, and is not in the best interest of children; and HHS documents show that the waiver was driven by Trump Administration

Image courtesy of Ways & Means Committee

appointees who excluded policy experts from the decision-making process.

“The Trump Administration has repeatedly sought to limit the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ Americans, and with today’s report, Chairmen Davis and Lewis have exposed that the waiver HHS granted to South Carolina is part of that pattern of discrimination,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA).

“While Chairman Lewis is sadly not with us to see the final outcome of his investigation, the revelations he and Chairman Davis uncovered are the direct result of these leaders’ fierce commitment to protecting young people from harm. I applaud the Oversight and Worker and Family Support Subcommittees’ relentless fight

on behalf of the most vulnerable children in our foster care system, and I hope that the findings and recommendations in this new report will lead to the withdrawal of the South Carolina waiver and ensure that in the future, federal foster care funds are used in the best interest of young people, not to enable discrimination.”

Child welfare experts agree that protections against discrimination are in the best interest of foster children. Yet HHS failed to consult with either internal or external experts to determine how the South Carolina waiver would affect vulnerable young people in the foster care system, even as internal agency documents reveal that staff recognized the negative consequences the waiver would have on LGBTQ children and

ACLU

org/release-2020-fulton-report] on the harms to children in our child welfare system when agencies are allowed to discriminate.

Ian Thompson, senior legislative representative with the ACLU had the following response: “The 440,000 children in our nation’s child welfare system need every qualified family that is willing to open up their homes to care for them. There’s no reason families who are LGBTQ, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim or otherwise don’t meet an agency’s religious test should be turned away from being foster parents. We appreciate the work of the Ways and Means Committee to shine a light on this unconstitutional discrimination enabled by the Trump administration and hope the Supreme Court will agree that there is no license to discriminate in our Constitution.”

This finding ties in directly with the issue in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which will be argued before the Court this fall.

Background on the case is below – friendof-the-court briefs in favor of our clients and the City of Philadelphia are due on August 20. SCOTUS just announced this case will be argued on Wednesday, November 4. We expect an even broader range of voices urging the court to reject a license to discriminate than what was presented to the federal appeals court.

Two more things: Here is an overview [https://www.aclu. org/fact-sheet/connecting-dots] of efforts from the Trump administration to undermine civil rights laws through a religious license to discriminate.

Yesterday, major child welfare organizations joined in a report [https://www.lgbtmap.

ACLU weighs in on Fulton v. City of Philadelphia The Supreme Court will hear a case that could allow private agencies that receive taxpayer-funding to provide government services – such as foster care providers, food banks, homeless shelters, and more – to deny services to people who are LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon or otherwise don’t meet those agencies’ religious criteria.

A taxpayer-funded foster care agency in Philadelphia, Catholic Social Services, has asked the Supreme Court to establish a constitutional right to discriminate that could allow taxpayer-funded agencies across the country to turn away qualified families who don’t meet their religious test because they are LGBTQ, of a different religion, don’t go to church, or any other reason.

All major child welfare organizations [https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/fulton-v-city-philadelphia-voice-adoption-et-alamicus-brief] oppose this request, and agree that when agencies decide to provide these critical government services to children, they must put the needs of the children first.

Background In March 2018, the City of Philadelphia learned that two of the agencies it hired to provide foster care services to children in the City’s care would not, based on their religious objection, accept same-sex couples as foster parents. The City informed the agencies that it would no longer refer children to their care unless they agreed to comply with nondiscrimination requirements that are part of all foster care agency contracts. One of the agencies agreed to do so. The other, Catholic Social Services (CSS), sued the City.

Philadelphia continues to contract with CSS for other foster care services including case management services and operating group homes, where CSS is willing to comply with all contract requirements.

The ACLU and the ACLU of Pennsylvania, representing the Support Center for Child Advocates and Philadelphia Family Pride, intervened in support of the City.

After the Third Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court decision in favor of the City of Philadelphia, CSS asked the Supreme Court to hear this case.

Argument has been set for Wednesday, November 4.

continued from cover

Legal Documents: https://www.aclu. org/cases/fulton-v-city-philadelphia ACLU’s Expert: Leslie Cooper, Deputy Director, ACLU LGBT & HIV Project (bio) – See Leslie’s response to the myths being offered to support religion-based exclusions by taxpayer-funded foster care agencies here [https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/willthe-supreme-court-sanction-the-use-of-areligious-litmus-test-for-foster-parents/].

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What’s at stake?

A ruling for CSS could authorize discrimination in a broad range of government services.

If the Court says taxpayer-funded agencies have a right to discriminate based on their religious beliefs, this will make it harder for people to access critical services, such as food banks, homeless shelters, disaster relief services, health care and more.

During a pandemic and an economic crisis,

August 21, 2020

foster families. Despite HHS’s failure to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to disclose complete information to the Ways and Means Committee during its congressional investigation, the Subcommittee Chairmen and staff were still able to uncover the agency’s failure to protect young people in their charge. The Committee also established that the South Carolina waiver set a precedent for further discrimination of and harm to individuals across the nation carried out by the Trump Administration.

A summary of “Children at Risk: The Trump Administration’s Waiver of Foster Care Nondiscrimination Requirements” is available at https://waysandmeans.house. gov/sites/democrats.waysandmeans.house. gov/files/documents/Children%20At%20 Risk%20Report%20Summary.pdf.

The full report can be accessed at https://waysandmeans.house.gov/sites/ democrats.waysandmeans.house.gov/files/ documents/Children%20At%20Risk%20 Majority%20Staff%20Report.pdf.

The report’s appendices can be viewed at https://waysandmeans.house.gov/mediacenter/press-releases/new-ways-andmeans-report-finds-hhs-allowed-federaldollars-be-spent – scroll to bottom of page for links.

Appendix A (HHS documents) Appendix B (GAO Analysis) Appendix C (Letters From Child Welfare/ Nondiscrimination Experts) Courtesy of House Ways & Means Committee people need to know that they will be able to access services for food, housing and health care.

A ruling for CSS could have profound implications for the more than 400,000 children in foster care across the country.

There is a shortage of foster families nationwide. If agencies providing government foster care services can reject families that do not meet their religious litmus test, children will lose out on countless families.

In addition to LGBTQ people, this could impact people of a different faith than the agency or who do not attend church. In South Carolina, for example, the largest taxpayer-funded foster care agency will only accept evangelical Christian families and has turned away Catholic and Jewish families. If CSS’s argument is accepted by the Court, every state in the nation could be forced to allow discrimination in its public child welfare system.

A ruling for CSS would hurt religious minorities.

Allowing taxpayer-funded agencies to restrict eligibility to those who meet the agency’s religious test would result in discrimination against members of minority faith communities.

CSS’s argument would hurt governments’ ability to partner with the private sector in the provision of government services.

If government service contractors have a right to opt out of contract requirements that they say conflict with their faith, it would seriously affect how government services are delivered and some governments might feel compelled to cease partnering with the private sector altogether.

Courtesy of ACLU

Seattle Gay News 13

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Religious exemptions in child welfare system would harm millions of children (August 18, 2020) – Today the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) released “The High Stakes in the Fulton Case: Undermining the Vital Role of Child Welfare Laws & Regulations in Protecting America’s Children.” This report highlights what is at stake in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a case the US Supreme Court will hear this fall related to taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies.

The report is released in partnership with Lambda Legal, Children’s Rights, Family Equality, the National Center on Adoption and Permanency, the North American Council on Adoptable Children, and Voice for Adoption.

This case could harm children and families in the system and jeopardize the ability of governments to enforce nondiscrimination protections more broadly. This report illustrates how if the court rules that Catholic Social Services (CSS) can refuse to comply with the City of Philadelphia’s nondiscrimination requirement and reject qualified parents simply because of who they are or what religion they are, it is children who will ultimately pay the price.

“Child welfare agencies should always put the safety and well-being of children first,” said Ineke Mushovic, executive director of MAP. “But if taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies can pick and choose parents and families based on the agency’s religious beliefs – rather than whether or not children are placed in qualified, loving homes – it puts children at risk. And it’s not just child welfare agencies: how the Supreme Court rules could provide a license to discriminate in other areas, including homeless shelters, food banks, early childhood education, and more.”

The report examines the potential outcomes of the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case, which could create a license to discriminate throughout the child welfare system, and shows how a broad ruling from the court in support of CSS could result in: • Religious child welfare agencies being given a right to demand taxpayer funding while rejecting qualified and loving parents simply because they are Jewish, Catholic, LGBTQ, or single. This means that child welfare agencies could keep a child in a government group home rather than place them with loving, qualified parents. In fact, this has already happened: the largest taxpayer-funded foster care agency in South Carolina will only accept evangelical Christian families and has turned away Catholic and Jewish families. When entire groups of otherwise qualified families are shut out of the child welfare system, it means fewer adoptive families and fewer placements for children.

• Nearly every religiously affiliated social service agency that receives government funding – such as job training programs, food assistance, emergency shelters, disaster relief agencies, and more – claiming a right to discriminate. And the ruling wouldn’t just allow agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ people; it could also be used to deny essential government services to people of minority faiths, unmarried couples, and others. For example, a taxpayer-funded homeless shelter could deny beds to people who are LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, or Mormon.

• If the government is unable to set and enforce the terms of its contracts, even when paying agencies with taxpayer money, making it nearly impossible for state and local governments to set standards for the provision of public services.

• Religious agencies being able to claim a religious exemption to a wide array of regulations and laws, including those that pro-

14 Seattle Gay News

Image courtesy of MAP

tect public health and safety – like building codes, sanitation requirements, and food safety regulations. For example, a churchaffiliated day care center could claim it is not subject to state laws governing health, safety, or licensing of such facilities.

“CSS’s request to discriminate against same-sex couples seeking to foster threatens harm to LGBTQ youth in care – stigmatic harm from a government-endorsed message that they are not equal under the law, and harm due to lack of family home placements likely to meet their needs. And, if the court grants a broad religious exemption to government contract agencies, egregious harm if LGBTQ youth are refused life-saving services, denied supportive placements, or forced to undergo efforts to ‘change’ their identity. Given that LGBTQ youth are disproportionately represented in foster care compared to their non-LGBTQ peers, largely fueled by rejection by their families, and that they too often face discrimination in society at large, governments have a compelling interest and legal obligation to not cause further harm by permitting discrimination of any kind,” said M. Currey Cook, counsel and youth in out-of-home care project director at Lambda Legal.

“Children’s Rights respects and values the role that faith-based agencies play in providing both placement and services for children in foster care across the country.

Our concern is with government-sanctioned discrimination of any kind. The lower courts correctly held that the City of Philadelphia’s anti-discrimination regulation applies to all taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to ensure that the pool of foster parents and resource caregivers is as diverse and broad as the foster children they serve. I urge the Supreme Court to put children first and uphold Philadelphia’s nondiscrimination policy. The only litmus test for these caregivers should be love and safety,” said Christina Wilson Remlin, lead counsel at Children’s Rights.

“The stakes in the Fulton case could not be higher for children and families who are involved in the child welfare system,” said Denise Brogan-Kator, chief policy officer at Family Equality. “If the Supreme Court rules that taxpayer-funded foster care agencies have a constitutional right to exclude qualified families based on their religious standards, the impact will be felt on the children in the system who lose placements in loving homes.”

“I hope everyone who cares about chil-

August 21, 2020

dren reads this report to grasp the grave situation we are in. The Supreme Court’s decision, if goes against the city of Philadelphia, could have a far-reaching negative impact on children in foster care and adoption by limiting the pool of families who are able to care for them. We must hope that the court chooses to support nondiscrimination and children’s best interests,” said Mary Boo, executive director at the North American Council on Adoptable Children.

“Our country’s foster care system has been in a state of crisis for a while now.

Simply put, we have more children in the system than we have families to care for them. Now, in these unprecedented times, we have the added strain on child welfare that a pandemic brings. We need every family that is viable, regardless of marital status, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. Faith has long been part of foster care and adoption, and we hope they always will be. However, faith-based agencies that are receiving public funding and tax dollars have always had the duty to serve everyone, even those that don’t hold the same faith and values. Discrimination doesn’t have a place in child welfare, especially in foster care or during adoptions. Turning away viable families based on faith-based discrimination is not the right thing to do. Love is love, and our children need a lot of love and a place to call home,” said Schylar Baber, executive director at Voice for Adoption.

Read the full report online [at https:// www.lgbtmap.org/2020-fulton-report].

MAP’s mission is to provide independent and rigorous research, insight, and communications that help speed equality and opportunity for all. MAP works to ensure that all people have a fair chance to pursue health and happiness, earn a living, take care of the ones they love, be safe in their communities, and participate in civic life.

Founded in 1973, Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve 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. More at www.lambdalegal.org.

Children’s Rights is a leading national children’s advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable children. Through relentless strategic advocacy

and legal action, Children’s Rights holds governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Children’s Rights uses civil rights impact litigation, policy expertise, and public education to create positive systems change, with a 25-year track record in the area of child welfare reform of raising accountability, protecting rights, and improving outcomes for children. More at www.childrensrights.org.

Family Equality advances legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families, and for those who wish to form them, through building community, changing hearts and minds, and driving policy change. Family Equality believes every LGBTQ+ person should have the right and opportunity to form and sustain a loving family, regardless of who they are or where they live.

More at www.familyequality.org.

Founded by adoptive parents in 1974, the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) works to ensure that all children in foster care have permanent, loving families and adoptive families have the support they need. More at www.nacac.org.

The mission of the nonprofit National Center on Adoption and Permanency is not only to achieve permanency for all children – in their families of origin when possible and in new ones when necessary – but also to reshape child welfare policy and practice to enable those children and families to succeed. NCAP’s unique “onesource” model provides a broad range of information, resources, consultation, and multidisciplinary services relating to adoption, foster care, and child welfare.

More at www.nationalcenteronadoptionandpermanency.net.

Voice for Adoption (VFA) develops and advocates for improved adoption policies.

Recognized as a national leader in special needs adoption, VFA works closely with federal and state legislators, as well as other child welfare organizations, to make a difference in the lives of the 123,000 children in foster care who are waiting to be adopted and the families who adopt children from foster care. More at www.voicefor-adoption.org.

Courtesy of Lambda Legal

Celebrating 46 Years!

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MUSIC

Opening weekend for Pacific Musicworks’ partnership with Tekla Cunningham and the Whidbey Island Music Festival begins Friday night

Pacific MusicWorks is thrilled to be partnering with Tekla Cunningham and the Whidbey Island Music Festival to celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday and to provide wonderful new content on a platform that allows us to extend our reach across all borders and into homes everywhere.

The festival offers a delightful variety of songs and chamber music by Beethoven and his Parisian contemporary Zoé de la Rue and features favorite PMW headliners Tess Altiveros, Maxine Eilander, and Brandon Vance in partnership with our artistic leaders Tekla Cunningham, Stephen Stubbs, and Henry Lebedinsky.

HOW DOES A VIRTUAL CONCERT WORK? With your ticket purchase, you will receive a Vimeo link where the concert is available in a high-definition, no advertisement format.

You will also receive a link for the Zoom pre-concert 1/2 hour before the “Opening Night” performances.

WHAT HAPPENS ON OPENING NIGHT? This weekend, you can join Festival artists for a pre-concert Zoom chat where you can learn more about the performers, their instruments and their insights into the music. Bring your questions!

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE FRI AUGUST 21 7 pm: Zoom pre-concert chat with Tanya Tomkins and Eric Zivian 7:30 pm concert: Beethoven Sonatas SAT AUGUST 22 7 PM: Zoom pre-concert chat with Tess Altiveros, Tekla Cunningham and Maxine Eilander 7:30 pm concert: The Mysterious Zoé de la Ruë SUN AUGUST 23 7 PM Zoom pre-concert chat with Tess Altiveros, Brandon Vance, Stephen Stubbs, Brandon Vance and Caroline Nicolas 7:30 pm concert: Beethoven’s Scottish Songs HOW LONG ARE THE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE ONLINE? The programs will be available until the end of September, so you can watch whenever is most convenient for you!

WHERE TO WATCH? You can watch on your phone, on your computer, or on your internet-connected television. Wherever you are most comfortable! Simply go to the browser on your TV

Tekla Cunningham – Photo courtesy of the artist

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Ludwig van Beethoven – Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820

and enter the Vimeo code. Settle back into your favorite chair and enjoy the show!

HOW TO INVITE FRIENDS? Because we are not limited by geography this year, you can invite friends and family from near and far to join you in watching these programs. Use the “share” buttons below to forward this email to a friend or share on social media.

For more information, please check out our series webpage at http://www.pacificmusicworks.org/wimfpartnership or access the ticketing page at https://www. eventbrite.com/o/whidbey-island-musicfestival-30865157221 Courtesy of Pacific MusicWorks

Tess Altiveros – Photo courtesy of the artist

August 21, 2020

Seattle Gay News 15

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

16 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.

August 21, 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!

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Moe’s Home Collection announces new flagship store opening in Seattle Sept. 4

Photo courtesy of Moe's Home

Moe’s Home Collection, the North American retailer and wholesaler, best known for its modern and contemporary furniture and home décor, has announced the opening of their new American flagship location at 1023 1st Avenue in downtown

Seattle. The grand opening is set for September 4, 2020, just in time for the long weekend. This news comes in at a close second alongside the launch of their new transactional website, set to be live early September.

Their Seattle showroom will house Moe’s Home products across all categories and design styles, including Scandinavian, modern, mid-century modern, contemporary, industrial, rustic, art deco, and retro varieties. This will be their sixth location across the USA, including licensee stores and warehouses in Alaska, South Dakota, New York, and Washington state.

Customers coast to coast can benefit from fast delivery and fulfillment due to their shipping warehouses in New Jersey and Kent, WA. Now, they have an additional showroom and store to view all core collections and new product introductions.

After a 15-year presence in Seattle, Moe’s Seattle location will continue to offer the superior shopping experience that their

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customers know and love.

“We are thrilled to be back in Seattle.

We’ve had a presence in Seattle for over 15 years with 4 stores in various areas, including our licensee store in Bellevue, WA, as well as our central distribution hub, which allows us to offer the fastest delivery across state lines. We are especially excited about this new location. We love the neighborhood, the atmosphere, and the building itself,” said Sara Samieian, President of Retail Division.

THE LOCATION Within the last historic trio of neighboring architecture, built in 1900-1901 & modeled after the Italian Renaissance Revival movement by Max Umbrecht, Moe’s Home will be calling the magnificent North East corner their flagship’s home. The building is, in fact, the same site of the prominent Z.C Miles & Piper Company, a home furnishings store that began in Seattle in 1870 and lists on the National Register of His-

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toric Places and Seattle City Landmarks.

Moe’s Home is humbly excited and proud to be bringing history back full circle with its wide range of furnishings and décor.

Peeled back in time with its beautiful exposed red brick walls, high ceilings, wooden beams and pillars, this significant building is set in a spirited neighborhood best described by its independent merchants and arts venues. Situated on 1st Avenue between the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood and the historic Pike Place Market, this building is a stone’s throw away from the Seattle Art Museum, Olympic Sculpture Park, Benaroya Hall, and Seattle’s beautiful waterfront. Moe’s Home Colletion has undoubtedly found its ideal place to situate in such a diverse, world-class city.

The soft opening of their Seattle store is set for a few days after the unveiling of Moe’s Home’s fully updated transactional website. This new site will be offering improved functionality, brand new product introductions, and all the tools for a smoother shopping experience. Opening to the public on September 4, with all precautionary COVID measures in place, Moe’s Home at 1023 1st Avenue will be offering 20% off storewide over the long weekend, as well as a chance to win up to $1,000 for in-store purchasing. Swing by Seattle, you won’t be disappointed. There’s always something new, something thoughtful, and invigorating for you at Moe’s Home.

About Moe’s Home Collection Creative expression, quality products, innovative and unique pieces, Moe’s Home Collection is design made simple. For over thirty years, our family-owned business has dedicated our time to enriching our customers’ lives by transforming their everyday living space into their dream oasis with design and passion. For more information, visit MoesHomeCollection.com.

Courtesy of Moe’s Home Collection

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