SGN December 25, 2015 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

Issue 52 Volume 43

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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

FDA relaxes Gay blood UPDATE: No evidence Hamza Warsame was donation ban Half-way measure pleases no one beaten before fall

Hamza Warsame – thesource.com FDA relaxing it’s 32 year ban on donations from Gay and Bisexual men – anongalactic.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

tions from Gay and Bisexual men.

Finalizing a policy change it proposed in 2014, the FDA said that Gay and Bi men may now donate blood if they have not had The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sex with other men in the previous year.

In 1983, in the early stages of the HIV/ (FDA) announced December 21 that it was relaxing its 32-year-old ban on blood donasee fda relaxes page 6

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Seattle Police officials told media this week that there investigation into the death of Hamza Warsame, the 16-year-old Seattle Central College student who fell 60 feet to his death from a building near Summit and Thomas on December 5, has not produced any evidence to support the claim that

Warsame did not simply fall to his death, but was instead, beaten and then thrown from the rooftop. Seattle Police officials maintain that, based on the physical evidence and at least one eyewitness statement, Warsame fell.

The official word from SPD is that investigators have found “no indication of foul see hamza warsame page 4

Religious schools may Lesbian Air Force investigator among six not discriminate against married Gays or Lesbians, killed in Afghanistan

Massachusetts judge rules

Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen and son Jacob – facebook.com

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor An openly Lesbian Air Force investigator and a New York City police detective were among those killed in this week’s Taliban attack, the deadliest insurgent assault on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in at least three years and a sign of mounting militant violence in that country.

Air Force Maj. Adrianna Vorderbrug-

gen, 36, died in Monday’s attack. According to the U.S. Air Force, an explosive-laden motorcycle detonated near the group of American troops conducting a patrol near Bagram.

Matt Barrett (l) and husband Ed Suplee – www.InfinityPortraitDesign.com courtesy GLAD Vorderbruggen and her partner, Air Force veteran Heather Lamb, had been ad- by Mike Andrew vocates for repealing the ban on “Don’t Ask, SGN Staff Writer against married Gays or Lesbians in their Don’t Tell.” After nearly two decades the U.S. employment policies, a Massachusetts judge Military lifted the openly-LGB service ban ruled on December 16.

Religious schools may not discriminate see air force major page 6

see religious school page 12

2 Seattle Gay News

December 25, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Discrimination against LGBTIQ people costs lives and global economic prosperity Over $400 billion lost annually – enough to eliminate extreme poverty worldwide

by Jason Cianciotto OutRight Action International

forum on LGBTIQ issues. In opening remarks, H.E. Mogens Lykketoft made it clear that member states are obliged to protect the human rights of LGBTIQ people – http://www.un.org/pga/70/2015/12/10/theeconomic-cost-of-lgbt-exclusion/ “As you know, not all members of the General Assembly see eye to eye when it comes to questions of sexual orientation and gender identity…. At the same time, no member state can deny that it is legally bound to ensure that all people enjoy their

being gay and transgender; • Put in place anti-discrimination laws that penalize anyone who discriminates against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity; • Educate people … to respect one another, no matter the differences that distinguish us one from another.

“Taking steps such as these will enable member states to enrich people’s lives. It will see them fulfill their international human rights obligations and … help them to reap significant economic dividends.”

December 25, 2015

Seattle Gay News 3

Too frequently the daily news includes stories about discrimination and violence perpetrated against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people around the world. The images may range from bruised and bloodied faces in Jamaica, to men being thrown off buildings in Iraq, to the reported 689 murders of transgender people in Brazil from 2008 to 2014.

Civil society organizations like OutThe forum, Right Action Inter“The Economic Cost national, formerly of Lesbian, Gay, Bithe International Gay sexual and Transand Lesbian Human gender Exclusion,” Rights Commission focused on a World (IGLHRC), have adBank report by vocated for the hueconomist Dr. M.V. man rights of LGBLee Badgett. The reTIQ populations for port quantifies the over 25 years. Yet, it cost of workforce was not until 2008 discrimination, inthat the United Nacreased health costs, tions General Asand anti-LGBT laws, sembly discussed which can cost a naLGBT rights. In the tion up to 1 percent proceeding years, of its Gross Domestic with persistent advoProduct (GDP). cacy, there has been Applied globsteady progress. Most Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, Director of Freedom and Roam Uganda – ally, a conservative recently, a U.N. foCourtesy of Outright Action International estimate of this impact rum honoring Human Rights Day focused on the cost of LGBT human rights without discrimination – and (0.05 percent) amounts to over $400 bilexclusion. The forum was co-organized by this includes discrimination against those lion – enough to eliminate extreme poverty OutRight and Human Rights Watch – both who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgen- globally – a preeminent goal of “The United NGO (non-governmental organization) der. Regrettably, we still have a long way to Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Demembers of the coalition of 18 countries go before LGBT people … are able to live velopment.”

Dr. James Heintz, economics professor known as the U.N. Core Group – along with their lives free from fear or harassment; free the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner to contribute to their society like any other at the University of Massachusetts, Amfor Human Rights. person…. We know what States need to herst, explained some of the factors includdo to change this reality and address these ed in Dr. Badgett’s analysis, which can lead to reduced GDP for homophobic and transFor the first time ever, the president of abuses: the General Assembly addressed a U.N. • Repeal laws that criminalize people for see discrimination page 4

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Statement by President Obama on the 5th anniversary of repeal of DADT Five years ago today, I signed a bipartisan bill repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – extending our country’s promise of equality to those who protect it every day. Today, Americans can serve the country they love no matter who they love, and openly gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women in uniform make our military stronger and America safer.

Since the repeal of DADT, I’ve received hundreds of letters from service members who can now serve their country openly.

They come from every corner of America and from military bases around the world.

And their stories are a powerful reminder of how much has changed over the past five years. Because of all we’ve accomplished together, a grieving widow can now receive her wife’s flag at her funeral. A spouse can now be part of his husband’s promotion ceremony. One person told me he had been torn between his desire to serve his country and his longing to live life openly as a gay man. He no longer is forced to make that choice. And just last summer, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy.

But repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

discrimination continued from page 3

phobic nations: • Anti-LGBT discrimination in the workplace lowers the productivity of LGBT people, which lowers the contributions their labor makes to the economy.

• LGBT people who live in homophobic and transphobic nations experience more negative physical and mental health outcomes, which increase health care costs to society.

• LGBT youth who experience harassment and violence in school and/or at home are more likely to drop out and become homeless, often during a critical transition to adulthood. This reduces their potential

hamza warsame continued from cover

play.”

The story has garnered international attention due to the fact that several incidents, both in and out of the U.S. have occurred recently that brought to light local tensions and concerns about hate and Islamophobia against Muslim communities.

Hamza’s parents emigrated from Somalia to Seattle in 1994, where Hamza and his sister Ikram Warsame were born and raised.

“This was murder, this was not a suicide,” Hamza’s sister Ikram Warsame told CHS Blog, who originally broke the story on December 8. “He was content with his life, he had high hopes for the future.”

The King County Medical Examiner has

4 Seattle Gay News

President Barack Obama – youtube.com

wasn’t just about living up to our ideals. As Commander in Chief, I have no greater responsibility than keeping Americans safe.

And when it comes to defending our country, we need to draw on the talents of every American – regardless of sexual orientation.

That’s the progress we celebrate today.

And in the last five years, we’ve kept fighting to expand the promise of equality to LGBT

Americans. We strengthened the Violence Against Women Act to protect LGBT victims. We prohibited federal contractors from firing employees simply because of the person they love, or the gender they identify with. We called for an end to the use of “conversion therapy” against minors. And this year, thanks to decades of dedicated, tireless advocacy, marriage equality became a reality in all 50 states.

productivity for the rest of their lives.

• Anti-LGBT laws carry an economic cost of enforcement, diverting resources that could be used to increase the productivity of the economy.

• International investors and businesses are less willing to invest in a country that does not support fundamental human rights for all people.

These fundamental factors were further explained in a new video released at the forum by the U.N. “Free and Equal” campaign, titled “The Price of Exclusion.”

OutRight also released the final video in its “Cost of Exclusion” LGBTIQ Africa series – https://youtu.be/Dw5UTTnZQXY Dr. Heintz emphasized that while Dr. Badgett’s findings will provide additional

support for U.N. member states to change their anti-LGBT laws and policies, there is intrinsic value to protecting the human rights of all people, regardless of economic consequences.

Panelist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, put a face to the economic data. Through sharing her own personal story as a lesbian living in Uganda, Kasha highlighted personal economic effects, such as the cost of repeated evictions from home and long-term unemployment, and the affects on families, many of whom need to flee their country in order to be safe.

Kasha challenged decisions by nations and humanitarian organizations to re-

I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished together. But our work is not finished. From the boardroom to the locker room, LGBT Americans still face prejudice in their daily lives. In far too many states, people still live in fear of being fired from their jobs just because they’re gay. Young people struggling with their gender identities are bullied and beaten and told they don’t belong. That kind of prejudice has no place in our country, and as Americans we need to let every one of them know that they are not alone. These are our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters. We stand with you, and we’re here to help you grow up strong and confident and proud of who you are.

This anniversary reminds us that in America, we have the power to change – to make sure more of our loved ones and friends and neighbors share in our country’s promise. Together, we’ve won some big victories. And I’m going to spend every minute I have left as president working with you to move our country even closer to our founding ideals.

Happy holidays, and may God bless all who wear the uniform and keep us safe. duce international aid or boycott Uganda or other nations based on homophobic laws and policies. “That causes a backlash to our community,” she said, “if you single out such a group of society as a condition to suspend aid.”

Rather, Kasha encouraged other tactics to hold governments accountable while supporting LGBTIQ populations, such as through direct connections to civil society.

“For example, most of us human rights defenders are here today because of OutRight Action International,” she said. “Try to work with some of our partners in the West to support us on the ground.”

Courtesy of OutRight Action International

said that their death investigation is also complete. The results, however, have been on hold pending release by SPD due to the sensitive nature of the investigation and the wait for final toxicology reports to detect elements like alcohol or drug use.

Warsame was a Rainier Beach High School student starting his first quarter at Seattle Central under the college’s Running Start program, which allows high school juniors and seniors to take college–level classes for high school and college credit.

Ikram said Hamza wanted to attend MIT in Boston to study computer science.

Seattle Gay News will have more updates for you on this developing story as the information becomes available.

Hamza Warsame’s sister Ikram at a rally calling for justice in the investigation of the 16-year-old’s death – Photo by Alex Garland via Capitol Hill Seattle blog

December 25, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Title IX protects sexual orientation, federal judge rules

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A federal judge in California has ruled that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects sexual orientation.

In doing so, U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson reversed his previous ruling in the same case.

Title IX prohibits schools that receive federal financial assistance – in other words, most schools in the country – from discriminating on the basis of sex. It is perhaps best known as the legal foundation for girls’ and women’s sports.

Pregerson had previously applied a very narrow definition of “sex discrimination” in the case of two women athletes at Pepperdine University who charged that they were harassed and driven off the school’s basketball team when coaches discovered they were dating.

Haley Videckis and Layana White said that the coach wanted them off the team because their Lesbian relationship “would cause the team to lose games,” their complaint said.

In response, Pepperdine argued that Title IX does not cover claims based on sexual orientation and that the women’s allegations failed to meet the law’s standard for gender stereotype discrimination.

Pregerson had previously sided with Pepperdine and dismissed the claims made

by Videckis and White under Title IX. In this latest ruling, issued December

U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson (r) being honored with the FBI Directors Community Leadership Award – twitter.com

15, Pregerson said he reversed his earlier decision because he found himself unable to distinguish sexual orientation from sex and gender discrimination.

“Simply put, the line between sex discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination is ‘difficult to draw’ because that line does not exist, save as a lingering and faulty judicial construct,” Pregerson

wrote.

He also rejected reasoning that focuses too much on the sexual orientation of the alleged victim. That is irrelevant, he decided.

“It is the biased mind of the alleged discriminator that is the focus of the analysis,” the judge wrote.

Discrimination against two women

because they are Lesbians and dating, Pregerson ruled, is essentially discrimination based on the fact of their gender.

“Plaintiffs allege that they were told that ‘lesbianism’ would not be tolerated on the team,” Pregerson wrote. “If plaintiffs had been males dating females, instead of females dating females, they would not have been subjected to the alleged different treatment,” he said, concluding that the pair has a “straightforward claim of sex discrimination.”

In his analysis, the judge cited a landmark decision by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) holding that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act covers sexual orientation discrimination.

Claims of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation “necessarily state a claim of discrimination on the basis of sex,” the EEOC said.

Doug NeJaime, faculty director of the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, said Pregerson’s ruling is among the first to apply Title IX to sexual orientation discrimination, drawing on new interpretations of Title VII. “In light of there being no federal antidiscrimination law for sexual orientation, it’s potentially a quite significant ruling,” NeJaime said. “We’ll start to see whether other federal courts start to do this and see whether they’re applying the EEOC’s logic.”

Trans man sues Minnesota for surgery der reassignment surgery.

Surgery had been covered by the state of Minnesota until 2005, when state-sponsored plans dropped it. Legislation has been introduced to restore coverage for surgery.

Thomas legally changed his name and gender this year, after starting on hormones in 2013. His case is being handled by the ACLU.

Evan Thomas – ACLU via medicaldaily.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Transgender man says he will sue the state of Minnesota to have his gender reassignment surgery covered by state-sponsored insurance.

While some Trans people elect not to have surgery, Evan Thomas says the procedure is necessary for his transition.

“For me this is an essential next step, and my doctors know this; we all know this, and at the same time here is the state just slamming this door in my face and saying no, you have to stop here; if you’re in pain, that’s just too bad,” Thomas told KSTP News.

“Without surgery, I can’t escape the dissonance between my body as it is and the way my brain insists it should be,” he explained in a blog post.

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“If I had a flat, firm chest instead of the weight and softness of breasts, I could hold my head up and stand tall and proud.

I could look in the mirror and be at peace with my own image. I could, maybe, learn to love my whole self.”

Currently Minnesota offers two statesponsored insurance plans, MinnesotaCare and Medical Assistance. Both offer hormone therapy and counseling, but not gen-

December 25, 2015

Washington state coverage Only 10 states and the District of Columbia offer coverage for gender reassignment surgery through public health insurance.

According to the Washington State Insurance Commissioner, “Washington state law does not mandate coverage of sexual reassignment surgery.”

However, the Insurance Commissioner’s website explains, “gender dysphoria...is the only condition for which sexual reassignment surgery is prescribed. Therefore, it is [the Insurance Commissioner’s] position that a specific exclusion for this surgery would be an impermissible discriminatory exclusion based upon an enrollee’s identification as transgendered, in violation of [the Washington Law Against Discrimination] and the [Affordable Care Act].

“It would also constitute an unreasonable restriction on treatment, in violation of RCW 48.46.030(3)(d) and RCW 48.44.020(2)(d). Insurers may require that the surgery be designated medically necessary before coverage will be provided.”

In Washington state, the Insurance Commissioner’s office investigates complaints of discrimination in health care insurance.

Seattle Gay News 5

I’m not a bigot; I just want to roll back Gay rights, Marco Rubio says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer In a TV interview Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio denied he is an anti-Gay bigot but repeated his call to roll back LGBT rights.

“Increasingly, Americans feel out of place, because it seems like the people who have access to power and influence win, and everybody else is left on the outside looking in,” Rubio told CBS’s Face the Nation on December 20.

“People who hold traditional values are often described as bigots and haters. Everybody on the left [calls them that] if you do not support their definition of marriage.

“Certainly the President has on occasion said that people who don’t support samesex marriage are wrong... but I’ve been called a bigot for not supporting the definition of marriage.

“I have been called that before, in fact this very week. I’ve been called anti-Latino... it’s a standard operating practice.”

In previous interviews Rubio has said that he would appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices who would reverse the high court’s historic Obergefell ruling legalizing samesex marriage.

“It is the current law. I don’t believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press on December 6.

“And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed.”

“If you want to change the definition of marriage, then you need to go to state legislatures and get them to change it,” Rubio

air force major continued from cover

in 2011.

Information on her LinkedIn page suggests that Vorderbruggen attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and George Washington University. In 2010, she began working as a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, a federal law en-

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AIDS epidemic, when the virus was little researched and ways of controlling infection had not yet been discovered, the FDA decided it was too risky to allow Gay and Bi blood donors.

LGBT rights advocates and many medical groups have been urging the FDA to lift the ban for years. They argue that the policy is discriminatory because it singles out Gay and Bi men and is unnecessary because blood donors can now be screened for HIV. The change to a one-year exclusion did not satisfy LGBT activists.

“It perpetuates the stigma that HIV is a gay disease,” says Kelsey Louie, who heads

6 Seattle Gay News

Marco Rubio – Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call / Getty Images

added. “Because states have always defined marriage.

“And that’s why some people get married in Las Vegas by an Elvis impersonator.

And in Florida, you have to wait a couple days when you get your permit.

“Every state has different marriage laws.

But I do not believe that the court system was the right way to do it.”

Earlier this year, Rubio told Meet the Press that businesses should be exempted from nondiscrimination requirements when serving Gay and Lesbian couples.

Rubio’s vocal opposition to LGBT rights

is not something new but goes back years, to the start of his national political career.

In 2011, the first year he served in the U.S. Senate, Rubio praised DOMA as a law that “protects one of our most sacred institutions.”

That same year he recorded a robocall against marriage equality for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), saying that federal courts should defer to voters on marriage rights.

NOM returned the favor by praising Rubio on their blog, calling him a “real marriage champion.”

Rubio’s hostility LGBT rights didn’t end there. In 2013, he opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

“I’m not for any special protections based on orientation,” he said.

At one point, Rubio even threatened to vote against his own immigration bill if it protected the rights of binational same-sex couples.

“It kills the bill,” he said of a possible amendment seeking to protect LGBT immigrants. “I’m gone. I’m off it.”

forcement arm of the Air Force that investigates felony-level crimes in the United States and overseas.

Prior to the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Vorderbruggen was forced to conceal much of her home life. When Lamb was preparing to give birth to the couple’s first baby, shortly before the law’s repeal, Vorderbruggen had to secretly schedule her leave to coincide with her partner being in

labor, a friend told The Washington Post.

The Military Partners and Families Coalition, which advocates for the families of LGBT service members, had a baby shower for the couple, with gifts including camouflage booties.

According to the Post story, “The year after their son Jacob’s birth, Vorderbruggen and Lamb were married at the Botanical Gardens in Washington DC.”

According to Pentagon records, Monday’s attack brings the number of American service members killed in Afghanistan operations this year to 21 and Vorderbruggen’s death marks the first time an openly Lesbian service member has been killed in action.

Gay Men’s Health Crisis, one of the oldest HIV/AIDS activist groups.

Congress’s LGBT Equality Caucus also criticized the new policy.

“The FDA’s new policy continues the government’s troubling precedent of allowing stigma to trump science and public health when it comes to blood donations,” said LGBT Equality Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO).

“It is ridiculous and counter to the public health that a married gay man in a monogamous relationship can’t give blood, but a promiscuous straight man who has had hundreds of opposite-sex partners in the last year can. The FDA’s own Blood DROPS survey has found that the prevalence of HIV in male blood donors who reported

that they had sexual relations with men is just 0.25%, which is lower than the overall prevalence in the United States of 0.38%.

There is no scientific reason to impose a celibacy requirement on gay men before they can donate blood. The FDA should implement a process that screens potential donors relying on a science-based risk assessment rather than outdated stereotypes.”

The LGBT Equality Caucus includes 76 members of Congress, including Suzan DelBene and Derek Kilmer of Washington state.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) was more complimentary toward the FDA decision but still insisted it was only a “first step.”

“I am encouraged that the FDA swiftly

finalized this guidance to move forward and revise the discriminatory lifetime ban on blood donations,” she said in a statement.

“However, this is just the first step toward ending an outdated policy that is medically and scientifically unwarranted.

This revision doesn’t go far enough – and I expect the FDA to maintain its commitment to work with stakeholders to develop better blood donor policies based on science. I will continue to push the Administration to move forward to achieve our ultimate goal of blood donation policies that are based on individual risk factors, that don’t unfairly single out one group of individuals, and that allow all healthy Americans to donate.”

December 25, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

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December 25, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

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December 25, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Setbacks for marriage equality in Europe: Austria, Slovenia, Romania reject relationship recognition

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Three European countries have rejected bids to recognize and give legal protections to same-sex relationships.

In Austria, an administrative court rejected a lawsuit on behalf of five children of Gay parents seeking marriage rights for their parents.

In the December 21 ruling, the court rejected the children’s claim that they were stigmatized because their parents were prevented from marrying. Children of unwed parents no longer face significant social problems, the court said.

The lawsuit was not supported by HOSI Wien, Austria’s main LGBT rights group, which is advocating for a broad reform of all Austrian marriage laws before tackling same-sex marriage.

In Slovenia, one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, voters repealed the county’s marriage equality law. The vote was a lopsided 63% against same-sex marriage to 37% in favor.

Slovenia’s parliament passed marriage equality in March and sought to block the

referendum, but the Slovenian Constitutional Court ordered the vote to proceed.

Only days before the referendum, Pope Francis endorsed repeal, telling Slovenian visitors to the Vatican that “everyone, especially those with public responsibility, [should] support the family, a structural

reference point for the life of society.”

In Romania, the parliament voted down a civil unions bill introduced by Green Party leader Remus Cernea. Cernea had also sponsored a similar bill in 2013, at which time he was denounced by Romanian Orthodox church leaders as a tool of Satan.

This time opponents charged that if the bill passed, humans would soon be allowed to marry dolphins.

The European Union (EU) currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in 11 of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.)

Civil unions are legal in eight EU nations: Austria, Croatia, Cyprus (effective date pending), the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, and Malta.

Greece is currently considering a samesex civil unions bill.

No partnership recognitions exist in eight EU nations: Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Non-EU members Norway and Iceland legalized same-sex marriage in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Non-EU member Switzerland legalized registered partnerships in 2007.

French sex-ed document stirs up furor Mislabels Trans people, activists say

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new sex-ed document issued by the French Ministry for Education has LGBT activists up in arms over its mislabeling of Trans people.

According to ANT (Association Nationale Transgenre, or National Transgender Association), the new sex-ed information offers few, if any, accurate facts about Trans people. The government document is “Transphobic,” “insulting,” and “ignorant,” ANT says.

The new document, titled “Fighting Against Homophobia: The Struggle for All Women and All Men,” was written jointly by the French Ministry of Education and its “preferred partner,” the Inter-LGBT group.

In spite of the participation of an LGBT rights organization, the document grossly misrepresents Trans people, ANT charges.

The document begins by saying that a “Trans person may be a transvestite (they have not changed their biological sex, but dress in clothes more usual to the opposite sex) or transsexual.”

Then it shifts immediately to the issue of cross-dressing, stating that “there is currently no biological or psychological recognized basis for trans identity.”

ANT has condemned the term “transsexual,” which is almost universally rejected

by France’s Trans community because it centers Trans identity in sexuality.

ANT also challenged the document’s focus on “changing biological sex,” saying this reflects the French government’s insistence on gender reassignment surgery before it will recognize the self-determined gender of Trans individuals.

The policy has been denounced several

Trans people not happy with a new sex-ed document issued by the French Ministry for Education – Nuri Ducassi / Toronto Star

times by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe.

The government document also makes no positive proposals for supporting Trans people within the French education system, ANT said. Even simple measures, like allowing Trans people to use their preferred first name, were ignored, the group charged.

ANT is demanding that the Ministry

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of Education admit its own transphobia, withdraw the document immediately, and issue new guidelines the focus on positive steps toward supporting Trans students and teachers.

Delphine Ravisé-Giard, the president of ANT, said that “ANT is increasingly disturbed by the inaction of the government on transgender rights.

“We ask the Ministry of Education to

take all necessary measures to respect the gender identity of Transgender students throughout their schools, to take all necessary measures to respect the gender identity of Transgender teachers, and the outright withdrawal of this insulting, transphobic document.”

December 25, 2015

Seattle Gay News 11

Greek bishop throws hissy fit over civil unions Catholics not the only ones with bigot bishops

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A controversial Greek Orthodox bishop is spitting mad at the Greek parliament as it takes up legislation to allow same-sex civil partnerships.

While the synod that governs the Greek Orthodox Church simply reiterated its opposition to legal recognition for same-sex relationships, Bishop Ambrosios of Kalavryta took a more extreme view.

“Spit on them!” the bishop wrote in a blog post. “Blacken them! Vote against them! They are not human! They are freaks

of nature! Mentally and spiritually sick!

They are mentally insane!

“Wherever you see them, spit on them!

Don’t leave them in peace! They are dangerous!”

It was not immediately clear whether he wanted Greeks to spit on Gays or on members of parliament who supported the socialist government’s bill to legalize same-sex partnerships.

The SYRIZA party that governs Greece made the civil partnership bill one of the planks in its electoral platform, but until now all its energies were occupied negotiating bailout agreements with Greece’s Euro-

pean creditors.

The Greek parliament began committee hearings on the civil partnership bill this month.

This is not Ambrosios’ first foray into politics. In 2012 he wrote a blog post praising the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party and chastising the left wing SYRIZA party for supporting anti-austerity street demonstrations.

Under the military dictatorship that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974, Ambrosios was a police chaplain.

The head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens,

opposes the bill on civil partnerships, but unlike his predecessor, Archbishop Chrystodoulos, Ieronymos has been reluctant to politicize the Church.

In 2008 the socialist mayor of the island of Tilos married one Gay and one Lesbian couple. Many Greek bishops – Ambrosios included – denounced the move as an “abomination,” but Ieronymos shrugged it off.

“They weren’t members of the Church and they didn’t get married in church,” he said, “so the Church really doesn’t have anything to say about it.”

Catholic Church has at least two bishops that are not total jerks back saying I was in favor of decriminalization of Section 377.”

“Personally I feel that it should not be criminalized,” Gracias added.

“For me it’s a question of understanding that it’s an orientation … I know there is still research being done whether it’s a matter of choice or matter of orientation, and there are two opinions on this matter. But I believe maybe people have this orientation that God has given them, and for this reason they should not be ostracized from society.”

The cardinal admitted there is a lack of understanding of LGBT issues within the Catholic Church.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias (r) and Bishop Mario Grech – silentmaj.wordpress.com, gozonews.com “The church has always

by Mike Andrew said people should not be discriminated der of nature.”

SGN Staff Writer An Indian court struck down the law in against, and I know the Vatican itself is 2009, but the country’s Supreme Court re- not for criminalization of these people,” he said. “I have to make a distinction of course.

The Roman Catholic Church has at least instated it in 2013.

“I had been reflecting on the question Catholic theology makes sexual morality two bishops who are not blatantly anti-Gay, of whether the church should be more rather clear.” but neither of them are American.

Meanwhile, a Catholic bishop in Malta Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the archbish- welcoming towards members of the LGBT op of Mumbai, India, has said that India community for some time. I met some said the Church should accept Gay and dishould decriminalize Gay sex. The coun- groups and associations of LGBTs, and I vorced couples.

“This year the synod said that families try’s parliament is set to debate a proposed had an understanding for them,” Cardinal who have homosexual members need to be repeal of Section 377 of the penal code, a Gracias told The Hindu newspaper. survivor of colonial-era British law, which “I don’t want them to feel ostracized. supported, their decisions respected and criminalizes sexual contact “against the or- That’s why I came out publicly some time not hindered in any way,” Bishop Mario

religious school continued from cover

Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Douglas H. Wilkins said that Fontbonne, a Catholic girls school, could not rely on statutory religious exemptions to exclude married Gays or Lesbians from their employees.

The case arose from a suit by Matthew Barrett, who charged that the school illegally refused to hire him because he listed his husband, Ed Suplee, as his emergency contact. He was represented by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD).

Barrett said in court documents that he has 20 years of experience in food service management and applied to become food services director at the prestigious girls’ prep school run by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Ellen Barnes, the head of school, told Barrett during the hiring process that every employee is regarded as a “minister of the mission” and asked whether he could

12 Seattle Gay News

“buy into” the expectation he would “model Catholic teaching and values.”

He said he could and was offered the job, which he accepted. He was then asked to complete standard employee forms.

After looking at Barrett’s forms, Barnes called him into a meeting and told him he would not be hired because “he was a spouse in a same-sex marriage, which was inconsistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Barrett sued, saying that Fontbonne was discriminating against him and his partner because of their sex (he would have been hired had he or his spouse been female) and their sexual orientation (he would have been hired had he been straight).

The school replied that it didn’t care about Barrett’s sex or sexual orientation; it just wanted to preserve its religious definition of marriage.

The judge agreed with Barrett, finding that Fontbonne did, indeed, discriminate

December 25, 2015

against him because he was a man married to a man.

Judge Wilkins also dismissed the school’s claim that it had a constitutional right to “expressive association” – just as the Boy Scouts were held to have a right to exclude Gay scouts or scout leaders.

Wilkins said there was little risk that hiring Barrett would mislead students and the public into thinking that Fontbonne, as a Catholic institution, somehow approved of or endorsed same-sex marriage, in light of “widespread public awareness of the civil laws allowing same-sex marriage and prohibiting employment discrimination, coupled with Fontbonne’s ability to explain its position without interference in the form of advocacy from Barrett.”

In fact, the issue of advocacy – for or against the Catholic Church’s position on marriage – didn’t even enter into the case, the judge said. “[Barrett] was not denied employment

Grech told The Sunday Times of Malta. “[Gay couples in civil unions] are part of God’s people, and like everybody else they are going through a journey, and the Church needs to support them in revealing God’s hidden face. We cannot define such a journey in stages and put up barriers, as the road is wide open to those truly seeking to follow God’s footsteps, regardless of their sexual orientation.”

When asked whether same-sex couples would be allowed to accompany their children to communion, baptisms, or confirmations in the church, Grech said, “Yes.” “This is already happening and is fully accepted by the Church, he explained. “The child or baby should not be held accountable for their parents’ deeds, decisions, or way of life. Why should the Church deny the opportunity for same-sex parents wishing to give a Christian formation to their adopted children? They are most welcome.”

“We are neither condoning nor condemning anybody,” he added.

“Marriage can only be referred to when talking about heterosexual couples. This is why there can be different forms of relationship. But this does not mean we are excluding or delivering judgment on other types.”

Malta legalized same-sex civil unions in 2014.

for any advocacy of same-sex marriage or gay rights,” wrote Wilkins. “Nothing on that form suggested that Barrett claimed his marriage to have sacramental or other religious significance or that it was anything but a civil marriage relationship.”

Wilkins also rejected the school’s argument that it was entitled to require all employees, whatever their job duties, to “model Catholic values.” Accepting that position, the judge said, would permit “an employer to grant itself constitutional protection from antidiscrimination laws simply by saying the right words.”

He concluded that the state’s compelling interest in combatting employment discrimination against “historically disadvantaged groups” weighed heavily against Fontbonne’s position.

Wilkins gave summary judgment for Barrett and ordered both sides to submit briefs on whether there should be a followup trial to award damages.

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Celebrating 41 Years!