Over 47 years, the Seattle Gay News has covered thousands of stories that still resonate today. This week we look back at Vol. 44, Issue 28, published on July 8, 2016.
Big victory in WA
The anti-Trans initiative I-1515 failed to get on the November 2016 ballot (though we were already heading for a big loss in the presidential election), as reported by SGN Associate Editor Shaun Knittel:
The I-1515 campaign, an effort to repeal Washington state's 10-year-old nondiscrimination law protecting members of Washington's Transgender community, failed to turn in enough (246,372) signatures to qualify for this year's fall election ballot. "Washingtonians have sent a clear message: we won't discriminate," said Seth Kirby, chair of Washington Won't Discriminate, the No on I-1515 campaign.
"As a Transgender man, I'm encouraged that voters didn't buy the pitch that repealing our state's nondiscrimination protections for Transgender people would somehow make everyone safer. Washingtonians value fairness and equality, and we believe that everyone in our state should be able to earn a living, frequent a business, earn an education, and raise a family free from the fear of discrimination.'
Joseph Backholm, who led the charge for I-1515, encouraged male signature-gatherers to enter women's restrooms to demonstrate the ramifications of the Transgender-rights decision earlier this year. Those reports angered many, including people outside of the LGBTQ community, because it demonstrated that Backholm was willfully and dangerously misrepresenting the intent of the law.
Backholm dismissed it as a "joke," saying, "It was obvious to all that we are not seriously encouraging people to gather signatures inside restrooms." The joke was certainly lost on the general public and the county sheriff, state attorney general, and LGBTQ activists, who warned that following woman into bathrooms is illegal.
Update: In 2018, The documentaryThe Most Dangerous Year premiered at the Seattle Queer Film Festival, directed by Vlada Knowlton. The film featured the No on 1515 campaign as well as a strong focus on parents letting kids be the gender they want to be. A must-see.
Pakistani mullahs clarify: Intersex people can marry, not Trans people
As reported by SGN Staff Writer Mike Andrew,
A group of Pakistani mullahs who made headlines last week with a fatwa that Transgender people can marry has now issued a clarification: they meant Intersex people and not Trans people at all.
The 50 religious scholars, known as Tanzeem Itehad-e-Ummat, had been quoted as saying that Trans people with "visible signs of being a male" may marry a woman or another Trans person with "visible signs of being a female," but someone with "visible signs of both genders" may not marry anyone.
According to NAZ Pakistan (an LGBTI-supportive HIV and sexual health organization), kahawja sira is the Urdu equivalent of the Hindi word hijra, which can indicate an Intersex or Transgender person, or even a drag entertainer. They are legally recognized as a "third gender" in India, one of the few countries that does so. "Efforts need to be made to bring clarity among the general population on the differences between a eunuch, Transgender (both men and women), and kahawja sira," NAZ said in a statement. "It must be understood by all stakeholders that kahawja sira is a culture and not a gender."
Equality Florida's Pulse victims fund surpasses $7 million
An online fundraiser for the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting set up by Equality Florida raised $7M in a campaign that continues to break records for online philanthropy. Equality Florida's Pulse Victims Fund also received support from several high-profile donors, including Jeffree Star, Philip DeFranco, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, California's [then] Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Stuart Milk, and Lena Dunham.
Update: After the tragedy in Orlando, the community came together to form a new organization called One Orlando Alliance. The organization consists of representatives from each LGBT organization. Look for a Seattle version to debut in 2022.
Outbreak in Los Angeles
In 2016, people in LA were called to get vaccinated for an outbreak of meningitis, as reported by Knittel:
Los Angeles County public health officials and LGBT advocates are urging Gay and Bisexual men to get meningitis vaccinations, citing a recent outbreak of potentially deadly meningococcal disease that is disproportionately affecting men who have sex with men (MSM).
Though the weakened immune systems of people who are HIV-positive might make them more susceptible to meningococcal disease, only one of LA County's 17 cases is in a person known to be HIV positive, said Benjamin Schwartz, deputy chief of the LA County Acute Communicable Disease Control Program.
The county is recommending that all Gay or Bisexual men who have had multiple sexual partners or who seek sexual partners through online dating apps like Grindr get vaccinated, as well as all people who are HIV positive. Some of the infected people in LA County said they had used online dating apps, Gunzenhauser said.
ChristianMingle forced to add Lesbian and Gay users
I guess we can add ChristianMingle to the list of dating apps, as reported by Mike Andrew:
The popular online dating site ChristianMingle will now allow users to look for same-sex matches.
The change in policy settles a class action discrimination suit brought by two Gay men in 2013. According to their complaint, ChristianMingle allowed users to choose "man seeking woman" or "woman seeking man" but did not provide any same-sex options. Therefore it violated California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which requires "business establishments" to offer "full and equal accommodations" to people regardless of their sexual orientation.
The website's owner, Spark Networks Inc., also agreed that within two years, it would adjust other searching and profile features to give Lesbian and Gay singles a more tailored experience.
In addition, Spark Networks agreed to pay each plaintiff $9,000, and $450,000 in attorneys' fees to the two men's lawyers. The company did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
"I am gratified that we were able to work with Spark to help ensure that people can fully participate in all the diverse marketplaces that make our country so special, regardless of their sexual orientation," Vineet Dubey, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, said in a statement.
A Spark Networks spokesperson said the company was "pleased to resolve this litigation."
Spark Networks also owns CatholicMingles, AdventistSinglesConnection, and BlackSingles, which are all included in the settlement. Another Sparks-owned site, JDate – aimed at matching up Jewish users – was not party to the litigation.
Ex-Pope Benedict's moment
Leave it to the ex-Pope to write a book and brag about how he defeated a Gay lobby, as Mike Andrew reported:
Retired Pope Benedict XVI claims that he defeated a powerful "Gay lobby" entrenched in the Vatican. The ex-pontiff makes the assertion in his new autobiography, The Last Conversations.
In the book, Benedict says that a "Gay lobby" of four or five people tried to influence papal decisions, but that he was able to "break up this power group."
According to Italian journalist Luigi Accattoli, in the book, Benedict "again denies blackmail or pressure" from the Gay lobby or other insider pressure groups for him to step down. Benedict made that decision on his own, he says, because of failing health, as he stated publicly at the time.
When Pope Francis delivered his famous "who am I to judge" soundbite, he seemed to dismiss the idea of a Gay lobby. "I still haven't found anyone with an identity card in the Vatican with 'gay' on it," he quipped.
Trump insanity
2016 was just as insane as 2020. Eric Trump endorsed his sister Ivanka as VP, as reported by Mike Andrew:
Eric Trump, son of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has endorsed his sister Ivanka as a potential running mate for his father.
"She's got the beautiful looks, she's smart, she's smart, smart, smart," Eric Trump said July 7 on Fox News. "She's certainly got my vote."
Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee may have sparked the "Ivanka for VP" boomlet on July 6, when he took himself out of the running for the number two slot on the Republican ticket. "His best running mate, by the way, would be Ivanka," Corker said after announcing he did not want to be Trump's running mate.
Update: Obviously, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana was chosen to be VP, but Ivanka had an office in the White House, along with her husband, Jared Kushner. Last week it was revealed that Ivanka could be next to be indicted.
Kim Davis with a capital T:
Andrew also reported the following:
Kim Davis, once the darling of the anti-marriage equality set, is in trouble with the law again.
According to Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, Davis violated the state's Open Records Act by refusing to produce documents from her 2015 the legal battle against marriage equality.
The records – which include details of her relationship with Liberty Counsel, the group that offered her legal representation – were requested March 1 by the Campaign for Accountability.
In May, the attorney general's office asked to review the documents in private so it could decide whether the exemptions cited were relevant. Again Liberty Counsel refused to produce the documents, even for a private review, and this violated the Open Records Act, the attorney general's office said.
Under Kentucky law, Davis and the Liberty Counsel can appeal the attorney general's decision only by suing in circuit court. Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, said Tuesday that the group has not decided whether to challenge the ruling.
Meanwhile, a Tennessee man filed a federal lawsuit against Davis for denying him a license to marry his laptop. Much of the 44-page legal complaint compares same-sex marriages to Sevier's would-be marriage to his laptop. Sevier has filed several similar lawsuits, including one in Utah.
Update: In 2018, Davis ran again for Rowan County clerk as a Republican (unopposed) and won the primary, but in the general election, she lost against Democrat Elwood Caudill Jr.