Joe Jonas (screen capture via Instagram video)
News Round-Up: March 1, 2019
Alaska: Organization Sues To Deny Shelter To Trans Women In Freezing Temperatues
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| (image via Depositphotos) |
Virulently anti-LGBTQ legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, is representing a ‘Christian’ women’s shelter that is suing to deny transgender women shelter from the freezing winter cold.
The conservative law firm, which represented Colorado baker Jack Phillips in his fight to deny services to gay people, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the ironically named Downtown Hope Center against the city of Anchorage, Alaska, to deny services to transgender women.
The issue arises from an incident that occurred in January 2018, when a transgender woman was turned away from the shelter, according to local news station KTUU.
Downtown Hope Center says the woman, identified in court papers as “Jessie Doe,” was denied shelter because she was allegedly inebriated. The shelter claims she was put into a taxi and sent to a hospital for treatment for a cut on her forehead.
But the same woman showed up the next day and again was turned away.
The average temperature in Anchorage at night during January is 9 degrees.
In September 2015, the Anchorage Assembly passed AO-09, a city ordinance which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
The ordinance added protections to Anchorage’s equal rights laws for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people in housing, employment and public accommodations and includes exemptions for religious groups and those with ministerial duties.
In a press release, ADF asserts the ordinance exempts homeless shelters like the Hope Center. ADF attorney Ryan Tucker told U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason that the homeless women in the shelter would “rather sleep in the woods” than spend a night in a shelter with a transgender woman.
In a further slap to trans women, the ADF also says that because many of the women at the shelter have been battered or sexually abused by men, they shouldn’t have to sleep in proximity to ‘men.’ ADF calls the idea of trans women sleeping in the shelter ‘dangerous.’
But the Southern Poverty Law Center disagrees.
“There is simply no evidence that transgender people are more of a threat to anyone whether that be in bathrooms, locker rooms or homeless shelters,” David Dinielli, Deputy Legal Director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, told KTUU. “In fact we know transgender people are among the most, if not the most likely to be targeted for abuse, sexual abuse and physical abuse.”
It’s worth noting that the Hope Center receives some of its operating funds from public tax payer monies via a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The ADF, which has represented so-called ‘religious freedoms’ lawsuits in more than a dozen states, has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group which works to push trans people “back into the shadows.”
Podcast: “Will & Grace” Finale; New Documentary On The Life Of Sir Ian McKellen “Playing The Part;” MGM Resorts Releases Gender-Flipped Love Songs
In this week’s podcast:
• MGM Resorts released a new collection of wedding songs for LGBTs from Kesha, Bob Dylan and more.
• The finale of Will & Grace aired this week with some surprise couplings.
• A new documentary of the life and legacy of Sir Ian McKellen – Playing The Part.
• Natti Vogel’s new music video “Brown Rice” starring Matthew Wilkas explores the pressures of Instagram fame
• Maryland’s state legislature moves closer to banning so-called “conversion therapy.”
• Anchorage, Alaska, says “no” to transgender discrimination.
All that and more on this episode of The Randy Report.
If you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ headlines in 15 minutes with The Randy Report podcast, please share it with your friends.
I like to think of my newsmagazine podcast as “the 60 Minutes of gay news” – only shorter.
Alaska: Anchorage Voters Reject Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill
Voters in Anchorage, Alaska have rejected Proposition 1, an anti-transgender “bathroom bill” that would have forced folks to use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their birth certificate gender.
From Anchorage Press:
No on Prop 1 took 53 percent of the votes with yes getting 46 percent.
This failure of the referendum to pass would mean that laws would retain the rights afforded to transgender people as passed in the Anchorage Assembly resolution of 2015.
Hurray for the good guys!
7.9 Earthquake In Gulf Of Alaska Triggers Tsunami Warnings
From CNN:
A magnitude-7.9 earthquake detected in the Gulf of Alaska has triggered tsunami warnings in Alaska and tsunami watches across several Western states.
A tsunami warning is in effect for southeast and south Alaska, including the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, as well as British Columbia in Canada. A tsunami watch is in effect for California, Oregon and Washington, according to the Tsunami Warning Center.
Alaska Has It’s First Openly Gay Elected Officials
For the first time, Alaska has elected it’s first openly gay officials.
Yes – officials. Two.
Via Alaska Commons:
Christopher Constant [above], running against a prominent Democrat and three lesser known conservatives for the downtown seat being vacated by Flynn, won Tuesday with 52 percent of the vote. His closest competitor was David Dunsmore, a fellow Democrat, who mustered just 23.35 percent of the vote after the latter pursued a final week of negative campaigning, which evidently backfired.
Felix Rivera, also openly gay, is now too an Assembly member-elect, fending off three challengers while maintaining nearly 47 percent of the vote in midtown Anchorage. Rivera ran for the seat being vacated by Assembly Chair Elvi Gray-Jackson with her full support — as well as the support of current Vice-chair Dick Traini.
In the loser column, you’ll find the conservative gay who was revealed by Dan Savage last week.
The homocon lost to a progressive woman. #FTW!
Updated: Democrats Caucus In Washington, Alaska & Hawaii
UPDATE:
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Three states will hold their presidential caucuses today – Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.
The caucus format has done very well for Sen. Bernie Sanders, so expectations are high that he could sweep all three contests. However, given that all delegates are awarded proportionally, I wouldn’t look for Sanders to close the delegate gap too much today, although I’m sure he will walk away with a net gain.
Clinton currently holds the lead in pledged delegates by about 303. Washington is the big prize today with 101 delegates; Alaska will award 16, and Hawaii 25.
In that these are caucuses, there has been little to no polling done for today.
Expectations are high in Hawaii for Sanders. One Clinton supporter told Politico regarding Clinton’s chances in Hawaii: “He’s going to crush us. He should win this thing 2-to-1 at least,” the aide said of Sanders prospects. “If we keep this below 65-35 I’d be shocked.”
Tuesday is Wisconsin’s turn to chime in on the presidential sweepstakes. The most recent poll shows former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leading there by 6 points.
Then, after a couple of weeks off, the Dems return to the ballot box with contests in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, California and New Jersey. Current polls show Clinton leading by sizeable numbers in all of those states.
But that can all change. We shall see.
Anchorage Assembly Passes Important LGBT Protections Ordinance By Wide Margin
Good news from the Anchorage Assembly which passed, by a vote of 9-2, important LGBT protections making it illegal to discriminate over sexual orientation or gender identity.
From the Alaska Dispatch News:
The new local civil rights ordinance, the first of its kind in Alaska, will take effect as soon as it is signed by Assembly Chair Dick Traini, with the Assembly rejecting an amendment to require a public advisory vote in April.
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said he does not plan to veto the ordinance, which was co-authored by Assembly members Bill Evans and Patrick Flynn and passed shortly before midnight Tuesday. The ordinance adds protections to Anchorage equal rights laws for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people in housing, employment and public accommodations and includes exemptions for religious groups and those with ministerial duties.
In a joint statement released immediately after the Assembly vote, the organizations Alaskans Together for Equality, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, the Pride Foundation and the Human Rights Campaign praised the ordinance and the efforts of Evans and Flynn. Evans usually votes with the Assembly’s conservative bloc, and Flynn usually votes with the liberal bloc.
“With today’s passage of a strong and fair nondiscrimination ordinance through the Anchorage Assembly, we have taken yet another step toward living up to the Alaskan values of fairness and treating others as we would want to be treated,” the statement said. “We have joined the vanguard of over 200 cities that say you should not be fired or lose your home simply based on who you are or whom you love.”
You may recall that in August of 2009 the Anchorage Assembly passed a similar LGBT protections bill but it was vetoed by then Mayor Dan Sullivan days later.
9th Circuit Court Rejects Alaska’s Request For Review Of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
Alaska’s request for a full en banc review of the 9th Circuit Court decision which struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban has received a big fat “no.”
In fact, not one of the 29 judges on the court asked for a vote to review the ruling.
Meanwhile, the state is currently on the hook for over $100,000 in court costs defending the unconstitutional law:
Gov.-elect Bill Walker said Thursday he plans to evaluate the case to see whether his administration will continue to defend the ban, indicating a shifting stance from before the election, when he called the current administration’s defense an “unwise” use of state money.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Law said the state had spent more than $100,000 defending against the lawsuit as of Oct. 31. The total bill could be more than $359,000.
Alaska: Sarah Palin Endorses The Opponent Of Her Former Lt. Governor
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| Gov. Sean Parnell (L) and Bill Walker (R) |
In an interesting bit of news, it seems the Sarah Palin, the former half-term governor of Alaska, has endorsed not her former Lt. Governor – Sean Parnell – who replaced her when she chose to quit in her first term, but his opponent, Independent candidate Bill Walker.
From the National Journal:
Parnell’s 2013 restructuring of the state’s oil and gas taxes dismantled a prior, Palin-championed program that she considered to be one of the greatest achievements of her tenure. That difference of opinion is at the heart of Palin’s conflict with Parnell, which resulted in the two campaigning on opposite sides of a ballot measure in this year’s primary.
It’s worth noting that when Gov. Parnell indicated that he would appeal the recent ruling against the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, Walker issued a statement that he felt an appeal would be an “unwise use of our dwindling resources:
Walker, an attorney, responded later Sunday with criticism of the state’s decision to appeal the ruling. A recent ruling from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — which includes Alaska in its jurisdiction — said bans on same-sex marriage violate the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Such higher court rulings make the probability of a successful appeal when similar bans have already been overturned in other states unlikely.
Walker said he personally viewed marriage as existing between a man and a woman, but added that if he were governor, he would “uphold the laws of the land.”
“Despite my personal views on marriage, with the state’s dire financial crisis, pursuing expensive litigation that has little chance of victory is an unwise use of our dwindling resources.”