Tag: Seattle

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Starbucks Joins Seattle Police Department’s Safe Place Program

Starbucks demonstrates yet again why the coffee retailer is a great LGBT ally.

Earlier this year, Jim Ritter – LGBTQ liaison officer for the Seattle Police Department – launched the Seattle Police Department Safe Place program to help stave off anti-LGBTQ-related crimes and harassment.

Now, coffee giant Starbucks has signed on to the program which will include all 97 company-owned stores in the great Seattle area.

Via press release:

Designed to identify plentiful safe and secure places for victims of anti-LGBTQ-related crimes and harassment, SPD Safe Place’s mission is intentionally uncomplicated. Window clings with the program’s rainbow logo are circulated to Seattle area businesses and public facilities identifying them as places where staff who’ve received SPD Safe Place training will call 911 and allow victims to remain on the premises until police arrive.

“We’re not wanting employees to tackle the suspect who is doing this,” he emphasized. “We want to make sure the employees stay safe and people in the businesses stay safe. I think the way this was designed, that’s certainly happening. Remember, these suspects don’t want to be seen. They don’t want to be following victims into a room full of people who can identify them.”

Officer Ritter says not one company he has approached in taking part in the program has turned him away.

Happy Friday, folks!

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Seattle Mayor Ed Murray Bans City-Funded Travel To Indiana

Mayor Ed Murray with George Takei

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced a ban on travel to Indiana by city officials today, in light of the passage of Indiana’s anti-gay “license to discriminate” legislation – S.B. 101.

“Seattleites know that discrimination has no place in our City – that’s just equality 101.” – Seattle Mayor Ed Murray

Via press release:

Indiana’s S.B. 101 doesn’t reflect the values of our City. Seattle has been a leader in the fight to protect civil rights and ensure equality for all people – no matter who you are, or who you love. This is why I am ordering that none of our taxpayer dollars should go toward supporting this discriminatory law. To those in Indiana today who are working hard in the fight for equality – know that Seattle stands with you as you continue your efforts to end discrimination and protect civil rights for everyone.

The executive action will ban all work-related and city-funded travel to the state of Indiana.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has issued a similar executive order for his city, and more are lining up.

According to King5 News, Mayor Murray made his announcement after meeting with actor and LGBT activists George Takei and his husband Brad Altman last evening.

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Seattle: Admitted New Years Day arsonist of gay club sentenced to 10 years in prison

Musab Masmari, who has admitted to setting a fire at a gay bar in Seattle on New Year’s Day, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

About 15 minutes after midnight, Masmari poured gasoline in a stairway to Neighbours’ balcony and lit the pool of fuel. The fire was quickly doused with a fire extinguisher; there were about 750 people in the club at the time.

Masmari, a California native also known as Musab Musmari, was arrested days later on his way to Sea-Tac Airport after buying a one-way ticket to Turkey.

In a letter to the court, Masmari, 31, explained he’d consumed a bottle of cheap whiskey in the hours before he set the fire. He claims not to remember setting it, though he recognized himself on a surveillance video.

“I do not believe that I am a bad man but when I get drunk I have done bad things,” Masmari said in a letter to the court. “I swear that it is my intent to never drink again.”

The prosecutors and defense team agreed to ask for a 5 year sentence, but U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez doubled the term to 10 years in Thursday’s sentencing hearing.

While Masmari stated that alcohol led to the crime, prosecutors pointed to interviews with people who know Masmari and said the fire was set due to homophobia.

“One of Masmari’s close associates was interviewed by investigators and reported that Masmari confided in him that he ‘burned a gay club’ and that he did it because ‘what these people are doing is wrong,’” Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg said in court papers.

Surveillance video made public after the fire clearly showed Masmari entering a club next to Neighbours, setting the fire and leaving.

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Seattle: Mama Tits stands up to anti-gay protesters at Pride Parade

Mama Tits stops anti-gay protesters in their tracks

Seattle drag queen Mama Tits was not having Christian protesters who tried to put a kink the city’s Gay Pride Parade on June 30.

Mama Tits stopped the anti-gay protesters in their tracks saying that they themselves are sinners “because they are wearing cotton polyblend – that is an abomination.”

And the speechifying just got better and better:

“Why don’t you read your own book and actually follow the teachings to the letter of god and learn to support and love. You need to drop the hate. You are a sad, sad excuse for a human being. Once you learn to drop the hate, you too can find happiness because we will welcome you with open arms if you learn to open your minds. Not today satan, not today!”

Mama Tits said this to Seattle Gay Scene:

“Before I knew it, I was standing tits to nose with the leader guy on the megaphone. It felt like I had the strength of all the people who had ever been hurt by these people standing right behind be me giving me power!

I was almost in autopilot mode from my days as a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence.

I planted myself in his path and wouldn’t move. When he walked around me, I got back in front of him again and again. I stared him in the eyes and could see the pain in his eyes, I could see he was scared and he should have been.

He tried to hit me with his sign, but like Bianca Del Rio says ‘Not Today, Satan!’ I pushed his sign away from my face and hair, because you DO NOT TOUCH my hair.

And, it was all I could do to NOT get violent, but I didn’t because once that happens, we all lose.”

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Seattle: New Years Eve arsonist pleads guilty but will not face hate crime charges

Musab Mohamed Masmari

The man who tried to kill a crowd of 750 people packed inside a popular Seattle gay bar by setting it afire on New Year’s Eve has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of arson.

Despite some evidence that he was motivated by hatred of LGBT people, Musab Mohammad Masmari will not face federal hate crime charges.

The Seattle Times reports that Masmari, a 30-year-old American-born man of Libyan extraction and upbringing, reached an agreement with prosecutors on Friday to plead guilty to arson. Though prosecutors had substantial reason to believe it was an anti-LGBT bias crime, he will not face federal hate-crime charges. Prosecutors said that Masmari’s motives will be addressed by the judge during the sentencing phase, which comes next week.

The plea agreement specifies that prosecutors will only seek a five-year prison sentence for the crime. However, prosecutors told KOMO-TV that the judge was free to ignore their recommendations and sentence Masmari to a prison term ranging up to 20 years.

(from Southern Poverty Law Center)

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Boy Scouts of America sever ties to Seattle troop over gay scoutmaster

Scoutmaster Geoff McGrath

When a Seattle-based Boy Scouts troop refused to kick it’s openly gay scoutmaster to the curb, the Boys Scouts severed ties to the troop.

From Advocate.com:

Geoff McGrath was told his scoutmaster registration would be revoked because he was openly gay (which the parents of the scouts were made aware of before their children joined Troop 98). The Rainier Beach United Methodist Church, which hosted the troop, refused to force him to leave.

BSA general counsel Steven P. McGowan notified the church Thursday that its charter would be revoked because allowing McGrath to remain a scoutmaster defied the organization’s policy barring openly gay scout masters.

Thirty-nine Washington state legislators have signed a letter standing by McGrath and the church, calling the Boy Scouts’ actions against McGrath on the basis of his sexual orientation “unacceptable.”

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Alleged Seattle arsonist pleads “Not guilty”

Musab Masmari, charged with setting a fire at a crowded gay club on New Year’s Eve almost killing over 700, entered a plea of “not guilty” yesterday:

Musmari, 30, is being held in the King County Jail.

A hearing in the case has been set for March 5th. Musmari was also ordered to have no contact with Neighbours or its employees. A judge had previously set Musmari’s bail at $1 million after prosecutors said he posed a flight risk. Musmari was found with a one-way ticket to Turkey and two passports when police arrested him in January. Musmari also has several other ongoing cases unrelated to the incident at Neighbours.

Earlier, CHS documented Musmari’s increased brushes with the law in the past year on Capitol Hill including assaults and protection order violations. In a recent conviction and sentence that he is appealing, Musmari was required to undergo a mental health evaluation.

KIRO TV in Seattle has reported that Musmari told a friend “that homosexuals should be exterminated.” This information was reported to the FBI, which is now prompting possible hate crime charges for Masmari.

(via JMG)

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Seattle: $1 million set as bail for alleged gay bar arson suspect

Bail has been set at $1M for Musab Masmari, the man suspected of setting a New Year’s Eve fire at Neighbours,  a Seattle gay nightclub.

The FBI is now investigating the crime as a possible hate crime.

From Capitol Hill Seattle:

Citing the risk of flight and pending outcomes in recent brushes with the law, a King County judge Tuesday set bail for the suspect arrested in the Neighbours arson investigation at $1 million.

Police say Musmari was arrested leaving his home with his U.S. and Libyan passports and was in possession of a one-way airline ticket to Turkey.

Tuesday, Musmari waived his right to appear at the hearing as his lawyer argued against the high bail.

Prosecutors have yet to charge the 30-year-old former Capitol Hill resident who, according to a lawyer representing Musmari, last called Bellevue home.

Tuesday, the FBI, working on the case as part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, thanked the public for tips leading to Saturday’s arrest. The FBI said it is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Meanwhile, friends and victims of Musmari have described his increasingly volatile and unstable behavior over the past year.

(via JMG)

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Seattle: Police arrest suspect in gay nightclub arson attempt

Arson suspect Musab Mohammed Masmari

Early morning on January 1, 2104, a fire broke out at the Seattle gay nightclub Neighbours. Over 750 patrons were present for New Years celebrations. The fire department report said that it appeared that an unknown suspect poured gasoline on a carpeted stairway leading to the second level of a bar and ignited it.

The guests were evacuated in orderly fashion, but clearly this could have been a disaster of not only property damage but massive loss of life.

Seattle police have now arrested the man that some suspect is behind the arson attempt. From Capitol Hill Seattle:

Musab Mohamed Masmari, 30, was arrested Saturday morning as police say he was on his way to the airport. Masmari, who has not been charged with the crime, was booked into King County Jail for arson, according to police. Masmari has been a resident living near Broadway and Roy, but at a recent sentencing hearing he said he had since moved to the Eastside. His Facebook profile lists Benghazi, Libya as his hometown. He was listed as living in Lynnwood in early 2009. CHS learned Masmari has had a U.S. passport since at least 2010. Masmari is scheduled to appear in court Monday for an unrelated assault charge.

The Seattle Police have released this statement:

Seattle Police made an arrest this morning of a 30-year-old suspect wanted for the arson at Neighbours on January 1st. This morning, Seattle Police arrested the 30-year-old man near Seattle as he was enroute to the airport. Detectives from our Arson/Bomb Squad, working along with members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), have been investigating this case since the early morning hours of January 1st. Detectives would like to thank the public for all the tips they have received on the person of interest. Following his arrest, the suspect was interviewed by detectives and later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Arson.

Video report below from King5.com

(via JMG)

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Washington: Seattle elects first openly gay mayor Ed Murray

Openly gay legislator Ed Murray was elected mayor of Seattle

From the Advocate: Seattle elected the city’s first openly gay mayor when state senator Ed Murray defeated current Mayor Mike McGinn with 56% of the vote Tuesday night.

Murray was instrumental in bringing marriage equality to Washington in 2012 as a state senator.

According to the Seattle Times, Murray’s campaign embraced and even touted his marriage equality efforts as his signature legislative accomplishment.

When addressing supporters Tuesday night, Murray, 58, was joined onstage by his husband, Michael Shiosaki. The two wed over the summer.