Marriage Equality Legislation Introduced

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:43:00 GMT

Marriage Equality Legislation has been introduced in Olympia in the form of Senate Bill 6239 and it's companion bill HB 2516. Below is the text of the original document introduced in the Senate.

SENATE BILL 6239

_____________________________________________

State of Washington 62nd Legislature 2012 Regular Session

By Senators Murray, Pflug, Hobbs, Litzow, Kohl-Welles, Ranker, Tom,

Harper, Pridemore, Keiser, Kline, Regala, Eide, Rolfes, McAuliffe,

Brown, Nelson, Chase, Fraser, Frockt, Conway, Kilmer, and Prentice;

by request of Governor Gregoire

Read first time 01/16/12. Referred to Committee on Government

Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections

1 AN ACT Relating to providing equal protection for all families in

2 Washington by creating equality in civil marriage and changing the

3 domestic partnership laws, while protecting religious freedom; amending

4 RCW 26.04.010, 26.04.020, 26.04.050, 26.04.060, 26.04.070, 26.60.010,

5 26.60.030, 26.60.090, and 1.12.080; adding new sections to chapter

6 26.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 26.60 RCW; creating new

7 sections; and providing a contingent effective date.

8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

9 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) It is the intent of this act to end

10 discrimination in marriage based on gender and sexual orientation in

11 Washington, to ensure that all persons in this state may enjoy the

12 freedom to marry on equal terms, while also respecting the religious

13 freedom of clergy and religious institutions to determine for whom to

14 perform marriage ceremonies and to determine which marriages to

15 recognize for religious purposes.

16 (2) No official of any religious denomination or nonprofit

17 institution authorized to solemnize marriages may be required to

18 solemnize any marriage in violation of his or her right to free

p. 1 SB 6239

1 exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United

2 States Constitution or by the Washington state Constitution.

3 Sec. 2. RCW 26.04.010 and 1998 c 1 s 3 are each amended to read as

4 follows:

5 (1) Marriage is a civil contract between ((a male and a female))

6 two persons who have each attained the age of eighteen years, and who

7 are otherwise capable.

8 (2) Every marriage entered into in which either ((the husband or

9 the wife)) person has not attained the age of seventeen years is void

10 except where this section has been waived by a superior court judge of

11 the county in which one of the parties resides on a showing of

12 necessity.

13 (3) Where necessary to implement the rights and responsibilities of

14 spouses under the law, gender specific terms such as husband and wife

15 used in any statute, rule, or other law must be construed to be gender

16 neutral and applicable to spouses of the same sex.

17 Sec. 3. RCW 26.04.020 and 1998 c 1 s 4 are each amended to read as

18 follows:

19 (1) Marriages in the following cases are prohibited:

20 (a) When either party thereto has a ((wife or husband)) spouse or

21 registered domestic partner living at the time of such marriage, unless

22 the registered domestic partner is the other party to the marriage; or

23 (b) When the ((husband and wife)) spouses are nearer of kin to each

24 other than second cousins, whether of the whole or half blood computing

25 by the rules of the civil law((; or

26 (c) When the parties are persons other than a male and a female)).

27 (2) It is unlawful for any ((man to marry his father's sister,

28 mother's sister, daughter, sister, son's daughter, daughter's daughter,

29 brother's daughter or sister's daughter; it is unlawful for any woman

30 to marry her father's brother, mother's brother, son, brother, son's

31 son, daughter's son, brother's son or sister's son)) person to marry

32 his or her sibling, child, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew.

33 (3) A marriage between two persons that is recognized as valid in

34 another jurisdiction is valid in this state only if the marriage is not

35 prohibited or made unlawful under subsection (1)(a)((, (1)(c),)) or (2)

36 of this section.

SB 6239 p. 2

1 (4) A legal union, other than a marriage, between two individuals

2 that was validly formed in another state or jurisdiction and that

3 provides substantially the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities

4 as a marriage, does not prohibit those same two individuals from

5 obtaining a marriage license in Washington.

6 Sec. 4. RCW 26.04.050 and 2007 c 29 s 1 are each amended to read

7 as follows:

8 (1) The following named officers and persons, active or retired,

9 are hereby authorized to solemnize marriages, to wit: Justices of the

10 supreme court, judges of the court of appeals, judges of the superior

11 courts, supreme court commissioners, court of appeals commissioners,

12 superior court commissioners, any regularly licensed or ordained

13 minister or any priest, imam, rabbi, or similar official of any church

14 or religious denomination, and judges of courts of limited jurisdiction

15 as defined in RCW 3.02.010.

16 (2) No regularly licensed or ordained minister or any priest, imam,

17 rabbi, or similar official of any church or religious denomination is

18 required to solemnize any marriage. A refusal to solemnize any

19 marriage under this section by a regularly licensed or ordained

20 minister or priest, imam, rabbi, or similar official of any church or

21 religious denomination does not create a civil claim or cause of

22 action. No state agency or local government may base a decision to

23 penalize, withhold benefits from, or refuse to contract with any church

24 or religious denomination on the refusal of a person associated with

25 such church or religious denomination to solemnize a marriage under

26 this section.

27 Sec. 5. RCW 26.04.060 and 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 42 s 25 are each

28 amended to read as follows:

29 A marriage solemnized before any person professing to be a minister

30 or a priest ((of any)), imam, rabbi, or similar official of any church

31 or religious denomination in this state or professing to be an

32 authorized officer thereof, is not void, nor shall the validity thereof

33 be in any way affected on account of any want of power or authority in

34 such person, if such marriage be consummated with a belief on the part

35 of the persons so married, or either of them, that they have been

36 lawfully joined in marriage.

p. 3 SB 6239

1 Sec. 6. RCW 26.04.070 and Code 1881 s 2383 are each amended to

2 read as follows:

3 In the solemnization of marriage no particular form is required,

4 except that the parties thereto shall assent or declare in the presence

5 of the minister, priest, imam, rabbi, or similar official of any church

6 or religious denomination, or judicial officer solemnizing the same,

7 and in the presence of at least two attending witnesses, that they take

8 each other to be husband and wife.

9 NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 26.04 RCW

10 to read as follows:

11 (1) Consistent with the law against discrimination, chapter 49.60

12 RCW, no religious organization is required to provide accommodations,

13 facilities, advantages, privileges, services, or goods related to the

14 solemnization or celebration of a marriage unless the organization

15 offers admission, occupancy, or use of those accommodations or

16 facilities to the public for a fee, or offers those advantages,

17 privileges, services, or goods to the public for sale.

18 (2) A refusal by any religious organization to provide

19 accommodations, facilities, advantages, privileges, services, or goods

20 related to the solemnization or celebration of a marriage does not

21 create a civil claim or cause of action unless the organization offers

22 those accommodations, facilities, advantages, privileges, services, or

23 goods to the public in transactions governed by law against

24 discrimination, chapter 49.60 RCW.

25 Sec. 8. RCW 26.60.010 and 2007 c 156 s 1 are each amended to read

26 as follows:

27 Many Washingtonians are in intimate, committed, and exclusive

28 relationships with another person to whom they are not legally married.

29 These relationships are important to the individuals involved and their

30 families; they also benefit the public by providing a private source of

31 mutual support for the financial, physical, and emotional health of

32 those individuals and their families. The public has an interest in

33 providing a legal framework for such mutually supportive relationships,

34 whether the partners are of the same or different sexes, and

35 irrespective of their sexual orientation.

SB 6239 p. 4

1 ((The legislature finds that same sex couples, because they cannot

2 marry in this state, do not automatically have the same access that

3 married couples have to certain rights and benefits, such as those

4 associated with hospital visitation, health care decision-making, organ

5 donation decisions, and other issues related to illness, incapacity,

6 and death. Although many of these rights and benefits may be secured

7 by private agreement, doing so often is costly and complex.))

8 The legislature ((also)) finds that the public interest would be

9 served by extending rights and benefits to ((different sex)) couples in

10 which either or both of the partners ((is)) are at least sixty-two

11 years of age. While these couples are entitled to marry under the

12 state's marriage statutes, some social security and pension laws

13 nevertheless make it impractical for these couples to marry. For this

14 reason, chapter 156, Laws of 2007 specifically allows couples to enter

15 into a state registered domestic partnership if one of the persons is

16 at least sixty-two years of age, the age at which many people choose to

17 retire and are eligible to begin collecting social security and pension

18 benefits.

19 The rights granted to state registered domestic partners in chapter

20 156, Laws of 2007 will further Washington's interest in promoting

21 family relationships and protecting family members during life crises.

22 Chapter 156, Laws of 2007 does not affect marriage or any other ways in

23 which legal rights and responsibilities between two adults may be

24 created, recognized, or given effect in Washington.

25 Sec. 9. RCW 26.60.030 and 2007 c 156 s 4 are each amended to read

26 as follows:

27 To enter into a state registered domestic partnership the two

28 persons involved must meet the following requirements:

29 (1) Both persons share a common residence;

30 (2) Both persons are at least eighteen years of age and at least

31 one of the persons is sixty-two years of age or older;

32 (3) Neither person is married to someone other than the party to

33 the domestic partnership and neither person is in a state registered

34 domestic partnership with another person;

35 (4) Both persons are capable of consenting to the domestic

36 partnership; and

37 (5) Both of the following are true:

p. 5 SB 6239

1 (a) The persons are not nearer of kin to each other than second

2 cousins, whether of the whole or half blood computing by the rules of

3 the civil law; and

4 (b) Neither person is a sibling, child, grandchild, aunt, uncle,

5 niece, or nephew to the other person((; and

6 (6) Either (a) both persons are members of the same sex; or (b) at

7 least one of the persons is sixty-two years of age or older)).

8 NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 26.60 RCW

9 to read as follows:

10 (1) Partners in a state registered domestic partnership may apply

11 and receive a marriage license and have such marriage solemnized

12 pursuant to chapter 26.04 RCW, so long as the parties are otherwise

13 eligible to marry, and the parties to the marriage are the same as the

14 parties to the state registered domestic partnership.

15 (2) A state registered domestic partnership is dissolved by

16 operation of law by any marriage of the same parties to each other, as

17 of the date of the marriage stated in the certificate.

18 (3)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, any state

19 registered domestic partnership in which the parties are the same sex,

20 and neither party is sixty-two years of age or older, that has not been

21 dissolved or converted into a marriage by the parties by June 30, 2014,

22 is automatically merged into a marriage and is deemed a marriage as of

23 June 30, 2014.

24 (b) If the parties to a state registered domestic partnership have

25 proceedings for dissolution, annulment, or legal separation pending as

26 of June 30, 2014, the parties' state registered domestic partnership is

27 not automatically merged into a marriage and the dissolution,

28 annulment, or legal separation of the state registered domestic

29 partnership is governed by the provisions of the statutes applicable to

30 state registered domestic partnerships in effect before June 30, 2014.

31 If such proceedings are finalized without dissolution, annulment, or

32 legal separation, the state registered domestic partnership is

33 automatically merged into a marriage and is deemed a marriage as of

34 June 30, 2014.

35 (4) For purposes of determining the legal rights and

36 responsibilities involving individuals who had previously had a state

37 registered domestic partnership and have been issued a marriage license

SB 6239 p. 6

1 or are deemed married under the provisions of this section, the date of

2 the original state registered domestic partnership is the legal date of

3 the marriage. Nothing in this subsection prohibits a different date

4 from being included on the marriage license.

5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 26.04 RCW

6 to read as follows:

7 If two persons in Washington have a legal union, other than a

8 marriage, that:

9 (1) Was validly formed in another state or jurisdiction;

10 (2) Provides substantially the same rights, benefits, and

11 responsibilities as a marriage; and

12 (3) Does not meet the definition of domestic partnership in RCW

13 26.60.030,

14 then they shall be treated as having the same rights and

15 responsibilities as married spouses in this state, unless:

16 (a) Such relationship is prohibited by RCW 26.04.020 (1)(a) or (2);

17 or

18 (b) They become permanent residents of Washington state and do not

19 enter into a marriage within one year after becoming permanent

20 residents.

21 Sec. 12. RCW 26.60.090 and 2011 c 9 s 1 are each amended to read

22 as follows:

23 A legal union, other than a marriage, of two persons ((of the same

24 sex)) that was validly formed in another jurisdiction, and that is

25 substantially equivalent to a domestic partnership under this chapter,

26 shall be recognized as a valid domestic partnership in this state and

27 shall be treated the same as a domestic partnership registered in this

28 state regardless of whether it bears the name domestic partnership.

29 Sec. 13. RCW 1.12.080 and 2011 c 9 s 2 are each amended to read as

30 follows:

31 For the purposes of this code and any legislation hereafter enacted

32 by the legislature or by the people, with the exception of chapter

33 26.04 RCW, the terms spouse, marriage, marital, husband, wife, widow,

34 widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying

35 equally to state registered domestic partnerships or individuals in

p. 7 SB 6239

1 state registered domestic partnerships as well as to marital

2 relationships and married persons, and references to dissolution of

3 marriage shall apply equally to state registered domestic partnerships

4 that have been terminated, dissolved, or invalidated, unless the

5 legislation expressly states otherwise and to the extent that such

6 interpretation does not conflict with federal law. Where necessary to

7 implement chapter 521, Laws of 2009 and this act, gender-specific terms

8 such as husband and wife used in any statute, rule, or other law shall

9 be construed to be gender neutral, and applicable to individuals in

10 state registered domestic partnerships and spouses of the same sex.

11 NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. (1) Within sixty days after the effective

12 date of this section, the secretary of state shall send a letter to the

13 mailing address on file of each same-sex domestic partner registered

14 under chapter 26.60 RCW notifying the person that Washington's law on

15 the rights and responsibilities of state registered domestic partners

16 will change in relation to certain same-sex registered domestic

17 partners.

18 (2) The notice must provide a brief summary of the new law and must

19 clearly state that provisions related to certain same-sex registered

20 domestic partnerships will change as of the effective dates of this

21 act, and that those same-sex registered domestic partnerships that are

22 not dissolved prior to June 30, 2014, will be converted to marriage as

23 an act of law.

24 (3) The secretary of state shall send a second similar notice to

25 the mailing address on file of each domestic partner registered under

26 chapter 26.60 RCW by May 1, 2014.

27 NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 8 and 9 of this act take effect

28 June 30, 2014, but only if all other provisions of this act are

29 implemented.

--- END ---

SB 6239 p.

Governor Gregoire Voices Support for Marriage Equality in Wasington State

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:24:00 GMT

Marriage Equality Speech

January 4, 2012

Marriage Equality Speech
Governor Chris Gregoire
Jan 4, 2012
Olympia, Washington

Today I stand before you as Governor of the state of Washington...
...And as a wife...a mother…a student of the law...and as a Washingtonian with a lifelong commitment to equality and freedom.
Today, I’m announcing my support for a law that gives same-sex couples in our state the right to receive a marriage license in Washington – the same right given heterosexual couples.

It is time, it is the right thing to do, and I will introduce a bill to do it.

Once again, the call for equality is sweeping through our nation – and this time it’s for our gay and lesbian citizens.

Make no mistake, America has been here many times before.

In our long, hard road for equality – history shows we have faltered but we have always fought hard when it comes to protections against discrimination.

...We have made major strides towards equality for racial minorities...for women...for people with disabilities...for immigrants...for religious sects.

We applaud the generations before us for their wisdom and courage to fight for equality.

Now it’s our time...this generation’s call to end discrimination – discrimination against our gay and lesbian citizens.

It is time for marriage equality.

That means the State of Washington should not deny our citizens a marriage license based on sexual orientation.

For all couples, a marriage license is very important. It gives them the right to enter into a marriage contract in which their legal interests, and those of their children if any, are protected by well-established law.

Why then does our state deny a marriage license?

Some argue that the state should deny a marriage license to same-sex couples based on the premise that marriage is for procreation. Do we then deny a license to heterosexual couples who choose not to have children?... To those who can’t have children or those who adopt?...
To those who have children through in-vitro fertilization?

Some argue that same-sex marriage weakens the institution of marriage. Is this a role of the state? If so, it has failed miserably with a divorce rate among heterosexual couples now at about 50 percent.

Some argue that the state must deny a marriage license based on religious beliefs.

With a marriage license, couples marry in civil or religious ceremonies.

In issuing the license, the state should not involve itself in an applicant’s religion.

The responsibility of the state is to license only. The right of a church is to decide whom to marry, and the state will honor the religious freedom of all faiths.

The arguments used today to discriminate based on sexual orientation should remind all of us of the arguments used to discriminate in the past, and specifically the laws banning interracial marriage.

It wasn’t until 1948 that the California Supreme Court became the first in the nation to declare such a law unconstitutional.
And the United States Supreme Court didn’t declare anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional until 1967!

While we have worked hard to confront racial discrimination in our state, we have been on a journey to end discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Until 2006, Washington lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens were denied basic protections from discrimination.

It was that year that I signed a law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and other areas.

A year later, I signed a law creating domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, along with a number of rights enjoyed by married couples. And the year after that, I signed a law expanding those rights even more.

Then in 2009, voters approved Referendum 71, which expanded the domestic partnership rights of same-sex couples.

It was a notable achievement in our long journey, but it still left same-sex couples with a different status. Some say domestic partnerships are the same as marriage. That’s a version of the discriminatory separate but equal argument of the past.

For decades, that argument was used to keep African-Americans separate at schools, apartments, and drinking fountains. After all, the argument went, those separate places were just as good. But we all knew separate is not equal and finally the law caught up.

While I understand the experiences of racial minorities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans are not identical, laws that keep some Americans in a separate status are inherently unjust.

It is now time for equality of our gay and lesbian citizens, and that means marriage.

When someone asks me what marriage means, I don’t think about the legal protections of a marriage license. I think about love, commitment, responsibility, and partnership.

Same-sex couples should not be denied the meaning of marriage. They have a right to be equal!

Throughout our journey, an ever-growing number of Washingtonians have come to understand that equal rights for same-sex couples is not only a good thing, but the right thing to do!

It’s time to give our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, and the couple down the street the right to marry in our state.

Now it’s time for all of us to stand up for equality in Washington.
We have our champions like Sen. Ed Murray and Representative Jamie Pedersen. I stand with them.

I also stand with our younger Washingtonians
Is there a generation gap here? Is it time to listen to our young people?

Poll after poll show that young Americans – by substantial margins – support same-sex marriage even as their parents or grandparents struggle with it. Why?

Can it be that our children knew some kids on the playground who had two moms instead of a single mom, or two dads instead of a mom and dad?

Can it be because they befriended children of same-sex families – friendships that endure today?

Can it be that today’s young Americans see sexual orientation discrimination as just as unacceptable as my generation saw racial discrimination?

We must tell these children and their families that they are every bit as equal and important as all the other families in our state.
Finally, I stand in the memory of Cal Anderson – the late state senator who so humbly and courageously fought for civil rights in decades past.

Passage of the law would make Washington the seventh state in nearly as many years to grant same-sex couples the right to marry.
The first state was Massachusetts, followed by Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. And by the way, same-sex marriage is legal in our nation’s capitol, throughout Canada, and here in Washington by the Suquamish Tribe!

For many people, I know this is a very sensitive issue. I understand that. To those who fear it, I ask them to consider the fact that Massachusetts has permitted same-sex marriage since 2004 without the doomsayers’ predictions.

In fact, the people of that state are raising their children, coping in this economy, and working to make a better world, just like Washingtonians.

A special commission created by the state of New Jersey recently did a study about the potential impacts of same-sex marriage. It found that the economy of Massachusetts’ truly benefitted, and continues to benefit from the change in the law.

Among other findings, the study found that professional same-sex couples continue to move to Massachusetts, bringing their credentials, their children, and even extended families with them.
Same-sex couples have strong families, and have been raising happy, healthy children for years – right alongside other couples and single parents.

Our gay and lesbian families face the same hurdles as heterosexual families – making ends meet, finding time for career and family, raising their children and saving for college.
And we are better for it!

They and their kids join us in our churches, our schools, and supermarkets. And we are better for it!

We need to ask ourselves, how would it feel to be a child of a gay couple? How can we tell these children that their parents’ love is seen as unequal under the law, that their families are different.
We must tell these children and their families that they are every bit as equal and important as all the other families in our state.

As Washingtonians and Americans, we have serious problems to address – a far-off war, the Great Recession, more than 13 million people looking for work, worldwide economic competition.

Loving, committed married couples of any sexual orientation can only help us. They can help us defend our Democracy, help our neighbors, and build strong communities. And they will.

Fellow Washingtonians: Throughout our history, we have fought discrimination. We have joined together to recognize equality for racial minorities, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, religious sects.

Please answer the call to support equality again in our great state. It is the right thing to do and it is time.

Thank you.

Make it Better - Inlander OpEd

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:36:00 GMT

Make It Better

Bullying of gay students demands our attention here in Spokane.

Carla Savalli - Executive Director of Odyssey Youth Center

Originally posted/printed in the Inlander on Wednesday September 28, 2011

It happened again. Another tormented teenager took his own life after being bullied with anti-gay slurs. The sad irony of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer’s recent death in Buffalo, N.Y., is that he made a video for the “It Gets Better” project in which he expressed hope that life would get easier for himself and others who struggle with their sexual orientation.

Unfortunately, Jamey ran out of hope, and now the Amherst Police Department has opened a criminal investigation into his death to determine whether a hate crime was committed.

Buffalo is not as far from Spokane as you might think — at least in terms of the hardships faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Our LGBTQ kids are being bullied here, too. They are harassed at school, on the job, at the bus plaza — sometimes even in their own families. They disproportionately suffer from many of the social and economic inequities we’ve been fighting against for years as a community. Here are some of the grim national statistics:

Nearly nine out of 10 LGBTQ students experience harassment at school; one-third of them drop out to escape violence, harassment and isolation.
LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their non-gay peers.
LGBTQ youth are far more likely than their non-gay peers to run away from home or to be kicked out. Up to 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as LGBTQ.

We all can remember how hard it is to be a teenager, especially when you don’t fit in. While there are numerous organizations and child-care advocates working to make Spokane a nurturing and healthy community for children, we’re not sure those efforts include our LGBTQ kids.

As the only drop-in center for LGBTQ youth in northeastern Washington, Odyssey serves more than 250 kids per year in our physical space, and hundreds more through our online and social media outreach. We know from our intake forms that two-thirds of the youth we serve live in families with incomes of less than $25,000 per year. We know that many of our youth are without health care or medical insurance, that many have dropped out of school, and that some are homeless and malnourished.

At Odyssey, we believe our LGBTQ kids are your kids, too. We believe a healthy community must invest in its future, which is its youth — whether straight or gay.

So how can you help prevent the death of another Jamey Rodemeyer — in Buffalo or Spokane? Support Odyssey’s Gay Straight Alliance initiative. GSA clubs are extracurricular student groups that promote social justice, awareness and acceptance in schools. They are found nationwide, mostly in high schools, but in some middle schools as well.

Odyssey promotes GSA clubs because national research and our own experience shows that LG- BTQ youth who have clubs in their schools have a more positive high school experience. The clubs offer Odyssey-like safe spaces where kids can make friends and be themselves.

Only a handful of high schools in Spokane County currently have GSAs — among them a very successful and active program at Shadle, and fledgling efforts at Lewis and Clark and at University in the Spokane Valley. Odyssey would like a GSA in every high school in Spokane County.

Despite the fact that the state of Washington requires all school districts to adopt policies and procedures that “expressly prohibit the bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity,” schools are not required to provide GSAs. Their existence depends on students asking their school administrators for permission to start a club, and then the willingness of a teacher or counselor to be an adviser.

Odyssey’s role is to provide start-up information to administrators, teachers, students and parents about the clubs. So please contact Odyssey Youth Center if you or someone you know is:

an educator or counselor in Spokane County who would be willing to be a GSA adviser in your school,
the parent of a LGBTQ youth who’d like your child to experience a GSA, or
a LGBTQ youth who would like to attend Odyssey or a GSA in your own school.

When I was a kid growing up in Spokane, people used to say this was a “great place to raise a family.” I’m not sure if that was really the case or if it was wishful thinking. But today there are a lot of child-care advocates here devoted to making that sentiment true.

Please include Odyssey’s kids in your efforts. All of our children deserve our help.

Carla Savalli is the executive director of the Odyssey Youth Center in Spokane.

A 6 Year Old Boy and His First Love

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:44:00 GMT

“Mommy, they are just like me.”

The original blog post can be found HERE. Thank you to the Trevor Project on Facebook for bringing this adorable story to our attention.

My oldest son is six years old and in love for the first time. He is in love with Blaine from Glee.

For those who don’t know Blaine is a boy…a gay boy, the boyfriend of one of the main characters, Kurt.

This isn’t a ‘he thinks Blaine is really cool’ kind of love. It is a mooning at a picture of Blaine’s face for a half hour followed by a wistful “He’s so pretty” kind of love.

He loves the episode where two boys kiss. My son will call people in from other parts of the house to make sure they don’t miss his ‘favorite part.’ He’s been known to rewind it and watch it over again…and force other to, as well, if he doesn’t think people have been paying enough attention.

This infatuation doesn’t bother me or his father. We live in a very hip-liberal neighborhood, many of our friends are gay, and idea of having a gay son isn’t something that bothers either of us. Our son is going to be who he is, and it is our job to love him. End of story.

He is also six. Six year olds get obsessed with all kinds of things. This might not mean anything at all. We always joke that he’s either gay, or we have the best blackmail material in the history of mankind when he’s a 16 year old straight boy. (Take that naked bath time pictures!)

Then the other day we were traveling across the state listening to the Warblers album (of course), and in the middle of Candles, my son pipes up from the back seat.

“Mommy, Kurt and Blaine are boyfriends.”

“Yes, they are,” I affirm.

“They don’t like kissing girls. They just kiss boys.”

“That’s true.”

“Mommy, they are just like me.”

“That’s great, baby. You know I love you no matter what?”

“I know…” I could hear him rolling his eyes at me.

When we got home I recapped this conversation to his Dad, and we stood simply looking into each other’s eyes for a moment. Then we smiled.

“So if at 16 he wants to make a big announcement at the dinner table, we can say ‘You told us when you were six. Pass the carrots’ and he’ll be disappointed we stole his big dramatic moment,” my husband says with a laugh and hugs me.

Only time will tell if my son is gay, but if he is I am glad he’s mine. I am glad he has been born into our family. A family full of people who will love and accept him. People who will never want him to change. With parents who will look forward to dancing at his wedding.

And I have to admit, Blaine would be a really cute son-in-law.

A place of safety faces financial straits (Article about OYC)

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:23:00 GMT

(Originally appearing in the Spokesman Review on Friday August 12th)

Kids sprawl on the couch, teasing and bantering. A young man cuts up a watermelon in the kitchen. Laptops pop open. The fridge door opens and shuts, opens and shuts. A rowdy group plays a game before a dry-erase board – a combination of charades and Pictionary.

“OK!” a woman shouts. “I ordered pizza for dinner. It’ll be here at 5:30.”

In many ways, the afternoon scene at Odyssey Youth Center is like any home full of teenagers. But Odyssey is unique in Spokane – the city’s only center for gay and lesbian kids, or anyone who wants to stop by for a safe place to hang out. Its home-like atmosphere is purposeful, given that many of these kids – because of their sexual orientation or their family circumstances – lack simple, safe comforts, whether it’s a supportive adult or a bottle of shampoo.

“These kids need a place to go where they feel safe, where they can just be whoever they are,” said Carla Savalli, Odyssey’s executive director and chief pizza wrangler. (Savalli is also a former Spokesman-Review editor.)

Like a lot of nonprofits, Odyssey is trying to steer through some rocky financial waters. The center lost a $40,000 grant this year, and two others worth $15,000 didn’t come through – a $55,000 hit in its $131,000 budget. It has since picked up a matching donation of up to $10,000, and it’s trying to raise money against that, apply for more grants, and patch together funding from garage sales, neighborhood fundraisers and its “Dare to Care” drive.

It’s not exactly an emergency. But it’s not exactly not, either.

“At this point, we have enough to run until the end of the year,” Savalli said. “We’ve been trying not to think about the worst-case scenario and just focus on raising community awareness, trying to get more individual and corporate donors, and applying for grants.”

The center helps some 250 kids a year. It’s open three days a week in the afternoons, provides hot meals, support, and anything else you can think of. These young people are often struggling with enormous questions of identity at a time of life that is already fraught with sensitive issues. Gay and lesbian kids are more likely to be bullied, more likely to be homeless, and more likely to attempt suicide than straight kids. In addition, well over half the kids served by Odyssey came from homes well below the poverty line.

Jessica Hettich’s story is not uncommon. An 18-year-old who’s dating another young woman, she left home at age 16. Her father died, she didn’t like what was happening with her mother, and she went to live with a friend.

“I didn’t really feel like I had any parents, any adult guidance, any of that,” said Hettich, who’s headed to WSU this fall.

She doesn’t feel like she endured a lot of bullying at home or at Lewis and Clark High, but the last few years have been a period of questioning and uncertainty about her sexuality – on top of all the questioning and uncertainty that naturally comes with adolescence. She started coming to Odyssey at the advice of an LC counselor.

“I didn’t know anybody so it was a bit scary to come here by myself,” she said. “But I met a bunch of people who are now my really good friends.”

A lot of the Odyssey kids are living through a transitory, evolutionary period. Melissa, who asked that I not use her last name, said when she first started coming to the center a few years ago, she only knew she was different in some way, not that she was a lesbian. Now she’s 20, and she sees the same thing in lots of others at the center.

“They don’t know what they are,” she said. “They’re growing up.”

Consider Saria. An 18-year-old whose given name is Daniel Daigen and who considers himself transgendered, he’s starting to live as a woman, with an eye on a long future that may involve expensive surgeries and plenty of social awkwardness, at the least. He says his mother has disowned him, most of his family – even the somewhat accepting ones – don’t approve of what he’s doing.

“I’m not going to change myself, or try to change their minds,” he said. “If they want to be in my life or they don’t, it’s up to them.”

Financial straits are not unusual for nonprofits, and Odyssey has had them before. In late 2009 and early 2010, a former director, Ryan Robinson, allegedly misappropriated more than $2,600 in Odyssey funds; center officials say they notified the police immediately when problems were discovered, changed banks and improved accounting practices. A warrant has been issued for his arrest on a charge of second-degree theft; Savalli and board chairman Kelly Lerner say the problems are not related to the loss of the grants.

Savalli said that Odyssey’s top priority is safety for the kids – but safety doesn’t necessarily mean a lock and key. It might include just a place to flop down and relax. Play a game or eat a meal. Get a couple bucks for the bus or a haircut. But the center also helps encourage the kids to stay in school, enroll in college, earn their GED, and to battle problems with bullies or harassment.

Most young people live their lives in three arenas: home, school, church. When you’re young and gay, any one of those can be a landmine, said operations coordinator Ian Sullivan. Odyssey, in ways both small and enormous, can help them through it.

“What I notice about this place are the connections,” said Hettich. “We’ve kind of built a little family. We’re all connected to each other.”

Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@comcast.net. Follow him on Twitter at @vestal13.

CA State Assembly Passes Landmark LGBT Education Bill

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:02:00 GMT

State Assembly Passes Landmark LGBT Education Bill

Legislation sponsored by Equality California and Gay-Straight Alliance Network aims to end LGBT history exclusion in education and to promote school safety

Sacramento – Today, the California State Assembly in a 49-25 vote passed a bill that would require schools to fairly and accurately portray the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement and the historic contributions of the diverse LGBT community in social science instruction. The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act (SB 48), authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), would also add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s existing anti-discrimination protections that prohibit bias in school activities, instruction and instructional materials.

Studies have shown that inclusion of LGBT people in instructional materials is linked to greater student safety and lower rates of bullying. The bill is co-sponsored by Equality California and Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

“The struggle of the multicultural and multiethnic LGBT community in California is one of the greatest stories yet to be told,” said Equality California Executive Director Roland Palencia. “The FAIR Education Act will ensure that public schools acknowledge the heroism of individuals and communities who in spite of countless barriers continuously overcome adversity.”

Palencia added, “For decades, LGBT leaders have worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for all Californians. LGBT leaders were heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the farm workers’ movement, the women’s movement, and have built health and human services institutions that now serve millions of Californians. It is time for history to accurately depict our community’s contributions.”

The FAIR Education Act would bring classroom instruction into alignment with existing non-discrimination laws in California and would add the LGBT community to the existing list of underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups, which are covered by current law related to inclusion in textbooks and other instructional materials in schools. By including fair and accurate information about the rich and diverse history of LGBT people in instructional materials, SB 48 will enrich the learning experiences of all students and promote an atmosphere of safety and respect in California schools.

“This is a victory not only for the LGBT youth in California who have been fighting to be heard in Sacramento and represented in their history classes, but also for all California youth who deserve to learn a fair and accurate account of California and US history,” said Carolyn Laub, Executive Director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. “By passing the FAIR Education Act, the Assembly has taken an unprecedented step to reduce bullying, increase safety for all students, and teach students to respect each other's differences.”

“We are selectively censoring history when we exclude LGBT Americans, or any other group of people, from our textbooks and instructional materials,” said Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). “We can’t tell our youth that it’s OK to be yourself and expect them to treat their peers with dignity and respect when we deliberately deny them accurate information about the historical contributions of Americans who happened to be LGBT.”

The bill now heads to the Governor’s desk.

Gay alum now ‘proud’ to hail from Shadle

Wed, 18 May 2011 21:31:00 GMT

Online Article HERE

Terry Miller returned to Shadle Park High School on Tuesday night to see for himself: It’s gotten better.

Miller, whose memories of bullying at Shadle in the 1980s helped inspire the inspiring “It Gets Better” project, returned to his alma mater for the first time in more than two decades. This time, the welcome was a lot warmer – a big crowd turned out to hear Miller and his longtime partner, the writer Dan Savage, give a hilarious and moving presentation about gay kids, acceptance and life after bullying.

“It’s really crazy and emotional to be back at Shadle Park High School,” said Miller, dressed in a white shirt, bow tie and logging boots. “It’s truly nerve-wracking.”

Since the project began less than a year ago, as a way to give hope to gay kids in the wake of high-profile suicides, Miller has told his “Shadle stories” about relentless bullying and administrative indifference.

But the school that welcomed him back Tuesday is a much different place. One with a thriving Gay-Straight Alliance. One where administrators like Principal Herb Rotchford supported the production of “The Laramie Project.” One where gay kids and their friends work hard to make it better.

“Shadle’s Gay-Straight Alliance is saying it’s not getting better after we leave. It’s getting better right now,” said Henry Seipp, the Shadle teacher who formed the GSA six years ago. “At Shadle, it has gotten better. I don’t know if it’s better in Omak now or Kansas City, but at Shadle, it’s definitely better.”

Seipp was instrumental in bringing Miller and Savage to the school, after Miller found the Shadle GSA’s Facebook page and reached out to him. Although their project is aimed at gay and lesbian youths – including more than 10,000 YouTube videos and a book full of stories of people who overcame bullying and went on to live happy lives – Tuesday night was the first time they’d actually spoken at a high school.

Savage and Miller live in Seattle, where they have a teenage son. They’ve been together for about 17 years, and are married in Canada. About a year ago, prompted by the suicides of gay kids, Savage began thinking about trying to communicate with young people who were being bullied – to let them know their lives would get better.

Part of what made the subject emotional for him, he said Tuesday night, was knowing about Miller’s experiences here. They posted the first video in September and encouraged others to do the same. Hundreds of people added their own within a week; in less than a month, President Obama had done one. It grew and grew, and a book was published earlier this year – “all, in part, because of what happened to Terry here, at Shadle, 25 years ago,” Savage said.

Miller’s return was an exciting moment for the Shadle GSA. Several members of the group went to Monday’s City Council meeting for a mayoral proclamation in support of the visit, along with representatives of Odyssey Youth Center and others. Aaron Horton, the GSA’s leader, said before the meeting, “I think it’s going to be a great experience for everybody at Shadle, and I think it’s really good for the community.”

Seipp started the group at Shadle after he overheard some kids at lunch loudly debating the morality of homosexuality as two gay kids nearby hung their heads uncomfortably. When he upbraided the debaters, suggesting that they sounded like bigots, it led to a “conversation” with parents and administrators, he said.

“At the end of that conversation, I agreed to use kind, gentle language and to start a Gay-Straight Alliance,” Seipp said.

Sixty kids showed up to the first meeting. The backlash was quick – students wore “Straight Pride” shirts, and GSA posters were torn from the walls. But Seipp said that the hostility had an unintended consequence – it drove support to the GSA.

Seipp gives a lot of credit to his boss, Rotchford. When he wanted to stage “The Laramie Project,” for example, Rotchford went to bat for him with upper administrators, Seipp said.

“I think we’re in a much different place than we were 20 years ago, as a school and a society,” Rotchford said. “What really means a lot to me is Terry can come back, not only to Spokane but to Shadle Park High School, and understand it’s been transformed.”

It’s not like everything’s perfect. Gay slurs remain a vital part of the teenage lexicon. Bullies haven’t been banished. The culture at large remains locked in an insipid debate over fundamental civil rights for gays and lesbians.

“Our signs still get torn down, six years later,” Seipp said. “But not as many of them.”

And it’s a far cry from the place that Miller left all those years ago, wanting never to return.

“I’m so proud of Shadle,” he said. “I’m kind of proud to say I’m from Shadle Park now.”

Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokes man.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vestal13.

Never Say Never: School grants equality to GSAs

Thu, 05 May 2011 20:47:00 GMT

Never Say Never: School grants equality to GSAs

By Farand Gunnels on Wednesday, May 4th, 2011 at 10:44 pm

On April 20, the Kennewick School Board in Eastern Washington voted to allow Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) equal access to the school’s public address announcements, and bulletin boards. It may sound like a small thing but it has been a volatile issue for months. There is a Federal law known as “the Federal Equal Access Act” which says what one school group is allowed, others must be given the same privileges. But Kennewick High has not followed this law with some questioning the need for a GSA.

Alonso Ponce, a sixteen year old Kennewick student who helped start the GSA explained, “We need to stand up for the rights and equality of every single student”. One of the group’s goals is reducing classroom harassment and Alonso explained there is great value on letting fellow students know “just how hurtful their words can be”.

Ivar Husa, a PFLAG dad, attended the packed meeting and recalls –“ I was frustrated with the board and simultaneously embarrassed for them. There was no way they could avoid complying with the 23-year-old law any longer, and yet they still had a split decision on the motion before the board”

Ivar was disappointed by the resistance of some school board members, “At a previous school board meeting, one board member said it might not be wise to let non-curriculum groups (like GSAs) publicize their activities in the morning report, because hate groups like the Klan would take advantage and use that platform. I was outraged that he would link hate groups with GSAs. At the beginning of this board meeting, our lawyer addressed the board and told them that schools have always had the right to limit behavior of hate groups on their campuses. I believe the school board knew that, and only brought the issue up to delay our young people their civil rights.”

Sadie Bauer, a youth who attends Vista Youth Center, noticed and appreciated the positive community support “PFLAG was there to help, along with GSAs from other schools, and people from Vista Youth Center.”

Mark Lee, of Vista Youth Center, said there was a teacher who expressed disappointment about treating the GSA like other school groups. The teacher has said things about “their gay agenda “and “their real mission.”

Jill Mullins, who recently moved back to her home town, remembers that teacher. “I can’t imagine what it would be like for an LGBT student to know that that teacher thinks such awful things about you, and then believe that they are going to treat you fairly in class.”

“It feels like a huge weight was lifted” said Bauer, “It is nice to see that we’re finally moving forward”. There were many smiles along with some “high fives” after the decision was announced.

A permanent policy will be voted on later this year to keep in line with Federal Law.

When asked what this means for the youth and the community, Husa responded “The kids have their foot in the door, now. It is up to them to form and sustain these GSA clubs. I know Vista Youth Center will help find youth and adults to talk to GSA groups. PFLAG will offer encouragement. Maybe we can help the GSAs to participate in our TriCities Pride events”

http://www.pridefoundation.org/school-grants-equality-gsas/

Hot pink-toenailed boy in J. Crew ad sparks controversy

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:02:00 GMT

Hot pink-toenailed boy in J. Crew ad sparks controversy

By Brett Michael Dykes

When J. Crew sent out its latest catalog, we doubt that the classic clothing company expected it would be blasted by social conservatives as "transgendered child propaganda." But alas, it has.

The images in question fall under pages titled "Saturday with Jenna" -- featuring products personally favored by J. Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons and her family. This particular Saturday for Jenna includes painting her five-year-old son Beckett's toenails pink. The caption reads, "Lucky for me I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon."

Cue the outrage from America's culture warriors.

"Yeah, well, it may be fun and games now, Jenna, but at least put some money aside for psychotherapy for the kid—and maybe a little for others who'll be affected by your 'innocent' pleasure," Dr. Keith Ablow wrote in a Fox News op-ed. "If you have no problem with the J. Crew ad, how about one in which a little boy models a sundress? What could possibly be the problem with that?"

Erin Brown of the Media Research Center took the criticism a step further -- after being sure to remind readers that J. Crew is a fashion favorite of First Lady Michelle Obama -- accusing the company of exploiting young Beckett to advance the cause of "liberal, transgendered identity politics."

The ABC News report on the kerfuffle, below, includes a reaction from Sarah Manley, who set off a similar firestorm last Halloween after posting photos of her young son dressed up as his unconventional idol: Daphne from "Scooby Doo." Manley said today of the J.Crew ad, "If the roles had been reversed and the photo...had been of a little girl playing in the mud with trucks, nobody would have batted an eye."

The Lookout contacted J. Crew to get a response from Lyons, but company spokeswoman Margot Fooshee told us that neither Lyons nor J. Crew would be commenting on the matter. However, others aren't being shy about offering up voracious defenses of the company's creative decision, pushing back on Ablow and Brown as holders of the unpopular opinion.

In another of the many critiques of Dr. Keith's critique, Jeanne Sager, on the parenting blog The Stir, asks: "So go back and look at that picture in the J.Crew ad, will you? What do you see? Do you see pink nail polish on a boy? Or do you see a little boy named Beckett, with beautiful blond curls, and a mom who looks like she is impossibly in love with her kid, in the very best way? Because that's what I see."

See the full article and pictures HERE

It Gets Better Project and its Spokane Connection

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:43:00 GMT

Out of brutal bullying emerges project to empower young gays, lesbians

As a boy heading into high school in 1980s Spokane, Terry Miller was ready for a change.

He’d been attending Northwest Christian school but was interested in something bigger, more diverse, less religious. He enrolled at Shadle Park High – the school where his mother had been among the first graduating class – and braced for a change.

“I kind of exploded. I was like, ‘Oh, I can be free. I can be myself here,’ ” Miller said.

Being himself meant being gay, though Miller came out slowly and by degrees. In his early high school days, he established his difference with dress and fashion – being a goth kid, a punk kid, someone whose outrageous hair color might change from one day to the next.

“It was almost like coming out of the closet,” he said. “That was a huge mistake.”

Miller said he was relentlessly bullied at Shadle during those years. When his mom approached school administrators, he said one told her, “There’s really nothing we can do. He looks that way. He acts that way. He walks that way. He talks that way. He’s painted a target on himself.”

These days, Miller – along with his famous partner, the writer Dan Savage – is trying to give gay and lesbian kids a more reassuring message: It gets better. You’ve probably heard of the It Gets Better project, which started in September with a video that Miller and Savage made and exploded into a project with 10,000 videos, including one from President Barack Obama, and now a book. The idea is to show kids who may have no support or positive vision of a future that there can be a joyful light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a powerful and moving vision, a landmark in the effort to move beyond our inability to move beyond this.

In an interview at Kirkus Reviews, Savage – a well-known sex columnist and activist – said that Miller’s story was key to making the first video. Since then, he has reviewed and edited videos and helped edit the book.

“It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t said yes,” Savage said. “He was so brutally bullied in his schools that he immediately said yes when he heard the idea.”

Miller and Savage have been telling their stories around the country in recent weeks to promote the book, “It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating Life Worth Living.” They spoke on the radio program “Fresh Air” last week, and Savage used one of their punch lines about Spokane: It’s a great place to be from – far from.

On Tuesday, Miller (his professional name) said he doesn’t hate the town, and that his mother still lives here and loves it. Growing up, his family was Episcopalian, a relatively liberal religion and background. He said his parents suspected he was gay before he came out.

At school, he caught flak daily for his differences, he said. One day in 10th grade, as he was walking from school to a piano lesson, a group of kids knocked him down and scraped his face against some hardened, rocky snow. That was the time his mom went to the school for help – and got none, he said.

A year later, an administrator broke up a group of kids who were pushing him around. He was called into a vice principal’s office – expecting to be told that they were taking steps to protect him, and instead finding his “main bully” sitting there. The vice principal told them to shake hands and be friends.

He came out to his mom shortly after high school; he never did tell his dad, who was dying of liver cancer at that time. He regrets it now, but thinks that his father knew and acknowledged it in sly, indirect ways.

These days, there is a lot more talk and action about bullying than there used to be. Still, in a lot of anti-bullying efforts there is a tendency not to address gay and lesbian issues specifically – whether it’s because of influence from religious conservatives or the failure to understand that it’s different from other kinds of bullying, Miller said. That’s a problem, because those kids are targets to a disproportionate degree.

Miller, a DJ and event planner in Seattle who just turned 40, has been with Savage for 16 years. They’re married in Canada, and should be here. They have a teenage son they adopted at birth. They come to Spokane for family visits – and for other reasons, such as researching a hilarious piece Savage wrote for The Stranger, recreating the 2007 visit of former Rep. Richard Curtis, a “family values” Republican caught up in a scandal with a male prostitute. (Savage wrote of the Davenport Tower: “It looks like all the furniture has been upholstered with Siegfried and Roy’s old thongs.”)

So, it gets better. But do we get any better? Have we? Spokane, I mean?

Maybe, bit by little bit. Miller noted that there is now a Gay-Straight Alliance at Shadle Park.

“That never would have happened when I was growing up and going to Shadle,” he said. “I was really blown away by that.”

There are preliminary discussions – nothing close to final – about him paying that group a visit.

“I think it would be really fascinating to go back to my high school and speak from a totally different point of view,” he said.

Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokesman.com.

LGBTQ Books for Children and Teens

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:27:00 GMT

2011 Rainbow Project List Announced!


Titles marked with a * are a Top Ten Title for the 2011 List.
The 2011 Rainbow Project Committee proudly announces the 2011 Rainbow List!  Created during the 2011 Midwinter Meeting at San Diego, California.   

These Titles reflect significant significant gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender/questioniong experiences for young people from Birth to age 18.

*Agell, Charlotte. The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister. 2010. 160p. Henry Holt & Co. (9780805089028).  Gr 5-8

 An illustrated diary-like account of things
that India McAllister loves like her dog Tofu, her best friend, Colby,
and other things…well, she’s not so sure about, like Amanda the Rodent
and Richard, her dad’s boyfriend.

Beale, Elaine. Another Life Altogether. 2010. 416p. Spiegel & Grau. (978-0385530040).   Gr 9+

Due to challenges at home, Jessie’s family decides to move to
Yorkshire for a “new start”, and she struggles to fit in and find her
own voice in her new town. On top of all this, she must also figure out
her confusing new crushes.

Bergman, S. Bear. The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You. 2009. Arsenal Pulp Press. (978-1551522647). Gr. 10+

A collection of personal essays from a transmasculine
perspective, featuring topics such as coming out, family, identity and
religion.

Boyd, Maria. Will. 2010. 304p. Knopf Books for Young Readers. (978-0375862090). GR 9-12

High school jock and all-around popular guy Will Armstrong
moons a bus full of girls and is assigned community service which
includes joining the school band and helping out with the musical. While
serving his time, he is befriended by a gay boy and is forced to
reconsider his own stereotypical views of what it means to be a man.

Cohn, Rachel. Very LeFreak. 2010. 320p. Knopf Books for Young Readers. (978-0375857584). Gr 9+

With a playlist for every moment, and the need for her tech
buzzing in her veins, can Very unplug enough to discover what her heart
really wants before it’s too late and take a chance at real love?

Cruse, Howard. Stuck Rubber Baby. 2010. 224p. DC Comics. (978-1401227135). Gr 10+

While fighting for civil rights in the 1960s South, Toland
fights the realization that he is gay, and has to deal with the idea and
the change in his own thoughts and personal identity.

de Rossi, Portia. Unbearable Lightness. 2010. 320p. Atria. (978-1439177785). Gr 9+

Coming to terms with coming out and the damaging perceptions
of commercial beauty, she shares her story of recovery from her eating
disorder and her self-acceptance.

Diaz, Alexandra. Of All The Stupid Things. 2009. 272p. EgmontUSA. (978-1606840344). Gr 10+

When Tara learns that her boyfriend may be gay, she is
devastated. But then—when she finds herself attracted to a new girl,
Riley—she is forced to examine her own sexuality.

Diersch, Sandra. Out. 2010. 136p. Lorimer. (978-1552774229). Gr 9+

Canadian teenager Alex must confront his latent homophobia when his younger brother comes out to him.

* Eagland, Jane. Wildthorn. 2010. 352p. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. (978-0547370170). Gr 9+

Louisa Cosgrove, a high-spirited young lady in nineteenth
century England, loves her cousin Grace and longs to be a doctor. A plot
devised by someone close to her puts her in an insane asylum, doubting
her own identity.

Fakhrid-Deen, Tina with COLAGE. Let’s Get this Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents. 2010. 208p. Seal Press.  (978-1580053334). Gr 6+

Reaching out through the voices of youth in GLBTQ households,
this handbook gives kids the tools to deal with the uniqueness of
living with LGBTQ parents, including how to deal with the bigotry and
hatred of others, overcoming discrimination, and building self-esteem.

* Green, John and David Levithan. Will Grayson, Will Grayson. 2010. 304p. Dutton Juvenile. (978-0525421580). Gr 9+

On a cold Chicago night, two sixteen-year-olds—one gay and
one not—meet and discover they have one big thing in common, their name.
From then on, their lives, their friends and their loves intertwine and
culminate in the staging of one of the funniest high school musicals
ever.

Hodel, Page.  Monday Hearts for Madalene. 2010. 112p. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. (978-1584797784). Gr 7-12

Whether spoken, written or shared in beautiful heart-shaped
collages, Page Hodel reminds us love begets love and she lets her hearts
tell her story.

* Horner, Emily. A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend. 2010. 272p. Dial. (978-0803734203). Gr 9+

Following the death of her best friend Julia, Cass finds
herself involved in a project to produce the musical Julia wrote.
Betrayed loyalties and school bullies set Cass off on a journey where
she finds self-awareness and acceptance.

Hyde, Catherine Ryan.  Jumpstart the World. 2010. 192p. Knopf Books for Young Readers. (978-0375866654). Gr 9+

Teenage Ellie falls in love with her next-door neighbor Frank, and then, to her dismay, discovers that he is transgender.

* Ignatow, Amy. The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang. 2010. 208p. Amulet Books. (978-0810984219). Gr 6-8

Best friends, Julie and Lydia, try to determine the secrets
to popularity and record their observations and schemes in a secret
notebook. The result is a hilarious, delightfully illustrated guide to
surviving middle school and figuring out what friendship really means.

* Kemp, Anna. Dogs Don’t Do Ballet. 2010. 32p. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. (978-1416998396). Pre-K -2

Girl loves dog, dog loves girl, and they both love ballet. Will the unlikely ballerina ever get his moment on the stage?

Klise, James. Love Drugged. 2010. 312p. Flux. (978-0738721750). Gr 10+

What if there were a drug that could “cure” homosexuality?
Deeply closeted teen Jamie is about to find out what could happen! This
is a fast-paced novel with an intriguing premise.

* Lowrey, Sassafras. Kicked Out. 2010. 224p. Homofactus Press. (978-0978597368). Gr 9+

Homeless lgbt-q youth share their stories of surviving on the
streets and finding places of sanctuary in creating their own chosen
families and community.

Lurie, April. The Less Dead. 2010. 240p. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. (978-0385736756). Gr 9+

When Noah’s friend Will is murdered by a  killer targeting homeless gay teens, Noah sets out to find the murderer.

Martin, Ricky. Me. 2010. 304p. Celebra Hardcover. (978-0451234155). Gr 9+

Not the usual celebrity biography with glamour shots, Martin
instead keeps it real and shares his experience of coming out as gay
Latino and the importance of self-acceptance and community service.

* McCaughrean, Geraldine. The Death-Defying Pepper Roux. 2010. 336p. HarperCollins. (978-0061836657). Gr. 5-8

Embarked on a dangerous voyage on the high seas,
fourteen-year-old Pepper is befriended by a kindhearted, cross-dressing
steward with the improbable name of Duchesse. Adventures abound!

Poole, Eric. Where’s My Wand?: One Boy’s Magical Triumph Over Alienation and Shag Carpeting. 2010. 272p. Einhorn/Putnam. (978-0399156557).

Poole’s witty memoir of growing up as a gay,
Bewitched-obsessed boy in 1970s St. Louis recalls David Sedaris’
unfailingly funny takes on family wackiness.

Rainfield, Cheryl. Scars. 2010. 250p. Westside Books. (978-1934813324). Gr 9+

Fifteen-year-old Kendra is a budding artist who has far too
many secrets. Not only does she cut herself, she is grappling with her
childhood sexual abuse and her burgeoning sexuality.

Rucka, Greg. Art by J.H. Williams III; color by Dave Stewart; letters by Todd Klein. Batwoman: Elegy. 2010. 192p. DC Comics. (978-1401226923). Gr 10+

As Batwoman, Kate must battle the most dangerous criminals in
Gotham while as Kate Kane, Batwoman must deal with coming to grips with
her own sexual identity and fight her own personal war while dealing
with the new super-criminal Alice, who’s determined to take her down.

* Sheng, Jeff. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. 2010. 40p. Jeff Sheng Studios. (978-0984447411). Gr 9+

A poignant photographic essay dedicated to the brave LGBTQ
military personnel who serve under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. Each
person’s face is artfully hidden, helping to express their feelings of
isolation and loneliness.

Shrya, Vivek. God Loves Hair. Self-published, 2010. 90p. (978-0986551208).  10+

Vignettes tell the tale of Vivek, a young man who struggles
with his sexuality, preferring to wear his mother’s beautiful sari and
lipstick. He endures physical, emotional and verbal abuse in school,
only to be saved by his faith…when things are bad during the week, he
knows that Sunday will come and no matter what, his gods love him and
appreciate all that he is.

Skeers, Linda. Tutus Aren’t My Style. 2010. 32p. Dial. (978-0803732124). Gr 1-2

Tomboy Emma is dismayed when she receives a gift from her
favorite uncle and opens it to discover a frilly pink tutu. Ultimately,
she discovers that there are lots of different ways to be a ballerina
and that her uncle really does know her after all.

Soehnlein, K.M. Robin and Ruby. 2010. 288p. Kensington Publishing Corporation. (978-0758232182). Gr 10+

Aspiring actor Robin has just left his lover, Peter, when his
sister, Ruby, goes missing. Robin searches for her, accompanied by his
long-time friend, George, to whom, Robin discovers, he is becoming
romantically attracted.

Stuart, Sebastian. The Hour Between. 2010. 260p. Alyson Books. (978-1593501266).

Arthur McDougal’s friendship with the charming but troubled
Katrina Felt at the Spooner School for the disciplinary challenged helps
him come to terms with his sexuality.

* Various Authors. The Gallup’s Modern Guide to Gay, Lesbian & Transgender Life (Series, 15 titles). 2010. Mason Crest Publishers.  Gr 7+

A series of informative non-fiction titles which discuss celebrations and challenges of living as an lgbt person.

Wilson, Jacqueline. Kiss. 2010. 256p. Roaring Book Press. (978-1596432420). Gr 6-9

Sylvie has always imagined spending her life with her best
friend, Carl, first as a couple and then as husband and wife. As she
realizes Carl is gay and will never really become her boyfriend, she
must reconsider her feelings and her friendship with him.

http://rainbowlist.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/2011-rainbow-project-list-announced-2/

Resistance to GSAs in Eastern Washington

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:20:00 GMT

Resistance to GSAs in Eastern Washington

http://www.pridefoundation.org/resistance-gsas-eastern-washington/

By Farand Gunnels on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 2:00 pm

photo credit: graur razvan ionut

High school is hard enough as it is, so it troubles me to hear that there is resistance from the Kennewick School Board to establishing a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) with official recognition and support of the Associated Student Body (ASB) and administrators.

If a student wishes to start a GSA “social club” at Kennewick High School they may meet informally and the administrators cannot stop them, but without a safe place, and a faculty advisor the chances of a student starting a robust group on his or her own would have little chance of success. The ASB and their administrators need to step up and show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students and their issues.

According to a story in the Tri-City Herald, “90 percent of [LGBTQ] youth have been harassed in school, 60 percent have felt unsafe and 30 percent have skipped school because they felt unsafe.”

WATCH: Breaking the Silence, a documentary about the lives and struggles of LGBTQ youth in Tri-Cities, Washington.

The School Board plans to meet again on February 23rd to consider ways to address LGBTQ youth and it would be nice if they knew that activists from other areas are taking notice. We have to increase pressure on administrators to allow GSAs and vocalize support for bullied LGBTQ kids, so call anyone you know in Kennewick and encourage them to attend the school board meeting on Feb 23rd at 5:30pm at 1000 W 4th, Kennewick, WA.

This year is my 20^th high school reunion, and as it approaches, I think about the isolation, struggles and fears I went through. I remember people being harassed and bullied if they were, or perceived to be, lesbian or gay so I found it hard to get close to anyone for fear they would find out my secret.

I often wonder how much better it could have been if there was a supportive and accepting club like the GSA in my school. A GSA provides a safe place for students during the coming out process and helps youth break through the isolation to find support from peers and school staff who are committed to making schools safer and more accepting for LGBTQ students.

Transgender activists face challenges

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:56:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Many transgender Americans face intolerance in almost every aspect of their lives, contributing to high levels of homelessness, unemployment and despair, according to a comprehensive survey being released Friday.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality say their survey of 6,450 transgender people is the largest of its kind. It details discrimination encountered "at every turn" — in childhood homes, in schools and workplaces, at stores and hotels, at the hands of doctors, judges, landlords and police.

"Their lives are just a crapshoot," said Rea Carey, executive director of the task force. "They don't know from one interaction to the next whether they will be treated with respect and dignity. It's not the way people should be living their day-to-day life."

The report comes at a sobering time for transgender community.

While their gay-rights allies celebrated the recent Senate vote that will enable gays to serve openly in the military, transgender people were left out of the debate and remain barred from service.

Efforts to pass a federal law barring workplace discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation failed in the previous Democratic-controlled Congress — gender identity was a key stumbling block — and the new Republican-led House is considered more hostile.

Uncertain of prospects for progress at the federal level, activists hope to make headway through lawsuits, corporate diversity programs, local anti-bias ordinances, and public education efforts. They hope the survey will buttress those efforts; some of the data had been released in preliminary reports, but the final version contains new details and is prefaced by an emotional plea for Americans to rethink their attitudes.

"It is part of social and legal convention in the United States to discriminate against, ridicule, and abuse transgender and gender non-conforming people," the survey says. "Nearly every system and institution in the United States, both large and small, from local to national, is implicated."

According to the survey, 41 percent of respondents reported attempting suicide, 26 percent said they had lost a job due to being transgender, and 19 percent reported being denied a home or apartment. Almost one-fifth said they'd been homelessness at some point.

The survey found that complaints of discrimination were particularly pronounced among blacks.

In an e-mail, Ja'briel Walthour of Hinesville, Ga., detailed the difficulties of growing up in the 1980s and '90s as an African-American boy in the South who began to identify as a female. Neither her church nor rural community offered acceptance, she said.

"I felt there was not an ounce of compassion or empathy for individuals who may be displaying atypical gender roles," and by 17 she was contemplating suicide, she wrote.

"I got into a place where I wanted to just not be here anymore," she said.

Walthour, now 34, eventually became a school bus driver while deciding to transition to female and pursue a degree in social work.

Transgender activists say future progress for their cause may depend on more people like Walthour choosing to speak out.

"We need more trans people telling their stories," said Diego Sanchez, a transgender aide to U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., at a forum last weekend. "We need to represent ourselves, and not let others represent us."

The forum was convened to address the frustrations of some transgender people who feel marginalized within the broader gay-rights movement. The movement has for years adopted the initials LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender — but transgender activists at the forum wondered if the "T'' instead meant "token."

"We've become second fiddle, maybe third fiddle to LGB rights," said Meghan Stabler, a transsexual businesswoman. "We're a minority inside of a minority ... Right now, we're a small 't'."

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said the LGBT movement — by sheer force of numbers and financial support — was inevitably going to focus on the agenda of gays and lesbians rather than transgender people.

"But the relationship has helped out," she said. "We have a shared history, shared friends and enemies."

Looking long term, Keisling expressed optimism.

"The people who just plain hate us — they're dying out," she said. "There is not a reasonable person left in United States who doesn't understand that transgender people exist, that it's a legitimate aspect of the diversity of nature."

On the Net:

National Center for Transgender Equality: http://transequality.org/
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: http://www.thetaskforce.org/

Obama Signs Away ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 03:14:00 GMT

From the New York Times

December 22, 2010

"WASHINGTON — The military’s longstanding ban on service by gays and lesbians came to a historic and symbolic end on Wednesday, asPresident Obama signed legislation repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the contentious 17-year old Clinton-era law that sought to allow gays to serve under the terms of an uneasy compromise that required them to keep their sexuality a secret.

“No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie or look over their shoulder,” Mr. Obama said during a signing ceremony in a packed auditorium at the Interior Department here. Quoting the chairman of his joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, Mr. Obama went on, “Our people sacrifice a lot for their country, including their lives. None of them should have to sacrifice their integrity as well.”

The repeal does not immediately put a stop to “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Mr. Obama must still certify that changing the law to allow homosexual and bisexual men and women to serve openly in all branches of the military will not harm readiness, as must Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mullen, before the military can implement the new law. But the secretary and the admiral have backed Mr. Obama, who said ending “don’t ask, don’t tell” was a topic of his first meeting with the men. He praised Mr. Gates for his courage; Admiral Mullen, who was on stage with the president during the signing ceremony here, received a standing ovation.

While there is still significant resistance within the military to the change in policy, especially within the Marine Corps, at least one proponent — Representative Barney Frank, the openly gay Democrat from Massachusetts — insisted on Wednesday that this latest effort to integrate the armed services will go more smoothly than did racial or gender integration.

“Reality will very soon make it clear that there is nothing to worry about,” Mr. Frank said. He called the signing the biggest civil rights moment in the nation since the signing of voting rights legislation in the 1960s. “If you can fight for your country, you can do anything,” he said.

In the years since President Bill Clinton first enacted “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 1993, some 17,000 service members have been discharged under the policy. While many gay people in the military are now breathing a sigh of relief, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which represents soldiers facing charges under the policy, is warning its members that they are “still at risk” because the repeal will not take full effect until 60 days after Mr. Obama, the defense secretary and admiral certify readiness.

“The bottom line is DADT is still in effect and it is not safe to come out,” the organization said.

For the gay rights movement, which has been frustrated with the pace of progress under Mr. Obama, Wednesday marked a celebratory turning point. “Thank you, Mr. President,” someone shouted, as Mr. Obama took the stage, prompting a round of other shouts: “Chicago’s in the house, Mr. President! You rock, Mr. President!” Mr. Obama pronounced himself overwhelmed.

The audience for the ceremony included a who’s who of gay activists, among them Frank Kameny, who was fired from a civilian job as an Army astronomer in 1957 — an act that prompted him to found a gay rights advocacy organization in Washington D.C. and to file a lawsuit which went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1965 he picketed the White House, in the first ever demonstration there by gays."

PFLAG leader dies

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:35:00 GMT

PFLAG Mourns the Death of First-Ever PFLAG National President Adele Starr

Washington, D.C. – Leaders from Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National expressed their sadness at the passing of Adele Starr, a California mother of a gay son who was PFLAG's first-ever National President and one of the pivotal figures in the establishment of the national organization.

"Adele Starr was one of the pioneers of PFLAG. It is because of her commitment to organizing the many people who were working for the common goal of equality for all into the organization that we now know as PFLAG that we have gained the strength, prominence, and ability to become the voice of parents and allies united for equality," said Jody M. Huckaby, PFLAG National's Executive Director.

Adele Starr's involvement with PFLAG started in 1974 when she and her husband, Larry, had dinner with PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford and her husband, Jules. After a year of working to encourage attendance, Starr hosted 35 people in her Los Angeles home. This historic meeting served as the basis for the West Coast organizing for PFLAG. In 1981, 31 representatives from PFLAG-like groups again came together in the Starr's home for a two-day meeting which resulted in the official founding of PFLAG – then the Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays – as well as the election of its first board of directors. Adele Starr was elected the first-ever PFLAG president.

Starr's den in her Los Angeles home served as the first PFLAG National office, where she managed correspondence, provided leadership for the group which grew to represent more than 250 chapters across the U.S., and organized national conventions to bring members together to build skills and improve PFLAG's services. It wasn't until almost a decade later that the organization would outgrow Starr's den and eventually hire national staff and open an official National Office in Washington, D.C.

At a conference to commemorate PFLAG's 10th Anniversary, Starr powerfully summarized why she had taken on the role she did within the organization, saying, "We did it out of love and anger and a sense of injustice, and because we had to tell the world the truth about our children."

Today, PFLAG has more than 200,000 members across the United States, with a vibrant chapter network that provides support, education, and advocacy to those striving for acceptance and justice for all. Starr's commitment to the organization is widely known, for many through the presentation of the Starr Award, a prize given to a PFLAG leader who has displayed exemplary leadership in their community.

"May Adele's family be comforted at this time of loss by the history she created and with the knowledge that the struggle for LGBT on a national scale began with her," said Rabbi David M. Horowitz, current National President for PFLAG.

Read additional tributes to Adele Starr from past PFLAG presidents here:
http://community.pflag.org/Page.aspx?pid=1338&frcrld=1

###

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is the nation's foremost family-based organization committed to the civil rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender people. Founded in 1973 by mothers and fathers, PFLAG has 200,000 members and supporters in more than 300 chapters

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