Losangelesblade.com, Volume 05, Issue 45, November 05, 2021

N OVE MB E R 0 5, 2021 • VO L U M E 05 • ISSUE 4 5 • AMERICA’ S LGBT Q NEW S SO U R C E • LO SAN G ELESB LAD E. C O M

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No stranger to firsts: Middleton talks campaign, being trans, family Could become first openly trans state senator in California history

By ZACHARY JARRELL

In 2017, Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Middleton made history hen she as elected to city council, becoming the first openly trans person elected to a political o ce in California The public ser ice eteran no ants to make history again as she campaigns for the California State Senate f elected, she ould become the first openly trans state senator in California s history and only the second-e er trans state senator in the S Sarah Mc ride, of Dela are, as the first “ t as an honor to and it meant so much about the kinds of opportunities that e found in Palm Springs, Middleton told the os ngeles lade of her 2 election Middleton oined the nation s first allT city council, hich also included three gay men obert Moon, then-Mayor, oberts, then-Mayor Pro Tem, and eo ors and a bise ual oman, Christy olstege, ho no ser es as Mayor of Palm Springs Middleton noted that there has been at least a ma orityT city council for the last 2 years hile touting the success it has brought “ n those 2 years, a erage property alues ha e tripled, our hotel ta es ha e gone up fourfold and our sales ta re enue has increased fi efold, she said “We e brought up numerous ne entrepreneurs and isitors to our community e e not ust been good for alues in Palm Springs e e been good for business en though Middleton is campaigning for a State Senate seat, she hasn t lost focus on hat truly matters to her: the people of Palm Springs “ ne fascinating thing about being on a city council in a place like Palm Springs is you really are connected immediately to your residents, she said “I get stopped when I go to the grocery store, the hard are store, the restaurants, and people ant to talk about the issues hen someone makes a phone call to me they e pect me to ans er the phone and listen to hat their issue is nd ood ord, get hundreds of emails each and e ery day that people e pect to get a personal ans er from their city council members “ t s a challenge sometimes to keep up ith e eryone, she said “ ut it also ust feels really good to ha e that direct connection to the electorate Middleton is campaigning for California s 28th State Senate District, a district that ill be no cake alk for her SD-28, hich includes Coachella and Temecula, ent to President oe iden in the 2 2 election but only by 2 points Still, Middleton has some firepo er behind her ith the early support of former Democratic S Sen arbara o er and the California egislati e T Caucus o er as “thrilled to announce her support of Middleton “A fearless fighter for the people she represents, isa is a compassionate, principled and sa y leader ho ill fight for those most in need in Sacramento hile bringing people and ideas to the table to sol e big problems, she said in a statement “California needs isa s for ardthinking ideas, compassion, grit and determination in the State Senate m proud to o er her my enthusiastic endorsement

02 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

The California egislati e T Caucus o ered similar ords of encouragement in their statement: “Throughout her career, Lisa has been a trailbla ing champion for the T community as well as a dedicated public ser ant and acti ist orking to uplift her city, particularly on the Palm Springs City Council dditionally, the California egislature should re ect our state s dynamic population, and it s far past time that transgender Californians ere represented in Sacramento e kno that isa ill be a pioneering, relentless ad ocate for the 28th District and all Californians, orking Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem LISA MIDDLETON tirelessly to make the state (Photo Courtesy of Middleton for State Senate SD-28 campaign) more inclusi e, fair, and ust e re ith her and look for ard to helping isa get elected The support she recei ed as one of the main reasons she decided to run “ t as e tremely helpful kno ing that they had my back, she said “ t lets you kno that the organi ational resources that it takes to run a successful campaign as something e could put together California nati e, Middleton has long been interested in state politics or years, orking at the State Compensation nsurance und, dealing ith orkers compensation audits in the factories and meat-packing plants not far from here she gre up in ell ardens in Southeastern os ngeles County During her time ith the insurance fund, she came out as a trans oman in ith the support of her employer “ think as pretty good at the ork did and had earned that kind of support, she said “ ut it as certainly gratifying to recei e it She understands she was “one of the fortunate indi iduals, as she kno s so many trans people didn t, and still don t, ha e the support of their employers “Not long before came out, in , the San rancisco uman ights Commission had done an e tensi e study of transgender indi iduals in San rancisco, hich is here as li ing and orking at the time, she said “ nd in that study, they found an unemployment rate for transgender indi iduals that approached That s not ust under employment, that s no employment hatsoe er

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Middleton poised to make history with campaign “Things have improved somewhat, but studies still reveal over and over again that transgender individuals are far more likely to be unemployed than anyone else within the LGBTQ community,” she said. “That creates economic insecurity, and it is very difficult to move forward, either individually or collectively as a community when there is widespread economic insecurity.”

Middleton remains somewhat hopeful about the future. However, the stark contrast between trans rights in red and blue states is holding her back from being fully optimistic.

“We’re seeing really strong progress in terms of legal nondiscrimination in most progressive democratic states across the country,” she said. “We’re seeing the opposite and most Republican-dominated states.”

According to the Human Rights Campaign, “2021 has officially surpassed 2015 as the worst year for anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent history,” with more than 250 antiqueer bills introduced in state legislatures.

Those bills have especially attacked the trans community, from the sports field to the doctor’s office. So far in 2021, at least eight anti-trans sports bans have been enacted in Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, Montana and West Virginia — all of which voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Arkansas also enacted an anti-trans medical care ban.

Other than trans rights, Middleton is also focused on climate change, noting its profound effect on every facet of life. Specifically, she wants to see more charging infrastructure for electric cars and renewable energy. “What we see every single day is the abundance of over 350 days of sunshine with the regular wind that blows through the San Gorgonio Pass into the Coachella Valley,” she said. “We’ve got an absolutely spectacular place for renewable energy projects.”

She also hopes to fix a “big issue” for the people of the district she is running for: regular daily rail service to Los Angeles. “I’m going to be spending a tremendous amount of energy working with Metrolink, Riverside County Transportation Commission, California Transportation Commission, Amtrak and officials to build the third rail from Colton out to the Coachella Valley so that we can truly connect commuter rail,” she said.

Growing up in a poor, blue collar working community, Middleton understands the value of hard work. She was the first in her family to attend college and she worked her way up during her 36 years at the insurance fund. When she finally retired — or at least tried to — and moved to Palm Springs in 2011, she then ended up getting involved in local government.

04 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

During her 2017 run for city council, she noted if she was able to win, she felt she could make a difference.

“I really enjoy Palm Springs and the values of this community,” she said.

When asked what made serving on the city council worth ending her retirement, Middleton responded: “Every single day that I’m in Palm Springs, I encounter somebody who moved here because of the values and the affirmation that they knew they would find in the city of Palm Springs. So many of the folks that live in this community are seniors like myself and my wife, we’ve experienced discrimination and we have experienced being given second class status. That doesn’t happen in this community.”

Middleton and her wife Cheryl have been together for 21 years. They were married in 2013, soon after they moved to Palm Springs.

They met through a personal ad in the San Francisco Chronicle. “I put the ad in because I had a couple of friends who were threatening to do one for me,” she said. “It ran for about a month, and it didn’t work. Then a few weeks later, Cheryl picked it up, made a phone call to me, and we were living together within a matter of a few months.”

Middleton is also the proud parent of an adult son and daughter, both educators. “To see the talent, love and brilliance that my kids have is just something unbelievably special,” she said.

She became a grandmother this past July after the birth of her daughter’s son. “He’s absolutely beautiful and brilliant and wonderful,” she said.

Her family, who she describes as the “treasures” of her life, have been there for her every step of the way — something she needs with the stress of working in local government and a new campaign. They also are her motivation to push into state government.

“I am running for the state senate so that my grandson and all of those kids that are starting in schools today have the kind of opportunity that I had in the latter half of the 20th century,” she said. “One of the things that is incredibly humbling when I look at my grandson is that if he lives out to his normal life expectancy, he will see the 22nd century. That’s the obligation that we have in government today. Build the institutions that are going to make it possible for folks 50, 60, 70 years from now to be living in a country that still has the kind of opportunity that I grew up with.”

“Government creates the foundation that makes it possible for people to do their very best to be their very best,” she said. “When we’re at our best in government, we’re creating the institutions and the support systems that allow people to show their brilliance.”

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LOCAL

Trans Netflix staffers file complaints with National Labor Relations Board

Women allege company engaging in unfair, discriminatory labor practices

By BRODY LEVESQUE

and terminated her.

The two employees at the center of the conflict with streaming giant Netflix over its In the NLRB filing, Field and Pagels-Minor say Netflix retaliated against them “to quell support of comedian Dave Chappelle, who expressed transphobic commentary in his employees from speaking up about working conditions including, but not limited to, comedy special ‘The Closer’ released earlier this month, have filed grievances with the seeking to create a safe and affirming work environment for Netflix employees, speaking up National Labor Relations Board. about Netflix’s products and the impact of its product choices on the LGBTQ+ community, Terra Field and B. Pagels-Minor through their legal representation, the Burgess Law and providing support for employees whom Netflix has treated in an unlawful and Offices in San Francisco, filed a set of complaints with the NLRB’s regional office in San disparate manner.” The NLRB filing names Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos as the employer Francisco last weekk. The two women are alleging that the company is engaging in unfair representative, for Netflix. and discriminatory labor practices.

Laurie Burgess, one of the firm’s attorneys representing the women told The Verge, “This After the special aired, Terra Field, an out trans Netflix senior software engineer based in charge is not just about B. and Terra, and it’s not about Dave. It’s about trying to change the San Francisco, posted a series of tweets that expressed anger over Chappelle’s comments. culture and having an impact for others. The charge is all about collective action. It’s about Field in her Twitter thread countered the position laid out by Netflix’s co-CEO Ted supporting your coworkers and speaking up Sarandos in a memorandum to the company’s for things you care about.” staff members obtained by entertainment Netflix responded in a statement sent to The trade news magazine Variety, in which he Verge and The Hollywood Reporter, saying, defended Chappelle.

“We recognize the hurt and pain caused to “Chappelle is one of the most popular our trans colleagues over the last few weeks. stand-up comedians today, and we have a But we want to make clear that Netflix has not long-standing deal with him. His last special taken any action against employees for either “Sticks & Stones,” also controversial, is our speaking up or walking out.” most-watched, stickiest and most awardB., who is 35 weeks pregnant, is now about winning stand-up special to date,” Sarandos to lose their health insurance. “Amidst all the wrote. stress, I am trying to take one day at a time and Field pointed out that Chappelle’s promoting focus on my health,” they said in an interview that kind of ideology and speech can result in with The Verge. “As a high-risk pregnancy, I real-world consequences especially for trans have to be careful. We don’t even know what people. our health insurance situation is, and we are Field went on to say of Chappelle, “our scheduled to be in a hospital having a baby in existence is ‘funny’ to him – and when we less than 30 days.” object to his harm, we’re ‘offended.’” She This past week Chappelle said in a video then listed numerous names of trans people, posted Monday to Instagram he’d be willing specifically highlighting trans women of color, to meet with transgender employees of killed in hate crimes.

DAVE CHAPPELLE appearing on Netflix ‘The Closer.’

(Screenshot via YouTube) Netflix who have called for the streaming Within days of Field’s tweets, she was platform to remove his comedy special, “The suspended although Netflix alleged the reason Closer,” but the comedian offered caveats was she and a couple of other company and restrictions. staffers were suspended for trying to attend a meeting to which she hadn’t been invited.

“First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end,” In a statement released to the media, a company spokesperson said, “It is absolutely he said in the video. “You must come to a place of my choosing, at a time of my choosing. untrue to say that we have suspended any employees for tweeting about this show. Our And thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.” employees are encouraged to disagree openly and we support their right to do so.” Field Gadsby, a comedian whose work has also been streamed on Netflix, said on Instagram was later reinstated. that Chappelle’s special would unleash “hate and anger” for the LGBTQ community as Pagels-Minor, a Black trans program manager and currently pregnant, was fired by Chappelle makes millions of dollars “to process his emotionally stunted partial world view.”

Netflix two weeks ago after the company alleged she disclosed an internal Netflix document The comedian also garnered the support of prominent right-wing conservative celebrity regarding metrics on Chappelle’s special including about how much the streaming Caitlyn Jenner who defended Chappelle tweeting, “Standing up for Dave Chappelle company paid for and how many people it reached in the various market penetrations. shouldn’t be big news, but it’s the right thing to do. Cancel culture is killing our society.

“We have let go of an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive These wokesters are outraged at every single thing. Maybe it’s because they have miserable information outside the company,” Netflix said. “We understand this employee may have lives that they have to drag everyone else down.” been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust Earlier last week Jenner also tweeted, “Dave Chappelle is 100% right. This isn’t about the and transparency is core to our company.”

LGBTQ movement. It’s about woke cancel culture run amok, trying to silence free speech.

Pagels-Minor disputes this saying that her actively organizing the Oct. 20 walkout in We must never yield or bow to those who wish to stop us from speaking our minds.” solidarity of all of the company’s trans employees was why Netflix took retaliatory action

06 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

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LOCAL

Police looking into murder at WeHo Avalon apartments A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that a woman in her 20s was found shot in a hallway of the upscale Avalon West Hollywood apartment building.

LASD personnel responded to the 7300 block of Santa Monica Boulevard at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday after multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired and a woman screaming. Deputies encountered the victim in a 6th floor hallway bleeding suffering from a wound in the upper torso. She was transported to a local hospital where she later died.

According to Lt. Brandon Dean from the LASD Homicide Bureau, investigators are reviewing video surveillance to determine how both the victim and her assailant gained

Avalon apartments

(Screenshot via KTLA)

access to the floor and hallway where she was shot. It was not determined if the victim was a guest or a resident.

Dean said that the Avalon complex has an upscale security system that requires use of key fob to access and then use the building’s elevators as well as entrance doors.

LASD investigators are also checking nearby homes and business for video footage.

Although residents told media outlets that the security measures do not prevent some people from gaining entrance, a Sheriff’s spokesperson says that investigators do not believe there is an ongoing threat to residents from the suspect and that the Avalon community is safe.

BRODY LEVESQUE

LA guaranteed income program registration open A pilot guaranteed income program for city residents to apply for a chance to receive $1,000 monthly payments as part of the 12-month pilot BIG-LEAP program that was announced Wednesday by Mayor Eric Garcetti started taking applications last week.

More than 3,200 applicants will be chosen at random to receive “unconditional,” recurring direct cash payments with no restrictions on how the money can be spent.

Garcetti proposed the guaranteed basic income pilot project last April that would pay $1,000 a month to 2,000 to the city’s neediest households over the next year as part of a “basic guaranteed income” pilot program that he described as the biggest of any city in America.

“We’re betting that one small but steady investment for Angeleno households will pay large dividends for health and stability across our city and light a fire across our nation,” Garcetti said.

Recipients will be randomly selected from applicants aged 18 and older who meet eligibility requirements, including being an L.A. City resident, having at least one dependent child or are pregnant, having an income level that falls at or below the Federal Poverty Level and having experienced economic and/or medical hardship related to COVID-19.

KTLA reported that in his budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, Garcetti proposed a $24-million guaranteed basic income project, “no questions asked.” After L.A. City Council members made additional investments, it brought the amount to $38 million for more than 3,200 families.

The City Council voted Tuesday to transfer the funds to the guaranteed income pilot program.

The program is being paid for with taxpayer funds, including approximately $11 million that was taken from the Los Angeles Police Department’s budget after last year’s racial justice protests, the Los Angeles Times reported.

08 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

People can apply on bigleap.lacity.org starting 8 a.m.

Friday. The 10-day application period closes on Nov. 7.

Angelenos that are randomly selected to participate will be asked to provide documentation to prove they meet these eligibility requirements:

• Must be an adult with at least one dependent, or be pregnant • Must be a resident of the City of Los Angeles • Must have an income at or below the federal poverty level • Experienced medical or economic impact due to COVID-19 Here are the 2021 federal poverty level income numbers, as detailed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

• $12,880 -- for individuals • $17,420 -- for a family of 2 • $21,960 -- for a family of 3 • $26,500 -- for a family of 4 • $31,040 -- for a family of 5 Once a participant’s eligibility for the guaranteed income program is confirmed, they will receive a debit card that will be reloaded with $1,000 every month, with the first disbursement expected in January 2022.

Those who need help applying in-person can call 311 to get a list of community groups providing assistance.

(From Blade staff reports with additional reporting by the Los Angeles Times & KTLA 5 Los Angeles)

N OW S T R E A M I N G AT H E L I X S T U D I O S .CO M

You Are Invited

COMMUNITY OBSERVENCE DECEMBER 1, 2021 | 7:00 PM In-person and online at kol-ami.org

Join us in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV, and commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.

SPEAKERS

Dr. Michael Gottlieb

Immunologist, AIDS Researcher

Rabbi Denise L. Eger Congregation Kol Ami

Congregation Kol Ami is located at 1200 N La Brea, West Hollywood, 90038 info@kol-ami.org

This event is co-sponsored by Center for Spiritual Living Los Angeles ICAN: Israeli-American Civic Action Network

Rev. Dr. Keith Cox

Center for Spiritual Living-LA

Rev. Denyse Barnes Pastor, CVUMC

Vallerie D. Wagner APLA Health Gleicher

Michael Sugar

Longtime Survivor

Mitch O’Farrell

LA City Council, 13th District

John D’Amico

Councilmember, West Hollywood

Proof of vaccination for COVID-19 will be required upon entry to the event.

NATIONAL

Democrats lose big in Virginia

Election results an ominous sign for party heading into midterms

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

have a fighting shot. We must protect voting rights, protect a TYSONS CORNER, Va. — Democrats on Tuesday suffered woman’s right to choose, and, above all else, we must protect stinging loses in Virginia that could prove ominous for the our democracy.” party heading into the 2022 midterm elections.

Youngkin during the campaign expressed support for Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry Tanner Cross, a gym teacher at a Leesburg elementary school McAuliffe in the gubernatorial race by a 50.7-48.6 percent TERRY MCAULIFFE speaks to supporters in Tysons Corner, who was suspended in June after he spoke out against Virginia margin.

Va., on Nov. 2. (Blade photo by Michael Key) Department of Education guidelines that are designed to Republican Winsome Sears became the first woman protect transgender and non-binary students. The former coelected Virginia’s lieutenant governor when she defeated Virginia schools, even though it is not part of the statewide CEO of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, earlier this state Del. Hala Ayala (D-Prince William County) by a 50.8-49.1 curriculum. year also said he does not support allowing trans children to percent margin. Republican Jason Miyares remains ahead Youngkin’s campaign, for its part, has pointed out that HRC play on sports teams that are consistent with their gender of incumbent Attorney General Mark Herring by a 50.5-49.3 in 2019 named the Carlyle Group as a “Best Place to Work identity. percent margin. for LGBTQ Equality” in its annual Corporate Equality Index.

The anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council, which the Youngkin told his supporters in Chantilly early Wednesday Log Cabin Republicans is among the groups that endorsed Southern Poverty Law Center has categorized as an extremist morning that he will work to create “a Virginia where the Youngkin. group, is among the groups that endorsed Youngkin, who Virginia promise comes alive for everyone who calls this “Glenn Youngkin’s anti-equality, anti-choice, racist tactics also opposes marriage equality. Youngkin nevertheless told Virginia home,” specifiControl cally mentioning LGBTQ ISO without 12647-7 Digital Strip 2009 sought to sow fear and 25 confusion, turning Virginian against 100 60 100 70 30 100 60 100 70 30 100 60 100 70 30 100 40 40 100 40 100 40 70 40 70 40 40 40 70 40 40 70 40 70 40 40 3 10 50 75 90 100 A the Washington Post in a recent interview that it is “legally people.

Virginian for political gain,” said interim HRC President acceptable” in Virginia and he would “support that” as “We will change the trajectory of this commonwealth and Joni Madison on Wednesday in a statement. “His hateful governor. friends, we are going to start that transformation on day one,” policies and rhetoric will have a real, devastating impact on McAuliffe, who received the endorsement of both the he said. “There is no time to waste.”

LGBTQ+ people, women, and people of color across the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Virginia’s political McAuliffe on Wednesday conceded.

B 100 100 60 100 100 commonwealth. is19particularly true 70 70 30 30 100 100 60 100 100 7.4 7.4 25 19 50 40 40 75 66 66 100for 100 100transgender 80 70 70 100 70 70 30 30 100 100 60 100 100 70 70 30 30 100 40 100 40 40 100 10 40 40 20 70 70 70 70 40 70 40 40 0000 3.1 2.2 2.2 10.2This action committee, during an Oct. 21 telephone interview “While last night we came up short, I am proud that we young people and their parents, who have faced an onslaught with the Washington Blade described Youngkin as “the most spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply of targeted attacks that have put them in danger in their homophobic, anti-choice candidate in Virginia history.” believe in,” he said in a statement. “We must protect Virginia’s schools and communities.”

McAuliffe sought to portray Youngkin as an acolyte of great public schools and invest in our students. We must former President Trump. McAuliff e also criticized Youngkin protect affordable health care coverage, raise the minimum T:10" over his call to ban the teaching of critical race theory in wage faster, and expand paid leave so working families CONTINUED AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM 3%

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LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • 11

NATIONAL

Trans candidate trails in Erie county exec race Democrat was attacked over out-of-state campaign funds

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Rosenbaum told the Erie Times-News. “It shows Erie, Pa., school board president Tyler Titus that Tyler is inspiring to so many people.” was behind by more than 4,000 votes shortly Titus became the first out transgender person before midnight on Tuesday in their bid to to win election to public office in Pennsylvania become the nation’s first openly transgender in 2017 when Titus won election to the Erie City and nonbinary person to win election as a school board. Fellow school board members county executive. later elected Titus to serve as president of the Titus, a Democrat, had 28,253 votes, or 45.9 board. percent, compared to their Republican rival In May of this year Titus won an upset victory Brenton Davis, who had 32,786 votes, or 53.3 in the Erie County Democratic primary in a fourpercent, with 147 of the county’s 149 precincts candidate race to capture the nomination for counted, according to the latest available returns the County Executive post. Most Democratic on Tuesday night from the Erie County election Party leaders in the county supported County board.

Councilor Carl Anderson, whom Titus beat in the The Erie Times-News reported that Davis primary by a margin of just 218 votes. declared victory in the hotly contested county Following the primary, the Erie County executive race shortly before midnight, claiming Democratic Party and the Pennsylvania that the “math” from the vote count made it no Democratic Party endorsed Titus and actively longer possible for Titus to win. supported Titus’s campaign.

It could not immediately be determined TYLER TITUS appears to have lost their bid for county executive in Erie, Pa. However, Democratic candidate Rita Bishop, how many mail-in ballots were uncounted on (Screenshot from campaign video) who finished in fourth place in the primary and Tuesday night, but the LGBTQ Victory Fund, who identifies as a lesbian, announced she was which endorsed Titus and raised over $283,000 breaking ranks with her party to endorse and actively support Republican Davis in the for their campaign, said it heard from sources that as many as 4,000 mail-in ballots had November election. yet to be counted.

In a controversial Facebook message on Oct. 25, Bishop posted five photos of Titus, Josh Rosenbaum, Titus’s campaign manager, said election officials would resume in one of which Titus was wearing female clothes that was taken before Titus fully counting ballots at 9 a.m. Wednesday. He said Titus would make a statement sometime transitioned to their status as a transgender and nonbinary person. on Wednesday.

“Who is the real Tyler Titus?” Bishop stated in her posting. “He doesn’t know.”

“The [Titus] campaign is going to review everything in the morning and make sure The posting drew an immediate flurry of more than two-dozen postings by Facebook everything is in before they make a final decision one way or another,” Victory Fund users denouncing Bishop for what they called a hurtful and hateful attempt to attack spokesperson Elliot Imse told the Washington Blade. a transgender candidate.

Political observers said Titus ran an aggressive, well-funded campaign against Davis, Titus’s supporters said they were hopeful that what they considered an attempt by who Titus supporters say appealed to anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ sentiment Bishop and GOP candidate Davis to use the trans issue to distract voters’ attention among some voters by accusing Titus of planning to impose an “unknown agenda” on from Titus’s positions on how the Erie County government can be improved would be Erie County. unsuccessful.

Davis also criticized Titus for raising most of Titus’s campaign funds from donors But some of Titus’s supporters said the anti-trans attacks by Davis supporters could who live outside of the county and outside of Pennsylvania. The Titus campaign raised be successful in alienating voters who otherwise might have supported the Democratic just over $541,000 as of Nov. 1, more than double the amount raised by the Davis candidate for county executive. campaign. A significant percentage of the funds raised by the Titus campaign came Titus has a master’s degree in community counseling and a doctorate degree in through the fundraising effort of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the national group that social work. Titus has worked in recent years as a licensed professional counselor raises funds for LGBTQ candidates running for public office throughout the country. operating a private counseling practice “Tyler Titus is continuing the sale of Erie County government to out-of-region donors Titus’s campaign website says Titus is married to Shraddha Prabhu, an assistant who have pumped huge dollars into what is supposed to be a local political race,” the professor at Pennsylvania’s Edinboro University, “and the proud parent of two Davis campaign said in an Oct. 25 statement. “When somebody outside Erie County phenomenal children.” invests this kind of money in a county-level election, you can bet it’s not about improving Political observers have pointed out that Erie County is considered an election the lives of people here,” the statement said. “It’s about imposing an unknown agenda bellwether for the nation as well as for Pennsylvania, which they say could be predictive with mystery dollars.” of whether Democrats or Republicans come out ahead in the 2022 congressional The Titus campaign and its supporters called the Davis campaign’s claims about outmidterm elections. Donald Trump narrowly won Erie County in the 2016 presidential of-town donors with a hidden agenda an unfounded ruse aimed at diverting voters’ election and President Joe Biden won in the county by a close margin in 2020. attention from the issues that Titus raised to improve the lives of Erie County residents.

But in addition to Titus’s status as a transgender and nonbinary candidate, the Titus During the campaign, Rosenbaum, Titus’s campaign manager, called Titus’s ability to campaign stressed that Titus was a progressive who ran to the left of their Democratic raise money from supporters outside the county a sign that their ideas and positions primary rivals. on the issues enjoy widespread support.

“The campaign is anchored by the belief that progressive policies are popular, and “It’s exciting to us that there are people from all across Erie County, across that when you speak directly to the values of the voter, you can win anywhere,” an Oct. Pennsylvania and some across the country who believe in Tyler’s message and Tyler’s 18 statement from the Titus campaign said. ability to lead Erie County into a future that’s healthy, safe and prosperous for all of us,”

12 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

THE

LEGACY AWARDS GALA BRINGING FANCY BACK

S AT U R D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 2 1 ACADEMY MUSEUM OF MOTION PICTURES HONOREES

VICTORIA ALONSO

NEON

ROBIN DE JESÚS TERRENCE MCNALLY AWARD

VISIONARY AWARD

GUARDIAN AWARD

RAIN VALDEZ

JONATHAN HOWARD

TRAILBLAZER AWARD

EVENT CO-CHAIRS

BIL BERTINI & JOSE MALAGON

ALAN KOENIGSBERG

OUTFEST LEGACY AWARD

& MARISSA ROMÁN GRIFFITH OUTFEST JONATHAN HOWARD LEGACY AWARD

SPECIAL APPEARANCES

GARRETT CLAYTON • JAMIE CLAYTON • STEVEN CANALS

PRESENTED BY

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OUTFEST.ORG/LEGACYAWARDS

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Survivors declare victory in lawsuits seeking Social Security benefits fix this problem involving survivor’s benefits. I hope everyone A pair of surviving partners who were in long-term samewho has been harmed by this problem, but never dared to sex relationships — but unable to receive Social Security apply for benefits, understands that this development is a benefits because of now-overturned state marriage bans — game-changer. The pathway is now finally open to everyone.” are declaring victory in litigation seeking that compensation in The other lawsuit was filed by Michael Ely of Arizona, who the aftermath of the U.S. government withdrawing appeals of sought benefits after being in a relationship for 43 years and trial court decisions in their favor. marrying his partner in 2014 after his state’s ban on marriage The Biden administration dismissed on Monday appeals was struck down. Ely’s spouse, James “Spider” Taylor, died of before the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Court of Appeals in two cancer six months into the marriage, which made him unable separate cases filed by the LGBTQ group Lambda Legal, which to access Social Security survivor benefits under state law argued in the nationwide class action suits access to benefits because the period of marriage wasn’t long enough. for these survivors is consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s “I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest,” Ely ruling for marriage equality nationwide in 2015. said in a statement. “One of Spider’s final hopes was that I Karen Loewy, senior counsel and senior strategist for would be able to access these benefits. I can finally breathe Lambda Legal, said in a statement the decision by the U.S. a sigh of relief that these benefits are now finally secure, not Justice Department and Social Security Administration to HELEN THORNTON (left) is declaring victory along with MICHAEL ELY in litigation seeking Social Security survivor only for me but for everyone else who found themselves in withdraw their appeal against the plaintiff survivors brings benefits. the same boat.” relief that “is almost palpable.”

Surviving same-sex partners who were barred from “For decades, same-sex couples paid into Social Security, marrying when their partners were alive will now have a path to benefits, which had been just like different-sex couples,” Loewy said. “The difference was, only one group always limited to people who had previously applied by November 2020, according to Lambda had the freedom to marry, leading to gross inequalities that continued to linger. Today, Legal. that differential and discriminatory treatment conclusively ends, and surviving same-sex In both lawsuits, federal district courts in Arizona and Washington struck down the partners and spouses can securely access the benefits that they are owed and that can be federal government’s refusal to grant Social Security survivors benefits to these survivors essential to their continued health and safety.” as unconstitutional in response to the litigation. Because Social Security is a federal One lawsuit was filed by Helen Thornton of Washington State, a surviving partner who benefit, access to survivor benefits is under federal jurisdiction, even though state law had sought benefits based on her relationship of 27 years. Thorton’s partner, Marge Brown, interfered with their ability to wed. died in 2006 before the state would act to legalize same-sex marriage four years later.

The Washington Blade has placed a request with the U.S. Justice Department and Social “I am relieved that my 27-year relationship with Margie will finally be respected by the Security Administration seeking comment on the decision to withdraw the appeal. government and that we will not be treated as legal strangers even in death,” Thornton said CHRIS JOHNSON in a statement. “Marriage equality came too late for many of us, but it was not too late to

FBI updates 2020 hate crimes data The FBI on Oct. 25 released updated data for its 2020 annual hate crimes statistics report originally released in August that shows an increase in overall hate crimes for 2020 but no significant change in the number of hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people.

The first version of the report, which the FBI says lacked data it later obtained from Ohio, shows the percentage of hate crimes nationwide targeting victims because of their sexual orientation to be 20.5 percent. The revised report shows that number to be 20.0 percent.

The earlier version of the report showed the percentage of hate crimes targeting a victim because of their gender identity to be 2.5 percent and the revised report shows gender identity victims to be 2.7 percent of the total number of hate crime victims.

However, the revised 2020 report shows that the 20 percent figure for sexual orientation related hate crimes represents an increase from 16.8 percent of sexual orientation related hate crimes reported in 2019. The revised report also shows that the 2.7 percent figure for gender identity related hate crimes, which the FBI says involves transgender and gender nonconforming people, represents a decline from the 4.8 percent gender identity related hate crimes reported in 2019.

Like recent past years, the largest percentage of hate crimes reported by law enforcement agencies from across the country to the FBI in 2020 as shown in the FBI’s updated report – 61.9 percent – falls into the category of race/

ethnicity/ancestry bias. The earlier version of the report placed that category at 61.8.

The percentage of other categories of victims reported in the FBI’s revised 2020 report include 13.3 percent of bias related crimes targeting a victim for their religion; 1.4 percent for their disability; and 0.7 percent for their gender.

There were no significant changes in these categories from the earlier version of the 2020 report.

LGBTQ rights advocates have joined representatives of civil rights groups in expressing concern that the FBI’s annual hate crime report reflects a large undercounting of the actual number of hate crimes nationwide. Observers familiar with the reporting say the underreporting stems from the substantial number of local law enforcement agencies that do not submit hate crime data to the FBI. The Washington Post reported in August that 422 fewer law enforcement agencies submitted hate crime data to the FBI in 2020 than those submitting data in 2019.

The revised FBI report says law enforcement agencies in 2020 submitted incident reports involving a total of 8,263 criminal incidents and 11,129 related incidents as being motivated by bias. The report says the data show there were a total of 8,052 single-bias incidents involving 11,126 victims.

This marks an increase from the earlier report, before the Ohio data was included, from 7,759 criminal incidents and 10,532 related incidents in 2020. The earlier report showed there were 7,554 single-bias incidents involving 10,528 victims.

14 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

A separate compilation of reported hate crimes for D.C. in 2020 published on the U.S. Department of Justice website, based on FBI data obtained from D.C. police, shows the total number of reported hate crimes in D.C. declined from 222 in 2019 to 133 in 2020. The data show a decline in the number of sexual orientation related hate crimes and a slight increase in gender identity related bias crimes in D.C. The DOJ report compares the 2019 and 2020 hate crimes data for D.C. by category of victim using the number of incidents rather than by percentage. The data show the following breakdown:

• Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry—2019: 119 | 2020: 63 • Sexual Orientation—2019: 65 | 2020: 41 • Gender Identity—2019: 27 | 2020: 28 • Religion—2019: 8 | 2020: 1 • Gender—2019: 2 | 2020: 0 • Disability—2019: 1 | 2020: 0

The drop in 2020 reported hate crimes in D.C. targeting victims for their race and ethnicity appears to go against the nationwide reports by community activists of a spike in race and ethnicity related hate crime targeting African Americans and Asian Americans. Asian American groups have reported an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes based on the bogus notion that Asians are responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic because it may have started in China.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

INTERNATIONAL

Bulgarian LGBTQ community center attacked

A Bulgarian LGBTQ rights group says the leader of an ultranationalist political party who is running for president led an attack against their offices and community center on Saturday.

The Bilitis Foundation in a series of tweets said “a group of about 10 men and women stormed” the Rainbow Hub, a community center it runs in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, with the GLAS (Gays and Lesbians Accepted in Society) Foundation. at around 5:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. ET).

The Bilitis Foundation said the attack took place during a “trans community gathering.”

The assailants, according to the Bilitis Foundation, vandalized the office and struck Gloriya Filipova, the group’s project coordinator, in the face. The Bilitis Foundation said Boyan Rasate, who leads the Bulgarian National Union and is “”well-known for his LGBTI-phobic actions and statements,” masterminded the attack.

“All I ever aimed for was creating safer spaces for our community,” tweeted Filipova after the attack.

“Yesterday my biggest fear came true: Our community center was destroyed and I got punched in the face. I’m sure that we have enough love to heal, but this really hurts. It is time for the BG (Bulgarian) institutions to act.”

ILGA-Europe has condemned the attack and urged Bulgarian authorities “to publicly condemn the attacks, investigate and sanction the attackers.” EuroPride is among the other organizations that have expressed support for the Bilitis and

The offices of the Bilitis Foundation in Sofia, Bulgaria, were attacked on Oct. 30.

(Photo courtesy of Bilitis Foundation)

GLAS Foundations.

Bulgaria is a Balkan country that borders Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Romania and the Black Sea. The Bilitis Foundation in a tweet notes it, along with AllOut, less than two weeks ago submitted to the Bulgarian Justice Ministry a petition with more than 8,000 signatures that demands the country’s Criminal Code include hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Bulgarian Constitutional Court on Oct. 27 ruled the word “gender” only applies to the “biological sense.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

State Dept. to issue passports with ‘X’ gender marker The State Department last week issued the first U.S. passport with an “X” gender marker.

Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ rights abroad, on Tuesday told the Washington Blade and the Associated Press during a conference call the State Department will initially issue a gender-neutral passport to one person.

Stern said the State Department will begin “offering the ‘X’ gender marker option to routine passport applicants” in early 2022. A State Department official said the delay is necessary because the U.S. Office of Management and Budget needs to approve “the required form updates.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June announced the State Department will allow passport applicants to “self-select their gender as ‘M’ or ‘F’” People who identify as intersex, non-binary or gender non-conforming can choose a gender-neutral gender marker for their passports and Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a document that confirms an American who was born overseas is a U.S. citizen. The new policy that Blinken announced in June no longer requires “medical certification if an applicant’s self-selected gender does not match the gender on their other citizenship or identity documents.”

“Offering a third gender marker is a significant step towards ensuring that our administrative systems account for

the diversity of gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics,” said Stern during the conference call. “Because people do not always fit within a male or a female designation, it doesn’t benefit anyone to have inconsistencies between people and systems.”

Stern added passports with an “X” gender marker will “reflect the true gender of the passport holder and make people safer, hopefully by reducing the likelihood of dehumanizing harassment and mistreatment that so often happens at border crossings when a person’s legal documentation does not correspond with their gender expression.”

“When a person obtains identity documents that reflect their true identity, they live with greater dignity and respect,” said Stern.

The State Department’s announcement comes a day after it publicly acknowledged Intersex Awareness Day, which commemorates the world’s first-ever intersex rights protect that took place in Boston in 1996.

Dana Zzyym, an intersex U.S. Navy veteran who identifies as non-binary, in 2015 filed a federal lawsuit against the State Department after it denied their application for a passport with an “X” gender marker. The State Department official with whom the Blade spoke on Tuesday declined to say whether Zzyym is the first person who will receive a gender-neutral passport in the U.S.

“The department does not generally comment on individual passport applications due to privacy considerations,” said the official.

President Biden in February signed a memorandum that committed the U.S. to promoting LGBTQ rights abroad.

The White House in June named Stern, who had previously been the executive director of OutRight Action International, a global LGBTQ advocacy group, to her position. Stern said the issuance of passports with “X” gender markers demonstrates the Biden administration’s commitment to LGBTQ rights.

“I am proud that the United States seeks to protect and promote the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons globally and this is an excellent example of leading by example,” said Stern.

Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina are among the handful of other countries that issue gender-neutral passports.

The State Department official said their colleagues have “been coordinating with Canada and New Zealand on best practices as we work towards this goal, based on their experiences.” They said the State Department has also “coordinated with several LGBTQI+ organizations, both directly and through the White House Domestic Policy Council, throughout this process.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Polish lawmakers seek to ban Pride marches Lawmakers in Poland last week voted to send a bill that would ban Pride marches and other pro-LGBTQ events to committee. “(The) Polish ruling party voted in favor of further work on a bill with total ban in Pride parades and public gatherings that promote LGBT rights,” said Bart Staszewski, a Polish LGBTQ activist, in a tweet that specifically referenced President Andrzej Duda’s Law and Justice party. “Now the Parliament commission will check the legality of this bill. It is a very dark day for Polish democracy and LGBT people.”

OutRight Action International in a press release notes the

measure states “any event which questions marriage as a relationship between a woman and a man or propagates the extension of marriage to persons of the same sex can not go ahead.” The Life and Family Foundation, which opposes LGBTQ rights and abortion, collected more than 140,000 signatures in support of the bill.

“This is a very dark day in Poland, not only for LGBTIQ people, but for Polish society as a whole,” said acting OutRight Action International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. Friday’s vote took place against the backdrop of increased tensions between Poland and the European Union over LGBTQ rights.

16 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

The European Commission in September threatened to withhold more than 126 million euros ($145.59 million) in funding from five provincial governments that have enacted so-called LGBTQ “free zones.” The Polish Constitutional Court on Oct. 7 ruled the country’s laws supersede EU statutes where they differ.

Duda ahead of his 2020 re-election said LGBTQ “ideology” is more harmful than communism. Duda has also described LGBTQ Poles as a “threat to the family” and claimed they “want to sexualize children.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

STEVE RALLS

Director of External Affairs for Public Justice, previously served as director of communications for Immigration Equality and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Does corporate America really care about you?

Secret forced arbitration contract clauses undercut equality laws The LGBTQ community first flexed its muscle with corporate America thousands of feet in the air.

In April 1993, an American Airlines flight crew messaged ground control to request a “complete change” of blankets and pillows onboard the aircraft because of a “gay rights activists group onboard” headed to the March on Washington. The message’s meaning was not subtle: the crew ignorantly thought the amenities had been sullied by openly gay people.

The reaction from LGBTQ advocates was fast, furious – and effective. In many ways, it forever changed the way corporate America saw — and marketed to — the LGBTQ community. The incident led American Airlines to form the first-ever corporate marketing team to support LGBTQ causes. That led to changes internally that made the airline a standard bearer for what constituted an LGBTQ-friendly business.

Business has been mostly supportive since then. Corporations responded swiftly when North Carolina adopted its “bathroom bill” targeting the transgender community. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – hardly an icon of progressive values – urged Congress to pass the Uniting American Families Act, a bill to allow lesbian and gay American citizens to sponsor their same-gender partners for residency inside the U.S., long before federal marriage recognition made that possible.

The Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, ranking businesses on their LGBTQ-friendly policies, and visionary marketing gurus like Bob Witeck, who pioneered many of today’s corporate equality practices, also made corporate America more supportive.

(Full disclosure: my very first professional marketing job was with Bob Witeck, whose firm advised the American Airlines Rainbow TeAAm.) However, one troubling trend has actually increased in recent years: the use of forced arbitration clauses to keep employees out of court.

Arbitration is used by corporations to avoid true accountability. Its most common usage, until recently, was in consumer agreements.

Buried deep within the contracts consumers sign for cell phones, rental cars and other services has long been the “fine print” saying you agree to bring any dispute in arbitration and not in court.

That practice was bad enough, forcing millions into secretive arbitration proceedings where evidence cannot be shared or is rarely made public. Corporations usually prevail.

Now there’s another alarming new trend: in the wake of the pandemic, more corporations are forcing their employees to sign away their right to their day in court as a condition of accepting a job.

The Washington Post recently reported that, “U.S. employers relied heavily on arbitration in the first months of the pandemic, pushing a record number of complaints involving discrimination, harassment, wage theft and other grievances through a closed-door system largely weighted against consumers and workers.”

For the LGBTQ community, that means employees must promise

not to sue their employer in court if they encounter discrimination, harassment – or even physical assault – on the job. Instead, they must take their claim to arbitration which, the Post explained, “keeps employment disputes out of the public eye and fails to hold corporations accountable.”

So, if you’re a lesbian denied a promotion because of your sexual orientation or a transgender employee who is denied access to the restroom consistent with your gender, you have no way of taking your boss to court and little hope that, even if you pursue your claim in arbitration, your experience will ever come to light or help others facing the same situation inside the same company. Even in a world where the Equality Act becomes law, arbitration agreements would undermine that federal protection.

More and more employers are insisting employees sign away that right as a condition of being hired. “Most nonunion U.S. companies require arbitration, leaving 60 million workers without legal recourse, according to a 2018 report from the Economic Policy Institute,” the Post noted. And the numbers have only grown over the past three years.

It is time for the LGBTQ community to see forced arbitration – and especially forced arbitration in employment contracts – for what it is: an increasingly pervasive tactic that helps enable employment discrimination, workplace harassment and other unfair practices.

Our community must insist that businesses do better – or face losing our support and our money. We’ve done that before and we can do it again.

As a first step, the Human Rights Campaign should immediately begin scoring corporations’ arbitration policies as part of its Corporate Equality Index screening. Any company that forces LGBTQ employees into arbitration should be docked points on the Index. HRC should also endorse and score Members of Congress on their support for The FAIR Act, a bill pending in Congress that would significantly rollback the scourge of forced arbitration.

Secondly, groups like Out and Equal must vigorously educate both employees and employers about the dangers of forced arbitration — how it impacts LGBTQ workers and why it must never be a condition of accepting a job.

And finally, we must demand that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce drop their support of this discriminatory practice. The Chamber – far from its days of advocating for same-gender binational couples – is now the country’s top defender of arbitration that locks LGBTQ employees out of court.

It’s been nearly two decades since our community responded to that awful incident in the sky and insisted that, in order to be “something special in the air,” American Airlines had to commit to something meaningful here on the ground. Now we must find that same resolve – and use some of those same tactics – to help LGBTQ employees. Corporations that force employees to sign away their legal rights in order to earn a living do not deserve our business, our talent or the label of LGBTQ ally.

18 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

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BRYNN TANNEHILL

is a senior analyst at a D.C.-area think-tank, and is the author of ‘American Fascism: How the GOP is Subverting Democracy.’

UK’s conversion therapy ban filled with poison pills Gov’t intends to use it to prevent youth from transitioning On Friday, October 29th, 2021, the UK government announced a long-awaited public consultation on a proposed country-wide ban on conversion therapy. However, there are several significant issues with the proposed ban.

The proposal has carve-outs for religious-based conversion therapy that are broad enough to cover virtually any sort of therapy that assumes a veneer of religion. Based on UK government data, about half of the people in the UK subjected to conversion therapy had it done under religious auspices. It also includes exemptions for “pure speech acts,” which are undefined. In the US, legal challenges to bans on conversion therapy have argued successfully that such bans impinge on freedom of speech. The UK proposal seems to open a window to similar challenges.

The proposed UK ban also essentially exempts anyone 18 and older who theoretically consents to conversion therapy. This creates the potential for people to be coerced into consent. Given that many young adults are reliant on their parents for housing or while they attend university, or are part of religious communities, it is easy to see how this loophole will be exploited.

The biggest issues with the proposed ban, however, are with how it treats trans youth. The foreword of the document states, “The proposed protections are universal: an attempt to change a person from being attracted to the same-sex to being attracted to the opposite-sex, or from not being transgender to being transgender, (emphasis added) will be treated in the same way as the reverse scenario. They therefore protect everyone.” It reiterates this point six times throughout the document.

This point is odd, since nothing like it appears in legal bans on conversion therapy in the US. It is, however, a nod to anti-trans groups that falsely allege that affirming trans youth is a form of conversion therapy (transitioning doesn’t change who you’re attracted to, only the label), and that youth are being pressured into transitioning.

The proposed ban makes it clear that the UK government intends to use it to prevent trans youth from socially transitioning, receiving blockers, or hormones after the age of 16. It states that, “The government is determined to ensure that no person is put on a clinical pathway that is not right for them, and that young people are supported in exploring their identity without being encouraged towards one particular path.”

This has had an immediate chilling effect. The Times claimed that the proposed ban would outlaw charities which support trans youth and their parents, such as Mermaids. This was denied by equalities minister Mike Freer, and Mermaids on Twitter.

Anti-trans campaigners were unhappy with the proposed ban as well.

Far-right DUP councillor Colin Kennedy alleged that conversion therapy doesn’t actually happen, and that this consultation is part of a “hoax” that is part of a plot to create a “neo-Marxist utopia.” The anti-trans organization LGB Alliance has opposed the ban since it was proposed, 20 • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

falsely arguing that conversion therapy on LGB people in the UK is rare (in reality, thousands of people have been subjected to it), and that it might hinder therapists who want to prevent youth from being trans.

The likely outcome of this proposed conversion therapy ban is that it will cause more harm than good for trans people. The Tory government has a history of over-promising and under-delivering for the transgender community. Despite the support for broad GRA reform to fix a system that is long, intrusive, burdensome, and difficult, the actual reform amounted to nothing more than dropping the application fee and moving some of the forms online.

Similarly, this proposed legislation won’t improve things for trans youth, and will likely make it worse. They’ll still be subjected to conversion therapy as long as there’s a veneer of religion on top of it. At the same time, legitimate therapists treating trans youth will be scared to provide affirmation of their identity, lest they be accused of committing “reverse” conversion therapy. Today, it’s extremely difficult to receive care for trans youth, and impossible for adults (the current wait time at some gender clinics for adults exceed 1200 years.)

As a result, access to social transition, blockers, and HRT for people under 18 will become impossible, because therapists worry about violating the law. Their goal will be to simply keep the patient alive until they turn 18, when they can then be dumped into the adult system where they will never receive medical treatment anyway. Much like the way in which antiCRT laws in the US are meant to prevent ANY discussion of race, this law is intentionally vague in to prevent clinicians from providing any support, for fear of being prosecuted for “reverse” conversion therapy.

Given that the primary goal of conversion therapy on trans youth is to prevent them from transitioning, this proposal would effectively make it mandatory.

Cumming’s new book filled with showbiz tales But ‘Baggage’ is no vapid, Tinsel Town celeb concoction

By KATHI WOLFE

It was the night of the Tony Awards. Actor, singer, writer, and activist Alan Cumming had just received a Tony for his performance as the emcee in the 1998 revival of “Cabaret.” He was in the press room, giving soundbites to the media.

In the middle of one interview, “A hand appeared on my left shoulder, a tall body joined it to my right,” Cumming, who was born and grew up in rural Scotland, writes in his new memoir “Baggage: Tales From a Fully Packed Life.”

For a second, Cumming thought he was being mugged. But, the stranger hugging him was Sean Connery, a fellow Scot, known for playing James Bond. Connery had won a Tony as a producer of the play “Art.” Connery, looking into the cameras, said of Cumming, “This is my new son.”

He took Ecstasy that night at the Tonys, Cumming reveals in “Baggage.” The drug for him was, ”my self-prescribed antianxiety medication,” Cumming writes, “And it worked.”

For most of us, winning a Tony for an acclaimed revival of “Cabaret” would be merely a fantasy. For Cumming, winning the prestigious award is just one of many accomplishments.

Walt Whitman said he contained multitudes. Cumming, 56, who is bisexual and married to the illustrator Grant Shaffer, is Whitman on octane.

Cumming is a polymath. He has appeared in numerous films, plays and TV shows. He’s written two children’s books; a novel; a book of photographs and stories; and the memoir “Not My Father’s Son.” His film roles range from the James Bond movie “GoldenEye” to “Eyes Wide Shut” to the “Spy Kids” trilogy. Cumming has won the Olivier, BAFTA and Emmy for his stage and screen work. On the London stage, Cumming has performed in “Hamlet,” “Bent” and other plays.

He has appeared in the “Threepenny Opera” and “Design for Living” on Broadway. Cumming created and appeared in his one-man adaptation of “Macbeth.”

On TV, he is known for playing Eli Gold on “The Good Wife” and Dylan Reinhart on “Instinct,” the first broadcast television drama to have a lead gay character. Recently, Cumming played Mayor Aloysius Menlove on the Apple TV+ show “Schmigadoon!”

All of this would exhaust most of us. But Cumming has energy to spare. He hosts the podcast “Alan Cumming’s Shelves” and is the amateur barman at Club Cumming in New York City.

Cumming is known for his LGBTQ rights advocacy. He has worked for marriage equality in Scotland and with the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ organizations.

In 2009, Cumming was appointed an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List. In “Baggage,” Cumming writes that he received this honor because of his work for LGBT rights.

Cumming’s first memoir “Not My Father’s Son” is the story of his harrowing childhood. Growing up, Cumming endured physical and psychological abuse and violence from his father.

In the memoir, Cumming grapples with secrecy and shame and with the post traumatic stress brought on by his father’s sadistic treatment of him. “There is never shame in being open and honest,” he writes.

“Baggage” tells many entertaining showbiz stories. Who wouldn’t want to hear the tales of a writer whose friends include Liza (as in Liza with a Z)?

Yet, “Baggage” isn’t a vapid, Tinsel Town celeb concoction. In 22 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 05, 2021

ALAN CUMMING’s new book is a worthy followup to his biography.

“Baggage,” Cumming examines his relationships to his family, significant others and himself. It begins with his divorce from the actress Hilary Lyon and ends with his marriage to Shaffer.

Cumming, who has dual United Kingdom/United States citizenship, talked with the Blade by phone about a range of topics from “Baggage” to politics to getting Helen Mirren on board with crocs.

Cumming was pleased by the positive response to “Not My Father’s Son.” He was happy that readers felt his words helped them to confront people who had abused them and to “reckon” with their shame.

But, Cumming worried that people might think he’d “triumphed” over the despair caused by his father’s abuse. That he’d never encounter this trauma again.

“I wrote ‘Baggage,’” Cumming said, “to overcome this idea of triumph.”

“You don’t actually recover,” he added, “you manage it. You always have to manage it.”

Cumming is witty and exudes hopefulness. But, he’s worried about what the future might bring for LGBTQ and women’s rights. The election of Joe Biden as president “was a real reprieve,” Cumming said, “but the way we’re headed, things could go the other way any second.”

We need to be vigilant, Cumming said. “Women’s rights – with what’s happening with abortion in Texas – are in real danger,” he said.

But life isn’t all worries for Cumming.

There is his work. In 2022, he’ll continue performing “Och and Oy! A Considered Cabaret” with NPR’s Ari Shapiro. He’s making the film “Rare Objects” with Katie Holmes.

And there are his friends. “Liza is lovely,” Cumming said of his friend Liza Minnelli. One day, Cumming was rehearsing with Minnelli. Along with Joel Grey, Bebe Neuwirth, Chita Rivera and other celebs, they were going to put on a salute to the songwriting team Kander and Ebb. They were going to perform Minnelli’s signature song “New York, New York.” “It looked so easy,” Cumming said, “But I couldn’t get Liza’s dance moves. First, Liza tried to help me.”

But, without success. “Then Chita came over to help me,” Cumming said, “it was overwhelming having two legends trying to teach me.”

After these attempts failed, Minnelli said to him, “Oh, darling, just make it your own!”

There was the time when Cumming made Helen Mirren see the light on Crocs. He was in Hawaii filming “The Tempest” with Mirren. “We were in the desert. I’d wear my Crocs,” he said, “she said my Crocs were ugly.”

“I said, ‘Helen, that’s fair enough. But when I say things are ugly, I use my inside voice,’” Cumming added.

A few weeks later, Cumming saw Mirren. She was wearing Crocs. “She said she’d been wearing flip-flops and they made her feet sore. Now she loved Crocs.”

“I told her ‘you were a hater, now you’re a lover,” Cumming added, “It’s a beautiful thing.”

Cumming is currently on a book tour in the U.K. The tour stops in Miami on Nov. 20; Chicago on Nov. 21 and several other U.S. cities through spring 2022. For more info on Cumming’s new book, visit alancumming.com.

TV

Queer ‘whodunit’ fans will love ‘The Long Call’ New limited series puts gay detective on the case

By JOHN PAUL KING

If there’s anything a year plus of binge-watching has taught us about human beings as a species – yes, including LGBTQ human beings – it’s the fact that we love a good police procedural. And for the true connoisseur, nobody makes a better police procedural than the British. Now, a new limited series from UK network ITV – available in the U.S. via Britbox – has finally given queer “whodunit” fans what we’ve all been waiting for: a gay detective on the case.

In “The Long Call,” based on the book by popular mystery author Ann Cleeves, DI Matthew Venn takes charge of his very first murder investigation after returning (with a husband in tow) to the small town where he grew up – a place he turned his back on 20 years before when the religious sect in which he was raised refused to accept his sexuality.

Now he is being pulled deep into the secrets of a community that once rejected him, forced to confront regrets and resentments he thought he had left behind as the clues in the case point closer and closer to home.

Executed with the polish and nuance one has come to expect from these UK productions, it’s highly recommended for a multitude of reasons. But what makes it particularly appealing to queer viewers is the casting of Ben Aldridge, who himself recently came out publicly as gay, in the central role. Aldridge took time to talk about his experience with the project – and about coming out – with the Blade. Our conversation is below.

already very much open in my day-to-day life, anyway, about my sexuality. But doing that publicly – I guess I was protecting some sense of ambiguity, and that was maybe a hangover from early on when, either via osmosis or by direct conversation, I’d been told it would ruin my career. I think that was still with me, quite strongly, even though I’ve said personally and in private to myself for a long while that if my sexuality means I’m not hired for something then I don’t want to work with those people anyway.

But there was some part of me that thought ‘I’ll still maybe fly under this radar, I don’t need to come out and do this.’ And it just got to a point where I was like, ‘Actually, I do need to do this.’ It felt important to me to be visible, and to say who I am and not try and hide from it.

BLADE: And how has it changed things for you?

ALDRIDGE: I feel like something has opened up for me, like there’s this well of emotion that’s available to me that hadn’t been before. To be able to navigate the world and not ever to feel like I’m avoiding or guarding something – I feel like things are better than they ever have been, really.

BLADE: Life is always better when you don’t have to hide significant parts of yourself.

ALDRIDGE: Definitely. And I think I was doing that, managing that, even on a very “micro” level that I wasn’t aware of. To stop doing that is really just… a weight lifted.

And really, the whole fear around actors being out is capitalism. That fear that people won’t pay, or watch, if they can’t believe they can have a relationship with the person that they’re watching. If they can’t suspend their disbelief. I think what we’re slowly discovering is that this actually isn’t the case.

BLADE: Were the parallels between you and your character all coincidental?

BEN ALDRIDGE: It’s what drew me to the project in the first place. I’d actually done BEN ALDRIDGE stars in ‘The Long Call.’ the read for the audiobook, before it was (Photo courtesy Britbox) commissioned as a TV piece, and I wasn’t out publicly at the time but I was like, “I wonder if BLADE: Like your character, you grew up in a strict religious environment. How does that someone in that publishing house knows that I’m gay?” And I was pleasantly surprised by factor into your being out now? the book, and how Ann had chosen to write a queer character at the center of one of her ALDRIDGE: I was raised ‘round the religious right focus of “praying the demons away,” novels. and conversion therapy – it was never spoken to me about directly, but I was certainly When it came ‘round as a TV piece, and they were interested in me being in it, what drew around the language of being “cured,” and being “saved” from that. There are people from me in was the exploration of his queerness, how it’s central to his journey and to the whole my past who would struggle with who I am. And I don’t desire to be in a room of people piece as well. Yes, of course you have the whole thrust of the ‘whodunit’ story – which is that don’t accept who I am. why we all love these shows – but it’s the personal focus in it that really intrigued me.

BLADE: It really does make your character’s queerness a core component of the plot ALDRIDGE: Yes, that’s something I’m particularly proud of about this show, because – I mean representation is at the forefront, and rightly so, of many producers’ and content creators’ minds right now, but there’s a version of this kind of show where that can just be box-ticking, where you’re including queer characters and characters of color without exploring how that affects their life. And this one does explore that. It’s not just a gay detective who happens to have a husband, and we have one scene with them drinking tea together and then we don’t ever talk about his queerness, at all, again.

BLADE: Speaking of talking about queerness, let’s talk about your decision to come out publicly.

ALDRIDGE: It just felt like something I had to do for myself, or claim for myself. I was

24 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 05, 2021

BLADE: Finally, since you’re now officially an out and proud actor, where do you fall in the debate over whether straight performers should play LGBTQ+ characters?

ALDRIDGE: It’s something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I think the important thing is that there is attention being paid to it. We’re in a place of learning, which is great.

For me, it can afford to be nuanced. I don’t think we need rules, I think rules are radical, and rules are the opposite of what “queerness” is. Obviously, when queerness is central to a story, then yes, a lived insight is needed to bring that to life. And maybe we do have to force things a bit before we settle into a place where there CAN be more nuance to it – but that doesn’t necessarily mean there has to be a queer actor in a queer role. I think the whole wider creative team needs to be responsible for bringing authenticity, with queer people in the writer’s room, and if the right actor is the right actor, they’ll do a good job.

I don’t think that it’s as simple as, “Only queer actors for queer parts.”

Palm Springs Pride kicks off this weekend. (Blade file photo)

This weekend, the perennial desert mecca will pull out all the live and in-person fabulousness it has to offer — and we all know that’s a lot of fabulousness — as it presents the 35th annual Greater Palm Springs Pride Festival.

The festival is set to make its triumphant return to downtown Palm Springs, and it aims to celebrate and embrace the region’s diverse LGBTQ community as it proudly takes to heart this year’s worldwide Pride theme: “You Are Included.” Free to attend (with a suggested donation), the most significant LGBTQ street party in the Coachella Valley will feature a wide array of musical acts, an exciting and vibrant display of art by LGBTQ artists, delicious food and drinks from an assortment of vendors, free health resources, including COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and HIV testing sites, and much more. You can even get your photo taken with Diva, the 20-foot tall pink poodle, or Arty, the 20-foot tall cuddly leather bear.

There are, of course, lots of different ways to do Pride, and this year’s celebration has you covered no matter which one is your favorite. If live music puts you in your happy place, you’ll be able to find it at any one of four stages, each of which will offer an unprecedented and diverse assortment of LGBTQ and allied performers all weekend long. Headlining the festival is alternative rock band Third Eye Blind, which will play a 60-minute set Saturday, Nov. 6, with other top name acts such as Jody Watley, A Flock of Seagulls, The Robyn Party, Shannon, and Jeanie Tracy leading a stellar lineup that features 70 pop, drag, rock’ n’ roll, country, and Broadway-style performances over the course of three days.

Other acts of note include: Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Delta’s All-Star Drag Race Invasion, Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus, Popstar Nima, Ninja Twins, Charles Herrera, and many others.

If dancing is your Pride jam, then you’ll be happy to know that the festivities include three days of dancing in the streets, all taking place in outdoor venues on Arenas Road between Indian Canyon and Calle Encilia — a bustling block that has come to be recognized as the gay neighborhood and hub of LGBTQ-friendly nightlife and shopping in Palm Springs, and is home to some of Palm Springs’ most legendary and popular clubs and bars. Not only that, a long list of DJs will be spinning sets at each of the music stages all weekend long, including LA favorites like The Perry Twins, Matthew Pernicano, and Traffic - Pride Edition.

On Palm Canyon Drive, where the festival will stretch between Amado and Tahquitz and the surrounding area of the new City Park (Museum Way and Belardo Rd), you can get your grub (and drink) on with your choice of open-air beverage lounges and food vendors.

There’s also a festival marketplace, as well as the T-Mobile Youth Zone and a Children’s Garden for the kids.

For art lovers, this year’s Festival will also boast a spectacular new installation. American artist Yvette Mattern’s Global Rainbow will be a featured attraction during the Pride weekend festivities, a large-scale laser light sculpture beaming seven rays of light to represent the seven colors of the rainbow — the same ones found in Gilbert Baker’s iconic rainbow flag.

It’s the exhibition’s West Coast premiere, running two consecutive nights (Nov. 5 and Nov. 6), and paying tribute to the diversity of the LGBTQ community and offering a powerful symbol of hope and peace.

For many people, of course, Pride isn’t Pride without a parade, and this year will mark

the live return of the colorful Palm Springs Pride Parade, carrying the year’s thematic message of inclusion. Spectators will once again gather along the palm tree-lined street under the crystal blue sunny skies of Palm Springs in order to cheer on and support local organizations, activists, marching groups, and themed floats as they celebrate Pride in all its forms and meanings.

Stepping off at 10 am on Sunday, Nov. 7, the parade will travel from the Uptown Design District on N. Palm Canyon Drive at E. Tachevah Drive and travel south to downtown, ending at the festival entrance at Amado Road. Emcee commentary will continue throughout the free event, which typically lasts about two hours, as the parade contingents move along Palm Canyon Drive and pass by the official reviewing stands.

The Palm Springs Pride parade has always been known for the significant number of youth marching groups participating from the region’s Gay-Straight Alliance organizations, and this year will continue that proud tradition with up to 500 students expected to march and represent their school. In addition, a surprise parade entry this year will be the Executive Board of the San Francisco “Dykes on Bike” Women’s Motorcycle Contingent, which will roll into Palm Springs, complete with the throttling engines, loud pipes, and cheering passengers that always make the appearance of these queer motorcyclists a sight to behold, for the organization’s first time in its 45-year history.

This year’s parade will also feature a special contingent carrying 71 flags to highlight the 71 countries where same-sex relations between consenting adults are still outlawed, calling attention both to how far the fight for LGBTQ rights has come and how much work we still have ahead of us in order to achieve full equality. As president of Greater Palm Springs Pride Ron deHarte explains, “Our Pride Week calls on the community to gather and embrace our diversity, our resilience, and raise awareness of the collective power of the LGBTQ community. Parade participants help raise awareness of important issues, including immigration reform, racial justice, access to health care, violence against transgender members of our community, and mental health awareness. The Pride parade is an opportunity to gather in celebration and use the platform that Pride provides to peacefully resist hate, discrimination, intolerance, racism, and bigotry.”

Finally, as always, Pride is not just a fun party, it’s also about recognizing the leaders, heroes, and average citizens who stand up to inspire us and lift our community. This year’s festival proudly pays tribute to several individuals and organizations that have done just that. The Grand Marshal of this edition of the Parade will be the pioneering Arenas Road business Streetbar, which opened in 1991 to become the first gay bar in Palm Springs and is now the longest-running LGBTQ bar in the Coachella Valley.

As you can see, there’s clearly something for everyone at Palm Springs Pride this weekend, and it’s definitely something our community sorely needs. As DeHarte says, “After the stress, uncertainty, and isolation of the pandemic, this is a significant time for our community to come together. Pride will be a coming-out celebration of our beautiful community, an opportunity to honor those we have lost and give a voice to the power of self-expression, inclusiveness, and love.”

For more information and details about lineup, schedule, etc., visit pspride.org.

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 05, 2021 • 25

BOOKS

‘Allies’ helps young readers to show up

Straight talk with a light touch and accepting you will screw up

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

You’d do anything for your friends.

You help them in school when they need it, or with a loan in a pinch. Your home is their home, and vice versa. You might share clothes with your friends, seats, secrets and for sure, support but what about people you don’t know that well? In the new book “Allies” by various authors, you start upright and on your feet.

School has started and some kids – kids of color, queer kids, different kids – are struggling. You want to help but you don’t know how to even begin. So now what?

The first thing to know about being an ally is in the first chapter of this book: You will screw up sometimes. It’s not fun, it’s comfortable, and you can’t just dump your guilt back on whoever you’re trying to support. Instead, learn from it, and get used to it.

But wait. Can’t you help?

“It’s complicated,” says Dana Alison Levy, the first author.

You can loudly be an ally, but when it’s not your time to speak, then hush. Allies remember that pronouns are important things (see above: you’ll screw up) and when someone reveals their preferred name, an ally makes sure it’s used. Allies know that the letters “LGBTQIA” don’t stop at “G.” When they see someone with a disability, they don’t rush in and act like superheroes. They ask first if they can help, and they never see a disabled person as a “tool” to get extra privileges. Likewise, they don’t finish sentences for a stutterer and it should go without saying that allies are never bullies. Nope, they reach for understanding, and if they don’t understand, they can be schooled.

Being an ally doesn’t stop at sexuality or disability, though. You can be an ally for women by standing up to misogyny. You can stand up by seeing color and acknowledging it. You can stand up and admit that there are things you’ll never experience.

And sometimes, being an ally is knowing when it’s time to walk away.

When it comes to being a better friend to those who need one, you always want to do what’s right – but sometimes, right is wrong and arrrrgh! It seems like maybe you need something of an ally to be an ally, and this book can help.

With straight talk but a light touch, “Allies” helps young readers dispense with the awkwardness of not knowing how to act, through reassuring stories meant to show that merely just showing up is a great start. The chapters aren’t long – some are told with artwork – and they’re as diverse as the writers themselves. They’re not preachy, either: Each is told by an appreciative person who’s received much-needed support and others whose eyes were opened, giving readers the upbeat, forward-looking, I-can-do-this feeling they might get in the eager moments before a march or a rally.

That makes “Allies” a great first step for any progressivethinking 12-to-18-year-old who needs a good launch-point. Find this book, read it, and share it with your friends.

26 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • NOVEMBER 05, 2021

‘Allies: Real Talk about Showing Up, Screwing Up, and Trying Again’

Edited by Shakirah Bourne & Dana Alison Levy c.2021 | $16.99 | 240 pages