The Rainbow Times' January, 2017 Issue

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

FADA could impede the civil rights of LGBTQ people across the nation LGBTQ community.

Eleven days after the historic Obergefell v. Hodges United States Supreme Court decision (https://goo.gl/TsePNF) guaranteeing same-sex couples the right to marry, a polarizing video went viral on the internet and galvanized both proponents and opponents of marriage equality.

David Ermold and David Moore, a gay couple in Kentucky, posted a nearly 12-minute video (https://goo.gl/mqJOZ0) of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis refusing to issue a marriage license to the couple based on her religious beliefs. Davis garnered international attention and became the subject of intense debate.

Martyrized by the religious right and demonized by progressives, Davis became a symbol for regressive ideas on the concept of marriage.

Facing jail time, a slew of court cases, heated opposition, and buoyant support from conservatives, Davis was eventually forced to begin issuing marriage licenses to samesex couples.

However, with the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States, conservative lawmakers are renewing efforts to legislate the lives of same-sex couples through the introduction of the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA; https://goo.gl/WeHktP). If passed, the federal law would have devastating implications for same-sex couples and the larger

What is the FADA? On June 17, 2015, more than a week before the Obergefell decision was handed down, two Republican congressmen introduced the FADA, which, “Prohibits the federal government from taking discriminatory action against a person on the basis that such person believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that: (1) marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman, or (2) sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage,” (https://goo.gl/k9S96v).

The legislation encompasses not only people, but also for and non-profit businesses and sceptics have argued that its language could be broadly defined and applied. Hardwon legal protections for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, education, public spaces, and even marriage rights could be attacked.

“The federal government may no longer require contractors to have fair employment practices vis-à-vis employees married to someone of the same sex; a hospital could bar patient visits from same-sex spouses; landlords could deny housing to married same-sex couples; employers could deny family medical leave to an employee who wants to care for an ill spouse of the same sex,” said Janson Wu, executive director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD; www.glad.org).

Pharmacies could refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control or HIV medications.

IN THE LIMELIGHT

By: Mike Givens/TRT Assistant Editor

organization. "It could have a fairly devastating impact."

With “religious values” and “moral conviction” used to assert opinions about marriage and sexual relations, the law would leave the federal government powerless.

Tax-exempt status could not be withheld from institutions that openly discriminate against LGBTQ people and the federal government would be banned from taking actions against any discriminatory institutions.

The law has 172 co-sponsors, but is still in its introductory stages. However, Presidentelect Trump has publicly declared his support for the bill should the Republican-controlled Congress push the legislation to his desk (https://goo.gl/yCc2Dd).

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees could be fired from jobs, as well as unwed mothers. Restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, and banks could refuse service to same-sex couples. The ramifications of the bill’s passage would effectively unravel decades of civil rights for LGBTQ people.

"It could potentially have a large domino effect,” said Deborah Shields, executive director of MassEquality (www.massequality.org), a Boston-based LGBTQ advocacy

Religious Freedom in the States According to the proposed law, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt State law, or repeal Federal law, that is equally or more protective of free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to narrow the meaning or application of any State or Federal law protecting free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the Federal Government from providing, either directly or through a person not seeking protection under this Act, any benefit or service authorized under Federal law.”

There are 22 states in the nation that have

See FADA on Page 23

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Trump, Russia and #TheResistance Trump presidency will disproportionately affect By: Nicole Lashomb/TRT Editor-in-Chief

OPINIONS

The popular vote loser, by the most subam not over it. And, it isn’t that stantial margin in modern history, has won my candidate lost or that I am a the White House, going against the majority sore loser. This wouldn’t be the of the American vote. The President-elect first time an election didn’t go my has publicly declared substantial support for way. G.W. Bush’s presidential run expanding nuclear weapons access and prowasn’t a particularly pleasant time for grams for adversaries of the U.S. and has me either. But, this is different—emglorified Russian phatically differpresident Putin, who ent. While some has knowingly comINTELLIGENCE on the right and mitted horrific war even left argue crimes and torture, that it is how our REVEALED THAT even against his own USS electoral system people, has allegedly works and we simply approved of the IAN OPERATIVES WERE need to accept the prescyber-attacks on the idential election results U.S and is well and move on, it isn’t so USED WITHIN OUR OWN known for his antisimple.

LGBT stance. But We are experiencing according to Trump, BORDERS TO INFLU the biggest attack on Putin is doing a our democracy in our “great job.” Such lifetime. U.S. intelli- ENCE HACK ELECTION public praise has gence revealed that come on more than Russian operatives were one occasion. used within our own borders to influence In October, the Washington Post reported public opinion and hack election results, tar- (https://goo.gl/TV47zo) that “there is clear geting Democratic candidates. Likewise, and abundant evidence the Assad regime and these hackers were also found to have infil- the Russian government are committing trated a cyber strike against a Burlington, Vt. crimes that include, but are not limited to, Electric company, which could potentially deliberate attacks on civilians, collective lead to access to the U.S. power grid. Imag- punishment, starvation as a tool of war, torine if Russia, a longtime adversary of the na- ture, murder, inhumane treatment of prisontion, was able to shut down our power grid. ers and the use of chemical weapons on the This is real. It is a real possibility and much battlefield.” And yet, recently, Trump anmore so when we have an empathetic presi- nounced that he didn’t support the United dent-elect—not my president. The Obama Nations. Without building on our relationadministration is expected to release more ships with our allies and denouncing our... information in the coming days.

See #TheResistance on Page 22

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Opera, sports, and hope in the New Year By: Paul P. Jesep*/TRT Columnist

D

FAITH

uring my time at a Massachusetts law school several years back, the Boston Red Sox made it into the World Series. The event energized most of the students and faculty. I listened to my “Walkman” when a professor passed in the hall heading to class. “What’s the score?” he asked looking hopeful, wearing his Red Sox cap and thinking I was listening to the game on the radio.

“Carmen,” I responded. We both had puzzled expressions on our faces. He had as much interest in opera as I did in sports.

It’s rare when I pay attention to anything remotely sports related. I took notice when it was announced renowned opera singer Renée Fleming—whom I’ve had the sweet, memorable pleasure of seeing perform at the Metropolitan Opera—would sing the national anthem at some sports event (the big bowl, crystal bowl, Super Bowl?).

In mid-December, I again took notice of a sports event. This time it involved a love story between Jake Conrad and Michael Holtzman that they shared with the world at a Chicago Bulls game. According to Time magazine, it isn’t uncommon to have proposals at sporting events. News to me. This one, however, “is one of the first same-sex

HEARTS AND MINDS DON’T NECESSARILY CHANGE BECAUSE THE LAW DID. HARSH ATTITUDES CAN STILL UNDERMINE JUSTICE AND GOOD LAW.

marginalized communities in years to come By: Mike Yepes*/Guest Columnist

N

ovember 8 was a whirlwind of emotions. Starting my day off in Rhode Island, I eagerly rushed over to my local polling location in Providence at 7 a.m. with my younger brother to cast my ballot for Hillary Clinton.

She was not perfect, not by a long shot, and any claims to the contrary were often rooted in the shortcomings of white feminism—which roots its platform in the obstructions faced by cisgender white women without nuanced conversations around race, class, ethnicity, queer theory, and other issues related to identity. However, what she did hold was potential for progress and improved communication—a quality I felt was lacking in Donald Trump.

This election was symbolic for many reasons, but one stood out to me the most. This would be the first time my mother, a Latina who immigrated to this country from Colombia in 1985, would be able to cast a ballot in a national election. Having endured xenophobia, sexism, racism, and all the other struggles experienced by immigrant communities due to culture shock and language barriers, she, more than most of us, had just as much to gain as she had to lose in this election.

Listening to her pro-Hillary rhetoric while she tried to contain her jubilee, I was reminded that my political selections that day would hold consequences for all of us, but the impact would be felt heavier by our most disenfranchised populations.

Tragically, fate would not be on our side.

As Election Day came to a close, I followed the election results back home in Boston in disbelief as Trump was proclaimed president-elect with 304 electoral votes

Letters to the Editor

[Re: The Trump Effect: Emboldening Prejudice, the Social Construct of Hate View Post]

proposals in the franchise; previously, two women got engaged during an Atlanta Hawks game,” according to the same article (https://goo.gl/i9rIqf).

The surprise proposal occurred with the help of the team’s mascot and cheerleaders and Scottie Pippen, who Time described as a legend (I’ll take the magazine’s word for it). The public pledge of love and fidelity happened on the playing court during a “timeout.” I’m guessing timeout means some sort of intermission.

Everyone with a heart appreciates a good love story. Of course most will be happy for the joy and happiness Jake and Michael have found in coming together as a family. Not only is this a wonderful, defining moment for Jake and Michael, but the proposal has larger social and national implications.

Dear Editor, This is a very good rundown of the quickly developing situation and I would argue the need to STOP it: Imagine if people, in the tens of millions, filled the streets, powerfully declaring that this regime is illegitimate and demanding that it not be allowed to rule!

The whole political landscape would be dramatically transformed, every faction within the established power structure would be forced to respond—and all this could well lead to a situation in which this fascist regime is actually prevented from ruling. This is not some idle dream but something which could be made a reality if all those who hate what is represented by this fascist regime translate their outrage into firm determination and massive mobilization to create the conditions which make this possible.

In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE To Accept a Fascist America!

Please watch the livestream of the kick

See Hope in 2017 on Page 19

See Letters on Page 20

HOWEVER, WHAT SHE DID HOLD WAS POTENTIAL FOR PROGRESS AND IMPROVED COMMUNICATION—A QUALITY I FELT WAS LACKING IN

DONALD TRUMP. (https://goo.gl/ECd1XD)—34 more than the minimum of 270 needed to win the election.

This feat was harder to digest when I realized that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by approximately 2.9 million votes (https://goo.gl/g6KVAh). Donald Trump

See Trump Presidency on Page 22

The Rainbow Times The Freshest LGBT Newspaper in New England—Boston Based TheRainbowTimesMass.com editor@therainbowtimesmass.com sales@therainbowtimesmass.com Phone: 617.444.9618 Fax: 928.437.9618 Publisher Gricel M. Ocasio Editor-In-Chief Nicole Lashomb Assistant Editor Mike Givens National/Local Sales Rivendell Media Liz Johnson Lead Photographers Alex Mancini Steve Jewett Reporters John Paul Stapleton Christine Nicco Jenna Spinelle Chuck Colbert Al Gentile Chris Gilmore Keen News Service

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The Rainbow Times is published monthly by The Rainbow Times, LLC. TRT is affiliated with the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, NLGJA, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, NGLCC, and QSyndicate. The articles written by the writers, columnists, and correspondents solely express their opinion, and do not represent the endorsement or opinion of The Rainbow Times, LLC or its owners.

Send letters to the editor with your name, address and phone number to: The Rainbow Times (address shown above), or e-mail any comment/s to the editor-in-chief at: editor@therainbowtimesmass.com. All submissions will be edited according to space constraints. The Rainbow Times, LLC reserves the right not to print any or all content or advertisements for any reason at all. TRT is not responsible for advertising content. To receive The Rainbow Times at your home via regular mail, or through electronic delivery, please visit its website. The whole content and graphics (photos, etc.) are the sole property of The Rainbow Times, LLC and they cannot be reproduced at all without TRT’s written consent.

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 7

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Several New England businesses receive top score on HRC’s CEI By: Jenna Spinelle/TRTReporter

BOSTON—More than two dozen companies headquartered in New England received a score of 100 on the 2017 Corporate Equality Index (CEI; https://goo.gl/u9XHfB), an annual survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC; www.hrc.org/).

However, the companies and the HRC are quick to point out that a “perfect” score does not mean companies have a perfect working environment for LGBTQ employees.

In addition, the HRC will continue working to combat regressive legislation in the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress.

Corporate Equality Index The CEI survey is sent annually to all Fortune 1000 companies and other businesses with more than 500 employees.

It is designed to gauge quantitative measures of inclusion such as equal employment opportunity policies and LGBTQ recruiting efforts. All of the measures are things that companies can report on, or that HRC staff can verify from public information for companies who do not respond to the survey.

Beck Bailey, HRC’s deputy director of employee engagement programs, said this year’s results saw a 25 percent increase in the number of companies who received a score of 100, meaning they received all points possible in the evaluation.

Bailey said the 2017 survey also showed the largest single-year increase in companies offering transgender-inclusive health insur-

ance coverage. This year, 73 percent of companies surveyed offer it, compared to 60 percent last year.

“Having a score of 100 doesn’t mean that a company has zero issues left to face,” Bailey said. “It means they are setting up all the right things to address the next layer of potential issues like unconscious bias and challenges to inclusion.”

In determining the criteria for the CEI, Bailey said HRC focuses on elements that are “transparent, fair and attainable.”

Boston-based State Street Corporation (https://goo.gl/LB2wXQ) was one of the companies to receive a score of 100 this year. Julie Haskell, the company’s managing director of global inclusion and diversity, said it has received that score all but one year over the past decade.

“We got a 90 in one year and as a result we took a look at [our] transgender benefits policy and medical coverage,” Haskell said.

“We added that benefit to our medical coverage, which was a huge win for us as a

company.”

State Street has a global ally program and pride groups at all of its locations worldwide. Haskell said the feedback she hears from those groups is that State Street creates a work environment where they can be themselves at the office.

“It’s incredibly powerful to be able to be your authentic self in the workplace. Not have to self-edit who you are,” she said. “In order to be [the] most effective person, you can’t be hiding. You need to be your true self.”

Thermo Fisher Scientific (https://goo.gl/V8RE1C), based in Waltham, Mass., also received a 100 on the CEI. Sue Lambert, co-chair of the company’s LGBTA Employee Resource Group, recently celebrated her 25th anniversary with the company and said its inclusive mission has given her reason to stay so long.

“Thermo Fisher Scientific was on the leading edge of equality. For my 25 years, I always felt valued and protected, in terms of the benefits provided to me and my family,” Lambert said. “Long before it was the popular thing to do, the company recognized it was the right thing to do.”

LGBTQ Advocacy HRC is the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization; it has more than 1.5 million members and supporters in the U.S. Beyond

See HRC-CEI on Page 22

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Historic battle to end HIV/AIDS encounters dangerous opposition from conservatives By: Mike Givens/TRT Assistant Editor

The Rainbow Times interviewed AIDS Action Committee Executive Director Carl Sciortino about his thoughts on the recent state budget cuts that will impact HIV/AIDS direct service programs as well as the potential ramifications of a Trump presidency on HIV/AIDS funding locally and nationally.

Just five days after the 28th anniversary of World AIDS Day on December 1, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced roughly $98 million in budget cuts in anticipation of a revenue shortfall. One million dollars was cut from the HIV/AIDS line item, funds that will have a devastating effect on direct services for those living with the condition.

“AIDS Action will most likely be forced to lay off staff and pull back some of its outreach and prevention services,” said Sciortino.

On World AIDS Day, the Getting to Zero Coalition, which AIDS Action leads, released a comprehensive plan to end HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts by 2020 (https://goo.gl/deht4D). “ … eliminating new HIV infections in Massachusetts will require that, by 2020, 90 percent of those living with HIV are aware of their status; 90 percent of those diagnosed with HIV are treated with antiretroviral ther-

apy; and 90 percent of those receiving antiretroviral treatment are virally suppressed,” Sciortino said, noting that the first goal has already been accomplished. “In order to meet the second, an additional 3,334 people living with HIV would need to be receiving quality treatment, and [to meet the third goal] an additional 3,625 people would need to be virally suppressed.”

The budget cuts, commonly referred to as 9C cuts, would “hobble important initiatives” that provide a range of life-saving services and severely impede the second and third goals of the Getting to Zero Coalition, according Sciortino.

Outreach programs to support those living with HIV/AIDS and ensure they adhere to their regimens would be crippled.

Making pre-exposure prophylaxis, also known as PrEP, more widely available,

could also be impacted as funding shortages could make it difficult for the prescription medication to be made more widely available.

“PrEP is a daily antiretroviral medication that prevents HIV infection, and is an incredibly important tool in the fight against HIV because it is nearly foolproof in preventing HIV transmission when taken as prescribed,” Sciortino said.

“The drug is also covered by health insurers, so there’s no excuse for healthcare providers and HIV prevention experts to not be spreading the word about this important prevention tool. It’s like birth control for HIV.” Administration and Fin a n c e Secretary Kristen Lepore released the following statement about the 9C cuts: “The Baker-Polito Administration was pleased to sign a balanced budget for Fiscal Year 2017 that further increased investments

Massachusetts

in education, local aid, and efforts to fight the opioid-heroin epidemic, without raising taxes. Today, we are acting to put the budget back in balance for the hardworking people of Massachusetts as provided under 9C authority in response to softening revenues, unavoidable spending deficiencies, and the Legislature’s decision to restore spending above the administration’s signed balanced budget.”

HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment Under the Trump Administration Donald Trump has nominated U.S. Representative Tom Price as his top pick to lead the country’s Health and Human Services Department, a move that has roiled health care advocates and caused a stir in Washington D.C. Recently, it was reported that Rep. Price sponsored legislation involving several healthcare companies he’d also invested nearly $300,000 in on the stock market (https://goo.gl/QddPwD), a move that could spark an ethics investigation.

Price has also been a vocal proponent of making heavy alterations to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) including eliminating the legislation’s manda-

See HIV/AIDS on Page 23

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

LGBTQ community, allies come together in Lowell to fight prejudice, bigotry By: Al Gentile/TRT Reporter

LOWELL, Mass.—When Nancy Green thinks about the election of Donald Trump, the safety of her transgender daughter comes to mind.

“I want her to feel safe in her own skin, and feel safe with where she goes,” said Green, an organizer for grassroots advocacy group Solidarity Lowell. “My push is to protect people so they can live their lives normally, regardless of the rhetoric that came up with the campaign.”

On Nov. 12, hundreds took the streets in Lowell to protest the election of Presidentelect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. While many protests came to an end, dozens of Lowell-area residents reached the same conclusion: the mission of being the antithesis of what Trump and Pence stand for must turn into a movement.

From there, Solidarity Lowell was born.

Lynne Lupien, another organizer of the group, considers the movement a mode of expressing a deep-seated rejection of what could potentially become normalized: misogyny, racism, and prejudice.

“We need to express our fear and anger over what happened,” Lupien said. “We have arranged the group all over the political scale, but something we all agree on is this shouldn’t be normalized.”

In the first meeting, dozens of people showed up. Lupien, who has worked in political organizing in the past, said the turnout and passion of participants has been inspiring.

“We had more people than we had chairs,”

On Nov. 12, members of Solidarity Lowell met in front of the Lowell Police Station to protest the election of Republican Candidate Donald PHOTO: LYNNE LUPIEN Trump, while holding signs and shouting in protest on the eve of the electoral college vote.

Lupien said. “That was a good problem to have.”

While Green considers herself a liberal, she said fostering a safe world for her transgender daughter, Hannah, transforms the

new presidency into something beyond politics. Hannah decided to come out publicly as transgender after the June 12 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.

“The election happened, and we had to

sort of pull her off the ceiling,” Green said.

“We [made] a lot of progress in the Obama era, and we don’t want to lose it.”

See Fighting Prejudice on Page 19

10 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Positive Thoughts: Activist basics for the Trump Era, HIV activists prepare By: JD Davids/Special to TRT

Regardless of where we sit—or where we toss and turn—during these long nights since the United States presidential election, many of us are wondering what we can do to take care of ourselves and each other, and how we can even hold our gains in the HIV epidemic, much less prevent the loss of significant ground.

Given the platform of the Trump/Pence campaign and the leadership of Congress, there is not a lot of promise that we'll get closer to the end of the HIV epidemic. In fact, there will likely be significant changes in programs serving people with HIV or seeking to prevent new HIV cases. In addition, members of communities with high rates of HIV are facing threats to our health, our relationships and our families, to say the least.

A lot is already emerging in terms of ways to respond. In fact, there may be too much; in keeping with our time of information overload, the sheer volume of resources and opportunities to contribute can itself be an overwhelming impediment to action.

Yet, as the HIV community, we have a robust history of resistance, resilience and victory that calls us to the forefront of where we need to go today.

Within hours after the election results came in, HIV leaders joined with others to form the Activist-Led Emergency Response Team (ALERT), a growing activist network for sharing information and ideas. And I'm

JD Davids

working with HIV activist Jennifer Johnson Avril on a new effort called #ActivistBasics, which draws from the rich history and present-day efforts of HIV and other activist movements to provide tools, information and inspiration for our present and coming struggles.

A Movement Born in a Moment of Challenges

The HIV community was born in the Reagan era, a time that may hold the closest parallel to today in terms of political conservatism and policies that impede an effective response to the epidemic. Today brings additional challenges, including a weary and polarized population that has in many cases seen its standard of living decline as a direct result of the very policies Reagan unleashed.

As a young adult, I was raised in the HIV movement during the presidency of the first George Bush, and I know that this movement has much to offer those who are looking for the way forward today.

I have learned that our time, energy and passion are precious resources. That drives my urgency to ensure that we're using them in the best possible ways to further justice and to help sustain our efforts, rather than exhausting ourselves without hope of success.

Working on key HIV issues, as well as being a part of broader movements concerned with our moment today, gives us the opportunity to combat HIV stigma, as we— people with HIV and their friends, families, and communities—stand shoulder to shoulder with old and new allies as we come to learn and appreciate the issues that affect

loved ones, asking, "What are we doing?

What should I do?" others have reached out to me. It is an honor for us to hold each other in this moment, valuing each other's hearts and minds and spirits, and sitting in uncertainty together. And in this uncertainty, I encourage us to go with what we know: ourselves.

In this moment, what do you know about your strengths, your skills, your drive? In what areas do you feel confident, and how can you bring that together with the areas in which you hope to grow? Make a list of your skills and qualities, your areas of interest and those about which you are curious, and bring that self-knowledge to take your seat in our coming efforts for HIV justice.

There's going to be a lot to do, and no one person can do it all, so go with what feels productive and important to you. Make a list of what current initiatives and groups appeal to you. Then put them into a 2-by-2 grid.

There are four boxes in a 2-by-2 grid: one for efforts that are easier for you and may have the most impact, one for those that are easy but may have less impact, plus one each for harder efforts that have more or less impact. That can help you decide where to start first—probably something in the box of things that are easier to do and have a greater

I've been an HIV journalist and activist since the pre-antiretroviral era, and I'm a JEWISH queer and trans survivor of abuse and gender violence. I would say it's been a rollercoaster of fear and panic since the election – but mostly the downhill plunge part. each others’ lives.

Here are some ideas that we're talking about in our #ActivistBasics effort: Going With What We Know: Ourselves Just as I have reached out to comrades and

possible impact.

You don't have to go it alone. I encourage people to start an "affinity group," a cluster of two to eight people you already know and trust who are dedicated to supporting each other. Whether you all work on different efforts and come together to replenish at a weekly potluck dinner, or whether you decide to join a group and work together to make sure you can get to the meetings and events, you'll have this base to come home to in the long struggle ahead.

Feeling Scared, Moving Forward I've been an HIV journalist and activist since the pre-antiretroviral era, and I'm a Jewish queer and trans survivor of abuse and gender violence. I would say it's been a rollercoaster of fear and panic since the election—but mostly the downhill plunge part.

I'm also a white, middle-class, HIV negative U.S. citizen with tremendous privilege and a good job. I live in a relatively amazing bubble of robust solidarity and safety in a place (New York City) that has vowed to ...

See Trump Era on Page 23

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Op-Ed: Organization’s LGBTQIA call to action, resist Trump/Pence before Jan. 20

W

e are writing to you and your organization as members of the national LGBTQIA communities and HIV/AIDS treatment and advocacy communities in order to introduce you to our organization, RefuseFascism.org. We have one goal: to do everything within our power as citizens of the United States of America to ensure that the illegitimate Trump/Pence administration will not be allowed to assume power on January 20, 2017.

On December 19th, we announced a call to action for a Month of Resistance to the incoming administration. The membership of Refuse Fascism is comprised of folks from all walks of life, all faiths and those of no faith, all races, all genders and gender expressions, all sexual orientations, all ethnicities and all socio-economic backgrounds.

We are truly an embodiment of the collective diversity of this country. As such, many of our members represent communities who are most under threat from the coming Trump/Pence regime, aided by the House and Senate majorities led by Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. We believe that this period leading up to the January 20th inauguration is a crucial period for all the communities most at risk and our allies to join hands to create a strong and united resistance to the very idea of this racist, misogynist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, war-mongering regime taking power. We must make it clear to the world that this unprecedented turn of events is one of the most extreme and disruptive political

crises our country has seen since the Civil War. The Presidency of Donald Trump is illegitimate Donald Trump did not win the popular vote. Not even close, he lost by [more than] 2.5 million votes. He won the Electoral College—an institution set up in 1787 to protect slavery. This legacy of the most brutal oppression of Black people has become the means that enabled the election of Trump and Pence.

More fundamentally, it is the fascist character of the Trump/Pence regime and what they are planning to do which renders it illegitimate and an immoral peril to the future of humanity and the earth itself.

Under the slogan “Make America Great Again,” Donald Trump has viciously attacked Mexicans and Muslims, threatening to register and deport millions, closing borders. He incites fear and hate of all who are “different”—nationalities, religions, or gender. He crudely demeans and degrades women, openly boasting about molesting them. He champions white supremacy and whips up a racist lynch-mob mentality.

Trump has mocked the disabled. He is a bellicose militarist, who threatens to use nuclear weapons. He openly advocates war crimes—including torture. He vows to pack the Supreme Court with justices who will take away the right to abortion and gay rights. He denies science—calling climate change a hoax and will wreak devastation on

the environment. He has attacked and threatened the press and stirred up his supporters to do the same. He has threatened to strip

citizenship for constitutionally protected dissent. Trump has utter contempt for facts and the truth, and consistently lies to advance his agenda. As for the rule of law, Trump went so far as to openly threaten his opponent, Hillary Clinton, not only with jail, but even assassination. By any definition, Donald Trump is a fascist. He has put together a regime that will carry out this program, and worse.

This is fascism and it is a very serious thing. It has direction and momentum that must be stopped before it becomes too late.

Fascism foments and relies on xenophobic nationalism, racism, misogyny, and the aggressive re-institution of oppressive “traditional values.” Fascism feeds on and encourages the threat and use of violence to build a movement and come to power. Fascism, once in power, essentially eliminates traditional democratic rights. Fascism attacks, jails, even executes its opponents, and launches violent mob attacks on “minorities.” In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and ’40s, fascism did all these things. This is where this can go. And yes, Hitler himself could “talk graciously” when he felt it would serve his interests and lull his opponents.

In the world today, shockwaves reverberate. Over decades in the U.S. virulent movements of white supremacy and anti-immigrant hysteria have gained momentum. A narrow, intolerant, and political form of Christian fundamentalism has been brought into government and policy at all levels. The Trump/Pence cabinet and judiciary will coalesce all of this and worse at the highest level of power, with horrific consequences. No election, whether fair or fraudulent, should legitimize this. “Reaching across the aisle” only legitimizes that which is illegitimate.

See Resist on page 20

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

PHOTO: WEBSTER PR

By: Chris Azzopardi/Special to TRT

PHOTO: STARFRENZY

PHOTO: JAMIE NELSON

‘You need to let people know who you are and you need to come on —Dolly Parton out.’”

“There are a lot of people, and time does this, who are going to be severely embarrassed for their bias and intolerance. And they’re going to have to live with that; that’s going to be their legacy. I refuse to have that as part of my —Michael Bublé legacy.”

“I'm not saying ‘Will & Grace’ is responsible for gay marriage; I'm saying that maybe there was an element that helped in some —Megan Mullally way.”

“I think some of the shoes I wear are ugly but they don't hurt. I just don't want my feet to hurt any—Cyndi Lauper more.”

“I’ve grown up with gay people and been in love with gay people.”

—Meryl Streep

"I would be blessed with a gay —Gwen Stefani son.”

PHOTO: E!

PHOTO: FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

“I have a song called ‘Outside’ that a lot of people from the gay community have always said they grew up listening to and were like, ‘That helped me come out to —Mariah Carey my family.’”

“I've had many people through the years who I have helped to feel good about themselves. I say,

“There are thousands upon thousands of voiceless LGBT people within even just the Mormon community who feel like they can't ask questions and can't have doubts and can't be themselves. I want to be able to give a microphone to those people.”

—Tyler Glenn PHOTO: KATHCLICK

Beyond Mariah Carey calling me “dahhhling” in her famous diva affectation as my childhood self-landed somewhere over the moon, a lot happened in 2016. Acting queen Meryl Streep spoke affectionately to me about her lifelong love for the LGBT community. Country queen Dolly Parton revealed that she, naturally, has been a confidante to her own gay and lesbian family members. And then there’s Joe Jonas, who shared his fondness for S&M, potentially inspiring some adventurous bedroom behavior this year. Here’s a collection of some standout quotes from Hollywood queens—and one horny JoBro.

PHOTO: WARNER BROS

2016 in Review: What the Celebs said about our community, being in love with gay friends, more

“We love you, sweetie darlings!”

—Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie actresses Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders

“It's definitely fun when you bring some whips and leather and whatever you may be into - a little bit of S&M - into the bedroom.”

—Joe Jonas

See Celebs on page 20

14 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

PHOTO: © PAVEL LOSEVSKY | DREAMSTIME STOCK PHOTOS

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

The Frivolist: 6 ways to start the New Year as the best LGBTQ person you can be By: Mikey Rox*/Special to TRT

Another new year means another set of resolutions. But given the kind of 2016 that most of us had, 2017 demands a different sort of resolve. Sure, you can still kick the smoking habit and cut back on the drinking and lose a couple pounds—if those are commitments you want to make for yourself— but we also need to remember to include bigger-picture concepts that keep our lives as a whole cohesive and in a continued pursuit of positivity. Here are six ideas to give you that fresh start we all so desperately need right now.

1. Organize Your Personal and Professional Life I’m self-employed, and as a result I have the luxury of taking the last week of the year off not only to relax and celebrate the holidays with my family and friends but also to prepare for the year ahead. I make a big list of to-dos right before Christmas of items I’d like to accomplish to get my personal and professional life in order so I can hit the ground running when I’m back at it in January. At home, I like to deep clean and organize the house, which is somewhat chaotic this time of year with all the holiday trimmings, and where work is concerned, I delete unused files on my computer, sift and expunge expired emails, prepare client schedules for the months ahead, and—on a day where I’m feeling particularly patient— organize my taxes so I can cop that refund ASAP. Completing these tasks while I have the extra time during break keeps me just busy enough to not get bored between holidays, but it also makes the transition into a new year that much smoother.

2. Eliminate the Literal and Figurative Toxicity There’s no denying that 2016 was a real bear. It took its toll on all of us emotionally and mentally, the genesis for most of which can be blamed on the lead up and subsequent fallout of a highly contentious election year. But that’s all over now, and it’s time to move on. Think positive, and steer clear of

any negativity that tries to infiltrate your life —particularly on social media. Maybe a hiatus is order. If that’s what you need to clear your head and start thinking straight again (wink), shut it down and distance yourself until you feel ready to engage. Take it from me that you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how freeing the stepping-away experience can be. You may never want to go back.

3. Focus on Your Physical, Emotional and Mental Health I wholly believe in living your life at 110 percent. Eat healthy; exercise most days of the week, if only for 30-minute sessions; and stimulate your brain by reading or playing strategy games (yep, mobile games apply), both of which are scientifically proven to enhance your creativity. If you find it difficult to schedule in this “me time” due to a hectic schedule, compromise and do what works for you. Plan a night or two a week, for instance, to make a new recipe, or drop in on a class at your gym to find the fitness motivation that you might not otherwise have on your own. It’s up to you how so long as you’re doing it.

4. Practice Tolerance For Others It seems like no matter where you turn, the scene is straight-up vitriol. This year, rise above the fray. Don’t let bad attitudes bring you down, and show compassion for those who are having a hard time finding their inner peace. Remember, we don’t all have to agree on everything, but we do need to respect one another. If respect isn’t reciprocal, however, you owe it to yourself to distance yourself from the negativity and focus on brightening your own light. It’s the only one that matters in the end.

5. Uphold Your Convictions and Fight For Your Rights Just when we thought it was safe to be LGBT, along comes a new political regime that, on the surface at least, threatens all we’ve worked to accomplish civilly over the

See New Year on Page 19

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 15

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Unknowingly challenging the binary from the start: A trans woman’s story By: Deja Nicole Greenlaw*/TRT Columnist

B

TRANS OPINION

ack in the e a r l y 2000s, when I first came into the trans community and began going to trans support groups and trans events, I was thrilled—I had finally found my people! I had run into some snags though along the way within the trans community and with medical professionals. You see, back in the early 2000s, anyone who had any gender issues was placed in one of two boxes. Either you were a cross dresser or you went full time and took hormones and had surgeries. There really was no in between groups, you were either one or the other.

I didn't really fit into either group. I wasn't really a man who liked to crossdress and although I took hormones, I had no desire to have any gender-related surgeries such as genital surgery, breast augmentation, or facial feminization. I simply identified as a female who didn't want the surgeries. This excluded me from the “full time living as female” group. I did, however, want to live full time as female, so this excluded me from the cross dressing group. I just didn't fit neatly

into either group. I was breaking the “trans rules” and many of my trans friends didn't know how to classify me.

At the time, I was seeing a therapist who once read me the six categories of gender disorientation established by Doctor Harry Benjamin, the noted pioneer doctor who specialized in gender identity issues

take in hormone therapy to feminize and demasculinize my body, but I never pursued any surgeries. The surgeries just weren’t on my radar. I was just different from everyone else.

It wasn't until this past October when I was part of a trans outreach panel at one of the local universities that I realized what was

I WAS BREAKING THE “TRANS RULES” AND MANY OF MY TRANS FRIENDS DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO CLASSIFY ME. (https://goo.gl/DxC3DE). After my therapist read all six categories to me, I told her that I didn't fit into any of the six categories. She agreed with me. I then said that the categories must not be complete and therefore must not be totally right. My therapist didn't know what to do with me. I was different from other transgender people, but it really didn't bother me. I just went ahead following the beat of my own drum and I transitioned to female without any surgeries. I did par-

going on with me from the beginning. There were three of us trans folk on the panel. Besides myself, there was also a trans man and a non-binary person on the panel. As I was telling the class about my early days and how I didn't fit into any of the Harry Benjamin categories and how I had expressed differing views with many folks in the transgender community and with my doctors and therapists, the non-binary person thanked me. That was the turning point. I knew that

I was challenging the system but it was when the non-binary person thanked me that I realized that I also had been unknowingly helping to pave the way for the inclusion of non-binary people in the transgender community. Although I identified as female and not as non-binary, I was, in fact, also challenging the “trans rules” of the binary back then. Now the pieces of the puzzle fit!

Yes, I had been challenging the Harry Benjamin categories and the binary since my early days. I didn't know why the surgeries weren't so important to me as they are to many others, but they just weren't. All I needed to do was take hormones and transition to living full time as female. That was good enough for me. I had no idea that by doing so that I was also helping to open the doors of understanding for non-binary people. By trying to find myself back then, I was actually challenging the concept of the binary, but I didn't know it. My non-binary friend on that panel in October helped me realize that point when they thanked me. I now return the thanks to them for making me think and help me understand.

It took me all these years before I finally got my moment of clarity! *Deja Nicole Greenlaw is a trans woman who has 3 grown children and is retired from 3M. She can be contacted at dejavudeja@sbcglobal.net.

I am Trans, kinky & proud to be who I am, and I know many who are cis & are too By: Lorelei Erisis*/TRT Columnist

F

PHOTO: DAVID MEEHAN

ASK A TRANS WOMAN

or the past f e w months my column has been pretty overtly political, for what I imagine are understandable reasons.

However, this month, I thought I’d start the New Year with something a lot more personal—something positive, though it journeys through some negative territory.

Also, it’s worth mentioning that in order to get where I’m going here, I may have to get slightly graphic, or at least kinda TMI (too much information). So, if you’re not cool with frank discussions of sex or sexuality—or you’re my mom—this might be a column you want to skip. I won’t be offended; I’ll see you next month!

Okay, if you’re still here, let me define myself beyond being “simply” trans. I sometimes joke that I have an addiction to identities. As soon as my friends and family have acclimated to one, I just pile on a new one!

Anyway, in addition to identifying as a transgender woman, you will have probably

THE RAINBOW TIMES DIVERSE............just like our team is OBJECTIVE..........someone has to be INCLUSIVE........no one is left behind .....That is HOW media should be.....

gathered by now that I am proudly queer. I am also bisexual and polyamorous, and several other things as well, depending upon my mood, situational relevance and/or the day of the week.

But I aim to spend the bulk of this column exploring my kinkiness. I’m proudly and openly so. Though I don’t necessarily flaunt it, in quite the same way I fly my trans,

lifestyle.” I tend to get distracted by all the other things I’m always trying to do. At best, kink is something I play around with only sporadically. At that, it also tends to be one of the few things I reserve to that increasingly small segment of my time that I think of as my “private, personal life.”

However, it is an unavoidable fact of my life and transition that for the first several

HECK, SOME OF THE KINKIEST AND MOST ABSOLUTELY PERVERTED PEOPLE

I

HAVE MET HAVE BEEN QUITE CIS AND MARKEDLY HETEROSEXUAL. queer, bi, and poly flags for all to see, I don’t much hide it either.

I realized some years ago that hiding my proudly perverted past was going to be realistically impossible. I’ve never been good at keeping my own secrets and I do like to tell a good story, whether or not it’s necessarily a good idea in terms of my own privacy.

In fact, I recently had my first real rightwing hit piece done on me, and I was actually sort of disappointed that they hadn’t tried harder! I mean, all they really had to do was dig one or two more search pages in and they’d have found the really good stuff!

To be fair, nowadays, I’m not really a kink crusader. I’m not super active in “the

years of my transition, I was in a committed, long-term relationship with a fairly famous dominatrix named Widow Centauri. She is also, a sex educator, sociologist, standup comic, and stripper. But for now, the dominatrix part seems most relevant.

For the most part, I thought of her as my girlfriend, not my domme. And I was her girlfriend, not her sub. And it wasn’t all kink. There was a lot of Bikram Yoga, Negra Modelo, Zankou Chicken, and Adult Swim in that mix too. As well as a cranky orange cat and a lot of cross-country travelling. But, for the normality of it, yeah, okay, I actually lived a lot of very kinky experiences that most people only ever read about or come

across in late-night web searches.

Widow pushed my limits and explored my boundaries. She embraced and encouraged me to explore my trans identity. We did a variety of sex work together where I was often advertised as her “transsexual girlfriend.”

She sometimes specialized in “forced feminization fantasies” and early in my transition, people often made pretty negative assumptions about my own transition as a result of that. I can say quite honestly that she never made me do anything I didn’t want to do. Beyond sexy, good times, she never was anything more, or less, than completely supportive of where I decided to go with my journey through gender.

If I have a single fetish I will tell the general public about specifically, it’s to say, “Yes!” to new things. And while there’s a lot I’ve said, “Yes!” to that I probably wouldn’t do again, I don’t regret any of it. Honestly, I learned a great deal, not just about myself, but about people generally, what drives people and what makes their pulses race, and makes them sweat in the night, which turns out is the sort of thing that helps when one becomes an advice columnist and public speaker.

And though I’d been playing around with, and exploring kink, since long before I met my dominatrix ex-girlfriend, it was my time with her that really apprenticed me in what I know now. Experience that brought me from a curious dabbler, to a bona-fide expert.

This was also the time when I began my deepest and most realistic explorations of my gender identity. And to be perfectly frank, it was my earlier repression/denial/ex Read the rest of this story at: http://wp.me/p22M41-4De

16 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

‘Sex and the City,’ ‘The Good Wife,’ Kristin Wiig, Reba McEntire Why we’re actually glad Sex and the City 3 is happening It’s official. The ladies have signed on.

There will now be a third Sex and the City film. We don’t know what it’s going to be about. But we’re happy, and here’s why: the second one was godawful. If you have not yet admitted that to yourself, now is your opportunity. Bloated, tone-deaf, unfunny and glib, the second movie managed to turn off longtime fans—who often comfortwatch the TV series and first film—and give ammunition to those inclined to hate the franchise just for existing. But another shot at restoring the good name of this beloved foursome is very welcome. It’ll be a chance to see the brunching, shopping New Yorkers bring heart and soul, not merely style, to middle-age life, something we know can and should be a part of these stories. All it needs is to be handled with care and intelligence, a script that matters, and direction that understands why we loved them in the first place. We’re all counting on you SATC3: don’t f#@k it up.

The Good Wife spinoff delivers a lesbian lead CBS’s The Good Wife has a spinoff series on the way. It’s called The Good Fight, and will star Game of Thrones actor Rose Leslie as Maia, the goddaughter of Wife regular Diane (Christine Baranski). Maia will get caught up in a financial scam, one that also affects Diane, and will then have to rethink/jump-start her career. She will also be lesbian, with a regular girlfriend, although CBS declines to comment on that narrative move. It’s a terrific hook, and we can’t wait to see a lesbian take the lead and simply live her life, rather than be a novelty supporting character. The ensemble cast will include other Good Wife actors like Gary Cole, Cush Jumbo and Sarah Steele, alongside newly cast Delroy Lindo (Chicago Code), Paul Guilfoyle (CSI), Bernadette Peters (Smash), Justin Bartha (The New Normal) and Erica Tazel (Justified). Get your all-lady watching party set for Sunday, Feb. 19.

Kristin Wiig and Will Ferrell sing for the screen There is an odd and fascinating book you should read; it’s called Everything’s Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals, from Steve Young and Mike Murphy. It’s about the history of corporate America employing Broadway song and dance people to perform in industrial shows at corporate conventions. These shows would motivate the salespeople and push new products, and the Broadway actors would sing their hearts out about air conditioners, sometimes playing the role of the air

PHOTO: KATHCLICK

By: Romeo San Vicente*/Special to TRT

Reba McEntire

conditioner. Better yet, some of these shows were recorded and still exist. And now that uniquely weird American story is going to be a movie musical itself. To be produced by Marc Platt (La La Land), the film will star Kristin Wiig and Will Ferrell, with a script from Steven Levenson (Masters of Sex), and music from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Broadway’s upcoming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). We want—no, need—to see Kristin Wiig singing the role of a refrigerator, in a love duet with Will Ferrell as a stand-alone freezer. Not that we want anything rushed into production, but please rush this into production and take our ticket money yesterday.

Reba McEntire: She’s the sheriff Marc Cherry, gay creator of Desperate Housewives, has a new series in the works.

It has no name, but it has a star in country music legend Reba McEntire. Described as a “Southern Gothic soap opera,” the dramatic series is set immediately following a suspected terrorist act at a 4th of July parade in a small Kentucky town. And when the FBI sends a hot-shot Middle Eastern agent to investigate the aftermath, the local sheriff (McEntire) joins him in digging for clues and discovering local secrets. That’s everything we know about it for the moment, but we’re going to keep an eye on how this develops because it sounds like a strange, Twin Peaks-style situation in the making. Also because even though we never watched Reba’s sitcom and never will, we loved her in Tremors and we want material worthy of her status. Cherry should be able to provide that. *Romeo San Vicente slays Reba’s version of “Fancy” at karaoke.

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 17

18 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

The best of The Rainbow Times’ Coverage in 2016: Opinion columns and exclusive reporting Best of TRT 2016: Original/Exclusive Reporting The State of Transgender Rights: Legislation, Empowerment and Equality – Nicole Lashomb (https://goo.gl/92qBae)

By: The Rainbow Times’ Editorial Team

The year 2016 highlighted progress for Transgender rights in Massachusetts. Transgender public accommodations bill (S2407, https://goo.gl/uYFIoH) was passed in July, capping off a more than 10-year fight for explicit protections under Massachusetts law for transgender people in public places, including parks, restaurants, hospitals, and public restrooms.

However, despite collective gains, 2016 was also year riddled with devastation. Most notably, 49 lives were lost and 53 injured when a madman gunned down Latinx and LGBTQ individuals at Pulse Orlando nightclub, which sparked nationwide outrage, vigils and demonstrations of support. As a community, we proved that are indeed #OneOrlando. Locally, a group of cowards took to the streets of Salem, Mass. and detonated one of The Rainbow Times’ newspaper boxes in a senseless and hateful explosion (https://goo.gl/hHI9VB). However, the community rose together in strength and resilience, sending a message throughout the region that such acts will not be tolerated and we will never be silenced.

A public event (https://goo.gl/2VQmlR) in downtown Salem, proved that we were #OneSalem and that we had the community and allies’ support.

As critical non-profit organizations forged ahead, and expanded services specifically addressing concerns and needs of the LGBTQ community, hundreds of antiLGBTQ laws were proposed and some passed throughout the country. With an impending Trump presidency, discriminatory

CDC Reports Startling Increase in the Rise of STIs, Stresses Safe-Sex Practices – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/VH52rT) My Daughter’s Army: Greg Hogben’s Book on the Blatant & Subtle Oppression of Women, Gay Rights – Gricel M. Ocasio (https://goo.gl/PZFCWx) Report Highlights LGBTQ People Abuse, Discrimination Within the Criminal Justice System – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/v8wJXk) Boston Pride Withdraws Marshalship After Controversial FB Comments Surface – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/Ep4B5d) Trans Flag Flies at Boston City Hall: Momentum Pushes Mass. Closer to Passing the #TransBillMA – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/gSGJBE) legislation is on the rise for the LGBTQ community as depicted through the First Amendment Defense Act (https://goo.gl/hRtZWB), which attacks the very premise of equal rights and treatment under the law. With an all-Republican led government, equal rights have never been more in jeopardy. President-elect Trump has promised to sign it. Year 2016 was the year to brace for the storm and 2017 is the year

of #TheResistance.

The Rainbow Times covered many local and national stories featuring these and many more critical topics. TRT’s reporters proudly covered these events and more in exclusive and breaking news stories that quickly developed from confidential news tips or releases that turned into exclusive coverage too. Below are some of the coverage that were produced in-house, some of which caused us to scramble at the last minute to prevent our server from crashing due to high traffic from our readers. These samples are our picks for our memorable coverage in 2016, also based on feedback and social media shares.

Best of 2016: Guest and TRT Column Picks Complacency: Disaster for LGBTQ Rights in 2016, Beyond – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/ofAhvz)

Boston Medical Center Opens New Center Devoted Exclusively to Transgender Transition-Related Care – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/3YaVSu) Boston-Based Nonprofit Seeks to End Solitary Confinement in Mass. Prisons, Jails – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/y9AeJV) #WeAreOrlando – Tribute to #PulseOrlando – The Rainbow Times (https://goo.gl/zjMmy3) Exclusive: Massachusetts Bill Provides Explicit Legal Protections for Transgender People in Public Spaces – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/AcuK4M) Exclusive: Mayor Driscoll, the Salem AllStar and LGBT Community Champ – Nicole Lashomb (https://goo.gl/ZlBt0g)

Op-Ed: Changing an Institution from Within; My Experience as a Gay Methodist Pastor – Pastor Will Green (https://goo.gl/O5tf6J)

Art Exhibition Highlights Diversity of LGBTQIA People with Disabilities in Boston – Luke Sherman (https://goo.gl/FP0yz2)

Op-Ed: Scapegoating vs. Solidarity: Codifying Discrimination & Second Class Citizenship – Keegan O’Brien (https://goo.gl/rHyL4E)

Orlando Shooting Highlights Disparities, Oppression in Latinx Community – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/Uod9u0)

Op-Ed: How Do We Stop Violence Against LGBTQ People? – Keegan O’Brien (https://goo.gl/aJWuZl)

MA Gov. Baker Signs Historic Insurance Mandate to Cover HIV-Associated Lipodystrophy – Luke Sherman (https://goo.gl/IYxxFT)

#OneSalem unites after explosion, an introspection – Nicole Lashomb (https://goo.gl/2VQmlR)

Planned Parenthood League of MA to Provide PrEP at all Facilities – John Paul Stapleton (https://goo.gl/e6RV1m)

Ask a Trans Woman: After the Election, Importance of Strangers Protecting Strangers – Lorelei Erisis (https://goo.gl/Odb0Ue)

Salem LLC Hopes MOU Will Curb Alleged Voter Intimidation, Discrimination at Polls – Mike Givens (https://goo.gl/VhtnUj)

¿Qué es la HeteroFlexibilidad Masculina? – Francisco Cartagena Méndez (https://goo.gl/NsjIcG)

Anti-LGBT Views Surface About Caroline Colarusso, Ties to Tea Party – Mike Givens Read the rest of this story at: https://goo.gl/pDj483

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 19

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

QPuzzle: This month we remember George

Hope in 2017 from page 6 In these uncertain times, this blessed event should give comfort to anyone who has ever doubted there is always joy, hope, and happiness to be found no matter what is going on in the world or their personal lives. This beautiful event before a large, televised audience also helps to change the hearts and minds of those still fearful over the expansion of civil and human rights.

As I’ve noted on several occasions through the years writing this column, law by itself does not change hearts and minds, especially if people think their rights are being undermined. Because there is a law (judicial or legislative) doesn’t mean justice and goodwill prevail. Hearts and minds don’t necessarily change because the law did. Harsh attitudes can still undermine justice and

Fighting Prejudice from page 9

Across 1 Word that can take "homo" as a prefix 7 Bottomless 11 Christmas poem opener 15 Reign of ___ 16 Stick it in milk 17 Phrase of discovery 18 Flowing, for Bernstein 19 Optimist's phrase 20 “See ya,” in Soho 21 1984 song of 12-Down that ironically describes Dec. 25, 2016 for George Michael 24 “It's the End of the World ___ Know It” 27 Queens ballpark 28 Corp. bigshot 29 English actress Diana 30 Bottom 32 Antony or Caesar 36 Wet one's lips, e.g.

38 Reserved 40 Hairy member of the Addams family 41 With 56-Across, 1984 song of 12-Down 43 Doo-wop syllable 44 1939 Cukor movie 46 Tom Courtenay movie, with The 48 Cursive curlicue 49 Spacey in Beyond the Sea 51 David Bowie's “___ Today, Gone Tomorrow” 52 Beatty of Roseanne 54 Get better 55 Pigged out (on)

56 See 41-Across 61 Word on a map of Israel 62 Gay Cosmos author Eighner 63 Divine director John 67 Actor Auberjonois 68 It can bear fruit 69 Sibling offspring 70 Title for Uncle Remus's bear 71 States further 72 Walked like a man

Down 1 Tammy Faye's old club 2 Part of a giggle 3 URL ending 4 Lacking support?

5 Sappho's “I” 6 Bridge support 7 Capote's “Other ___, Other Rooms” 8 Obsolete word 9 Seal in the juices, to Traci Des Jardins 10 Gin diluter 11 Skin art 12 George Michael (19632016) and Andrew Ridgeley 13 Early movie dog 14 In order (to) 22 Showed gratitude, after getting an Oscar 23 Frida's wrap 24 Lets in

25 Calm down 26 Whitman or Wolfe 31 Ranking Mauresmo, e.g.

33 Longed for 34 Stick 35 Came close to 37 Broadway deal 39 Rejections 42 Bewitched 45 Sway 47 Sue Wicks or Robert Mapplethorpe 50 Gets more mileage out of 53 Greek triangle 56 Streisand nickname 57 “If ___ I Would Leave You” 58 Just dandy 59 Barbecue site 60 Rate at which you come 64 The Name of the Rose author 65 Carpet color at the Oscars 66 Away from NNW

SOLUTION

For Lupien, she simply has to look around to see how the nation’s new political reality flies in the face of what she, and the City of Lowell, stands for.

According to United States census data dating to July 2015 (https://goo.gl/EhOfop), more than 40 percent of the city’s population does not identify as white.

“We have a lot of vulnerable people,” Lupien said. “We’re supposed to be diverse and be proud of it.”

Even in a city such as Lowell, racism still runs high. In October 2015, the Lowell Sun reported incidents involving a high school class president receiving racist text messages (https://goo.gl/ws9LeU), which sparked contentiousness within the school and the suspension of six students. The attitudes toward immigration of the new administration, Lupien said, will surely exacerbate the problem even in cities with high minority populations.

“We’re supposed to be diverse and be proud of it,” Lupien said. “They are still human beings, and they feel exactly how you feel.”

The wheels are already turning. The group, which meets weekly, has already begun planning many initiatives.

Bystander training, which Lupien said has already become increasingly needed amid the elections, teaches what to do when a person experiences harassment.

Green serves on the Safe Zones Subcommittee, which is currently lobbying businesses to establish themselves as safe spaces for people who feel they are in danger. When

New Year from page 14 past few decades—which means that 2017 is no time to rest on our laurels. We don’t know yet what’s coming our way, but whatever happens we must be prepared to fight for our rights. Stay proud, stay vigilant, and most importantly stay on the right side of history. Do that, and together we’ll always come out on top.

6. Set New Goals and Map Out Paths to Success I’m a goal setter through and through, and I’ve found that the only way I have success in reaching them is to build an actionable plan around the end game. For example, if you want to increase your savings this year, it’s important to set weekly or monthly savings goals that, little by little, inch toward

good law.

What’s needed in the next four years is something in addition to legal and legislative tactics to preserve the rights gained for LGBTQ people across the country. There must be a sustained effort to directly and respectfully communicate with those most vocal about perceived threats to their religious freedom.

Remember, perception is reality. Hence, you must meet people on their terms and give them a reason not to be fearful. You need to give those who perceive you as different a reason to direct their energies toward other things. Don’t expect quick results. It also may be a test of your patience.

Bette Davis quipped in one of her movies, “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a Read the rest of this story at: http://wp.me/p22M41-4Dg

considered a safe zone, a business owner houses the harassed person and makes a commitment to keep them safe, including, but not limited to, calling the authorities to ensure the safety of a victim of harassment.

“It’s giving them a safe space until the harasser is gone,” Green said.

The group ultimately hopes to bring resolutions to the city’s government officials to make all of Lowell a safe place for the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and all marginalized groups.

People from all over the political, ideological, gender identity, and sexuality spectrum have come together in Solidarity Lowell to bring about change and to preserve the progress.

While Green said the safety of her transgender daughter has largely thrown her into the fight, Lupien, a white woman who identifies as cisgender, said in the privileged position she sits in the new threatening climate makes her feel an obligation to push for change.

“Once I recognized that, it became a moral imperative to use that for those without that privilege. I have a moral imperative to do something,” Lupien said. “Until everybody has what I have, I’m not OK with that.”

Yet at the very base of the matter, Lupien said doing the work Solidarity Lowell is involved in touches on something that is in all ways what it means to be an American.

“It’s about everything that is under threat, including our democracy,” Lupien said.

More information about Solidarity Lowell can be found on their Facebook page (https://goo.gl/v0uiEj). that larger sum. If you’d like to take a muchneeded vacation, start planning ahead by researching what it’ll cost in terms of transportation, lodging, food, activities, shopping and other expenses that you may incur. Whatever your lofty goals are, you’ll have an easier time meeting them when you break down into smaller tasks what it’ll take to get there. The payoff will be that much sweeter as well; you earned it and you deserve it. Happy New Year! *Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. He splits his time between homes in New York City and the Jersey Shore with his dog Jaxon. Connect with Mikey on Twitter @mikeyrox (https://goo.gl/69Iatu).

20 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

If you work with fascists you normalize the road to horror. You cannot try to “wait things out.” Those who lived through Nazi Germany and sat on the sidelines, looking on as Hitler demonized, criminalized, and eventually rounded up one group after another, became shameful collaborators with monstrous crimes. Don’t Conciliate …

Don’t Accommodate … Don’t Collaborate!

The Trump Regime Must and Can Be Stopped Before It Starts!

Our resistance must spread rapidly to every sphere and every corner of the country. Because we refuse to accept a fascist America, millions must rise up in a resistance with a deep determination such that we create a political crisis that prevents the Trump/Pence fascist regime from consolidating its hold on the governance of society.

And for that, we need the help of you, your organization and all of our LGBTQIA and HIV/AIDS communities. We need to join together and find common cause with all of the Americans, native born, naturalized, resident, and undocumented, under threat from Trump, Pence, Ryan and McConnell: • Women whose reproductive choices are under threat • Muslims being threatened with registries • Immigrants being targeted for deportation and their American born children threatened with losing their families • People and communities of color under threat from expanded stop-and-frisk policies and further militarization of a national lawenforcement structure long known by the FBI to have been infiltrated by White supremacist groups

THOSE WHO LIVED THROUGH NAZI GERMANY AND SAT ON THE SIDELINES,

HITLER DEMONIZED, CRIMINALIZED,

LOOKING ON AS

AND EVENTUALLY ROUNDED UP ONE GROUP AFTER ANOTHER, BECAME SHAMEFUL COLLABORATORS WITH MONSTROUS CRIMES. • Organized labor • Environmental and climate change activists So, what can we do to when we join the fight?

• We can sign and encourage our contacts, memberships and supporters to sign the Call to Refuse and Accept a Fascist America at refusefascism.org • On our website, we can download the graphic “NO!” images and print and mount

Signers, Jay W. Walker, Gays Against Guns John Grauwiler, Educator, ACT-UP, CoFounder, Gays Against Guns Kevin Hertzog, Co-Founder, Gays Against Guns Ken Kidd, ACT-UP, Queer Nation, Gays Against Guns Catherine Marino-Thomas, Emeritus Board President, Marriage Equality USA, Gays Against Guns Lou Markert, Gays Against Guns Mark Paige, RefuseFascism.org, Gay Activist

2016 Celebs from Page 13 PHOTO: NETFLIX

Resist from Page 12

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

them for protest actions and distribute them on social media. The image is also available on our Facebook page • We can rally our communities to join street protests scheduled during Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend (1/14 – 1/16) in Washington, DC • We can organize teach-ins • We can volunteer our time, and our skills to local organizing efforts in our own communities • We can join the mass rallies on January 19th, 20th and 21st in Washington, DC and in communities around the nation to let the world know that we shall not accept a fascist America!

It is so important that we do more than merely register our distaste for Trump, Pence and their agenda. We need to find cross-cultural, pan-demographic common cause and take a strong and visible stand to make clear that the vast majority of Americans will stand against this rising fascism.

Stand with us in the name of Humanity!

Letters from Page 6 off for this in NYC at Cooper Union.

Watched by a quarter millions people that night and still available to watch. We are organizing for a New Year’s even manifestation. Get involved.

—Toni Rossi, Online [The Trump Effect: Emboldening Prejudice, the Social Construct of Hate] Dear Editor, I had an idea of incidents that had happened, but not these many. This man needs to be impeached, especially with the Russia deep ties he has and the threat that that country represents to the US. They are like enemy #1. Moves and TV series have been made out of espionage and the jealousy that Russia has when it comes to all things American. Let’s stop this man before it’s too late.

We are Patriots. Trump isn’t one. Let’s safeguard our country and our people.

—Ray LaPierre, Online

We Still Remember

#PulseOrlando2016 and if I had a me when I was growing up to see, I would have perhaps been familiar to you guys a lot sooner than two years ago.”

—Tituss Burgess “When we get married we want our wedding party to just be our two sisters in tuxedos. Jack has a straight sister, I have a queer sister; they'd be our best men/women and we'll call it a day. That's our dream.”

—Lena Dunham "In my teenage years, I was very girly. I remember when I used to go on a French exchange in Paris and all the locals called me 'mademoiselle' because they thought I was a girl." —Hugh Grant

“I know what dark places feel like and I know what the absence of love and community feels like,

“I was a funny kid and that was one thing I always knew I had.

You know how you're insecure as a kid? I was like, ‘Well, I know I'm funny.’”

—Jane Lynch

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 21

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Vigilancia, fortaleza y unión en 2017: Preparémonos para #LaResistencia Por: Gricel M. Ocasio*/Publicadora de TRT

LATINX VOICES

¡Feliz Año Nuevo a todos nuestros lectores, a la comunidad LGBTT y a nuestros aliados! Este año pasado fue uno particularmente difícil para nuestra comunidad. Enfrentamos la muerte de nuestros hermanos LGBTT LatinX, de otras razas y de aliados también. La trágica muerte de 49 personas, incluyendo a alguien de Massachusetts que considerábamos como una amiga fue algo inesperado.

El odio y el menosprecio de muchos y como la prensa lo cubrió, sin interés, fueron reacciones inhumanas e insólitas.

Al observar la carencia de cobertura de ese acto infame y al ver la diferencia con la que la prensa nacional ha cubierto la campaña, la “presidencia” del presidente de muchos, Donald Trump, y las reacciones de muchos de sus seguidores: los blancos supremacistas, han sido cosas que nunca me esperé después de haber vivido casi más de la mitad de mi vida en este país. Como miembro de la prensa, siempre trato de que “The Rainbow Times” sea un periódico objetivo, que informe sobre todo lo que acontece y no sólo lo que le interesa a esta comunidad a la que pertenecemos. Por supuesto, somos un periódico liberal, pero reportamos sobre causas de otros grupos marginados (mujeres, niños, inmigrantes, #BlackLivesMatter, personas indigentes, con discapacidades y más), y la cobertura muestra esos paralelos. Después de todo, todos estamos luchando por la

equidad y los derechos que otros tienen—no más, no menos.

Seré aún más franca. Amistades en redes sociales, muchos de ellos que se llaman “cristianos” ni tan siquiera se nos acercaron a muchos de nosotros. Eso les pasó a miembros de nuestro equipo y a mi esposa y a mí también. Fue como si al no hablar de la tragedia, ellos podían olvidar que somos gay y que, de una u otra forma, se avergüenzan de nuestras vidas, así discriminando también como lo hacen los homofóbicos que abiertamente promueven dicho odio. Desgraciadamente, eso pasó en mi familia también.

Hubo personas que nunca lo mencionaron y, sin embargo, están muy dispuestas a dejar mensajes y “likes” cuando tiene que ver con otras situaciones triviales u otros actos de odio en contra de otros grupos—no los gays. ¿Piensan que eso se nos olvida o que no nos percatamos de su desdén? Piensen otra vez.

Esas mismas personas luego se acercan a predicar de un Todopoderoso que nos ama a todos. Y, sí creo que el Todopoderoso nos ama a todos por igual, pero no creo que así sea con los muchos “cristianos” que nunca, ni tan siquiera una vez, nos ofrecieron unas palabras de aliento ante tal desdicha. Muchos inclusive dijeron que “era bueno lo que había pasado pues se deshacían más de los ‘homosexuales’”. ¡Qué cristianos!

Nosotros, en el periódico, también fuimos nuevamente el blanco de crímenes de odio, algo que ha sucedido desde que el periódico fue impreso por primera vez, en febrero del 2007. Sí, cumplimos 10 Años de Aniversario en febrero. No importa el odio, aquí

SERÉ AÚN MÁS FRANCA. AMISTADES EN REDES SOCIALES, MUCHOS DE ELLOS QUE SE LLAMAN “CRISTIANOS” NI TAN SIQUIERA SE NOS ACERCARON CON UN PÉSAME. seguimos con nuestra frente alta, envueltos en las comunidades a las que pertenecemos, como miembros productivos de la misma, y con orgullo de ser profesionales que pensamos más allá de la orientación sexual o de identidad de género de un solo grupo marginado. En nuestro periódico se expone todo lo que es injusto, sin importar lo que sea. La injusticia es la injusticia, punto. Volviendo al tema, en agosto, le pusieron explosivos y la detonaron a una caja que contenía periódicos nuestros en el centro de la ciudad de Salem. Fue algo que verdaderamente sorprendió a la comunidad gay y a la de Salem.

Tuvimos un apoyo increíble, contrario a lo que sucedió en Orlando, y de no haber sido por la Alcaldesa Kim Driscoll, el Departa-

mento de la Policía de esta ciudad (la Jefa de la policía, Mary Butler, muchos de los concejales, y el Capitán Conrad Prosniewski) las personas que decidieron que enviar un texto no fue suficiente (y se los agradezco tanto) y nos llamaron como Kim Driscoll, Jeff Cohen, Jessica RoncaratiHowe, David Eppley, Beth Girard, nuestros padres, y mi hermana Patricia (y si olvido a alguien, por favor disculpen pues no es mi intención de hacerlo). Fue importante recibir esas llamadas. Hicieron una gran diferencia en como encaramos dicha cobardía. Eso fue difícil y todavía continúa el caso en corte este año.

Y este año también es uno en el que tendremos que batallar para mantener nuestros derechos como nunca antes lo hemos hecho en el pasado. En esta lucha que comienza en 20 de enero, tenemos que unir nuestras comunidades y grupos minoritarios aún más.

Al hablar con miembros de la comunidad y aliados, he afirmado mi sentir con relación a la presidencia de Trump, un hombre engreído, déspota, racista, homofóbico, sexista, vanidoso y muy ambicioso (para sus riquezas). Me preocupa su afinidad a todo lo ruso y a Putin, un hombre que fue muy claro sobre sus posiciones con relación a derechos humanos, en particular a los derechos de nuestra comunidad LGBTT durante los juegos de invierno del 2014 en Sochi, Rusia.

Además, un hombre que representa a un gobierno que intervino digitalmente con las elecciones de esta nación en una situación Lea el resto de esta historia en: http://wp.me/p22M41-4Di

22 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

adversaries, where are we headed? My supposition is to a dark and dangerous abyss that our history will frown upon, if a global catastrophic event doesn’t occur before then.

The foreign relations’ atrocities described above are not to diminish the presidentelect’s consequential actions and comments leading to heinous treatment of our own people within our country by fellow Americans. Undoubtedly, we are also heading toward legislation that rips equal rights and protections away from virtually every minority group residing in our homeland. Actions to push through the First Amendment Defense Act, FADA, strip millions of healthcare coverage, cut education funding and social security benefits are already underway. With a Republican-led Executive Branch and Congress, the next four years could prove to be dismal for many of us.

And, I’m not even mentioning the appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court.

Jan. 20 has not yet arrived and I remain unwavering in opposition to Trump’s inauguration. There are movements and continued demonstrations all around the country to band together dissidents of a Trump regime. I join in that cause. If at the end of the day we are not successful, at least I know I’ve done all I can to try and protect Read the rest of this story at: http://wp.me/p22M41-4Dk

HRC-CEI from Page 7

BAILEY SAID THE 2017 SURVEY ALSO SHOWED THE LARGEST SINGLE-YEAR INCREASE IN COMPANIES OFFERING TRANSGENDER-INCLUSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE. THIS YEAR, 73% OF COMPANIES SURVEYED OFFER IT, COMPARED TO 60% LAST YEAR.

the CEI survey, the organization works year round to advocate for the LGBTQ community on federal and state government issues.

In 2016, the organization championed the Equality Act (https://goo.gl/WcweIn), a federal bill that aims to create permanent protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in matters of employment, housing, access to public places, federal funding, credit, education and jury service. In addition, it would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in federal funding and access to public places.

According to HRC, more than 200 antiLGBTQ bills were introduced in states across the country during legislative sessions in 2016. While many of the bills were defeated, states such as Mississippi and North Carolina did adopt discriminatory legislation.

Mississippi’s HB 1523 (https://goo.gl/EVJSLQ) grants a wide-ranging license to discriminate against LGBTQ people and North Carolina’s HB 2 (https://goo.gl/jdaUND) forbids many trans-

gender people from accessing shared facilities in accordance with their gender identity, among other discriminatory components.

HRC will continue to advocate for these measures to be repealed. In North Carolina, they are working with Governor-elect Roy Cooper and lawmakers in Charlotte (https://goo.gl/B8hUuc), who have promised to enact comprehensive nondiscrimination provisions in their communities once HB2 is repealed.

In Mississippi, HRC organized a “Unite Against Hate” rally in December and commended Judge Carlton Reeves for blocking the bill’s implementation. That ruling is under appeal and could still be overturned as

can at least filibuster and gridlock harmful policies or create socially conscious bills that could help bring about equity in this nation.

Latinx activists have also emphasized the importance of movement mobilization in order to ensure such victories.

Teodoro reminds us, “the history of the U.S. has been a history of exclusion, [and] people forget that you were only considered a part of the ‘melting pot’ if you were from Europe. Only European immigrants could contribute and blend in to create the American identity.”

As a result, if we seek to ensure equity and justice for communities of color, including Latinx spaces, we have to empower our communities to actively fight for their rights to safety and liberty. The future will be a bright one! Trump may try to dim our brilliance, but we will win and we will succeed! *Mike Yepes is a genderqueer Latinx social justice activist in the Greater Boston area.

They graduated from Brown University in 2013 with a B.Sc. in Neuroscience and currently works in the realm of sexual health advocacy while applying to graduate programs to pursue a Masters in Public Health.

Their long term interests revolve around health care equity for immigrant, queer, and POC communities and those who find themselves at the intersection of these identities.

long as the bill is not repealed by Governor Phil Bryant.

“State governments have a clear choice between sowing the seeds of division and discrimination or building an economy that works for everyone by fostering fairness and inclusion,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a news release, “Unfortunately, too many lawmakers have decided to target LGBTQ people for state-sanctioned discrimination and to interfere with local protections for workers, customers, and residents. Now more than ever, it is crucial that legislators across the country stand on the right side of history and ensure full equality for all their citizens—nothing more and nothing less.”

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#TheResistance from Page 6

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became the fifth candidate in U.S. History to win the presidential election despite losing the popular vote (https://goo.gl/6mvtFV). Moreover, he lost it by the largest margin ever when compared to his four predecessors, John Quincy Adams in 1824, Rutherford B. Haynes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and George Bush in 2000.

My initial reaction to the results was fear of what this might mean for my own loved ones. However, as I engaged in dialogues with the broader Latinx communities in both Providence and Boston, I learned that many of us shared similar concerns. A realization made more concrete by media outlet exit polls conducted by The New York Times showed that 29% of Latinx constituents voted for Trump (https://goo.gl/zsIwpe).

Renata Teodoro, the former lead coordinator of the Student Immigrant Movement (SIM; http://simforus.org) and current member of the organization’s chapter at UMass Boston expressed concern over the elec-

level. And probably you might see a lot of pushback on labor regulations—leaving jurisdiction on the state level. The communities that will suffer the most will be in Republican-led states.”

Nariño, who is of Mike Yepes Colombian descent, added that the damage of a Trump presidency will even be felt along the axis of healthcare.

“Latinx communities get Obamacare at the highest rate and it’ll be interesting to see what happens moving forward [since Trump has attacked Obamacare throughout his campaign],” he said. “[According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services] 4.2 million Latinos have been able to get health insurance coverage through Obamacare,” (https://goo.gl/2LvBjW).

Many have looked to the future as a beacon of hope, reminding each other that Trump’s presidency will only last until 2020, at which point there will be an opening for a new leader. Furthermore, many seats in Congress will be up for reelection in 2018, providing many states with the opportunity to saturate the legislative branch with progressive candidates; leaders who

LESBIAN TOP 10

Trump Presidency from Page 6

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

tion’s impact on undocumented individuals.

Teodoro remarked, “We know that Trump promised to take away DACA and for people like me, that is how I survive. I have been able to work and support myself through this work permit and also been able to travel to visit my family in Brazil. The thought of me not being able to travel or that I could be losing my job in a few months is very scary.”

For those unfamiliar with DACA, it is also known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (https://goo.gl/OnJFc6). Approved in June 2012 by the Obama administration, this policy allows youth who immigrated to the U.S. before their 16th birthday and before June 2007 to receive a renewable twoyear deferral from deportation and a work permit to continue employment and academic studies in the country.

Outside the realm of immigration, a Trump presidency can also prove detrimental to the economic plight of the very citizens who elevated him to office—with a stronger blow to Latinx communities who often experience limited upward mobility on the socioeconomic ladder.

Santiago Nariño, president of the College Democrats of Massachusetts (http://macollegedems.org/) said, “In labor we’re probably going to see a huge amount of pushback on minimum wage. We’re going to see no progress in regard to labor [at] the federal

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January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017

Trump Era from Page 10

GIVEN THE PLATFORM OF THE

TRUMP/PENCE CAM-

PAIGN AND THE LEADERSHIP OF

CONGRESS, THERE IS

NOT A LOT OF PROMISE THAT WE'LL GET CLOSER TO THE END OF THE

HIV EPIDEMIC.

resist the Trump agenda of deportation, registries and divisiveness and the expected deep and sweeping funding cuts and redistribution of public resources.

Pulling together #ActivistBasics isn't just a way for me to feel useful. It's the result of me going through the very process I've just recommended—looking at my skills, resources, realities and passions to determine what will help me connect with my past, calm my breath in the present and get ready to face the future. As always, it is an honor to work in the HIV community, and I welcome your ideas, your strategies and your collaboration.

JD Davids is the managing editor of TheBody.com. Find him on Twitter @JDatTheBody. This article is an adaptation of a piece originally published on TheBody.com on Nov. 2016. This column is a project of Plus, Positively Aware, POZ, TheBody.com & Q Syndicate, the LGBT wire service. Visit their websites—http://hivplusmag.com, http://positivelyaware.com, http://poz.com and http://thebody.com — for the latest updates on HIV/AIDS.

FADA from Page 5 religious freedom laws. The clause states that if the laws in each state are stricter in terms of upholding religious freedom, then that state’s law supersedes FADA. States like Arkansas and Indiana have both passed controversial religious freedom bills.

“The bill is in its early stages of consideration, but the LGBTQ community needs to

TheRainbowTimesMass.com • The Rainbow Times • 23

HIV/AIDS from Page 8 tory provision for birth control, reducing Medicare benefits for the elderly, and stripping away insurance seekers’ rights to have pre-existing medical conditions covered by health insurers (https://goo.gl/C0hdMq).

Conservative bent notwithstanding, Price has still garnered the high-profile endorsement of the American Medical Association for the head of the Health and Human Services Department.

“Millions of people have been able to get access to quality health care thanks to the ACA, including many people living with HIV,” Sciortino said. “Obamacare makes it illegal to deny health insurance to people living with HIV. The law also makes it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in the provision of health care.

“In the United States, gay and bisexual men and transgender women, particularly those of color and those who are young, are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Repeal of the Affordable Care Act would be a colossal step backward that would ultimately cost us lives and public health care dollars.”

Price’s record on healthcare issues has also been called into question by several sceptics. Price is member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, an organization that infamously correlated abortions with higher instances of breast cancer, has denied that HIV causes AIDS, and categorically opposes doctors accepting "[There needs to be] lots of organizing and work with Congress and organizing people in their state to speak with their congressional representatives,” she said. “We’d have to find friendly republicans who will stand up against this and ensure that we have all the democrats on our side."

With the election of Donald Trump as President and with Congress under conser-

HARD-WON LEGAL PROTECTIONS FOR LGBTQ PEOPLE IN EMPLOYMENT, HOUSING, EDUCATION, PUBLIC SPACES, AND EVEN MARRIAGE RIGHTS COULD BE ATTACKED. keep a close watch on this dangerous bill, and mobilize broadly to stop it,” said Wu. Shields of MassEquality said that the individual religious freedom laws in states across the country could conflict with the FADA, if passed, and that the LGBTQ community needs to be proactive in ensuring the FADA’s failure in Congress.

vative control, Shields admitted that the future could be bleak for LGBTQ people, but reflected that collectively, the community has experienced tremendous oppression, but has always been resilient.

"Our communities have been through really tough times before, but we will survive."

Medicaid or Medicare from patients (https://goo.gl/kNFbLa).

“None of this bodes well for federal funding for HIV prevention in the future,” Sciortino said.

Healthcare in the Commonwealth Sciortino noted that one of the most effective ways to fight HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts is to provide younger people with the educational resources they need to make informed decisions about sex and their bodies.

“The people most vulnerable to HIV are young people, who simply are not getting accurate information about how HIV is transmitted and how to prevent it,” he said, emphasizing that passage of a law mandating comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education is pivotal to healthy and safe sex lives for young people as they enter adulthood.

“The benefits of a measure like this is that it would also help in [the] prevention of other sexually-transmitted diseases and infections as well as help prevent unintended pregnancies,” he continued. “The promotion of sexual health as a human right is long overdue.”

Currently, a coalition of progressive organizations are advocating for a law mandating that schools that do teach sexual education provide comprehensive curricula for students across the Commonwealth that includes information on abstinence, contraception, and healthy relationships with the goal of preventing unwanted pregnancies and higher incidents of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

With the confluence of the 9C cuts coupled with the impending Trump administration, Sciortino said that it’s more important than ever that local organizing and advocacy come to the forefront to continue the work of reducing HIV/AIDS diagnoses to zero.

“We are really going to need to turn to our

THE BUDGET CUTS, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS CUTS, WOULD

9C

“HOB-

BLE IMPORTANT INITIATIVES” THAT PROVIDE A RANGE OF LIFE-SAVING SERVICES AND SEVERELY IMPEDE THE SECOND AND THIRD GOALS OF THE

GETTING TO

ZERO COALITION. —CARL SCIORTINO local communities and state for leadership.

Now is not the time to pull back resources from the very people who are likely to come under attack from a Trump administration.”

24 • The Rainbow Times • TheRainbowTimesMass.com

January 5, 2017 - February 1, 2017