ENDA: Straight Acting Only?

After many years working as a bartender for Harrah's Casino, Darlene Jespersen was fired for failing to conform to the Casino's new 'personal best' grooming policy. As a female bartender, Jesperson was required to have her hair "teased, curled, or styled," and to wear stockings. Jesperson was also suddenly required to put on makeup everyday: lipstick and nail polish required.

It was a regimen she found burdensome and demeaning, and while sexual orientation was not an issue in her case, I know quite a few lesbians who might feel the same way. What would Ellen Degeneres do if NBC decided she needed to wear skirts on her show everyday? What would KD Lang do if her record label demanded she adopt a 'less masculine' haircut?

While this may not have happened to Ellen or KD, this kind of discrimination happens all the time. Darlene Jespersen lost her job because she did not live up to the female-specific requirements of her new dress code. And when she fought her termination in court, she lost.

Congress is now looking at two different versions of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. One would make this type of discrimination illegal. The other would not.

Congressman Barney Frank has chosen to introduce a straight-acting-only version of ENDA which bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation but not gender identity and expression. This version may protect gays and lesbians based on their sexual orientation, but it won't protect gays and lesbians who don't adhere to society's view of what men and women should be.

It won't protect the gay guy who dresses up in drag on halloween. It won't protect the lesbian who doesn't want to be forced to wear a skirt as part of a company uniform. It won't protect any gay man who can't live up to society's standards and "act more like a man". It won't protect any lesbian who can't live up to society's standards and "acting more like a woman."

We should be outraged that Barney Frank is considering a bill that excludes the transgender community, but let's be honest, the transgender community are not the only ones being thrown under the bus. Barney may argue that we should start with protecting straight-acting gays and lesbians, and then come back for the rest of the LGBT community later. As the Task Force other organizations have documented by looking at state laws, this simply does not happen. It is always easier to stand strong and stand united and pass an inclusive bill than it is to go back later and try and pass protections based on gender identity and expression.

Make no mistake, a straight-acting-only ENDA ais a hollow victory one that is not worth achieving because it takes us further, not closer towards the goal of protection from employment discrimination for all of us.

National Expert to Speak on Smoking and the LGBT Community in DC

National Expert to Speak on Smoking and the LGBT Community
Support Available for Smoking Cessation Programs in the DC LGBT Community

I'm pleased to share with you, that Scout, the Director of the National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, will be in town this Thursday, September 27th to conduct workshops on Smoking Cessation in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community. Scout's presentation is part of the First Annual Tobacco Free Families Conference, taking place from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Howard University Armour J. Blackburn University Center, 2397 Sixth Street, NW, Washington DC 20059.

Councilman David Catania, Chair of the Committee on Health, will provide the lunch keynote address at the Conference. Darrell Green, formerly of the Washington Redskins, will be on hand for closing remarks and to kick off the networking reception beginning at 5:15 p.m.

As you probably know, smoking remains a vitally important health issue for the LGBT community, so I'm thrilled that the conference is being so inclusive of our community.

I'm also excited that support is available for LGBT community groups who would like to improve the health of our community by reducing tobacco use and exposure.

Come to the conference to learn more, visit www.dctff.org to learn more.

The John Edwards Plan to Fight AIDS

Reprinted below is the John Edwards plan to fight HIV/AIDS here in the United States as well as around the world. It's a bold plan that I believe really sets him apart from the other candidates. Once again, I'm very proud to be supporting John Edwards for President. To download this document, click here

ENDING THE HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC

“The loss from HIV/AIDS is almost beyond understanding. This is a fight for people’s lives. Wehave a moral imperative to do much more, and do it much better.”– John Edwards

HIV is a preventable disease. But an estimated 40,000 new HIV cases were reported in the U.S. lastyear, and 4.3 million were reported around the world. HIV/AIDS is a treatable disease. Yet 17,000Americans and 3 million people globally died from it in 2005. [CDC, 2007; WHO, 2006]

John Edwards was the first presidential candidate – Democratic or Republican – to take on the biginsurance and drug companies and propose a plan for quality, affordable health care for every man,woman and child in America that offers everyone the option of a public plan. Today, John Edwardsbuilds on his plan for true universal health care with specific proposals to lead the fight againstHIV/AIDS at home and around the world. He will include a comprehensive new national strategy tofight HIV/AIDS, including:

• Guaranteeing health insurance to every American – including HIV/AIDS patients -- the care theyneed when they need it and expanding Medicaid to cover HIV-positive individuals before theyreach later stages of disabilities and AIDS.
• Fighting the disease in the African American and Latino communities, where the harm is nowgreatest.
• Calling for universal access to HIV/AIDS medicine across the world, investing $50 billion overfive years to meet that goal.

FIGHTING HIV/AIDS ATHOME

HIV/AIDS is still a crisis in America, particularly in African-American and Latino communities.The number of new HIV infections in the U.S. has not fallen in 15 years. As president, Edwards willhelp end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America. [CDC, 2005]

Guaranteeing Treatment for Everyone with True Universal Health Care by 2012: People withHIV/AIDS who don’t have health insurance or who have inadequate insurance are significantly morelikely to die from the disease. That’s the tragedy of the two health care systems in this country today– one for people who can afford the very best care and one for everyone else. True universal healthcare must be the foundation for a national HIV/AIDS strategy.

Edwards’ plan will ensure everyperson in America living with HIV/AIDS gets the care they need, when they need it. His plan willalso transform chronic care with a new patient-centered “medical home” approach where a primarycare physician will make sure patients are getting effective treatment from a coordinated team,including palliative care. [Bhattacharya, 2003]

Edwards supports the Early Treatment for HIV Act which will expand Medicaid to cover HIV-positive individuals in every state before they reach later stages of disability and AIDS. Currently, inmost states, individuals must receive an AIDS diagnosis to receive services under Medicaid even though research shows that the sooner individuals living with HIV receive treatment the better the outcomes. [Porco et al., 2004]

Creating a National HIV/AIDS Strategy: In 2001, the CDC set a national goal of reducing the annual number of new infections in half by 2005, but the actual number of infections has barelybudged. A 1998 presidential initiative set a goal of eliminating racial disparities in HIV/AIDS by2010, but disparities are as bad today as they were then. Our disappointments can be explained inpart by the failure to create a national strategy, backed by necessary funding and with clear and bold goals, specific action steps, real accountability and broad participation and buy-in from stakeholders both inside and outside of government. As president, Edwards will develop a National HIV/AIDS Strategy through an honest, comprehensive and fast-tracked process that involves stakeholders fromthe public and nonprofit sectors. The National Strategy will coordinate the various agencies withinand outside of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that affect HIV/AIDS policy.He will hold his HHS Secretary accountable for issuing an annual report on HIV/AIDS that charts progress towards our national goals, and he will appoint a strong director of the White House officeof AIDS Policy to keep these issues visible at the highest levels of government. [CDC, 1999, 2001, 2007;HHS, 1998]

Focusing on Disparities: About two-thirds of all new HIV/AIDS cases are diagnosed in AfricanAmericans and Latinos. African Americans are infected at nearly 10 times the rate, and Latinos atmore than three times the rate, of white Americans. A 2005 study of African-American men whohave sex with men in selected cities found that almost half are infected with HIV, and 67 percent donot know they have the disease. Latina women are six times more likely than white women to haveHIV/AIDS. Any serious effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic must begin in the African-American and Latino communities, including among the incarcerated population, and address their preventionand treatment needs. We must also continue to work intensively with important overlapping groups like gay men. [CDC, 2007; KFF, 2007]

Supporting Ryan White CARE Act Programs and HOPWA: Enacting true universal health carewill ensure patients have access to care, but fully funding the Ryan White CARE Act will remainessential to ensure that culturally-competent care is available for the special needs of people livingwith HIV/AIDS. These programs include outpatient HIV early intervention services, support serviceslike transportation, case management, substance abuse and mental health treatment, nutrition, family-centered care for children, access to clinical trials and delivery to hard-to-reach populations. Maintaining delivery of outreach and treatment services to the LGBT community, for example, isdependent on these programs. Edwards will also put an end to waiting lines for HIV drugs -- forexample, more than 300 people with HIV/AIDS are on a waiting list for medication in South Carolina– and increase funds for the Housing for People with AIDS (HOPWA) programs, only federal program that provides comprehensive, community-based housing for people with HIV/AIDS.[NASTAD, 2007]

Preventing HIV/AIDS with Scientifically-Proven Strategies, Not Political Ideology: The CDChas identified the three most reliable ways to prevent HIV/AIDS infections. Yet the Bush administration focuses on only one of them – abstinence. As president, Edwards will promotes allreliable prevention strategies, including comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education to ensureyoung people learn all the facts about preventing HIV/AIDS and harm-reduction programs thatprovide high-risk individuals with access to clean syringes. He will lift the ban on federal funding forneedle exchange initiatives. In addition, Edwards will support community and public education that encourages testing.[CDC, Undated; Bush, 2005]

Strengthening America’s Research Agenda: It used to be that more than four out of 10 requestsfor National Institutes of Health grants were approved. Now less than two out of 10 are approved,and existing grants are being cut back. One of those rejected requests might have led to abreakthrough on HIV/AIDS treatments. Edwards supports substantial increases in funding for theNational Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, as well as measures to ensuretransparency in funding decisions, accountability for results and aligning research with outcomes.[NIH, 2007]

FIGHTING HIV/AIDS AROUND THEWORLD

While the Bush administration initially increased funding for the global fight against HIV/AIDS,funding has now flat-lined. We must do more, and do it better. The fight against HIV/AIDS is afight for people’s lives, but President Bush’s way has us fighting with one hand tied behind our back.One-third of prevention funding goes to abstinence-only education that has been shown not to work.The U.S. has also refused to fund medicine approved by the World Health Organization, even thoughrequiring FDA approval means the U.S. sometimes pays up to three times more for drugs. Thismeans fewer people receive treatment, as the profits of drug companies are protected.[Goldberg, 2007;Carpenter, 2007; Love, 2007]

To restore our moral standing in the world, Edwards believes that America must be a global leader inthe fight against poverty and disease. Fighting global poverty and addressing global health crises is amoral imperative, but it is also a security issue. As president, John Edwards will fundamentallytransform America’s approach to the world and bring high-level attention to the fight against global HIV/AIDS by:

Providing Universal Access to Treatment Globally: A $4 dose of medicine can help prevent amother from transmitting HIV to her newborn at childbirth. In developing countries, HIV/AIDSmedications cost as little as $140 per patient a year – but, by mid-2006, fewer than one in four people who needed it had access to treatment. As part of a comprehensive plan to also fight TB and malaria around the world, Edwards has set an ambitious goal of providing universal access to preventive and treatment drugs for the three “killer diseases” by 2010, investing $50 billion over five years to meetthat goal. This includes fulfilling our moral responsibility to help strengthen public health systems and health care workforces in developing nations. While we can make current spending go further bybeing more aggressive with the pharmaceutical industry, Edwards will ensure the U.S. contributes its traditional fair share toward the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which hasproven itself as an innovative, effective model to fight disease.[UNICEF, 2005; U.N. Millennium Project,2005; WHO, 2007]

Using Trade Policy to Save Lives: Edwards will enact trade policies that save lives, rather than protect the profits of big drug companies. He will ensure that U.S. bilateral trade agreements respect the rights of countries to access and use generic medicines consistent with the Doha Declaration onthe TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. We must expand poor countries’ right to safe, affordable generic drugs to treat HIV/AIDS. The increased distribution of generic drugs has been a step in theright direction. However, as millions of people develop resistance to these drugs, we must beprepared to facilitate access to more effective medications. As president, Edwards will supportefforts to increase the importation and production in developing countries of second-line and pediatric drugs. He will also re-assess the Bush policy that forces us to pay higher prices for drugsthat have been approved by the FDA, when less expensive drugs have already been approved by theWHO and their safety is reliable. WHO safety standards are relied upon by leading international organizations, including the Global Fund.

Expanding the Role of Multilateral Organizations: America’s reluctance to engage the world through multilateral organizations under President Bush has hurt our ability to combat poverty and fight HIV/AIDS. Edwards believes multilateral institutions like the Global Fund can be far moreefficient at using taxpayer dollars than bilateral agencies like the President’s Emergency Plan forAIDS Relief, with far lower overheads. As president, Edwards will support efforts to increase the role of multilateral institutions like the Global Fund in distributing funds to fight HIV/AIDS, ratherthan just bilateral aid agencies and their contractors.

Rescinding the Global Gag Rule: In 2001, President Bush signed an executive order barring U.S. family planning aid to foreign non-profits that offer abortions, except in the case of a threat to awoman’s life or incest, that provide abortion counseling or that lobby to make abortion legal. This“gag rule” stifles free speech and forces non-profits to choose between vital U.S. funds and providingessential health services. The “gag rule” has hurt efforts to ensure access to contraception methods that can prevent the spread of HIV. Edwards will overturn this order and restore support for effectivefamily planning.

Creating a Cabinet-Level Post on Global Poverty: Despite its importance to our national securityand international standing, America still lacks a comprehensive strategy to fight global poverty. Ourforeign aid programs are fractured and uncoordinated, delivered by over 50 separate government offices. As a result, bureaucrats fight over overlapping jurisdictions and resources are not tied to anygovernment-wide priorities. As president, Edwards will create a new cabinet-level position that willcoordinate global development policies across the federal government and be a voice for the fightagainst global HIV/AIDS.

Promoting Women’s Rights and Universal Education: Strengthening the rights of women and increasing education will help change social roles that underlie the spread of HIV in many countries. Reducing violence against women and expanding education are both proven means of preventingHIV. Edwards will aggressively support political and economic rights for women where they do notexist and support efforts to reduce violence against women and children. He will also lead the worldtoward a primary education for every child, endorsing the goal of achieving universal basic educationby 2015. As part of a significant increase in overall funding for poverty-focused development assistance, Edwards will lead a worldwide effort to raise $10 billion to fund this cause.[UNAIDS,2005; World Bank, 2002]

Supporting Debt Cancellation: Debt owed to Western lenders prevents many poor countries frommaking the kinds of investments in health and education that can help prevent the spread of HIV andother diseases. Edwards will take the next step on debt relief by eliminating bilateral debt owed tothe United States by the world’s poorest countries, freeing up resources for these countries to investin health and education. He will also call on other lender nations to follow our lead.

HIV Vaccine Research Presentation in DC October 1st

Please join us Monday October first for an interactive, educational discussion that talks about what an HIV Vaccine is, how close we are to achieving a vaccine, who’s working on an HIV Vaccine and where, and how you can volunteer and get involved.

The Center has put together a wonderful event on Monday, October 1st, from 7PM to 8:30 PM at one of my favorite neighborhood hangouts, Dakota Cowgirl/Titan, 1337 14th Street NW. The event is free and open to the public and light snacks will be provided.

Speakers include: Sandra Sitar and Dr. Barney Graham from the Vaccine Research Center, Former Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE) co-chair Scott Simpson, and yours truly, David Mariner.

Co-Sponsors: HIV/AIDS Administration, DC Department of Health, and Whitman Walker Clinic.

download a flyer for this event

Queerty Interview with David Hardt

Queerty has an excellent interview online with David Hardt. Hardt made history this summer when he became the first openly LGBT person elected president of the Young Democrats of America. David states "I am very proud that I campaigned as and was elected with a fairly high margin as an openly gay man. It shows that there really is a shift in the mind set of people my age, especially in the Democratic party. It really isn’t much of an issue to be openly gay anymore."

read the whole article here

Tuesday Night at Halo - Meet Jared Polis

Please join us Tuesday, September 4th at 8:30 to 9:30 PM at HALO to spend an evening with openly gay Congressional candidate for Colorado's second district.

Jared Polis has served six years on the Colorado State Board of Education and seven years on the Colorado Democratic Party Executive Committee from 2000-2007. He is a succesful business man, a proven leader. With your help, he can become the next openly gay Democrat elected to Congress and be a powerful voice for our issues.

Please join us THIS TUESDAY NIGHT at Halo to meet Jared and to find out more.

David Mariner

PS: Jared was recently endorsed by Equality Giving. I've included their endorsement below.

Equality Giving Endorsement Message on Jared Polis

Jared Polis is running for Congress in Colorado's 2nd district for the seat that will be vacated by Representative Mark Udall who is running for US Senate. If Polis wins, he would be the first openly gay man elected to Congress as a freshman.

Polis supports all the Equality Goals including marriage equality. We could count on Representative Polis voting for Employment Non-Discrimination, Hate Crimes, repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and any other pro-equality bills that would come his way.

Polis needs to win the Democratic primary in Colorado next year in August. The winner of the primary is likely to win the general in this heavily Democratic district that includes Boulder. While his opponents have strong credentials as well, Polis has out-fundraised them so far, indicating he has a great shot of winning. His fundraising must continue to be strong for him to remain competitive.

Polis is a successful entrepreneur and businessman, a proven community leader, a loyal Democrat and dedicated citizen. Additionally, Polis has been very active in improving education in Colorado and created the Jared Polis Foundation, founded the New America High School, and co-founded the Academy of Urban Learning in addition to serving on Colorado's State Board of Education for six years.

Please give what you can today to help Polis become just the 3rd openly gay politician in Congress, joining Representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank.

For up to date information on the LGBTQ equality positions of all candidates running for US President, please go to our website, www.eQualityGiving.org under politicians.