Six Bay Area counties are expected to announce a “shelter in place” order for all residents on Monday, directing everyone to stay inside their homes and away from others as much as possible for the next three weeks as public health officials desperately try to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus across the region.
County authorities were expected to announce the move at 1 p.m. and gave a draft of the order to media outlets to prepare. The Chronicle is reporting the story after a television station published the news early.
The directive begins at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday and involves San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties — a combined population of more than 6.7 million. It is to stay in place until at least April 7.
An attendee at a fundraising dance party in Miami for the National LGBTQ Task Force has tested positive for the coronavirus, the organization informed participants last night in a letter shared with the Washington Blade.
The organization — best known for its annual “Creating Change” conference — informed attendees of the event Sunday night about the attendee who tested positive for coronavirus via a letter from Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force.
“I was informed that one of our Winter Party Festival guests tested positive for COVID-19 in the week following our event,” Carey said in a news statement Monday. “We are grateful to them for alerting us, particularly given that they were not experiencing symptoms during WPF and had traveled elsewhere, but wanted to make sure we were aware of this development.”
The Winter Party, which took place this year March 4 to 10, is a week-long celebration of beach parties and nightclub dancing in Miami. According to the Task Force, the official number of attendees at the event was 5,500 people.
It’s unknown how the attendee was infected. The Task Force as of Monday morning had yet to report other cases of attendees testing positive for coronavirus.
Carey said in the letter “there are many places people could have been exposed before and after Winter Party as this virus has developed.”
But coronavirus infection among event attendees doesn’t appear to be isolated to one individual, based on an account of one participant at the event.
The attendee, who spoke to the Blade on condition of anonymity, said Monday he had direct exposure to one friend who subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus.
“Within my group of friends, 10 or so of us have flu-like symptoms,” the attendee said. “I’ve chatted with acquaintances who in most cases say that they have many sick friends within their groups as well.”
The attendee added he’s part of a group chat with roughly 80 members and an estimated 20 of them say they have flu-like symptoms.
“Most of us are not eligible for testing so are self quarantined and recovering at home,” the attendee said.
Based on social media posts, the attendee said there could be up to three confirmed cases of Winter Party attendees who tested positive for coronavirus.
Carey insisted in a news statement the Winter Party was still held amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus based on “official guidance available at the time.” Precuations undertaken at the event, Carey said, included comprehensive signage with CDC information about practicing good hygiene and making alcohol-based hand sanitizer available throughout the Festival.
“Information and circumstances have changed rapidly since WPF,” Carey said. “We continue to encourage all WPF guests to monitor their health, practice social distancing, wash hands with soap, use hand sanitizer and contact their doctor if they think they are exhibiting symptoms. If one tests positive for COVID-19, we urge them to contact those they were in direct contact with so all can take steps to monitor their health and speak with their doctors.”
The Washington Blade has placed a request for comment with the Task Force about whether there are additional reports of infections.
In the aftermath of the Winter Party, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said during a news conference Sunday the beach would be closing from 5th Street to 15th Street, and there would be an 11 p.m. curfew in the entertainment district, according to a local report from NBC Miami.
“We can’t have the kinds of crowds we’ve had, the kinds of gatherings,” Gelber was quoted as saying. “I walked down Ocean Drive yesterday and what I saw was incredibly disturbing, it wasn’t just the typical large gatherings of people, but it was young people who believe they’re invincible and probably don’t really think of this in any way as a health crisis.”
The Task Force’s decision to move forward with the Winter Party last week was met with anger on social media Monday in the aftermath of the report over coronavirus infections and warnings all public events should be cancelled.
The world’s largest LGBT+ cruise line has come under fire for reportedly refusing refunds for an upcoming trip during the coronavirus pandemic.
The UK government’s latest travel advice states that people over 70 and those with pre-existing health conditions should avoid cruises after a number of ships around the world were locked down because of COVID-19 outbreaks onboard.
Several major cruise companies have cancelled trips with a full refund. Others have opted to continue running but will give a full refund to customers who choose not to travel.
But Atlantis, a cruise line that charters all-gay vacations with Celebrity, did not offer customers the same.
On March 9 Atlantis changed its cancellation policy “to provide our guests more flexibility in these uncertain times” – but it only agreed to offer customers company credit if they cancel a minimum of 60 days before their ship departs.
“We hope this temporary policy change provides you with the peace of mind that your payments are safe and that we understand your concerns,” the statement said.
It’s no consolation to those who are booked on Atlantis’ southern Caribbean cruise from San Juan, Puerto Rico, which is due to depart as planned on March 21, next Saturday.
Furious customers shared their concerns in a Facebook group set up for the cruise, with one accusing Celebrity and Atlantis of “corporate greed during the most unprecedented pandemic of our generation”.
LGBT+ people are more vulnerable to the coronavirus due to the prevalence of smoking in the LGBT+ community, higher rates of HIV and cancer, and barriers to healthcare. Add this to the fact that the average cruise-goer is aged 55 or older, and many customers were desperate to cancel.
One cruiser aged 73 booked the cruise with his husband, 67, before the pandemic began. “I’m requesting the ability as every other normal cruise customer has of being able to cancel, with a rain check for a future cruise,” he commented.
Others were worried about infecting loved ones on their return. “When everyone gets off the ship, we would likely be responsible for putting in danger thousands of people by carrying/spreading a virus that, while it will not kill us, could harm or kill some of our family members,” one man wrote.
Atlantis’ vice president of marketing, Jim Cone, clarified the cancellation policy to LGBTQ Nation.
In an apparent contradiction of the company’s previously stated travel advice, he claimed that the cruise line will refund all customers who can’t travel to the US because of the European travel ban, those on Celebrity’s restricted list, and medical professionals who regularly work with patients.
He said refunds will also be given to elderly customers and those with a respiratory problem or other “significant health issues”.
“We have contacted most of these guests already, but if they fall into one of these groups, they should contact Atlantis directly to make the appropriate accommodations for them,” Cone said.
“Most of these guests have travel insurance and we will work with others on a case-by-case basis.”
This information is not listed on Atlantis’ website, nor is there any advice on the risk of the ship being quarantined, or the potential need to self-quarantine after the trip.
Irreverence defines every decision in Tupelo Hassman’s new novel, gods with a little g. From the beginning, the main character, Helen Dedleder, demands your attention by telling you not to bother paying attention. In the first chapter, she describes waving a sign that reads, “Keep going,” at the people flying over her town of Rosary, California. Rosary’s name is no accident—the author chose it in order to riff off the religious connotations of the word. gods with a little g is full of prayers, evangelists, Bible thumpers, holier-than-thou hate mongers, gay bashers, porn-hoarding believers, and a gang of teenage malcontents, the not so affectionately named Dickheads, whose very existence proves just how sordid and hypocritical the town of Rosary can be.
Helen is one of those Dickheads. Most of the time, she goes by Hel (a fact that sometimes rankles her devout if dispirited father). Her mother died before the events of the book begin, and, since then, Helen’s father has been a wreck. When the novel opens, we see him so broken that he has trouble performing even the most basic acts of self-care. Helen has to sit on the toilet lid and walk him through all the steps of showering. “Is your hair wet, Dad?” “Pour some shampoo into your hand now.” It’s a sad scene made all the worse for the fact that Helen is just a teenager and is still figuring out how to take care of herself and who she even is. In that regard, she makes many understandable mistakes.
One such mistake is falling for a Dickhead nicknamed Bird. This Bird is such a complete and total shit that it’s expected that he’ll beat someone up at school every day. It’s how he passes the time. Early on in the book, he beats up the new kid, Winthrop Epsworthy, who always wears a dress shirt and tie to school in the beginning (later, he loses the tie). Helen helps Winthrop, and so begins a friendship in which Helen, Winthrop, and his trans sister Rainbolene spend their days eating ice cream, drinking beer with the other Dickheads at Fast Eddie’s Tire Salvage, and giving dramatic readings of hilariously bad Christian romance novels. Theirs is a charming friendship—except for the fact that Helen can’t admit she’s in love with Winthrop. That’s another mistake; so is pursuing a sexual relationship with Bird even though (thanks to Mr. Dedleder’s surprising and, in some respects, off-putting romance with Bird’s mother) they become stepsiblings.
Each of these mistakes serves a purpose, however, and it’s a testament to Hassman’s skill as a writer that readers not only don’t find these mistakes frustrating but actually understand why Helen makes them. Throughout, her witty, irreverent, progressive voice and unique point of view propel readers to keep reading even when the subject matter proves difficult. Some readers might find the setting of Rosary, California, hard to stomach, and for good reason. It’s the kind of place where none of the kids has a cell phone except the one trans girl who must have it for protection, where Fast Eddie gives underage girls beers if they flash their tits, where the Psychic Encounter shop Helen’s Aunt Bev owns gets firebombed one night and no one is arrested. This town, for all its sanctimonious rhetoric, just fundamentally is not safe.
Had Hassman not chosen, at the end of the book, to push back against stricture and depict her characters defying the rules of Rosary, gods with a little g would be a much less hopeful (and successful) book. On the penultimate page, Helen and Winthrop post a sign that offers, via coded language, price-negotiable, judgment-free trips to the neighboring town of Sky where young girls in trouble can seek “deliverance.” It begins: “Need a lift?” As a result, the narrative concludes on an uplifting note that holds within it the seeds of change not just for Helen but for Rosary and for teenagers everywhere resisting oppression in ultra-religious communities. If there’s one bad note in the novel, it comes in the chapter titled “Discipline,” the narration of which is needlessly self-conscious to the point of being distracting. Otherwise, gods with a little g is a near-perfect novel.
gods with a little g by Tupelo Hassman Farrar, Straus and Giroux Hardcover, 978-0374164461, 368 pp. August 2019
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced all “bars, nightclubs, wineries, brewpubs and the like” must close temporarily due to the threat of coronavirus. “We are directing that all bars, nightclubs, wineries, brewpubs and the like be closed in the state of California,” Newsom announced Sunday afternoon, calling them “nonessential” businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We have absolute expectation this will be socialized in real-time today,” he said. The directive does not apply to restaurants, which are still considered essential, as Newsom said some individuals cannot safely prepare food in their homes. “We don’t believe this is necessary at this moment,” he said. However, all restaurants will be required to halve their occupancy in order to achieve appropriate social distancing.
More than 100 LGBTQ or LGBTQ supportive organizations on March 11 released a joint open letter to health care providers and media outlets urging them to be aware that LGBTQ people may be at greater risk for the Coronavirus than the general public.
D.C.’s Whitman-Walker Health is part of a coalition of six organizations that initiated the letter, according to a statement released by the groups.
Other groups making up the coalition include the National LGBT Cancer Network, Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality; the LGBTQ senior’s advocacy group SAGE, the New York Transgender Advocacy Group, and the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.
“As the spread of the novel coronavirus a.k.a. COVID-19 increases, many LGBTQ+ people are understandably concerned about how this virus may affect us and our communities,” the letter states.
“The undersigned want to remind all parties handling COVID-19 surveillance, response, treatment, and media coverage that LGBTQ+ communities are among those who are particularly vulnerable to the negative health effects of this virus,” the letter says.
“Our increased vulnerability is a direct result of three factors,” the letter continues. “The LGBTQ+ population uses tobacco at rates that are 50 percent higher than the general population,” it says, adding, “COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that has proven particularly harmful to smokers.”
The letter notes that the LGBTQ+ population also has higher rates of HIV and cancer, “which means a greater number of us may have compromised immune systems, leaving us more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections.”
A third factor making LGBTQ people more vulnerable to the newly discovered virus, the letter claims, is LGBTQ people “continue to experience discrimination, unwelcoming attitudes, and lack of understanding from providers and staff in many health care settings.” As a result, the statement adds, “many are reluctant to seek medical care except in situations that feel urgent – and perhaps not even then.”
The letter recommends that media outlets report on particular vulnerabilities of “any person” with a pre-existing respiratory illness, compromised immune system, or who uses tobacco products. It calls for providing LGBTQ+ individuals with “resource to find welcoming providers” if they are experiencing symptoms like a cough or fever and need to seek medical attention.
The full text of the joint letter and additional information on how LGBTQ people may be impacted by the Coronavirus can be found at cancer-network.org/coronavirus.
The State Department’s annual human rights report that was released on Wednesday notes violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity was commonplace around the world in 2019.
The report notes authorities in Chechnya continued “a campaign of violence against individuals perceived to be members of the LGBTI community.”
It specifically cites the Russian LGBT Network — an advocacy group based in the Russian city of St. Petersburg — that indicates Chechen authorities “illegally detained and tortured at least” 40 people during a period that ended in January 2019. The report also notes two of them “died in custody from torture.”
The report notes Iran and Saudi Arabia are among the handful of countries in which homosexuality remains punishable by death. It also highlights a provision of Brunei’s penal code that sought to impose the death penalty for anyone found guilty of consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Uganda, Jamaica and Guyana are among the dozens of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain illegal. The report notes Gabon in 2019 criminalized homosexuality among adults.
The report notes anti-LGBTQ violence remains widespread in Brazil and in many other countries. It also highlights the case of Camila Díaz Córdova, a transgender woman who was murdered in El Salvador in January 2019.
Three Salvadoran police officers have been charged with Díaz’s murder, but the report does not note she was killed after the U.S. deported her. The report also includes Díaz’s birth name.
The report notes Cuban authorities last May 11 arrested several activists who participated in an unsanctioned LGBTQ rights march in Havana. The report also references this reporter’s detention at the Cuban capital’s José Martí International Airport three days before the event when he tried to enter the country.
Angola decriminalized homosexuality in 2019
The report notes lawmakers in Angola in 2019 approved a new penal code that decriminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations in the country.
Botswana’s High Court last June issued a ruling that legalized homosexuality in the African nation. The report notes the Batswana government appealed the landmark ruling.
“As our founding documents remind us, nothing is more fundamental to our national identity than our belief in the rights and dignity of every single human being,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday at the State Department. “It’s in our Declaration of Independence.”
“On this issue, all Americans have common cause with freedom-loving peoples all around the world,” he added.
Pompeo in his remarks also referenced the Commission on Unalienable Rights, which stresses “natural law and natural rights.”
Activists have sharply criticized the commission, in part, because Pompeo named Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard Law School professor who is known for her vocal opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples, as its chair.
The Council for Global Equality is among the organizations that sued the State Department in federal court last week. They allege the State Department last year violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act that requires “when the Executive Branch establishes or uses non-federal bodies for the purpose of seeking advice and generating policy, it does so in a transparent way that allows for meaningful public participation” when it created the commission.
“Secretary Pompeo often argues that the modern proliferation of human rights claims cheapens the currency of human rights,” said Council for Global Equality Chair Mark Bromley in a press release that announced the lawsuit. “But it is this illegal commission, with its warped use of religious freedom and natural law to deny rights, that cheapens the very notion of religious freedom and our country’s proud tradition of standing up for the rights of those who are most vulnerable.”
The Trump administration last year announced Richard Grenell, the openly gay U.S. ambassador to Germany who is also acting director of national intelligence, would lead a campaign that encourages all countries to legalize homosexuality.
The U.S. Embassy in Germany last July hosted Harvey Milk Foundation President Stuart Milk and other LGBTQ activists from around the world. Grenell and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Knight Craft last Dec. 18 held an event alongside a U.N. Security Council meeting that highlighted efforts to decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations around the world.
OutRight Action International is among the LGBTQ advocacy groups that have expressed skepticism over the initiative. The Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ rights record in the U.S. and its overall foreign policy continues to spark widespread outrage among activists and their supporters.
In light of the current coronavirus pandemic, and with heavy hearts, the leadership of Sebastopol Center for the Arts has decided to postpone all public events, gallery exhibits, programs and classes. This includes the postponement of the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival.
We believe it is time to step back from our public activities and focus on the health and safety of our staff, volunteers and audience. We will maintain our current staffing, but will be closed to the public until further notice.
The Center’s leadership, board and executives are evaluating coronavirus-related conditions on a daily basis. Our evaluation includes adhering to directives from the City, County and State, as well as examining our own health and financial liabilities.
Please stay in touch with us via our website where this notice and new updates will be posted regularly. If you want to reach out to us with specific questions or needs, call 707.829.4797 Ext 1008 and leave a message. Or email us at [email protected].
From Occidental Center for the Arts
In the spirit of promoting the safety and well-being of our audiences, performers and artists, we are suspending our events and activities until the end of March.
This decision has been made with hope that social distancing now will assist with the containment of COVID19, and will allow us all to resume normal activities as quickly as possible. We will be rescheduling all of the events impacted by this decision, and will inform you as soon as new dates are secured. If you had already purchased tickets to an OCA event between March 14 and March 29, you will automatically receive a refund.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. On behalf of myself, the OCA Board and our dedicated volunteers, we look forward to resuming our excellent musical and artistic experiences very soon!
From Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
With the latest recommendations from Sonoma County officials and Governor Newsom to cancel or postpone large-scale events, the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts will be contacting all of the artists and arts groups scheduled to perform in the 1600-seat Ruth Finley Person Theater through the end of March. We will be working diligently to reschedule performances.
As soon as we know the status of each event, we will communicate with all ticket holders regarding next steps: current tickets will be honored on rescheduled dates or, for cancelled events, how to obtain refunds or convert tickets to a tax-deductible donation.
The health of our patrons, students, artists, volunteers and employees is paramount. We will keep our community updated via email, as well through social media channels and on our website at the following link: https://lutherburbankcenter.org/healthandsafetyupdate/
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact our Patron Services staff at 707.546.3600 (Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.).
March Santa Rosa Symphony concerts cancelled
Santa Rosa Symphony, in response to local, state and CDC guidelines, has cancelled all performances through the end of March. The Symphony will keep patrons updated via email,srsymphony.org and social media channels regarding its rescheduling efforts, and it is in direct contact with its subscribers and single ticket buyers.
To protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, the California Department of Public Health announced Wednesday, March 11, 2020, that gatherings and events of more than 250 people be canceled, at least through the end of March, which includes the Youth Orchestra Showcase Concert on March 15 and the Symphony’s upcoming “Showcasing Cotemporary Women” classical concerts March 21-23, 2020.
“We believe this is vital to minimize the potential health risk to our patrons, musicians, volunteers and staff,” said Santa Rosa Symphony President and CEO Alan Silow.
We are hopeful that by May we will be able to celebrate and engage in classical music once again, together.
About the Santa Rosa Symphony
Santa Rosa Symphony, the Resident Orchestra of the Green Music Center, is the third-oldest professional orchestra in California, and the largest regional symphony north of Los Angeles. Francesco Lecce-Chong, the Symphony’s fifth music director in its 92 years, began his tenure in 2018. The Symphony is committed to core values of artistic excellence, innovative programming, comprehensive music education and community service. The organization infused the local economy with more than $4 million in 2018.
Currently in its 92nd season, the Symphony’s performance schedule includes 21 Classical Series concerts (7 sets), 7 Discovery Dress Rehearsal concerts, a 3-concert Family Series and a 4-concert Pops Series, as well as special concerts. The Symphony is also recognized for having one of the most comprehensive music education programs in California, serving nearly 30,000 youths annually.
Collaborations with schools and organizations across Sonoma County have gained the Santa Rosa Symphony national attention and support. Awards include an American Symphony Orchestra League MetLife Award for Community Engagement and a first-place award for adventurous programming in the 2012-2013 season from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
Los Angeles’ annual gay pride celebration has joined a growing list of events across the country that have been postponed, canceled or suspended amid fears of the coronavirus pandemic. The LA Pride Festival and Parade, now in its 50th year, will be pushed back to a yet unknown date from its traditional mid-June kickoff, organizers announced Thursday.
Due to the concerns of COVID-19, CSW will postpone all events related to the 50th Anniversary of LA Pride that were scheduled for June 2020. Organizers are assessing the situation. More information to be provided around the postponement as details become available.1,1913:54 PM – Mar 12, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy580 people are talking about this
The decision came after the city of West Hollywood, the gay enclave where the march takes place, implemented a series of cancellations for all city-sponsored and funded events prior to June 30, and advised others to do the same. Estevan Montemayor, board president of Christopher Street West, the nonprofit that organizes LA Pride, said the decision to postpone the event was made in the interest of public safety.
“This postponement is going to give us a little more time to work with our city officials to make sure that first and foremost everyone is safe and healthy,” he told NBC News. “That is the priority for everyone.”
Los Angeles’ annual pride festival traces its roots to 1970, making it one of the first such events in the country. Since its debut, it has been held in June in honor of the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York, widely thought of as the event that helped spark the modern-day gay rights movement. The hugely anticipated event — which draws hundreds of thousands of people from across the country — reportedly generated nearly $75 million in economic output last year.
Montemayor said Christopher Street West is still working with city officials to confirm a new date, but he emphasized that the event would not be canceled.
“We hosted the world’s first legally permitted Pride parade on Hollywood Boulevard on June 28, 1970,” he said. “That is a significant milestone. We are going to make sure we commemorate it.”
Across the country in New York City, the site of the iconic Stonewall uprising, organizers of the annual NYC Pride march announced on Friday that they are closely monitoring the coronavirus situation but currently have no plans to postpone this year’s June event, which attracts millions of people from around the world every year.
LA Pride, however, is not without company when it comes to canceled or postponed events. Amid growing COVID-19 fears, a number of professional sports leagues, including the NBA, NHL and MLB have paused or suspended their seasons; a slew of conferences, including South By Southwest and the Electronic Entertainment Expo have been canceled; and music festivals such as Coachella and Stagecoach have been postponed until the fall.
States and cities across the country have also tried to minimize the spread of the virus by limiting large crowds. Washington state, for example, has banned gatherings of more than 250 people in several counties, and New York has prohibited most gatherings of more than 500 people. Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Oregon have closed schools statewide.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists event cancellations as one measure that may slow the virus, which has claimed over 40 lives in the U.S. and 5,000 across the globe. The CDC is urging those in higher risk populations, including older adults and those with serious chronic medical conditions, to avoid large crowds whenever possible.
As for Montemayor, he said the LGBTQ community is particularly poised to handle the uncertainty spawned by this current pandemic, which on Friday was officially declared a national emergency by President Donald Trump.
“Our community has always been incredibly resilient, especially in the face of uncertain times,”he said. “We’ve faced this before — we always have. We’ll come together, we’ll beat it, we’ll overcome it, and we’ll all rise up very shortly to convene and celebrate this big, bold, beautiful community.”
With states still threatening to pass legislation aimed at restricting access to transition-related care for transgender youth, LGBTQ advocacy groups and major U.S. businesses are warning the enactment of such measures could have dire economic consequences.
The focus of the warning is an open letter, complied by the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom for All Americans, which was signed by 40 major business against anti-trans bills and made public Wednesday.
“Laws that would affect access to medical care for transgender people, parental rights, social and family services, student sports, or access to public facilities such as restrooms, unnecessarily and uncharitably single out already marginalized groups for additional disadvantage,” the letter says. “They seek to put the authority of state government behind discrimination and promote mistreatment of a targeted LBGTQ population.”
Among the 40 companies that signed the letter are Airbnb, Amazon, American Airlines, Apple, AT&T, Google, Hilton, IBM Corp,. Lyft, Marriott International, Microsoft, Nike, PayPal and Uber.
In numerous state legislatures, lawmakers have introduced bills aimed at restricting access to transition-related care, such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers and transgender surgeries, for youth below age 18. Other measures seek to inhibit transgender youths’ ability to play in school sports consistent with their gender identity.
One measure against transition-related care for youth in South Dakota was killed in committee, but others are still pending before legislatures and, in some cases, advancing forward.
In Alabama, the Senate approved this week SB219, which would not only ban transition-related care for youth, but require school officials and medical practitioners to out transgender youth to their parents. The House version of this legislation, HB303, has been approved in committee.
In Arizona, the House last month approved legislation, known as HB2706 and the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” seeking to block transgender youth’s participation in sports.
In the letter signed by 40 businesses, the companies make a veiled threat those companies may not bring money to states that pass legislation along these lines.
“As we make complex decisions about where to invest and grow, these issues can influence our decisions,” the letter says. “America’s business community has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws have a negative effect on our employees, our customers, our competitiveness, and state and national economies.”
In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, LGBTQ rights advocates said the potential economic costs of the anti-trans legislation is clear.
Carmarion Anderson, the Human Rights Campaign Alabama State Director, urged lawmakers to look at those potential costs when considering the legislation.
“These national corporations can see that anti-transgender grandstanding and demonization only hurts the state of Alabama, the entire LGBTQ community and their own bottom line,” Anderson said.
Anderson said organizers are engaged in conversations with lawmakers in Alabama, including Speaker Mac McCutcheon, to ensure the anti-legislation is defeated, and killed with inaction as the legislature session comes to an end. The last day of the regular session of the Alabama legislature is May 18.
The Washington Blade has placed a request in with McCutcheon seeking comment on his plans for the legislation.
Also on the call was Dan Eggers, an 18-year old transgender youth in Alabama who told his personal story about struggling with suicidal ideations and eating disorders before obtaining transition-related care.
“For the first time in my life, I’m healthy and genuinely happy,” Eggers said. “That is directly because of these treatments. In fact, after I received the treatments that I needed my middle school gym teacher, after spotting me from across the room, sought out my mother and told her he never seen me experience joy before that moment.”
The Alabama legislation, Eggers said, the measure would have “require[d] him to report my identity before I was ready, exposing me to higher risks of violence at home, and even homelessness.”
An estimated 30 percent of transgender people experience homelessness, Eggers said, and the average age of being kicked out is 13-and-a-half.
Bridget Sharpe, Arizona state director for the the Human Rights Campaign, echoed the sense businesses are fully behind efforts in Arizona to defeat anti-trans legislation.
“Major businesses understand that supporting equality isn’t only isn’t only the right thing to do, it’s good businesses sense,” Sharpe said. “Legislation promoting discrimination directly affects businesses: Full stop.”
The nationwide letter from the 40 businesses builds on a letter specific to the anti-trans legislation in Arizona signed by around 200 local and national businesses, including the Arizona State Tourism Association and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Also on the call was Jennifer Brown, the mother of a transgender athlete, whose daughter — whom she referred to as “K” to protect her anonymity — competed on the men’s crew team in Fairfax, Va, before transitioning and joining the women’s team.
“There are many reasons that rolling on that women’s team was so incredibly important for K,” Brown said. “At a point in time when she hated almost every piece of her body, rowing was a gift that her body gave back to her. It gave her a reason to keep herself safe and healthy. Being part of a team, a team that depended on her, gave her a reason to go on.”
Brown said her daughter is now in college in Arizona may be found at the campus gym on the rowing machine.
According to data from Change Research presented by the Human Rights Campaign, 55 percent of Arizona residents, including 58 percent of Independents, believe supporters of the Arizona anti-trans bill are “further stigmatizing already vulnerable children to push their political agenda and further divide us.”
Further, the poll found 64 percent of Arizona residents believe the legislators are too focused on divisive issues and only 1 percent of Arizona Republicans say legislation on transgender issues should a top priority.
A Human Rights Campaign spokesperson said a similar poll wasn’t available in Alabama at this time.
Kasey Suffredini, CEO of Freedom for All Americans, said in a statement the letter from the 40 companies show the business community has “consistently taken a strong stand opposing legislation that discriminates against LGBTQ workers and customers.”
“Business leaders understand that discrimination is bad for business, and their economic competitiveness relies on fair and inclusive work and community environments for their employees and their families,” Suffredini said.
The sponsor of HB303 in the Alabama House, State Rep. Wes Allen, and the sponsor of SB219 in the Alabama Senate, State Sen. Shay Shelnutt, didn’t respond to the Blade’s request to comment on the economic threat to the state over the legislation.
Shelnutt, defending the legislation on the Alabama Senate floor, was quoted in AL.com as saying SB219 was necessary because kids should not be “given experimental drugs or surgeries that could have irreversible consequences for the rest of their life.”
“Kids are not fully developed until later in life,” Shelnutt reportedly said. “I think we can all agree that kids aren’t capable of making certain decisions until certain ages. And so, we want to just stop these procedures from happening in Alabama.”
The sponsor of HB2706 in Arizona, State Sen. Nancy Barto, couldn’t be reached for comment on the potential business impact of the bill.
“This bill is about fairness,” Barto told ABC News at the time it passed in the Arizona House. “That’s it. What is fair on the field, the court, the track and in the pool.”
The Alabama and Alabama chambers of commerce also didn’t respond to the Blade’s request to comment on the anti-trans legislation pending in their respective state legislatures.
LGBTQ rights advocates can point to precedent on anti-trans legislation having dire economic consequences.
After North Carolina enacted House Bill 2, which bars transgender people from using restrooms in state-owned buildings consistent with their gender identity, economic boycotts resulted in an a loss of more than 1,750 jobs and more than $77 million in investments and visitor spending, according to a 2016 analysis from Time Warner Cable News.
Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign, said on the call she doesn’t have a specific dollar amount for potential economic costs to states that pass anti-trans legislation, but North Carolina is a good example.
“It’s not difficult to connect the dots between…exactly what happened in North Carolina and HB2 with businesses saying, ‘Look we’re not coming here,’ and these businesses speaking out at this point.” Oakley said.