We at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, join our fellow LGBTQ+ Centers to ask for fair and affirming care of asylum-seekers.
Across the United States, people of all backgrounds are reacting with outrage in light of the Administration’s announcement that people who attempt to seek asylum outside of ports of entry will be denied the right to this protection.
On Sunday, November 11th, an estimated 78 LGBTQ asylum seekers reached the United States border in hopes of escaping persecution in Central America. Originally traveling with a larger group from Honduras, they left the caravan after experiencing discrimination and threats from others. Many LGBTQ migrants were denied food and access to showers by caravan members or local groups providing aid. “There was no physical abuse but there was plenty of verbal abuse,” a transgender woman told reporters, although she added it was nothing compared to the reality of living as a transgender woman in her home country of Honduras.
As they await the opportunity to begin the asylum process in Tijuana, the group continues to be targeted simply for being part of the LGBTQ community. They were met with anger from locals, who said they should have been warned by authorities that LGBTQ people would be staying in their neighborhood.
Members of the group originate from Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, and include a handful of children. Most plan to use their status as members of a persecuted class to request asylum in the U.S. as early as Thursday.
Unfortunately, the government reacts to their plight with armed forces and threats of denying entry to begin the asylum process, essentially signing their death orders. LGBTQ people flee to the U.S. because they cannot live safely in their home countries. They are in danger of persecution, prosecution, imprisonment, blackmail, discrimination, torture, sexual assault and in some cases, death based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
If LGBTQ asylum seekers are granted the opportunity to have their case heard, they can be detained until trial, which may take months. In detention centers, transgender women are often housed with men or placed in solitary confinement. LGBTQ immigrants report high rates of sexual assault and abuse during their time in detention, and proper medical care is often denied.
These asylum seekers have faced challenges and painful barriers in receiving equal treatment during every step of their journey. The undersigned LGBTQ Community Centers strongly support them in their quest for a better life and demand that they be treated fairly and equitably as they seek their legal right to asylum.
Pharmacists in California will be able to dispense HIV prevention pills to patients without a doctor’s prescription after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Monday that supporters say will greatly reduce the spread of infection.
Advocates of Senate Bill 159 say California is the first state to authorize pre-exposure prophylaxis, also called PrEP, and post-exposure prophylaxis, known as PEP, without prescriptions. California is already considered a leader in AIDS prevention, they say.
PrEP is a once-daily pill for HIV-negative people while PEP is a medication that people take to prevent the virus from taking hold. Supporters say PEP significantly reduces the risk of infection, but only if started within 72 hours of exposure to the virus.
Not everyone can get to a doctor in that time frame, says Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California.
“The ability to go into a pharmacy to avail themselves of the medication is a huge improvement to removing a barrier,” he said.
He says the law will greatly improve access and help reduce the stigma around the drugs, especially in rural areas and among minorities.
Nearly 30,000 people in California use PrEP and 6,000 use PEP, according to the California Health Benefits Review Program, which provides analysis to the Legislature.
The California Medical Association was initially opposed to the legislation but became neutral on it after it was amended to limit the number of PrEP pills patients can get without a physician’s note to 60 days, said Anthony York, spokesman for the association.
The association was concerned about “long-term use without physician oversight,” he said.
The law also prohibits insurance companies from requiring patients to get prior authorization before using insurance to get the drugs, eliminating another obstacle.
The bill was co-authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who has publicly disclosed that he takes PrEP as an HIV prevention strategy.
“To end new HIV infections, we must dramatically expand access to PrEP and PEP, yet far too many Californians who need these drugs struggle to access them,” he said.
Pharmacists in California are already authorized to dispense emergency contraceptives and birth control without a prescription.
Newsom also signed legislation Monday aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs. The new law targets so-called “pay for delay” agreements, when makers of brand-name drugs pay for makers of similar generic drugs to delay putting the products on the market.
The new law presumes such arrangements are anti-competitive and steps up enforcement to stop them.
Drug companies argue the bill will cause more delays for generic drugs by ensuring lengthy legal battles over patents.
Friday, October 117:00–9:00 p.m.The GLBT Historical Society Museum4127 18th St., San Francisco$5 | Free for members
In this illustrated presentation organized for National Coming Out Day on October 11, San Francisco resident Laura Hall recounts the life story of her gay father, Ralph, from 1918 to 2008. Hall was 24 when her father came out to her in 1975. She learned that in the late 1930s, her father had been in a relationship with a musician in Los Angeles. But two arrests for homosexual activity sent him back into the closet, prompted him to enlist in the Army and ultimately led him to marry a woman. With a panoramic sweep covering the conservative California Central Valley oilfield culture of Ralph Hall’s youth, to his postwar double life, to his care for dying friends during the AIDS crisis, this universal love story — a preview of Laura Hall’s recently completed memoirs — is a window into the life of a man who felt that he had no choice but to live in the shadows. Tickets are available online here.
A black transgender woman has described a confrontation in the ladies bathroom of an In-N-Out restaurant that left her feeling “demoralised, devalued and powerless”.
The encounter happened at an In-N-Out restaurant in the Bay Area, San Francisco. Mitchell was alone in the ladies loos when a manager approached her stall.
The woman reportedly misgendered Mitchell, telling her: “Sir, sir – you’re not supposed to be in here.” Mitchell responded: “Ma’am, it’s just me in here.”
Unfortunately, Mitchell says that wasn’t enough for the manager. “I thought she would leave and that would be it. But I’m a black transgender woman, and people don’t just let us live our lives,” she said.
The manager allegedly came up to the stall door and started looking through the cracks, and appeared to be scanning Mitchell’s body up and down.
(Tim Mossholder/Pexels)
“I got very scared. I clenched my purse to cover myself. I felt she was trying to look at my genitals, attempting to determine my gender. I asked her to leave while she continued to ask whether I was a man,” she said.
Eventually, the manager gave up and left Mitchell in peace. When Mitchell left the toilets she approached the woman and reminded her that she is “a human that deserves privacy in the bathroom”.
But the In-N-Out manager refused to explain her behaviour and just dismissed Mitchell: “I don’t have time for this.”
It was a crushing blow to her confidence. “I drove home to Oakland in a fog. I told my partner what happened and broke down crying angrily,” she recalled.
The “demoralising” encounter exacerbated her anxiety, stress and paranoia, and she grew increasingly depressed at a time when she was trying to focus on her career.
Afterwards she didn’t leave the house as she feared being harassed. When she felt able to go out again, she waited until she got home to use the bathroom as felt like “the safest thing to do”.
“I had regressed and had to rebuild my strength just to walk in and use a bathroom,” she said. “The smell of In-N-Out still bothers me.”
Mitchell filed a discrimination complaint against In-N-Out, as California’s laws clearly state that people can use bathrooms that match their gender identity.
But In-N-Out’s lawyers “made it clear that they do not feel the company did anything wrong”. A spokesperson told The Guardian that In-N-Out did not harass or discriminate against Mitchell and that the manager was not aware she was transgender.
A company report stated that a customer repeatedly raised the concern of a man in the women’s restroom. The manager claims she went to investigate, called out “Sir?” and when Mitchell answered “Excuse me?” she exited the bathroom after saying: “I’m sorry – we had a customer let us know there was a gentleman in here so I was just checking.”
Mitchell rejects this explanation, saying: “It felt as if they told me I was worth nothing. They offered me a settlement that I found offensive. I said no.”
She was encouraged to speak out ahead of an upcoming Supreme Court case that will decide if anti-LGBT+ employment discrimination qualifies as discrimination.
“I won’t be silent,” she insisted. “When it comes to black and brown trans folks, it feels like we don’t matter.
“Why can’t we exist in peace and have the same rights other people have? Why should somebody else’s opinion of what I should be get to dictate what my existence is?
“I’m asking that we are able to go about our lives and use the bathroom, without you kicking open the door and dragging us out.”
We’re so excited about the GLBT Historical Society’s upcoming annual gala, “Reunion: Chosen Family.” Our hostess Juanita MORE! is planning a spectacular evening of great food, wine, celebrity guests and entertainment. Our silent auction will offer exceptional lots including historic LGBTQ photographs and posters, travel packages and fine dining. Atop San Francisco’s newest iconic skyscraper, the Salesforce Tower, the venue offers breathtaking, panoramic views of our city.
In addition to the glitz, our gala is really an opportunity to connect with our supporters, and show our deep gratitude to our staff, board and volunteers. It’s a time to reflect on how far we’ve come, and most importantly, a chance to envision our plans for the future.
Celebrating a Milestone
This year we’re celebrating a milestone. I’m thrilled to report that we’ve completed an initial set of feasibility studies that lay out a detailed business plan for a new, full-scale LGBTQ Museum and Research Center in San Francisco. As part of the gala program, we’ll give you a preview of the plans. Our opportunity now is to present these detailed plans to the key stakeholders who will make the project possible: local and state elected officials, corporate and foundation partners, and individual supporters.
Why do we need a full-scale museum of LGBTQ history? The answer can be found in our eight-year-old Castro museum. By industry standards, it has been wildly successful, drawing a remarkable 26,000 visitors in 2018, three-quarters of whom came from outside California. But our museum has reached the limit of its visitor and display capacity, even as the demand for knowledge about queer history and the society’s unparalleled collections continues to grow. What better place to establish a full-scale museum than in San Francisco?
A Cultural Crown Jewel
Young LGBTQ people continue to struggle with acceptance and are often disconnected or alienated from their birth families. It’s critical to provide them with a sense of the proud LGBTQ heritage of their diverse chosen families. Our queer elders often feel that their stories are at risk of being forgotten, and that no one will learn from their lived experiences. A new LGBTQ history museum and research center will enrich the lives of young queer people and forge intergenerational connections. It will be a crown jewel in San Francisco’s robust array of cultural institutions. Our world faces enormous challenges in the current political environment: racial and economic injustice, climate change, voter suppression and hostility to immigrants, to name but a few. LGBTQ people are profoundly connected to these struggles for social justice, which is one of the major reasons why preserving and sharing queer history is our vital and urgent mission.
Through engagement with our history, including the successes and failures of our movement, we can inspire effective leadership to take on today’s most pressing social and political issues. The GLBT Historical Society’s museum and archives illuminate these connections for people from all around the world every single day. This is what we are celebrating this year at “Reunion: Chosen Family.” I hope you will join us at the gala and on our ongoing journey.
Terry Beswick is executive director of the GLBT Historical Society.
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization has endorsed Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Geoff Kors in his re-election bid for Palm Springs City Council District 3 on Friday. Kors previously served as the organization’s executive director from 2002 to 2011. The organization also has endorsed Dennis Woods for City Council District 2 and has dual-endorsed Grace Garner and Les Young for City Council District 1.
“Palm Springs has a record of electing strong, pro-equality candidates to the city council and we expect the 2019 election to be no different,” said Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur. “After a rigorous interview process, we are confident that each of these endorsed candidates will champion LGBTQ equality and social justice for all vulnerable communities as members of the Palm Springs City Council.”
The Palm Springs general municipal election will take place on November 5, 2019. This is the first election under the city’s new district-based elections. For a complete list of Equality California’s 2019 and 2020 endorsements, visit eqca.org/elections.
For a complete list of Equality California’s 2019 and 2020 endorsements, visit eqca.org/elections.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org
The sponsors of Sen. Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) SB 132 — a coalition of civil rights and legal organizations including Transgender Law Center, TransLatin@ Coalition, ACLU of California, Equality California, Lambda Legal, and Medina Orthwein LLP — released the following joint statement on Friday announcing that SB 132 — the Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act — will become a two-year bill as the coalition continues to conduct outreach to gain additional input from incarcerated transgender people and consider potential amendments:
“Every person deserves basic human dignity, agency, and respect. That continues to be the guiding principle behind our work on SB 132 to protect transgender people incarcerated in California prisons. As discussions with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) continue, additional time is necessary to make sure we put the strongest possible legislation on the governor’s desk. This includes continuing to center the input and experiences of those who are most impacted by these policies. The coalition and Senator Wiener are united in our determination to advance a bill that includes strong nondiscrimination provisions, creates a clear pathway for transgender people to be housed appropriately, and prioritizes incarcerated transgender people’s own perception of their safety and wellbeing.
“As long as transgender people are denied dignity, agency, and respect while housed by CDCR, we will continue to seek solutions and demand justice. When the Legislature passes SB 132 next year, we are confident that it will increase safety and respect for incarcerated transgender Californians and serve as a model for the rest of the nation.”
Senator Wiener released the following statement:
“Transgender people in our prison system are among the most marginalized people in society, and we must protect them. This is an important issue, and it takes time to get it right. While we’ve made significant progress moving the ball forward this year, we need more time to come to a solution that works for the community, for CDCR, and for the Governor. I’m highly confident that SB 132 will pass next year, and California, once again, will be in the forefront of LGBT civil rights. Over the fall recess, I will join community leaders to visit several state prisons to meet with transgender people who are incarcerated there. This listening tour will help us craft the best legislation possible. I look forward to bringing this bill back up in January.”
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ABOUT THE BILL:SB 132 would require that incarcerated transgender people in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) be classified and housed based on their sense of health, safety, and gender identity — as opposed to defaulting to anatomy or dictating placement based on sex assigned at birth. The bill would require CDCR to house incarcerated transgender people according to their gender identity or where they feel safest and:
Require that during the initial intake process, CDCR record the individual’s self-reported gender identity, pronouns, and honorific;
Require CDCR to house transgender people according to the person’s preference, including which facility the person states they feel safest in, which may or may not correspond with their gender identity; and
Require all staff and contractors of CDCR to consistently use the gender pronoun and honorific the person has specified in all verbal and written communications with and regarding that person.
STATUS:SB 132 passed the Senate floor and the Assembly Public Safety Committee and Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill will be eligible for a vote by the full Assembly in 2020.
Ed Buck, a Democratic donor and activist whose West Hollywood apartment was the scene of two methamphetamine overdose deaths since 2017, was arrested on Tuesday after investigators said a third man suffered an overdose in his home last week.
Mr. Buck, 65, who has not faced charges for the earlier overdoses but was subject to a wrongful-death lawsuit, was charged on Tuesday with battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house. He faces up to five years and eight months in prison.
The charges relate only to the most recent incident on Sept. 11, when the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office says Mr. Buck injected a 37-year-old man with methamphetamine in Mr. Buck’s home. The man, who was not identified, survived the overdose.
Buck, who was arrested at his home Tuesday, should be held on $4 million bail because he is a “violent, dangerous sexual predator” who “mainly preys on men made vulnerable by addiction and homelessness,” prosecutors said in a motion. Buck took advantage of his position of power and offered drugs, money and shelter to mainly addicted and homeless men in exchange for participating in sexual fetishes, including a fetish that involved administering dangerous doses of drugs, the motion said.
Buck came under investigation in January after 55-year-old Timothy Dean was found dead of an accidental methamphetamine overdose in his apartment. It was the second such death in two years, following the July 2017 death of Gemmel Moore, 26. Both men were black. Buck, who is white, was not charged and critics later questioned if wealth, race or political ties influenced the investigations.
Moore’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Buck, 65, in February alleging that he injected her son with a lethal dose of crystal methamphetamine. The complaint describes Buck as a wealthy white man who “had a predatory and injurious system of soliciting Black men and watching them cling to life.”
Both Moore and another man found dead at Buck’s house, Timothy Dean, were black. The lawsuit accuses him of wrongful death, sexual battery and assault and says he was not prosecuted “because he is white, and because Mr. Moore was Black.”
After the second man’s death in January, I reported that local LGBT activists had besieged law enforcement with demands for action.
Right wing sites had a field day with the story, running images of Buck with prominent Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Rep. Ted Lieu, and Rep. Adam Schiff.
Every year, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) publishes a comprehensive report on HIV incidence and prevalence in the city, showing HIV trends to guide the public health response. Continuing a downward trend since the peak of the HIV epidemic in the 1990s, the most recent report with 2018 data shares a historic milestone reached by the city: Fewer than 200 HIV diagnoses occurred in San Francisco.
A total of 197 people were diagnosed with HIV last year in San Francisco. This is a 13% decline from 227 diagnoses made in 2017, and a 62% decline from 523 infections ten years ago in 2008. The peak number of HIV diagnoses in San Francisco occurred in 1992 with 2,327 diagnoses.
Most people (94%) living with HIV are aware of their status, and 91% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2018 entered care within one month. It is estimated that 74% of people with a last known address in San Francisco who are living with HIV were virally suppressed in 2017.
“I am really delighted that we in San Francisco, since the 1980s, have been at the forefront of pushing for innovative ways to change policies, new sciences and technologies to help us get to this milestone,” said Mayor London Breed at a press conference at Zuckerberg San Francisco General’s Ward 86. “This shows that when we work together with the community, with our policy makers, with our public health experts, and our nonprofits we can make a difference and save people’s lives.”
“We are pleased, but not satisfied,” said Diane Havlir, MD, who spoke on behalf of the Getting to Zero consortium. “We’re not satisfied because we had nearly 200 new diagnoses of HIV in our city—and it’s a preventable disease.”
Differences by Race and Ethnicity, Housing Status and for People who Inject Drugs
People of color, people experiencing homelessness and people who inject drugs continue to experience higher diagnosis rates, lower viral suppression rates and lower survival rates.
People of color are disproportionately affected by HIV
African American and Latinx men had the highest diagnosis rates (145 and 89 per 100,000), and rates increased from previous years. Diagnosis rates for white men have declined steadily since 2012. Among women, African Americans had a much higher diagnosis rate (35 per 100,000) than women of other races.
Overall, 74% of people living with HIV in San Francisco were virally suppressed, while viral suppression rates were lower for African Americans (68%), trans women (68%), women (66%), people who use injection drugs (65%), men who have sex with men who inject drugs (68%) and trans women who inject drugs (64%).
“San Francisco continues to make unprecedented progress towards ending the HIV epidemic,” said Joe Hollendoner, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “However, we continue to see racial disparities related to HIV health outcomes. To end HIV transmission and AIDS-related deaths, the public health system needs to address the systemic racism that is inhibiting our progress.”
“We have to double down on these gaps that we’re seeing,” said Havlir. “We need to listen, and we need to deploy new innovative approaches with tools that have. With PrEP. And with upcoming tools like long-acting injectable [HIV] therapies which could make it a lot easier for some of our populations.”
Homelessness compounds HIV risk and severity of health outcomes
As the number of new HIV diagnoses shrinks year after year in San Francisco, and the number of people experiencing homelessness grows, a higher proportion of HIV diagnoses are occurring among people without access to medical care, social support and prevention resources—in particular people without housing.
In 2018, 20% (40) of new HIV diagnoses were among people without housing compared to 10% (29) in 2015. There were 8,011 people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco in January 2019, according to the 2019 San Francisco Homeless Point-in-Time Count and Survey, a 14% increase since 2013.
People without housing are also much less likely to be virally suppressed. Only 33% of people experiencing homelessness were virally suppressed, compared to 74% of people overall.
“We know that many elements that are key to success, for people living with HIV, are challenging if you don’t have a place to live,” said Monica Ghandi, MD, MPH, medical director of the SFGH HIV clinic. “That would be like making and keeping appointments. Where you store your medications, and where you keep them safe. Maintaining safe sex, and healthy eating. All of these barriers to taking your medications every day are amplified 100-fold if you don’t have a home.”
“Our focus on disparities really has to focus on ensuring that we reach people where they are,” said Hyman Scott, MD, MPH from Bridge HIV at SFDPH. “There are no ‘hard to reach’ populations—there are just ‘hard to deliver’ services. We need to re-think the way we approach some of these services that we deliver.”
HIV and people who inject drugs
People who inject drugs account for 25% of new HIV diagnoses, (10% are men who have sex with men who inject drugs; 1% are trans women who inject drugs; 14% are other people who inject drugs), a proportion which has risen over the years.
In addition to accounting for a higher proportion of HIV diagnoses, injection drug use is associated with worse health outcomes: People who inject drugs are less likely to be virally suppressed and have lower three-year survival rates after an AIDS diagnosis.
The percentage of people who are diagnosed with HIV who inject drugs is rising steadily every year, while reductions are seen in other populations including men who have sex with men.
“San Francisco has a robust syringe access program, which has kept HIV transmission rates low among people who inject drugs, but it’s not sufficient to eliminate HIV transmission among people who inject,” said Laura Thomas, director of harm reduction policy at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “Housing instability and displacement make it challenging for people who use substances to always do so safely. That’s why it’s so important for us to establish safe injection sites in our city.”
“Unless we invest in expanding low barrier substance use and mental health counseling services like those offered at our Harm Reduction Center and at the Stonewall Project, I worry that increased HIV infection trends like those we’re seeing with people who inject drugs will continue,” said Mike Discepola, MA, senior director of behavioral health services and the Stonewall Project at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “We will not get to zero new infections in San Francisco unless we focus services on our most vulnerable populations. This includes those who inject and use drugs, are experiencing homelessness or have untreated mental health concerns.”
An Aging HIV Population
With nearly 16,000 people living with HIV in San Francisco, two-thirds (10,691 people) are age 50 and older.
“We know that this is the generation that didn’t plan to live,” said Vince Crisostomo, manager of theElizabeth Taylor 50-Plus Network at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “They didn’t plan financially, they didn’t set up 401Ks. But, they did live. And service providers need to be thinking about how to adjust services to meet the needs of these long-term survivors. How can we provide culturally competent services for people of older age who are living with HIV?”
“To end the epidemic we cannot leave anyone behind,” said Hollendoner. “We must achieve this ambitious goal together and prove to the world that it can be done.”
Guided by a new 5-year strategic plan, San Francisco AIDS Foundation charts a course for improving the sexual health outcomes of people of color and other priority communities, establishing safe injection sites, creating a comprehensive network of health and wellness services for people over age 50 who are living with HIV, and living our values of racial justice.
A lesbian couple who asked to hold their wedding at a California winery were turned down because of the owner’s “religious beliefs.”
One of the brides posted her correspondence with the winery on Facebook to call for a boycott after its “overt homophobia”.
The email from Viaggio winery’s weddings and events director read: “While Viaggio Winery welcomes your business, we have never hosted a same-sex marriage.
“[The owners] understand that California statutory law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, and they don’t like to think they would ever discriminate on that basis even if a law allowed them to do so.
“However, the owner also has a very strong personal religious belief regarding marriage, which is for marriage to be between heterosexual couples only. They believe that the United States Constitution and the California Constitution protect these religious beliefs and their right to express them.”
It then said that the owners would be willing to let the couple hold their reception there and take photos in their wedding dresses, as long as the ceremony was not on their property.
Responses to the Facebook post included: “The nerve thinking you and your beautiful bride would want to spend a dime there, or expose your family and friends to such a bigoted environment, after being told of the owner’s ‘feelings.’”
Another person said: “As a Christian I am so sick and tired of people using Jesus as a cover or an excuse for their homophobia. While they offer to take your money. How generous.”
The winery owners Teri and Larry Lawrence are also real estate agents.
According to her biography on the couple’s real estate website, Lawrence is “an active member of Eagle Forum of Sacramento, where she keeps abreast of current events regarding the family and business affairs”.
The Eagle Forum of Sacramento says it opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, sex education that does not teach abstinence or “‘New World Order’ interventions”.
Lawrence later provided a statement to FOX40 in which she said she had changed her mind about allowing same-sex couples to marry at the winery.
She said: “I realise now that contrary to my intent, this was hurtful to the people involved. Our staff, our customers, and our community have helped me see that I was wrong.”
The couple found another venue and are now happily married.
