GLAA Launches 2016 Election Project in DC

For Release: 
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Contact: Rick Rosendall 
202-328-6278

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., today launched its 2016 Election Project by releasing its LGBT policy brief, “Building on Victory,” and its questionnaire for candidates in the June 14 primary election for D.C. Council seats in Wards 2, 4, 7, 8, and At-Large. The deadline for receipt of candidate responses is April 29, after which GLAA will assign ratings to the candidates (on a scale of -10 to +10) based on their questionnaire responses and their records on LGBT issues. GLAA does not endorse candidates in partisan elections.

GLAA President Rick Rosendall stated, “GLAA’s policy brief is Exhibit A in our case against those who say our work is finished. From public health and safety to human rights to opposing congressional meddling in D.C. affairs, we have gathered the best in local advocacy from organizational allies and subject matter experts. This comprehensive resource is for candidates, public officials, staff, reporters, opinion makers, and citizens on the continuing concerns of LGBT advocates in the District.”

“Building on Victory” is divided into six broad areas: Home Rule, Public Health, Judiciary and Public Safety, Human Rights, Youth and Seniors, and Consumers and Businesses. It begins with a one-page summary of action items, including the following:

• Oppose congressionally mandated school vouchers.
• Issue the long-delayed LGBT Health Report.
• Separate Emergency Medical Services from the Fire Department.
• Pass Bill 21-38, the Death with Dignity Act.
• ‘Jobs Not Jails’: Develop alternatives to incarceration for marginalized citizens who resort to sex work for survival.
• Pass a reintroduced Bill 20-63, the Police Monitoring Enhancement Amendment Act.
• Mandate LGBT data collection across all DC-funded programs.

Rosendall highlighted one vexing issue: “We are not here just to check boxes. We are trying to push a conversation forward to help a marginalized population out of the boxes into which our society has shoved them. Not only the DC Transgender Needs Assessment Survey, but the Office of Human Rights has found extensive anti-trans employment discrimination. It is that very discrimination that forces so many trans women into the margins. Employers then use their survival behavior to justify more discrimination. We must break out of this vicious cycle and question why survival-driven behavior should be a basis for locking people forever out of gainful employment. We must stop criminalizing the victims of social injustice. Getting people off the streets once they have been driven there is hard, and requires a sustained and constructive effort, not just chasing them from corner to corner. More leadership is needed from our elected officials.”

GLAA’s D.C. Council candidate questionnaire is online at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2016/cqprimary.pdf

GLAA’s “Building on Victory” policy brief is online in two formats at:
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2016pdf
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2016htm

GLAA’s 2016 Election Project 2016 main page is at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2016/election2016.shtml

Founded in 1971, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington (GLAA) is an all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization that defends the safety, health, and civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the nation’s capital.