Responses of Eric Goulet to GLAA 2006 Questionnaire
for DC Council Candidates
| Yes/No | Substance | Record | Championship | Total |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 0.5 | 8.5 |
Public Safety
1. Will you support funding for mandatory gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) sensitivity and diversity training for all members of the Fire/EMS Department?
Yes. While I would like to think that the days of the discrimination seen the Tyra Hunter incident of 1999 are behind us, we all know that Tyra Hunter Training Program has received insufficient support Fire/EMS leadership. I support fully funding the program to provide mandatory GLBT sensitive and diversity training for all members of the Fire/EMS Department.
2. Will you call on the new Mayor to appoint a new Fire/EMS Department Chief who is committed to rooting out the Department’s deeply entrenched homophobia and transphobia?
Yes. Chief Adrian Thompson has demonstrated shortcomings in many critical areas of Fire/EMS management. I would ask the new Mayor to immediately replace Chief Thompson with someone who will not tolerate homophobia, transphobia, or any discrimination on the part of Fire/EMS employees, and who will actively support mandatory GLBT sensitive and diversity training for all members of the Fire/EMS Department.
3. Will you support a budget for the Office of Police Complaints large enough to continue to avoid developing a backlog of cases?
Yes. After resisting the establishment of the Office of Police Complaints, the Williams administration has not provided it with the resources it needs to complete its mission of providing the public with an independent, fair, and impartial forum for the review and resolution of citizen complaints of misconduct against Metropolitan Police Department officers.
4. Will you oppose legislation creating so-called “prostitution-free zones,” which would give the police, who routinely assume that every transgendered person is a prostitute until proven otherwise, virtually unlimited power to harass our transgendered residents?
Yes. I strongly believe that police officers have a duty to establish probable cause. Proposals such as “prostitution-free zones” are simply ways for the MPD to avoid their duty to conduct responsible and thorough investigations and arrests. Providing the MPD with this “tool” would simply enable them to short-cut performance of these duties and harass innocent citizens.
AIDS and Public Health
5. Do you agree that the drive to make HIV testing routine among District residents should include funding for counseling and referrals to treatment facilities for those testing positive?
Yes. I am very supportive of the District of Columbia Department of Health’s initiative to encourage testing of all District residents ages 18 to 84. In addition, I feel very strongly that the diagnosis of HIV is a part of the overall plan that we should be emphasizing for prevention and treatment. A positive diagnosis is meaningless to a person who is not educated and/or prepared to treat their condition. Not providing the support system once a person is positively diagnosed would be irresponsible.
6. Are you committed to continuing and expanding the District’s condom distribution program?
Yes. This program is a worthwhile investment in transmission prevention and I would support continuing and expanding this program. Similarly, I support Prevention Works! and their clean needle exchange program. I would support funding their other support services, such as counseling, testing, and referrals, which are not prohibited by the Congress.
7. The District is being forced by the federal government to switch from a unique identifier system to a names reporting system for people testing positive for HIV. Will you support legislation to strengthen our medical privacy laws, such as by creating a private right of action for those whose confidentiality is violated by District government employees or contractors?
Yes. I absolutely support strengthening the District’s laws to protect confidential and sensitive medical information. I would be eager to work with GLAA and other interest parties in drafting legislation that increases penalties for releasing such information and ensures a right of action exists for those individuals whose private information was wrongly released. While working for the Council, I arranged to have B16-116, the “Unique Identifier System Amendment Act of 2005”, reintroduced after it was stalled in committee in 2003. Although the bill has become moot with the elimination of the unique identifiers, the goal of protecting medical privacy is very important to me.
Human Rights
8. Will you support a budget for the Office of Human Rights (OHR) large enough to allow it to reduce to 270 days the average gap between the time that a discrimination complaint is filed and the time OHR issues a finding of probable cause?
Yes. The current time it takes OHR to adjudicate discrimination complaints is unacceptable. The OHR needs to have the resources to issue a finding of probable cause within the 120 day statutory requirement of D.C. Code §2-1403.05(b). In cases this delay results in justice effectively being denied to individuals with legitimate discrimination complaints.
9. Will you block ceremonial resolutions and otherwise decline to honor individuals or organizations that promote any sort of bigotry?
Yes. There is no room in our society for any sort of bigotry and I would oppose honoring individuals or organizations that promote bigotry.
10. Are you committed to publicizing and enforcing the provisions of the D.C. Human Rights Act forbidding discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression?
Yes. I was supportive of Councilmember Catania’s introduction of Bill 15-1083, the “Human Rights Amendment Act of 2004” in Council Period 15, which would have prohibited discrimination based on gender identity or expression. I was pleased to see similar legislation adopted in Council Period 16. I will be supportive of efforts to fully publicize and enforce all provisions of the DC Human Rights Act to protect our citizens from discrimination. We will have to make sure that the First Amendment problems in the draft regulations identified by GLAA and the ACLU are addressed prior to be challenged in court. It would be tragic if someone’s legitimate discrimination complaint were dismissed because of our neglect of the Constitution.
Marriage and Family
11. Do you support legal recognition of marriages between partners of the same sex?
Yes. I will support legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia. Although I am eager to pass legislation on same-sex marriage the current make-up of Congress, creates the very real possibility that attempting to do so will trigger a backlash that may undo the progress we have made in the District. Therefore, I will wait until the leaders in the GLBT community believe that the time is right to move forward with the legislation. When that time comes, I will be glad to help lead the effort to introduce and pass the bill.
12. Will you support legislation in the District to continue expanding the existing domestic partnership program to include all relevant rights and responsibilities of marriage in D.C. law?
Yes. I believe that the best strategy until a more progressive and open Congress is elected would be to continue our efforts to provide registered domestic partners with functionally equal rights to those rights afforded to married couples. On the Council, I was able to take an active role in the passage and funding of two important pieces of domestic partnership health care benefits legislation: the “Health Care Benefits Expansion Amendment Act of 2005” and the “Domestic Partner Health Care Benefits Tax Exemption Act of 2005”. I am also fully supportive of the other legislation pending in Council committees to expand the rights of domestic partners under D.C. Law.
13. Will you support the legislative and/or regulatory changes necessary to ensure that the District recognizes civil unions, domestic partnerships and similar legal relationships established in other jurisdictions?
Yes. I will be fully supportive of any regulatory changes that are needed to ensure that the District recognizes civil unions, domestic partnerships and similar legal relationships established in other jurisdictions. I recognize the need to handle this issue carefully, so as not to jeopardize the rights that we already have, or cause problems for couples in other jurisdictions. I will be happy to work with GLAA in drafting any needed legislation.
Public Education and Youth
14. Do you oppose both federal and local voucher programs that fund students in religious schools that are beyond the protections of the D.C. Human Rights Act?
Yes. I think that the D.C. Human Rights Act is a model human rights law and we must ensure that all of our students are protected by it. Vouchers also represent meddling in District affairs by the Congress. The District needs to be able to solve its education problems without constant distraction from the federal government and the latest educational reform fad.
15. Do you oppose the use of either federal or District taxpayer funds to promote “abstinence only until marriage” sex education that undermines safer-sex programs by discouraging the use of condoms and that effectively tells gay and lesbian students that they must remain celibate forever because they may not legally marry?
Yes. I believe that safe-sex education, including condom distribution, is a realistic and far more effective approach to prevent teenage pregnancy and to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
Consumers and Businesses
16. Do you support the relocation of the many gay bars and businesses that were displaced by the new ballpark, even if local NIMBYs and homophobes oppose them?
Yes. When the Council moved forward with the ballpark legislation, the Councilmembers and the Mayor committed to relocating these businesses elsewhere in the city. Although it may be controversial, I support fulfilling the promise made to these businesses.
17. Will you support legislation to curb the abuses of NIMBYs who are now allowed to file an endless series of baseless complaints to harass or extort bars and restaurants?
Yes. I appreciate and support having an active nightlife in the District of Columbia. I would be eager to work with stakeholders on this issue to protect businesses from individuals who file numerous frivolous complaints, without denying residents who have legitimate complaints access to the process. I would be eager to work with GLAA to adopt the recommendations in Part VI-A Regulatory Abuse of your 2006 Issue Agenda.
18. Do you oppose the Youth Protection from Obscene Video Games Act (B16-0125), a clone of other laws that have consistently been struck down by the courts on constitutional grounds?
Yes. As an attorney, I believe the legislation as currently drafted, is unconstitutional and would be a waste of taxpayer funds to defend against legal challenges. Furthermore, I believe that legislation is not the most effective method to achieve the desired result. Ultimately parents and guardians are responsible for monitoring what their see on television, movies, and video games.
Record
Your record is part of your rating. Please list any actions that you have taken that may help illustrate your record on behalf of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders.
As the Committee Clerk of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue I played an important role in ushering two pieces of domestic partner legislation through the Council. The first piece of legislation, Bill 16-405, the “Domestic Partner Health Care Benefits Tax Exemption Act of 2005” provided the same tax exemption that is currently provided to married couples for domestic partners who receive a health care coverage benefit from the other partners health plan. As Committee Clerk, I quickly scheduled a public roundtable and mark-up of this important legislation, which is now law in the District of Columbia.
The second piece of legislation, Bill 16-129, the “Health Care Benefits Expansion Amendment Act of 2005” extended health care coverage benefits to the registered domestic partners of District of Columbia employees. I was able to work with the Committee on Government Operations to ensure that this legislation received a timely mark-up. I then was able to use excess revenue identified in the FY2007 and financial plan to fund the fiscal effect of this bill so it could take effect on October 1, 2006, at the beginning of the fiscal year.
I also worked with GLAA to arrange for the re-introduction of B16-0116, the Unique Identifier System Amendment Act of 2005, which did not pass through the Health Committee.
It has been my pleasure to work with GLAA and other community leaders to advance domestic partner legislation and other issues. I hope to be able to continue that work as a member of the Council.
