Responses of Lisa Bass to GLAA 2007 Questionnaire
for DC Council Candidates
| Yes/No | Substance | Record | Championship | Total |
| 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 1.5 |
PUBLIC SAFETY
1. As a member of the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee, will you support funding for mandatory gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) sensitivity and diversity training for all members of the Fire/EMS Department?
I am committed to fair and equal treatment of all residents of the District of Columbia.
2. Will you press the Metropolitan Police Department to combat the transphobia entrenched within our police force, expressed in the widespread assumption among police officers that every transgendered person is a prostitute until proven otherwise?
Yes. All government agencies should have diversity training, which will help to combat transphobia.
3. Will you support a budget for the Office of Police Complaints large enough to continue to avoid developing a backlog of cases?
I would support a budget for the Office of Police Complaints that aids efficiency.
AIDS AND PUBLIC HEALTH
4. 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. HIV testing programs should also include funding for counseling and referrals to treatment facilities for those testing positive.
5. Are you committed to continuing and expanding the District’s condom distribution program?
Yes. I would expand the current condom distribution program and seek additional ways to combat the spread of HIV.
6. 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?
I would support legislation to strengthen our medical privacy laws.
HUMAN RIGHTS
7. 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. I am in favor of enhanced efficiency in all DC agencies. I believe it is important for the Office of Human Rights (OHR) to reduce the delay between the time that a discrimination complaint is filed and the time that OHR issues a finding of probable cause.
8. Will you block ceremonial resolutions and otherwise decline to honor individuals or organizations that promote any sort of bigotry?
Yes. I would support taking such an action that would stand up against bigotry.
9. 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?
I am committed to upholding the laws of the District of Columbia.
10. Do you agree that the Director of the Office of Human Rights should be required to have professional training and experience in civil rights law enforcement?
I think it is important that a candidate for the position of Director of the Office of Human Rights has professional training and experience necessary to cover the breadth of civil rights issues requiring enforcement and legislation.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
11. Do you support legal recognition of marriages between partners of the same sex?
I would not support legal recognition of same sex marriages based on Congressional interference with District affairs. If it were to become Federal law or if the District achieved absolute home rule, I would certainly support it.
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?
I would support expanding the domestic partnership program.
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?
I would support legislation that recognized civil unions and other similar domestic partnerships.
14. Will you oppose legislation giving special benefits to PEPCO until it implements an equitable domestic partner benefit program?
I would seek to bring private sector organizations like PEPCO together with gay and lesbian rights advocates to find a mutually beneficial way to provide such benefits.
15. Do you agree that private contractors doing business with the District should be required to provide domestic partner programs?
Private contractors doing business with the District should not be required to provide domestic partner programs, however, I would consider sponsoring legislation that would create an incentive for such firms to do so.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND YOUTH
16. 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?
I do not support voucher programs.
17. As a member of the Committee of the Whole which now has jurisdiction over the public school system, will 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 will support all practical measures that will deal with the realities of our school environments.
CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES
18. As a member of the Public Works and Environment Committee which has jurisdiction over ABC licenses, will 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?
I am committed to fair and equal treatment of all District residents and business owners.
19. 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?
I am committed to fair and equal treatment of all District residents and business owners.
Please provide the URL for your campaign website, if you have one. We will include it on our candidate links page.
www.lisabassforward4.com
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.
Personal Statement Regarding Gay, Lesbian, Transgender Issues
I have taken no actions in support of gay rights other than to execute communication regarding diversity training at the DC Fire and EMS Department. I know and befriend gay and lesbian people and treat them the same way I would treat anyone else, with dignity and respect. I have worked for and with lesbians and gays as I have those of other races or nationalities.
I have also taught my children to know themselves, and we have had very frank conversations about gay and lesbian issues. They understand that I would love them unconditionally and accept their lifestyle and their partners and/or friends without reservation, should they have adopted a gay or lesbian lifestyle.
In short, I have not had the opportunity to support gay and lesbian legislation, but I am supportive of gay and lesbian civil rights, in general.
