Responses of Kwame Brown to GLAA 2008 Questionnaire
for DC Council Candidates
| Yes/No | Substance | Record | Championship | Total |
| 2 | 2.5 | 2 | 0 | 6.5 |
PUBLIC SAFETY
1. Will you support funding for mandatory gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) sensitivity and diversity training for all members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department?
Yes, I will support funding for mandatory GLBT sensitivity and diversity training for all members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.
2. Will you support a budget for the Office of Police Complaints large enough to continue to avoid developing a backlog of cases?
Yes, I will support a budget for the Office of Police Complaints large enough to continue to avoid developing a backlog of cases.
3. Given MPD's controversial Neighborhood Safety Zone initiative (which set up checkpoints and barricades in the Trinidad neighborhood) and Safe Homes initiative (to knock on doors and ask to conduct warrantless gun searches), will you support efforts to rein in police officials who respond to legitimate crime concerns with short-term fixes and public relations gestures that infringe upon Fourth Amendment and other constitutionally protected civil liberties?
Yes. Over the past four years, I have advocated for more police officers to patrol our neighborhoods. I have voted in favor and introduced legislation that adds 350 additional officers to the streets and in our neighborhoods. In efforts to reduce crime and unite our community, I believe that our residents to have see our officers on foot, walking the beat to proactively reduce criminal activity. As a result, our community will be able to strengthen the relationship with Metropolitan Police Department before a violent incident occurs.
4. Given that the Department of Corrections continues to violate the D.C. Human Rights Act by using genitalia as a basis for gender identification rather than an individual’s gender identity or expression, will you support the Council directly adopting a rulemaking to make it unmistakably clear that DOC must stop discriminating against transgender inmates and detainees?
I will support legislation that clarifies the procedures for gender identification for the Department of Corrections.
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 agree that routine HIV testing for District residents should include counseling and referrals to treatment facilities for those testing positive. The first step is to know your status; the second is to know your options for treatment. At every step, we must to educate our residents on how to communicate with each other about the effects of this disease. By ensuring that we have open dialogue about the realities of HIV/AIDS, we can work together to break the stigma that surrounds it.
6. Are you committed to continuing and expanding the District’s condom distribution program to include water-based lubricant and improved tracking of their distribution to specified locations?
Yes, I would consider expanding the District’s condom distribution program to include water-based lubricants and improved tracking of their distribution to specified locations.
7. The District has been 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 will support legislation to strengthen our medical privacy provisions to protect the confidentiality of our residents. I will work to work with my colleagues on the D.C. Council to introduce legislation that will identify a private right of action for those whose confidentiality is violated by District government employees or contractors.
HUMAN RIGHTS
8. Will you support a budget for the Office of Human Rights large enough to allow it to keep the discrimination complaint backlog at or below 70 cases and keep at or below 210 days the average time it takes after the filing of a complaint to issue a finding of probable cause?
I will support funding for the Office of Human Rights to reduce and maintain the discrimination complaint backlog, reducing the average processing time to 210 days.
9. Will you block ceremonial resolutions and otherwise decline to honor individuals or organizations that promote any sort of bigotry?
I will not support ceremonial resolutions nor honor individuals that promote any sort of bigotry or any activity that does not improve the quality of life of our District residents.
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?
Discrimination under any circumstance will not be tolerated. Yes, I will continue to publicize and call for the enforcement of the provisions of the D.C. Human Rights Act forbidding discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. As Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, I aggressively oversaw the construction activities of the newly built Washington Nationals Stadium. It was brought to my attention that the Nationals’ vendor procurement program’s non-discrimination policy did not specifically protect the LGBT community. I worked with the Office of Human Rights, the Office of GLBT Affairs, and local LGBT leaders to redraft the policy.
11. 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?
Yes, I believe that the both the Director of the Office on Human Rights should have professional training and experience in civil rights law enforcement. Further, I also believe that the staff should have professional training and be very knowledgeable of the civil rights law.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
12. Do you support legal recognition of marriages between partners of the same sex?
I support the legal recognition of marriages between partners of the same sex.
13. Will you support the legislative and/or regulatory changes necessary to ensure that the District recognizes marriages legally established in other jurisdictions?
Yes, I will support the regulatory changes necessary to ensure that the District recognizes marriages legally established in other jurisdictions.
14. Do you agree that private contractors doing business with the District should be required to provide domestic partner benefits including health insurance?
I believe that private contractors and small businesses doing business with the District should be required to provide domestic partner benefits, with equal benefits offered for married couples and their families.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND YOUTH
15. 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 oppose DC government issued vouchers for private schools.
16. 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?
While I will support the option of abstinence to be included as part of the sex education discussion provided to our youth, I will in no way support any program that encourages celibacy to discourage the use of condoms or promote marriage. I believe that our young people should be educated about the options of practicing safe sex and should be empowered to make responsible decisions that will affect their futures.
CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES
17. Do you support the right of adults in the District to choose adult-oriented entertainment for themselves, and the right of appropriately licensed and zoned businesses to provide it?
Yes, I support the right for adults in the District to choose adult-oriented entertainment for themselves and the right of appropriately licensed and zoned businesses to provide it, given the support of the surrounding neighborhoods.
18. Will you support legislation to curb abuses by NIMBYs who are now allowed to file an endless series of baseless complaints to harass or extort bars and restaurants?
Yes I will support legislation to curb abusive filing of complaints against licensed establishments with the regulatory process by “gangs of five” and other unreasonable and unrepresentative groups.
19. What are your thoughts regarding GLAA’s proposal, as explained in Agenda: 2008, to mitigate the problems associated with prostitution by legalizing, regulating, zoning and taxing it?
While I do not believe that the government can regulate sexual expression, I do believe that I can as a leader I can work provide alternatives to providing sustainable employment. As a fighter for workforce development and career (vocational) training, I will continue to build facilities in our neighborhoods that build job skills so that our residents are equipped with the tools necessary to succeed. I agree and will commit to creating safe spaces where our city can provide help to our high-risk population.
Please provide the URL for your campaign website, if you have one. We will include it on our candidate links page.
Re-Elect Kwame Brown Campaign Headquarters
1012 H Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-290-1754 phone
202-290-1764 fax
campaign@kwame08.com email
www.kwame08.com website
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.
