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GLAA's "Agenda: 2012" (PDF) (HTM) |
GLAA announces 2012 elections project
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C.
P.O. Box 75265
Washington, D.C. 20013
www.glaa.org
www.glaaforum.org (blog)For Release:
Monday, December 19, 2011Contact: Rick Rosendall
202-667-5139
GLAA releases D.C. Council candidate questionnaire, LGBT policy brief The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., today launches its 2012 Elections Project and releases both its questionnaire for D.C. Council candidates and its policy brief on local LGBT issues in Washington, D.C., "Agenda: 2012." This updated compilation of local advocacy on a wide range of issues is intended for candidates for public office in the District as well as journalists, activists, and the general public. "Agenda: 2012" is online, in both PDF and HTM formats, at:
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2012pdf
http://www.tinyurl.com/glaa2012htmGLAA's D.C. Council candidate questionnaire is online at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2012/cqprimary.shtmlGLAA's Elections Project 2012 main page is at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2012/election2012.shtmlThe "Agenda: 2012" policy brief is divided into six broad subject areas: Marriage and Family, Public Health, Public Safety and Judiciary, Human Rights, Youth and Seniors, and Consumers and Businesses. It is prefaced by a two-page Action Item Summary listing specific actions GLAA seeks from D.C. officials. Included are 87 footnotes to provide documentation and to facilitate further investigation of the issues raised.
The following are some of the actions GLAA seeks from D.C. Councilmembers:
- Remove the prohibition on reproductive surrogacy laws in the District.
- Defend clean needle exchange and medical marijuana.
- Oppose Prostitution Free Zones (PFZs), which facilitate anti-transgender profiling.
- Pass Bill 19-585, The Immigration Detainer Compliance Amendment Act of 2011, to resist Homeland Security intrusion into local policing.
- Improve LGBT-related data collection and reporting on health and crime.
- Allow for the issuance of new birth certificates for individuals who undergo treatment related to gender transition.
- Expand and enforce anti-bullying efforts in all D.C. public and charter schools.
- Ensure equal Medicaid spousal impoverishment protections for same-sex partners.
GLAA President Mitch Wood stated, "It is a tribute to the strength of coalition efforts in the District that 'Agenda: 2012' reflects input from so many allies, including the DC Center for the LGBT Community, DC Trans Coalition (DCTC), Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV), Rainbow Response Coalition, and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE). Individual contributors include respected advocates like Chris Dyer, Bob Summersgill, and Wayne Turner. The resulting policy brief is the most comprehensive single document advancing LGBT issues in D.C."
On January 7, 2012, GLAA will mail its questionnaire and policy brief to every candidate in the April 3 D.C. Council primary election. (The filing deadline for the primary is January 4.) The deadline for receipt of candidate responses is February 15, after which GLAA will assign ratings to the primary 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.
For more information on GLAA and its four decades of nonpartisan advocacy, visit GLAA's main website at www.glaa.org and its blog at www.glaaforum.org.
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 civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people in the Nation's Capital. GLAA lobbies the D.C. Council, monitors government agencies, educates and rates local candidates, and works in coalitions to defend the safety, health, and equal rights of gay families. GLAA remains the nation's oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization.
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