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GLAA's "Agenda: 2013" (PDF) (HTM) |
GLAA announces 2013 election 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, January 28, 2013Contact: Rick Rosendall
202-328-6278The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., today launches its 2013 Election Project and releases both its questionnaire for D.C. Council candidates and its policy brief on local LGBT issues in Washington, D.C., "Agenda: 2013." This updated compilation of local advocacy on a wide range of issues is intended for candidates in the April 23 special election for At-Large Councilmember as well as journalists, activists, and the general public. "Agenda: 2013" is online, in both PDF and HTM formats, at:
GLAA releases LGBT policy brief, questionnaire for special election
http://tinyurl.com/glaa2013pdf
http://tinyurl.com/glaa2013htmGLAA's D.C. Council candidate questionnaire is online at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2013/cqspecial.pdfGLAA's Election Project 2013 main page is at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2013/election2013.shtmlThe "Agenda: 2013" 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 88 footnotes to provide documentation and to facilitate further investigation of the issues raised.
The following are some of the legislative and oversight actions GLAA seeks from D.C. Councilmembers:
- Pass Bill 20-0032, "Surrogacy Parenting Agreement Act of 2013."
- Repeal the so-called Prostitution Free Zones (PFZs) law, which facilitates anti-transgender profiling.
- Allow for the issuance of new birth certificates for individuals who undergo treatment related to gender transition; end the requirement for publishing notice of a name change in the newspaper; and allow issuance of new birth certificates via administrative process instead of a court order.
- Ensure enforcement of LGBT nondiscrimination policies in District homeless shelters and transitional housing.
- Ensure that all health insurance policies sold and used in DC cover the full spectrum of transgender health care needs.
- Enforce the anti-bullying law in all D.C. public and charter schools.
- Ensure equal Medicaid spousal impoverishment protections for same-sex partners.
- Eliminate legal standing for ad hoc protest groups and citizens associations in liquor licensing cases, to permit input by all community stakeholders via the great weight already accorded Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
GLAA President Rick Rosendall stated, "It is a tribute to the strength of coalition efforts in the District that 'Agenda: 2013' reflects input from allies across the District's entire LGBT community and its supporters. The resulting policy brief is the most comprehensive single document advancing LGBT issues in D.C."
On January 28, 2013, GLAA will email its questionnaire and policy brief to every candidate in the April 23 special election for At-Large Councilmember. (The filing deadline for the primary was January 23.) The deadline for receipt of candidate responses is March 7, 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.
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 lesbian, gay, bisexual 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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