No. 571 • February 23, 2017 outwordmagazine.com magazine sacramento One Stop Don’t Forget Save Time and Sometimes Shopping to Plan About the First Money at the Fighting Means Your Wedding Dance! Wedding Expo “I Love You” page 10 page 12 page 15 page 16 COLOR Trump Signs Police Enforcement Executive Orders resident Donald Trump has signed three executive orders that stand to significantly increase the criminalization Pand incarceration of some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations by broadening law enforcement agencies’ powers. “Trump’s executive orders that expand the population. discretionary power of police enforcement “Law enforcement already has too much are a clear attack on freedom, justice and power, and too much discretion. We don’t equality. These new polices are intended to need anything more to ‘stop crimes against further criminalize, imprison, and deny law enforcement officers;’ in fact all 50 justice to the nation’s most targeted states have laws that make it a serious populations including people of color, people crime to assault or kill law enforcement living below the poverty line, and LGBTQ officers. There is no evidence that these people,” said Rea Carey, National LGBTQ laws are under-enforced,” said Carey. Task Force Executive Director. “Trump’s actions are yet another A report published in 2014 shows that 73 example of how laws intended to protect percent of LGBTQ respondents had an vulnerable populations are instead being interaction with police in the last five years. 21 percent of those respondents reported manipulated to harm those who are hostile attitudes from officers, 14 percent intended to be protected. Hate crimes laws reported verbal assault by police, three are intended to aid prosecutions for crimes percent reported sexual harassment and two that were under-charged or not charged at percent reported physical assault by officers. all. These Executive Orders will only Furthermore, in 2016, of the 963 people increase policing and prosecutions of shot by police officers, about half of those people of color, LGBTQ people, and people were people of color and almost 25 lower-income people,” said Meghan Maury, percent were Black — while Black people National LGBTQ Task Force Criminal and only make up 13 percent of the U.S. Economic Justice Project Director. Fair Haven Explores the Devastating Impact of Conversion Therapy on Young Lives After a stint in ex-gay conversion therapy, James returns to the family farm and his emotionally stilted father the man who insisted he go to therapy in the first place. During a bucolic summer afternoon, things unexpectedly heat up when what has been hidden for so long can no longer be ignored by either father or son. Watch the trailer for Fair Haven at youtube.com/watch?v=eopY3G OEw7U&feature=youtu.be Available from bgpics.com. 2 Outword Magazine February 23, 2017 - March 9, 2017 • No. 571 outwordmagazine.com COLOR What I Might Know by Maya Steinhart (She/Her/Hers) t takes more than one person to create change. It even takes yourself and the world is not. The people At this point in time I’ve got no idea what far more than one type of person to do so. It may even take a at Creating Change cemented for me what radical act works for me, other than loving intersectionality must mean in the myself for me. Self-care must be radical. Iconference like Creating Change. promises I make. Introspection must be radical. Being alive Creating Change — held January 24th Finding where you belong in a tapestry Intersectionality must mean that I must be radical. — 28th in Washington D.C and sponsored of radical action is fucking tough. There is should examine where my beliefs come I learned a lot of “trivial” things at by the National LGBTQ Task Force — was so much flying at you at all times and so from. That I must consider each aspect of Creating Change. I learned about student an experience in the mass amounts of many are expecting you to know already my identity in every action I take. leadership and “queering climate change.” I queer that must come together to build a how you are going to act. I don’t know For me, intersectionality and must say, those things are slightly less movement strong enough to tear down the much of anything for certain, except for introspection are intertwined. Honestly, life inspirational than saying I learned that it’s status quo. this: I will always try my best. is more complicated when you seek to ok not to know and made promises to The LGBTQ+ community is made up of I will always try my best to be an ally actively examine every way the world myself about how I want to live. people that are each unique in their own to those who want me, an advocate for twists and collides into itself and how Creating Change was inspirational in ways combination of identities, but all too often those who will have me, and an activist, those twists and collisions are represented I doubt the Task Force ever anticipated. Even if they were not the ones that directly fueled those identities are co-opted and forced to because I need me. I promise to take in your own self. It’s hard. But, oh my, is it this inspiration, I must thank them for fit into very narrow boxes. criticism and grow from it. I promise to worth it. providing the space for it. I must also thank Even within the spaces we call home, the acknowledge the privileges I have and I I am a polysexual, multi-racial, cis- you, dear reader, for reading my ramblings same force is present. This is the force that pledge to not let them cloud my thoughts female who is only slightly femme of and (hopefully) putting in the effort to constrains our individual queerness and into thinking that all have lived the way I center. I could take those aspects of myself understand my new-found form of the beautiful things it can be or do. have. and bundle them up separately with bows, radicalism. I have had a hard time figuring out what This is a promise I make to myself and but I like it a lot better when I take myself Maya Steinhart is a student and attended I can do to help change that force. Will I be one I hope you can make too. as a whole. Too many others wish to the Creating Change Conference as a part of subtle? Will I be wild? Can I dance in the Doing your best is relative, but divide my being and I will not allow the youth group at the Sacramento Gay and street or do I have to burn it down? maintaining over-reaching promises to myself to do it, not any longer. Lesbian Community Center CA Schools Still Hostile for LGBT Secondary Students .S. secondary schools are slowly improving but remain (62 percent). Only 39 percent of those students at their school. Almost half (47 percent) who reported incidents said it resulted in experienced at least one form of hostile environments for many LGBTQ students, incuding effective staff intervention. discrimination at school during the past year. those in California according to a new report from GLESN. · Many LGBTQ students in California In California, two in five transgender students U reported discriminatory policies or practices (41 percent) were unable to use the school GLSEN’s Biennial National School Climate Survey, which began in 1999, found that restroom that aligned with their gender harassment and discrimination negatively identity. affect LGBTQ students’ educational outcomes · Many LGBTQ students in California did not have access to in-school resources and and mental health. supports. Only 16 percent attended a school The research, released on January 11th, also with a comprehensive anti-bullying/ confirmed that lower levels of harassment harassment policy; a third (33 percent) had and better educational outcomes are related access to an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum. to the presence of school-based supports: However, three-quarters (75 percent) could LGBTQ-inclusive anti-bullying policies, identify six or more supportive school staff, LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, supportive and nearly three-quarters (73 percent) had educators and Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). access to a GSA or similar student club. For California specifically, the report found: “The results of this survey mirror the · The vast majority of LGBTQ students in stories we hear from LGBTQ middle and high California regularly heard anti-LGBT remarks. school students in California,” said Joel Many also regularly heard school staff make Gemino, Chair of GLSEN Los Angeles. homophobic remarks (17 percent) and “Schools are still hostile environments for so negative remarks about someone’s gender many of these students, and now more than expression (34 percent). ever they need our support.” · Most LGBTQ students in California had The complete GLSEN National School been victimized at school. Of those, more than Climate Survey report is online at www.glsen. half never reported the incident to school staff org/nscs. outwordmagazine.com February 23, 2017 - March 9, 2017 • No. 571 Outword Magazine 3 Hate Groups Increase for Second Consecutive Year Outword he number of hate groups in the United States rose for fueled by Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, including his campaign pledge to bar a second year in a row in 2016 as the radical right was Muslims from entering the United States, as Staff Tenergized by the candidacy of Donald Trump, according to well as anger over terrorist attacks such as the June massacre of 49 people at a gay PUBLISHER the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) annual census of hate Fred Palmer groups and other extremist organizations.