41 Protestors Including D.C. Mayor Arrested During Protest Of Abortion Rider In Budget Deal (VIDEO)
ByRYAN J. REILLYPublished
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and 40 other protesters -- including members of the city council -- were arrested by Capitol Police on Monday after they blocked Constitution Avenue near the Capitol in protest of aspects of the budget deal reached by Congress which limit the city's autonomy, specifically prohibiting the use of DC public funds for abortions.
The deal reached between Democrats and Republicans to avert a government shutdown and fund the government for the rest if the fiscal year bans the use of DC government funding for abortion in D.C. (TBD has an explainer here). President Barack Obama told House Speaker John Boehner that he would give in on the abortion funding issue, but said he was "not happy about it," according to the Washington Post.
Somewhere around 300 protesters and onlookers gathered on the sidewalks off Constitution Avenue.
Laura Meyers, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, said her organization was supportive of opposition to the D.C. rider which "effectively strips D.C.'s ability to spend its own locally raised tax funds to fund medication abortion for low-income women."
The mayor said in a statement issued by city hall that the deal was "an absolute travesty" and that "D.C. deserves to be free. All we want to do is spend our own money."
"Why should women in the District of Columbia be subjected to a set of rules that no other woman is subjected to?," Gray said.
Other officials arrested included City Council Member Muriel Browser, City Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown, Council members Yvette Alexander, Tommy Wells, Michael Brown and Sekou Biddle.
Candidate Name: Tom Brown Candidate Website: www.whytombrown.com Candidate Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Candidate Phone: 202540.5567
1. Washington, DC provides no funding for HIV/AIDS prevention that primarily emphasizes sexual abstinence rather than condom use. Recent studies (see http://www.ultrateenchoice.org/Jermott_study.html) show that this type of health education is effective. Would you support funding for abstinence centered programs such as the one described in this study? If so, how much funding would you propose allocating on a yearly basis?
I would definitely advocate for an abstinence based option for health education. The amount would be based on further research. However, as a parent this is a message I promote wholeheartedly.
2. In Wards 7 and 8, 82% of all births are outside of marriage. Out of wedlock birth has been associated with a host of negative economic, social and health issues for children and parents that experience it. What would you do to encourage more youth and adults to wait until marriage to have children?
I think we should look at incentives around post- secondary education and even internships. I believe we have to motivate our youth to see this as an attractive and valuable choice for future stability. I also think we want to remain supportive of the young people who have made different choices.
3. Teens and adults that become pregnant can tap into a number of government resources provided by the District, such as assistance on health care, housing, child care and more. What will you do to make sure that marriage is encouraged by DC laws and is not discouraged by requirements for assistance programs?
Again I would promote the increase in education and awareness around the REAL expenses of starting a family prematurely. Be able to plan for parenthood has tremendous advantages to the parents and the children and I think we have to get more exposure to the positives, in doing so. This will focus on an ability to make independent choices to secure a stable future that may not require as much assistance socially.
4. Do you support defining marriage as one man and one woman only?
Yes.
5. Do you support full voting rights for DC residents, including the right to vote on the definition of marriage? Yes.
6. Recent news stories have indicated a continuing pattern of abuse of public funds by the District’s HIV/AIDS administration. Reports indicate that millions of dollars were paid to ex convicts who never provided the services paid for, or used the funds to fund procurement of property for a strip club. Yet relatively little is spent on HIV prevention, and absolutely nothing on programs that support youth who want to remain abstinent or return to abstinence. a. Do you think that the District’s HIV prevention approach is adequate, and if not, how would you change it?
I think that have been some successful steps taken in the past 20years. We are still at an epidemic level in the District of Columbia. We have to look at best practices globally and see what measure can be taken to implement support these initiatives. However, I believe that there is a need to reassess the way funds are allocated and monitored. In my opinion youth abstinence is a great place to look.
b. what would you do to provide adequate and equal funding for prevention programs that promote sexual abstinence?
We would have to do a review of the current health and education expenditures and research the success and cost of abstinence programming and then make the proper recommendations.
7. Do you agree that 6th and 8th grade youth should be taught the following (Current DC public school health standards: 6th grade: (6.1.6) Explain that people, regardless of biological sex, gender, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and culture, have sexual feeling and the need for love, affection and physical intimacy 8th grade: (8.1.5) Define sexual orientation, using correct terminology, and explain that as people grow and develop, they may begin to feel romantically and or sexually attracted to people of a different gender and/or to people of the same gender
I would request a review of the current curriculum being used in order assess the appropriateness of the messaging. This would be conducted by an Independent committee made up of parents, educators, faith based, and other community based programs. We don’t want any messaging sent through our classrooms that contradict what the families are promoting so we have to a hard look at this.
If not, please explain what you will do to make sure that children are not indoctrinated in school to believe that same sex relationships are normal, which may well be contrary to what their parents are teaching.
8. a. Do you support abortion for minors without parental consent (the District’s current law)?
No. (However there may be some extreme cases that we have to allow for)
b. Do you support public funding for such abortions (also the District’s current policy)
No. ( However we have to allow for some extreme cases)
Candidate Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Candidate Phone: 202-285-8365
1. Washington DC provides no funding for HIV/AIDS prevention that primarily emphasizes sexual abstinence rather than condom use. Recent studies (see http://urbanlifetraining.org/joomla/index.php/80-news/abstinence-education/80-abstinence-only-programs-might-work-study-says) show that this type of health education is effective. Would you support funding for abstinence-centered programs such as the one described in this study? If so, how much funding would you propose allocating on a yearly basis?
The study cited above deals specifically with the finding that teaching 12 year olds about the value of delaying sex led to only 33% of the students being taught to delay sex actually doing so, while a class teaching about same sex resulted in roughly 50% of the class delaying sexual activity. I have not been able to read the entire study to determine if other variables were at play, but assuming that all variables were controlled, this means that a class teaching 12 year olds to delay having sex based on health concerns (prevention of contraction of STDs) was successful, absent a moralizing tone or insisting that everyone should abstain until marriage. I think that these results indicate that an abstinence centered program might work as regards convincing younger middle schoolers to delay the onset of sex, but there is no evidence that this type of program would work with older District residents who comprise the vast majority of HIV/AIDS cases.
Since these classes essentially only convinced a third of the attendees to delay sex until the age of 14, I don’t believe this strategy would be very effective in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS in the District, which generally afflicts residents far older than 14. There would likely be a benefit in reducing teen pregnancy, but that is not the thrust of your question above. In our current fiscal climate, I would have to look at how widespread pregnancy rates in middle school are in the District before I allocate precious educational funds to such a measure.
2. In Wards 7 and 8, 82% of all births are outside of marriage. Out of wedlock birth has been associated with a host of negative economic, social and health issues for children and parents that experience it. What would you do to encourage more youth and adults to wait until marriage to have children?
As noted by the link in the question above, studies undertaken during the Bush administration indicated that “abstinence until marriage” programs are ineffective. The program discussed above does appear to note the success of programs that merely encourage young people to delay having sex until some unspecified point in the future (not until marriage, but just to delay sex generally). If we can get two thirds of the 12 year olds in the city to significantly delay the onset of sex until their late teens by scaling the program noted above across the public schools, we may be able to slow teenage pregnancy across the city. All empirical data, however, appears to indicate that “abstain until marriage” programs fail and I do not support investing public funds into programs that are proven not to work. We would also have to look into the empirical data regarding negative economic, social and health issues related to teen pregnancy in the District to determine how much we should spend combating teen pregnancy.
3. Teens and adults that become pregnant can tap into a number of government resources provided by the District, such as assistance on health care, housing, child care and more. What will you do to make sure that marriage is encouraged by DC laws and is not discouraged by requirements for assistance programs?
I cannot think of one public policy reason that would indicate how the city benefits from public assistance recipients being unmarried, so I would remove any requirements that recipients be unmarried, if any remain, and focus instead on household income. I would also ask the CFO to explore the potential financial impact to the city treasury of creating a tax benefit for parties filing jointly after marking “married” on their tax forms. If we can determine a potential tax value to instituting this measure (such as luring married couples from other localities to move into the District), it might make sense to enact this. Unfortunately, due to our current fiscal situation, we cannot afford to forego tax dollars by offering such incentives unless they could conceivably increase our tax base in the near future.
4. Do you support defining marriage as one man and one woman only?
I support allowing people who love one another to marry one another. It is not the role of the state to determine what form of love should be recognized between consenting adults.
5. Do you support full voting rights for DC residents, including the right to vote on the definition of marriage?
The Human Rights Act prohibits the inclusion of discriminatory measures on the ballot in Washington DC. I support statehood for DC and the voting rights for District residents in Congress that would come with it, but I do not support the right of the majority to vote for discriminating against the minority and deciding what form of love should be recognized by the state. I have gay people in my family. It would be hypocritical for me to stand on the position that I can be married to the woman of my choice, while the gay members of my family must hide in the shadows.
6. Recent news stories have indicated a continuing pattern of abuse of public funds by the District’s HIV/AIDS administration. Reports indicate that millions of dollars were paid to ex convicts who never provided the services paid for, or used the funds to fund procurement of property for a strip club. Yet relatively little is spent on HIV prevention, and absolutely nothing on programs that support youth who want to remain abstinent or return to abstinence.
A. Do you think that the District’s HIV prevention approach is adequate, and if not, how would you change it?
The HIV prevention strategy in the District is not adequate. Middle aged Black and Latina women are the largest growing demographic of HIV infection and the District is not targeting awareness-raising efforts towards those two groups. Needleworks is a nonprofit that reportedly provided 40% of the needle exchange services in the city and it recently closed. The District needs to support needle exchange programs with grants sufficient for them to survive. As a Councilmember, I would use my oversight authority to regularly communicate with the Department of Health regarding their efforts to adopt best practices used in cities around the world to reduce the spread of HIV.
B. What would you do to provide adequate and equal funding for prevention programs that promote sexual abstinence?
I believe in adopting best practices and relying on empirical data. If empirical studies indicate that there is an abstinence program that would reduce the spread of HIV among the District’s most affected populations, I would direct our resources there. Currently, no empirical study indicates this, however, so I would continue to support funding on programs that empirical data supports.
7. Do you agree that 6th and 8th grade youth should be taught the following (Current DC public school health standards:
6th grade (6.1.6) Explain that people, regardless of biological sex, gender, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity and culture, have sexual feeling and the need for love, affection and physical intimacy
8th grade (8.1.5.) Define sexual orientation, using correct terminology, and explain that as people grow and develop, they may begin to feel romantically and[/]or sexually attracted to people of a different gender and/or to people of the same gender
Given the median test scores in public schools and public charter schools across the District, I am not certain that the above quoted standards, if accurate, represent our most pressing educational concerns. I support the teaching of biology generally, but I would need someone to indicate to me the academic value or prioritizing the above standards among the many key items that teachers in the District’s public education system must teach to our students. Speaking as a parent myself, I think the standards above are age-appropriate for an urban middle school audience (“the need for love, affection, and physical intimacy” is particularly innocuous as a concept), however I am not certain about whether these topics hold nearly as much academic value as assuring that reading comprehension is on grade level and that students understand abstract mathematical concepts, among other areas. I also don’t think that teaching about sexual attraction in detail is needed to teach the basic biological concept of reproduction. Saying that sexual attraction leads to reproduction and perhaps detailing some animal mating rituals seems more than sufficient. Teaching romance as a concept seems outside the province of public schooling as well, as many adults don’t even agree on what that concept entails (otherwise, I’m sure our divorce rate would be lower).
8. A. Do you support abortion for minors without parental consent (the District’s current law)?
There are many complicated issues inherent in the need to allow abortion without parental consent: (1) In abuse situations, sometimes the parent himself is the father or minors no longer live with and fear being located by their abusive parent(s) (2) Some minors in the District are not raised by their parent(s) and have no idea where their parent(s) are located. (3) If a minor’s relationship with her parent is so damaged that they do not feel like they can approach their parent for consent, I do not believe the state should compel them to seek consent. In short, I support this law. Minors who are in loving households will seek consent, in my mind, and minors who are not in loving households should not be compelled to seek such consent.
B. Do you support public funding for such abortions (also the District’s current policy)
Absent public funding, abortion would only be available for residents of a certain income demographic. Abortion is a medical procedure and women have the right to have access to medical care regardless of income.
No candidates in the April 26 special election for At-Large D.C. Councilmember approached the "Perfect Tens" from the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) that were earned in recent elections by councilmembers Jack Evans, David Catania, Jim Graham, and Phil Mendelson. The candidates this year who responded to GLAA's questionnaire were clustered in the low-to-middle positive range. Interim At-Large Democratic Councilmember Sekou Biddle and Democrat Bryan Weaver earned the highest scores of the field at +5.5 each. Republican Patrick Mara and Statehood-Green candidate Alan Page each earned a +4. Democrat Vincent Orange earned a +3.5. Democrat Joshua Lopez earned a +2.5. Democrats Tom Brown and Dorothy Douglas and Independent Arkan Haile received ratings of 0 because they did not respond to the questionnaire and had no known record on LGBT issues.
The following are explanations of the individual ratings.
Democratic Councilmember Sekou Biddle, who was appointed to the seat on an interim basis by the Democratic State Committee, earned a +5.5. His questionnaire was generally positive but offered limited substance and was often vague. His record includes support as a school board member of comprehensive health education standards inclusive of sexual orientation. Since joining the Council he has reached out on transgender discrimination issues.
Democratic challenger Bryan Weaver had a fair questionnaire whose highlight was this statement in his answer on marriage equality: "Our rights as Americans do not depend on the approval of others. Our rights depend on us being Americans. We're elected not to follow but to lead.... We're elected to represent our constituents when they're right, and to vote our consciences regardless of whether our constituents are right." As Chair of the Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Weaver voted in support of marriage equality and in opposition to an anti-gay ballot measure. He also wrote a strong letter to the Board of Election and Ethics, copying all ANC commissioners in the city, in response to anti-gay Ward 5 activist Bob King.
Republican challenger Patrick Mara, currently a member of the State Board of Education, discussed his own record but offered limited substance on the issues. His record includes lobbying Republican members of Congress in defense of marriage equality, for which GLAA has publicly praised him. Unfortunately, he has also encouraged Congress to impose a voucher program on the District funding religious schools that are not subject to the protections of the D.C. Human Rights Act.
Statehood-Green challenger Alan Page was generally supportive on the issues but often showed a weak understanding of them, especially in HIV testing. He admits to having no relevant record.
Democratic challenger Vincent Orange, a former Ward 5 councilmember, agreed with GLAA on every issue, but provided no substance to his answers. He received record points for his recent pro-gay efforts, which included support for marriage equality as Democratic National Committeeman. GLAA credits him for moving from his earlier opposition to marriage equality toward a position of support.
Democratic challenger Joshua Lopez was generally positive but offered little substance. He had only this to say on his record: "Featured speaker for Latinos en Accion, a Latino LGBT group. Supporter of the annual Gay pride parade and high heel race."
GLAA rates candidates on a scale of -10 to +10, based on their answers to our questionnaire and their record on behalf of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. The questionnaire addresses a variety of issues on marriage and family, public health, public safety, human rights, youth, and protection for LGBT consumers and businesses. GLAA's policy brief, questionnaire, and complete candidate responses are available online at www.glaa.org.
All candidates were provided with a copy of “Agenda: 2010,” GLAA’s policy brief on LGBT issues in Washington, D.C.
Ratings should not be interpreted as endorsements. GLAA does not endorse candidates in partisan elections.
GLAA has rated candidates for office in every D.C. primary and general election since 1971. Independent mayoral and council candidates will be rated prior to the general election.
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C., founded in 1971, is a local, all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights in Washington, DC. We are the nation's oldest continuously active GLBT civil rights organization.
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GLAA Ratings for April 26, 2011 D.C. Special Election
To see the full text of a candidate's questionnaire responses, click on his or her name below.
At-Large DC Councilmember
Candidate
Party
Rating
Sekou Biddle (Incumbent)
Democratic
5.5
Bryan Weaver
Democratic
5.5
Patrick Mara
Republican
4
Alan Page
Statehood-Green
4
Vincent Orange
Democratic
3.5
Joshua Lopez
Democratic
2.5
Tom Brown
Democratic
0*
Dorothy Douglas
Democratic
0*
Arkan Haile
Independent
0*
Note: Ratings marked with an asterisk (*) indicate a candidate who did not return a questionnaire and was therefore rated solely on his or her known record on GLAA’s issues.
Breakdown of available ratings points
Questionnaire: yes/no
+/- 2 points
Questionnaire: substantive grasp of issues
+/- 4 points
Record:
+/- 3 points
Championship: taking the lead on an issue of concern to gay men and lesbians
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC is a local, all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization, founded in 1971. GLAA advances the equal rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenders in Washington, DC. We are the nation’s oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization.
