How long has Seattle supported gay rights?
Seattle: 1st in gay rights
Seattle has been at the vanguard of gay rights for at least three decades. Remember Anita Bryant? While she was getting cities across the county to repeal gay rights ordinances in the 1970s, Seattle voters held the line — the first city in America to vote in favor of gay rights. The City of Seattle adopted a fair employment ordinance in 1973 which specifically prohibited discrimination against gay people in the workplace, followed by a fair housing ordinance in 1975. But in 1978, Initiative 13 attempted to repeal the ordinances. It went down in defeat, and Seattle voters successful stopped the national movement to turn back the clock of gay rights. Since then, the cities of Tacoma, Spokane, and others followed suit; Seattle has elected openly gay city council members for decades and is considered to have one of the largest gay populations in the nation.
– Leonard Garfield
Sunday’s gay pride parade marks the event’s 32nd year. See photos from the event here.
Learn more about Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry at seattlehistory.org.
See How long has Seattle supported gay rights?
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Seattle wants LGBT names
The city of Seattle is asking a judge for the names of city employees involved in an LGBT affiliate group.
Tags: Affiliate Group, City Of Seattle, Lgbt, Names, Seattle CitySeattle to release names of gay and lesbian city workers
(Seattle) After a Seattle City Light employee filed for the release of the names of gay and lesbian city workers involved in a city-sponsored club earlier in the month, the city of Seattle reluctantly did the same. The city is claiming the state public-records act requires the names to be …
Tags: City Of Seattle, Gay And Lesbian, Gay Lesbian, Gay Seattle, Names, Public Records Act, Seattle City Light, Seattle Gay, State Public RecordsCiting law, city reluctantly argues for release of gay employees’ names
Anti-gay-rights activist wants names of city-sponsored LGBT club
As attorneys for all sides prepare to square off in court, the City of Seattle and a self-described “civil rights leader” seeking the release of the names of gay and lesbian city workers involved in a city-sponsored club have lined up on the same side of the issue.
In separate court filings, the city and the Seattle City Light employee requesting the records argue that the state public-records act requires that the city release the records. City of Seattle employees associated with the department’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning and Friends Club have asked the court to order the city not to release their names.
Reiterating statements made by Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr shortly after the suit was filed, lawyers for the city now assert, reluctantly, that the records requested by City Light employee Philip Irvin.
“The city sympathizes with the concerns that plaintiffs have expressed,” Assistant City Attorney Gary T. Smith said in court documents. “Nonetheless, the city believes that the Public Records Act obligates it to disclose the records at issue.”
Irvin, who claims he’s been barred from attending LGBTQF club meetings because he is heterosexual and opposed to gay rights, has requested that the city release the names of employees belonging to or attending the Seattle Public Utilities-sponsored group.
According to the city’s filing, the department sponsors eight such “affinity” groups for employees “with similar concerns.” Included in the array are groups for employees of different ages or ancestry, including European. Each group is provided with up to $1,000 annually for events, and members are allowed to spend two work hours a month toward group activities.
In arguing that the records should be released, attorneys for the city assert that earlier appeals-court rulings have shown that employee information must be released even if it could result in harassment. The city cites a 2002 case in which King County was ordered by the state Court of Appeals to release a list of sheriff’s deputies’ names.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs assert that the employees’ identities are not releasable under the law, in part because they are of no legitimate public interest.
See Citing law, city reluctantly argues for release of gay employees …
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Gay city employees fight to block release of their identities
Several City of Seattle workers have sued to prevent the release of names and membership lists of a gay and lesbian employee organization.
At issue, according to a complaint filed in King County Superior Court, is a request by Seattle City Light employee affiliated with a conservative Christian organization who claims the city has opposed his efforts to launch a group for formerly homosexual workers.
The City Light employee — Philip Irvin, 58 — wants the city to release the names of organizers of city employee groups, specifically those of a Seattle Public Utilities “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Friends” group. According to court documents, Irvin has also requested the names and city departments of those who are members of the group, or who have attended the group’s meetings, as well as copies of the group’s sign-in sheets, minutes and agendas.
Speaking to seattlepi.com Thursday, Irvin said the city has previously opposed his efforts to start a group for employees who had identified as homosexuals but have since become heterosexual.
“They are the most vilified sexual minority, and I’m sorry to say that they’re not really welcomed in the religious community either,” Irvin said. “This is something where they are vilified on the right or the left.”
After receiving Irvin’s request in early May, city public-disclosure officers notified employees whose identities would be released. In response, an unspecified number of employees have sued the city asserting that state public-records law demand their identities be withheld. See Gay city employees fight to block release of their identities
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