I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so grateful to see the little purple crocuses popping up everywhere after what has felt like a never-ending winter, but friends they are here! (And if they are not there yet where you are – they are coming, I promise!) With these little glimpses of spring coupled with longer days, I hope you are also getting a much needed energy boost, the much needed reminder that change is in the air and that sense of light at the end of the tunnel of winter.
Because it has been a tough winter indeed, and as LGBTQ+ communities in the Northwest and across the country continue to face unprecedented levels of legislation attacking us, especially targeting trans and nonbinary people, we are using this spring energy to be even more steadfast in our commitment to building a more just and inclusive Northwest.
Welcome to the Pride Foundation’s e-newsletter, where we get to share with you some of the latest news, stories, and resources from our work supporting LGBTQ+ people and communities across the Northwest.
Welcome New Staff:
T. Harris (they/them & he/him) joined the Pride Foundation team earlier this month as our Director of Programs! T is a Southern, Black, queer, neurodivergent and non-binary educator, researcher, and writer with experience in higher education, racial justice, and equity. In their role at Pride Foundation, T will lead the organization’s grantmaking and scholarship programs.
Helen Stillman (she/her) joined the team last fall as our Assistant Director of Community Engagement. Helen brings extensive experience in social justice philanthropy, working at the intersection of political education, organizing, and fundraising, most recently at North Star Fund. In her role at Pride Foundation, she collaborates with donors across the region to resource LGBTQ+ organizations and student leaders.
Tend 2023 – Save the Date!
Pride Month is right around the corner, and with it comes our annual fundraising event, Tend! Save the Date to attend an in person gathering near you or to watch the broadcast at home.
Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 8
at 5 PM (AKT) | 6 PM (PT) | 7 PM (MT)!
If you are interested in sponsoring Tend, or hosting a watch party, please contact Pride Foundation’s Community Engagement Team: giving@pridefoundation.org.
2023 Scholarship Cycle
Pride Foundation’s 2023 scholarship cycle is nearly coming to a close! This year, we received over 860 applications from incredible LGBTQ+ student leaders and we will be awarding $750,000 to support their leadership and educational endeavors!
We look forward to sharing more about our 2023 student leaders in the coming months!
QTBIPOC Community Care Fund
Pride Foundation advances equity and justice for LGBTQ+ communities by helping to resource communities who have been historically and currently under-resourced. As part of our efforts, we established the Community Care Fund to support organizations working to address the immediate needs, safety, and healing of LGBTQ+ communities.
We recognize that the impacts of systemic oppression are not experienced equally across all communities. For that reason, we conducted a careful and intentional review of the Community Care Fund and renamed it as the QTBIPOC Community Care Fund. This change was made to more clearly and specifically communicate that this initiative is for organizations that are led by and serve queer and trans Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color communities.
In 2022, we awarded over $550,000 to support smaller QTBIPOC led and serving groups that are making a big impact in their communities across the Northwest! (This is in addition to the more than $917,000 awarded through our Community Grants program.)
We are also proud to announce that Lifewerq, received a grant of $150,000 one of the largest in the history of the Pride Foundation, and it is a testament to our commitment to supporting the important work being done by QTBIPOC-led organizations.
Community, Advocacy, Research, and Education Across the Northwest
It has been a long and tough legislative cycle in our region, particularly in Alaska, Idaho, and Montana. We’ve seen some truly hate-filled pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced, and we know that, regardless of whether these pass, the effects that they have on our communities are extremely harmful. We have been encouraged to see our communities show up to fight back in powerful and beautiful acts of resistance to these efforts to devalue and discriminate against our lives and our community.
We are sharing below just a brief recap of the bills moving forward in each of these states, which we know can be hard to grapple with, so we’ve also included some examples of resistance from our community.
Idaho and Montana in particular are laboratories for the national anti-LGBTQ+ agenda (Montana alone has over 100 bills specifically targeting LGBTQ+ Montanans, which community is calling the ‘slate of hate’). Thus, this month, was full of heavy testimony and advocacy, yet our folks on the ground are making magic however they can!
Alaska
HB 27 (Anti-Trans Sports Ban) Still in Committee
HB 105 (Anti-Sex Ed Bill) introduced on 03/08 at the request of the governor and currently in committee.
SB 96 (Anti-Sex Ed Bill) this is the matching bill to HB 105, but just in the Senate. Both are introduced at the request of the Governor. (Note: In our region, this is currently the only anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that is being promoted by a governor explicitly rather than the legislative members themselves.)
In response to this legislation, our community partner, Native Movement, has released a sign on letter to the governor to protest this.
Idaho
SB 1016 (Pro-Discrimination in Vendor Contracts Bills/ Anti-Trans Bathroom Ban) has passed both the Senate and the House and is currently on the Governor’s desk for final signature before becoming law.
HB 71 (Gender Affirming Care Ban) has passed the House, has passed the Senate with Amendments, and will be sent back to the House for approval of the amendments after which it will be sent to the Governor for final signature before becoming law.
HB 314 (LGBTQ+ Book Ban) has passed the House and is up for vote in the Senate.
SB 1100 (Pro-Discrimination in School Bill/ Anti-Trans Bathroom Ban) has passed the Senate, has passed the House, and was signed by the Governor on 03/23/2023.
SB 1071 (Anti-Sex Education Bill) has passed the Senate and is up for vote in the House Education Committee.
HB 265 (Anti-Drag Bill) has passed the House and will be voted upon in the Senate.
HB 242 (Anti-Abortion Bill) has passed the House and is currently in the 14th Order for Amendments after first reading in the Senate State Affairs committee.
SB 1056 (Pro-Militia Bill) has passed the Senate and is up for vote in the House Transportation & Defense Committee.
A father and his daughter (who is trans) garnered national media attention for sharing the impact of banning gender affirming care in Idaho. Here’s the clip from CNN and their full interview here.
Several coalitions in Idaho have been organizing to combat this hate and celebrate LGBTQ+ Idahoans. Alongside various in-person and virtual actions, our community partner, Add the Words – Idaho, have an active sign-on letter opposing HB 71 (the gender-affirming Care ban) available here.
Montana
SB 99 (Gender Affirming Care Ban) has passed in the Senate, has passed the House with amendments which are currently being reviewed by the Senate after which it will be sent to the Governor’s desk for final signature before becoming law.
SB 458 (Anti-Trans Existence Bill/Defines Sex in Montana Law) This has passed the Senate and is up for the vote in the House Committee.
SB 488 (Abolish Common Law Marriage Bill) has passed in the Senate and is up for vote in the House Judiciary Committee.
HB 234 (Book Ban) has passed in the House and failed to pass out of the Senate Education and Cultural Resources upon its first vote on 03/16/2023. As of yet, it has not been tabled.
HB 303 (Medical Discrimination Bill) has passed in the House and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Safety has held its public hearing, but not voted yet.
HB 359 (Drag Ban) has passed in the House and is up for vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
HB 361 (Right to Bully Bill) has passed in the House and the Senate Judiciary Committee has held its public hearing, but not voted yet.
HB 502 (Anti-Sex Ed Bill) has passed in the House and the Senate Committee on Education and Cultural Resources has held its public hearing, but not voted yet.
HB 566 (Anti-Sex Ed Bill) has passed in the House and a public hearing is scheduled for 3/31 in the Senate Committee on Education and Cul now be voted upon in the Senate.
During the first month of Montana’s legislative cycle this year, our community partner, TransVisible Montana, opened the largest exhibit of specifically Trans+ artist’s in Montana’s history at Helena’s Holter Museum, just steps from the Capitol building. The exhibit features the work of renowned artist Rae Senarighiat, among many other Trans+ Montanans. You can read more about the exhibit here.
Oregon
In January 2023, there were at least 6 explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Oregon we were tracking: HB 2477, HB 3137, SB 452, HB 2186, SB 453, and SB 749. As of March, all these bills have been held in committee with a strong likelihood of not moving forward. We encourage our community to keep an eye out for intersectional bills affecting our community and keep an eye on school board policies that are evolving in the state.
We want to take a moment to uplift one our grantee partners, Rogue Action Center, who have been providing mutual-aid and popular education this year to defend LGBTQ+ lives and communities. Be sure to check out their Trans Day of Visibility Event here.
Washington
HB 1214 (Gender Affirming Care Ban) was held in the House.
HB 1233 (Anti-Trans Prison Placement Law) was held in the House.
This year, Washington has the distinction of being one of a handful of states with pro-LGBTQ+ legislation under consideration.
We’d like to uplift the policy priorities of the Washington LGBTQ+ Caucus and highlight some of these bills here:
HB 1340 (Provider Protections Bill has passed the House and is up for vote in the Senate)
HB 1469 (Safe State Bill has passed the House and is up for vote in the Senate)
HB 1470 (Private Detention Facilities Protections Bill has passed the House and is up for vote in the Senate SB 5400 (Provider Protections Bill is in Senate Committee)
SB 5489 (Safe State Bill is in the Senate Committee)
SB 5599 (Gender Affirming Care Protections Bill has passed the Senate and Executive Action in Favor of the Bill has been taken in the House Committee reviewing it).
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We’re so grateful for the critical community support that makes all of this work possible, and we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out and connect with us today! |