Dear Fellow DC Youth Advocates:

No matter what issue you work on, I need you to take action to ensure that we preserve the health of DC youth. Whether your issue is asthma, unintentional injuries, teen pregnancy, smoking, nutrition, obesity, drugs and alcohol, LGBT youth, HIV or something else, this impacts us all.

I recently spoke with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Adolescent School Health (DASH) who informed me that the 2009 implementation of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS) was deemed unusable. DC's data will not be part of any CDC publication or analysis.

According to my conversation with Dr. Laura Kann from DASH, DC needed to achieve a response rate of 60% of its targeted sample size in order to meet the CDC requirement for accurate, weighted data. DC only managed to reach 36%. In other words we did not meet their requirement - an embarrassment for the city and a huge setback in our city's attempt to "measure" our successes.

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is responsible for implementation of the YRBS and has clearly not taken the task seriously. I am concerned that Dr. Briggs and her staff do not take the health of DC youth seriously and that they are not actually interested in progress measures when it comes to health and nutrition. In fact, Dr. Briggs and Dr. Schliker have been dismissive of our community's offers to support OSSE.

As you may know, the YRBS, conducted every two years by states, cities, and counties, is perhaps the single most important data set we have for monitoring the health behaviors of DC youth. According to the CDC,

"The YRBS assesses six categories of priority health risk behaviors--behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and STDs, including HIV infection; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity--plus overweight and asthma."

Many of use the YRBS data for our programs and for our grants. From a city-wide perspective, many of us were excited to use YRBS data to objectively measure the city's efforts to improve the health of its youth and to highlight the challenges that remain.

Amazingly, in these tough economic times, the city will have no usable 2009 youth health data to make the case for additional federal funding!

The next implementation will be in 2011 and those results will not be available until 2012. But planning of that effort must begin now.

Please help us with the following:

1. Please come and testify at the OSSE oversight hearings this Friday (10:00 AM at the Wilson Building, Room 412.) We must tell the Dr. Briggs that this negligence is not acceptable. To testify at the hearing, please contact Aretha Latta at 724-8196 or alatta@dccouncil.us.

2. If you cannot testify in person, please submit written testimony.

3. If you don't want to testify, come out Friday and support those of us who do.

We have three demands:

1. That OSSE present a written plan on how they will ensure that the 2011 YRBS will be properly implemented with adequate student and school participation;

2. That the City Council ensure that ALL DC students (DCPS and charter schools) receive high-quality age appropriate Health and Physical Education; and

3. That the City Council clarify OSSE's responsibility for measuring schools' and students' progress in meeting the Health Learning Standards.

Please pass this on to other allied youth health advocates.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or Josh Rovner, Policy and Advocacy Manager (jrovner@metroteenaids.org).

The President's Proposal

Thursday's bicameral bipartisan meeting at Blair House

The Recovery Act: Success Stories in the States

- President Barack Obama, 2/17/09, Denver, CO

One year ago, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law to rescue, rebuild, and strengthen our struggling national economy (P.L. 111-5). Eight years of failed fiscal policies and misguided economic priorities had left our national economy on the brink of disaster, and now - just one year later - our economy is on the brink of recovery. The Recovery Act is creating and protecting good-paying jobs; making investments in America's future; and cutting taxes for working families. The Recovery Act is also delivering transparency and accountability to guarantee that all taxpayer money is invested responsibly.

While the economy is starting to show some growth and recover from the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression, a real economic recovery is not possible without long-lasting, meaningful job creation. That's why Senate Democrats are committed to putting America back to work and strengthening our economy. With more than 40 percent of Recovery Act funds yet to be expended, Americans can expect the Recovery Act to continue support jobs and spur additional job creation in the upcoming year. In addition, Senate Democrats recently unveiled a jobs agenda that includes a series of measures to create jobs right now. Throughout 2010, Democrats will work to pass legislation that builds upon the Recovery Act and creates jobs. We will not stop until every American who wants a job can get one. We'll keep coming back to address job creation again and again because this issue requires a committed effort.

Recovering from the economic crisis that we inherited will not happen overnight, but you can click below for a sampling of local success stories that demonstrate the real-life impacts that the Recovery Act has already had in your state.

Call their offices directly, or through the Capitol Hill Switchboard (202) 224-3121.

Ask the staffer specifically where the Senator stands on the issue, and then log that response on the Act on Principles website, where a citizen whip count is being created to track where we stand in the Senate -- and where we need to still apply pressure -- http://actonprinciples.org

And finally, please go to the Voices of Honor joint campaign by Servicemembers United and the Human Rights Campaign to send an email to your Representative and sign up to meet with them at their district office -- http://www.hrc.org/sites/voicesofhonor/index.asp

Residents of the District of Columbia can direct our calls to Senators Levin and Reid, urging them to use their leadership positions to move the repeal effort forward!

Last summer, the Alliance Defense Fund ("ADF")--an Arizona legal organization with a budget in the tens of millions funded by James Dobson of Focus on the Family and other anti-gay fundamentalist ministers--filed a referendum challenging the City Council's recognition of marriages of gay and lesbian couples performed out of state. Their front man was Harry Jackson, pastor of a church in Beltsville, Maryland.

Stein reacted quickly. Our counsel appeared before the DC Board of Elections to argue that Jackson's referendum violated DC's 1977 Human Rights Act, and Stein was instrumental in the Board's first favorable ruling, which overturned prior contrary law. A few weeks later, Stein was the only community organization - LGBT or otherwise - to defend the DC Board of Elections in Court. And we prevailed.

A couple of months ago, the ADF tried again and just as before, the DC Board of Elections found in Stein's favor. But this time in court, the ADF had a new tactic. They challenged DC's Human Rights Act itself, arguing that the City Council thirty years ago had no right to bar a popular vote on discrimination in DC.
"Judge Macaluso's well-reasoned opinion demolished this new ADF argument," Stein's counsel Mark Levine said today, "showing conclusively that the District's 1978 City Council knew exactly what it was doing when it barred a public vote on discrimination. The Court's persuasive citation of a unanimous United States Supreme Court decision--and her additional showing that illegal initiatives like this one must be barred--are both likely to be withstand any appeal."
The opponents of marriage equality are not taking this lying down. In addition to a possible appeal, they have filed yet another referendum and yet another initiative, making four separate attempts, thus far. Stein is already preparing for those hearings and stands ready to defend marriage equality in the District of Columbia no matter what our enemies do.
The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club has a long history of serving LGBT interests in the District and takes pride in the fact that our thirty-plus years of activism is finally seeing its fruition. From the passage of the original Human Rights Act of 1977, through long years of improving DC's laws, to the final culminating decision of the City Council and Mayor Fenty last month to allow full marriage equality, Stein has been instrumental in electing progressive leaders and working with them to approve fair legislation such as this. Stein has also been working alongside and in collaboration with other LGBT advocacy organizations such as GLAA and DC for Marriage to ensure that our right to marry becomes a reality.
We anticipate a happy celebration in March, following the Congressional review period, when we hope and expect to witness the first gay and lesbian couples' legal marriages in the District.
To view the Court's ruling, in its entirety, please use the following link:

The Board of Elections and Ethics shall consider in a public hearing whether the proposed measure "Preservation of Traditional Marriage One Man One Woman 2009" is a proper subject matter for initiative, at the Special Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 10:30am., One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, N.W., Suite 280, Washington DC.

The Board requests that written memoranda be submitted for the record no later than 4:00 p.m., Thursday, February 11, 2010 to the Board of Elections and Ethics, General Counsel's Office, One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, N.W., Suite 270, Washington, D.C. 20001.

Each individual or representative of an organization who wishes to present testimony at the public hearing is requested to furnish his or her name, address, telephone number and name of the organization represented (if any) by calling the General Counsel's office at 727-2194 no later than February 11, 2010.

The Short Title, Summary Statement and Legislative Text of the proposed initiative read as follows:

SHORT TITLE
PRESERVATION OF TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE ONE MAN ONE WOMAN 2009

SUMMARY STATEMENT
The purpose of this initiative is to allow the citizens of the District of Columbia to vote to preserve traditional marriage as between one man one woman.
• This initiative would define marriage as between one man and one woman.
• This initiative would amend as follows:
• Section 1283 (DC Official Code section 46-401) is redesignated as section 1283 "Marriage is the legally recognized union between one man and one woman. No person may enter into a marriage in the District of Columbia with another person unless it is a man and a woman.

http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/lib/mpdc/serv/solvers/unsolved/pdf/2009/perkins_anthony.pdf.

The murder victim's relatives are being most cooperative about information regarding his sexual orientation. He lived with his mother in the Fairlawn neighborhood.

Dear Members,

2009 was a busy year and thanks to your support the Stein Club was front and center on nearly every major issue impacting our local community.

With your continued support, we will continue to make our voices heard locally and nationally.

2010 will be a busy year as we continue to work to secure marriage equality in the District and as we prepare for the 2010 election cycle and our local endorsements.

PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY

Membership Renewal Form.pdf

The letter points out that as supporters of civil marriage equality, we also embrace the principle of free speech enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which makes our own advocacy possible.

Read the Entire Letter

Jeffrey Richardson, President
Tim Mahony, Vice President of Legislation & Political Affairs
Sheila Alexander-Reid, Vice President of Administration
Jeff Hops, Secretary
Robert Byrer, Treasurer

Candidates were asked a series of questions targeting their knowledge of the DCDSC, the national Democratic Party, and their stance on key issues.

Of the 10 candidates only two opposed same sex civil marriage equality. One who opposed it personally acknowledged that since the DC Democratic State Committee has endoresed same sex civil marriage equality, that as an elected member of the body they would have to support the issue.

The officers and members of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club congratulate members Carlene Cheatam and Ed Patillo and long time supporter Betty Pierce on their election to the DC Democratic State Committee.

I am very proud of Gertrude Stein. Because we worked to bring about this historic milestone. For decades we worked to elect sympathetic officials to the City Council and Mayor's office. And as Congress has the power to overturn our civil rights, we bided our time until we had a Democratic Congress and President.

Then, early this year, we endorsed marriage equality and helped persuade our allies on the Council that now, finally, the time was ripe. When opponents of our civil rights held rallies to drum up opposition, we were there, explaining our position to the press and filling the halls of the City Council.

When our adversaries tried, right here in the District, to argue that civil rights for our families was somehow an affront to African-Americans; Gertrude Stein was very active in opposing them. Our members gave interviews and showed District voters that a wide and diverse swath of the DC electorate supported marriage equality.

When a group of ministers, led by Pastor Harry Jackson Jr. of Beltsville, Maryland, sought to hold a referendum on marriage equality, counsel on behalf of Gertrude Stein, Mark Levine, prepared a detailed legal brief and gave oral argument before the Board of Elections, persuading them a referendum on our civil rights would violate the District's Human Rights Act. When the Board ruled in our favor, Jackson and his friends went to court. But Stein was ready for them there too. Less than 24 hours after Jackson's lawsuit was filed, Stein's attorney filed papers and appeared in court, arguing our case. No other GLBT or other citizen organization was there. Stein stood alone with lawyers for the DC Government and Board of Elections to argue for our rights.

And, as you know, we won a tremendous victory, the one that went into effect yesterday.

But the fight is not over. The Allied Defense Fund, founded by James Dobson of Focus on the Family and other extreme anti-gay individuals and organizations, has a budget of more than $15 million a year and access to hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare for the legal battles ahead. They have already announced their intent to file an initiative to take away our hard-earned gains in the District.

We can stop them, but these battles cost money. Unlike some other GLBT organizations, we don't have an army of lawyers or lobbyists. And even though our legal counsel has graciously donated his extensive time expended thus far, we need a legal defense fund for the future.