It's time for another LGBTQ Central Peninsula Update:
PENDING LEGISLATION
UPDATE: HB 198 is currently on hold in House Judiciary pending possible amendments. ALASKA HOUSE BILL 198, AN ACT RELATING TO AGGRAVATING FACTORS CONSIDERED AT SENTENCING - This bill adds "sexual orientation and gender identity: to existing legislation. See the full bill here: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/31?Root=HB%20198. We need help and additional testimony to get it out of this committee and onto the floor of the House. Once/If it passes, we will repeat the process in the senate. There is not currently a timeline for the House Judiciary Committee.
Elected Organizations that have passed resolutions in support of HB 198:
City of Soldotna Resolution 2020-006 (passed 1/22/2020)
City of Kenai Resolution Resolution 2020-005 (passed 2/5/2020)
Kenai Peninsula Borough resolution (passed 2/25/2020)
Municipality of Anchorage Resolution (passed unanimously 2/25/2020)
City of Seward Resolution 20-020 (passed by consent agenda 3/9/2020)
Encourage other governing bodies in Alaska to pass similar resolutions about 198. We need statewide support to get this passed. Consider writing a letter to the editor for local newspapers, posting the information on your facebook page, attending representative town halls and other public meetings, and otherwise spreading the word. The more cities, tribes, boroughs, school districts, etc supporting the legislation, the harder it will be to defeat in the AK legislature.
UPDATE: ALASKA SENATE BILL 82 WILL NOT BE HEARD THIS SESSION. See the full bill here: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/31?Root=SB%2082.Â
ALASKA SENATE BILL SB 147 - Designating June as Pride month - See the full bill here: http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/31?Root=SB%20147 . SB 147 was introduced and sent to Senate State Affairs and no action has been taken. Email Senate State Affairs Chair Josh Revak at Senator.Joshua.Revak@akleg.gov to show support for this bill.
Safe Zone There are no public Safe Zone Trainings scheduled at this time. To schedule a FREE Safe Zone Training, please contact lmbyrd2@alaska.edu. Tammie and I will be presenting Safe Zone Training to PCHS Providers and providing information about Safe Zone at the Lee Shore Community Awareness Workshop in April.
Queens Guard There are no Queens Guard updates at this time. Please contact Jamieldooleygilliam@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.
UPDATE: Soldotna Pride 2020 We recently went live with our vendor, sponsor, and volunteer forms on our new website: https://kpcalliance.wixsite.com/soldotnapride
The next Pride in the Park Planning meeting will take place at 6:30 PM on April 2nd at KPC ResLife:Â https://www.facebook.com/events/484413429107511/Â
Homer Pride https://www.facebook.com/groups/1562227424079582/Â . Homer Pride has not yet advertised a date for their pride activities in 2020, but they are working on it now!
Seward Pride https://www.facebook.com/SewardPride/Â . Seward Pride is June 12-14, 2020.
Anchorage Pride https://www.facebook.com/AnchoragePride/. Anchorage Pride is a week long celebration, culminating in the Parade and festival on June 27, 2020.
UPDATE: LGBT Alliance Meeting The next LGBT Alliance meeting will take place at 7 P.M. on March 31st at KPC Reslife:Â https://www.facebook.com/events/1058547787814674/
Update on Tammie's case There are no updates at this time.
Thank you for your continued vigilance.
"Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start." - Jason Collins (First openly gay player in the NBA)
