Responses of Renée Bowser to GLAA 2000 Questionnaire
for DC Council Candidates
| Yes/No | Substance | Record | Championship | Total |
| 1.5 | .5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
PUBLIC SAFETY
1. Will you vote for a budget for the new Citizen Complaint Review Board and the Office of Citizen Complaint Review large enough to prevent the development of a case backlog?
Yes. I believe that the Citizen Complaint Review Board should be appropriately funded to handle cases without a backlog so that police who are violating the rules and citizens' rights should be disciplined in a timely manner. If the Board and Office are adequately funded, patterns of rights and rule violations can be timely detected and corrected.
2. Will you support legislation that will reverse the Council's recent enactment of a ban on moonlighting by members of the Metropolitan Police Department at bars and sexually oriented establishments?
I believe that bars should be treated uniformly and not discriminated against based on the sexual orientation of the patrons.
3. Will you support amending recently enacted Sexual Offenders Registration Act, "Megan's Law," so that those who can prove to the court that they no longer constitute a danger to the community will not be required to register as a sex offender?
I believe that exoffenders should be able to return to society with their constitutional rights in tact and they should be protected from harassment.
4. Will you support the full funding and full staffing of the Metropolitan Police Department's newly created Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU) as currently proposed?
Yes.
5. Will you demand mandatory gay male, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sensitivity and diversity training including gay and transgender community representative as a continuing part of the training for all members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire/EMS Department?
Yes I will support mandatory sensitivity and diversity training of all police officers and fire/EMS department personnel and such training which should be provided new personnel and with annual renewed training. I believe that the training should effective, including providing notice that discipline reasonably calculated to end any discrimination will be imposed. However, effective training may not require gay and transgender representatives as part of every training program.
PUBLIC HEALTH & HIV
6. Last year, a unique identifier system for tracking the spread of HIV was approved by the Council and Mayor, rather than a names reporting system that would deter some people from being tested in the first place. Will you insist that unique identifier system be implemented without delay and fairly evaluated?
Yes.
7. Will you oppose Bill 13-240 which would make possession and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes a felony?
I oppose Bill 13-240; the largest impact of this law will be to make poor, Black, and Latino youth felons if convicted of possession of small amounts of marijuana. Further, the bill would nullify Initiative 59 which should be fully implemented. We need to more aggressively publicize Congress' conduct in blocking Initiative 59.
8. Will you support the use of District taxpayer funds to implement a needle exchange program?
Yes. We need to more aggressively publicize Congress' actions in preventing implementation of this program.
9. The Administration for HIV/AIDS (AHA) is still unable to account for its spending. Will you ask the Inspector General to audit AHA contracting.
Yes.
10. Will you support earmarking funds to combat mental health problems and homelessness among sexual minority youth?
Yes.
HUMAN RIGHTS
11. Will you support a temporary increase in the annual budget for the Office of Human Rights (OHR) over the next several years until its persistent 700-case backlog has been eliminated?
I will propose a substantial, permanent increase annual budget for the District's Office of Human Rights which has been severely reduced over the past many years. I believe the budget should not be reduced once the backlog is eliminated; otherwise a new backlog will be created.
12. Will you support legislation that will codify OHR's former practice of giving top priority to discrimination complaints filed by people with AIDS or other major life- threatening diseases?
Yes, for AIDS as well as other major life-threatening diseases.
13. DC's rate of HIV infections among teenagers is significantly higher than the national average. Will you support legislation to increase HIV prevention efforts targeted towards sexual minority youth?
I will support legislation to increase HIV prevention efforts targeted toward sexual minority youth and toward populations of Black and Latino women and youth which have shown the greatest increase in infection and mortality from HIV/AIDS.
DEFENDING OUR FAMILIES
14. Will you support legal recognition of marriages between partners of the same sex?
I will not stand in the way of anything that would create a life-long, monogamous union between two people who love each other.
15. Will you agree that the District should recognize the same-sex civil unions established in Vermont or other jurisdictions?
Yes.
16. Will you support legislation in the District similar to Vermont's civil unions law?
Yes.
17. Will you support the well-established decision by D.C. Courts, which recognize the right of unmarried couples to adopt children jointly?
I would support a policy that provides the best possible home for the child and not rule out any home as a matter of policy.
YOUTH AND PUBLIC EDUCATION
18. Will you support legislation prohibiting harassment of students in the District schools (both public and charter) on the basis of any of the protected categories enumerated in the D.C. Human Rights Law?
Yes.