Steve Rynecki responds to GLAA 2006 questionnaire

Responses of Steve Rynecki to GLAA 2006 Questionnaire
for DC Council Candidates

GLAA 2006 Rating for Steve Rynecki (Possible range: +/- 10 points total)
Yes/No Substance Record Championship Total
1.5 0.5 0 0 2

Public Safety

1. Will you support funding for mandatory gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) sensitivity and diversity training for all members of the Fire/EMS Department?

Absolutely, intolerance begins with ignorance.

2. Will you call on the new Mayor to appoint a new Fire/EMS Department Chief who is committed to rooting out the Department’s deeply entrenched homophobia and transphobia?

Absolutely. One of my neighbors was a gay DC police officer and many of believe the way he was treated at DCPD, for example, led to his tragic end. I will push your agenda because I know homophobia is endemic.

3. Will you support a budget for the Office of Police Complaints large enough to continue to avoid developing a backlog of cases?

Yes indeed. We need to be proactive on complaints. This is the world capital and we need to start acting like one. Backlogs are not acceptable for a world leader. The cost of not addressing this is much higher than whatever budget number is required to fix the problem.

4. Will you oppose legislation creating so-called “prostitution-free zones,” which would give the police, who routinely assume that every transgendered person is a prostitute until proven otherwise, virtually unlimited power to harass our transgendered residents?

If someone, female, male or transgender is engaged in obvious prostitution activity I think law enforcement should deal with that. I am totally AGAINST profiling and sloppy police work where a transgender is singled out just because.

AIDS and Public Health

5. Do you agree that the drive to make HIV testing routine among District residents should include funding for counseling and referrals to treatment facilities for those testing positive?

Yes. If someone is positive they need to know the options available to them. If they aren’t positive, they need to know how to stay that way. Counseling and referrals are a must!

6. Are you committed to continuing and expanding the District’s condom distribution program?

Yes.

7. The District is being forced by the federal government to switch from a unique identifier system to a names reporting system for people testing positive for HIV. Will you support legislation to strengthen our medical privacy laws, such as by creating a private right of action for those whose confidentiality is violated by District government employees or contractors?

Yes.

Human Rights

8. Will you support a budget for the Office of Human Rights (OHR) large enough to allow it to reduce to 270 days the average gap between the time that a discrimination complaint is filed and the time OHR issues a finding of probable cause?

Yes.

9. Will you block ceremonial resolutions and otherwise decline to honor individuals or organizations that promote any sort of bigotry?

Yes.

10. Are you committed to publicizing and enforcing the provisions of the D.C. Human Rights Act forbidding discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression?

Yes.

Marriage and Family

11. Do you support legal recognition of marriages between partners of the same sex?

Yes.

12. Will you support legislation in the District to continue expanding the existing domestic partnership program to include all relevant rights and responsibilities of marriage in D.C. law?

In strengthening our democracy we need to support this kind of legislation. Yes.

13. Will you support the legislative and/or regulatory changes necessary to ensure that the District recognizes civil unions, domestic partnerships and similar legal relationships established in other jurisdictions?

Yes.

Public Education and Youth

14. Do you oppose both federal and local voucher programs that fund students in religious schools that are beyond the protections of the D.C. Human Rights Act?

Yes – I don’t see why Federal dollars are used to support parochial schooling.

15. Do you oppose the use of either federal or District taxpayer funds to promote “abstinence only until marriage” sex education that undermines safer-sex programs by discouraging the use of condoms and that effectively tells gay and lesbian students that they must remain celibate forever because they may not legally marry?

I oppose such discriminatory and silly, medieval thinking. Although abstinence is a wonderful concept, we’re talking about human beings not robots.

Consumers and Businesses

16. Do you support the relocation of the many gay bars and businesses that were displaced by the new ballpark, even if local NIMBYs and homophobes oppose them?

I support the relocation as long as prostitution and seediness doesn’t follow. The same rule applies for straight clubs clustering as well. I’m for diffusion not ghettoization of gay clubs etc. Spread around town don’t be a target.

17. Will you support legislation to curb the abuses of NIMBYs who are now allowed to file an endless series of baseless complaints to harass or extort bars and restaurants?

I’m for sound legislation to make certain seedy bars and clubs are under scrutiny (gay and straight). Neighbors have a right to due diligence that is fair and balanced. If the business is not a threat to the security and quality of life they should be approved and prosper.

18. Do you oppose the Youth Protection from Obscene Video Games Act (B16-0125), a clone of other laws that have consistently been struck down by the courts on constitutional grounds?

Not sure about this one. Please advise me.

Record

Your record is part of your rating. Please list any actions that you have taken that may help illustrate your record on behalf of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders.

###

Go to GLAA Elections Project Main Page