Local
AIDS groups in dispute over NAPWA trademark rights
AIDS United to challenge plan


NAPWA’s National Gay Men’s AIDS Awareness Day on Sept. 27, 2012 in Freedom Plaza. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
A judge with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Maryland on Dec. 23 approved a motion allowing the D.C.-based Community Education Group, which provides AIDS-related services aimed at minority communities, to buy the legal rights to nine names linked to the National Association of People with AIDS.
But Judge Paul Mannes directed the national group AIDS United, which opposes CEGās purchase of at least one of the NAPWA-related names, to submit draft language for his final order clarifying the extent of the legal rights CEG would have for those names. Mannes was expected to make the final decision on what the order will say within the next week or two.
With more than $750,000 owed to creditors, NAPWA shut its doors in February 2013 after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Laura J. Margulies, the bankruptcy trustee appointed by the court to represent NAPWAās estate, filed the motion asking Mannes to approve CEGās request to purchase the trademark rights to the NAPWA name and the names of various programs and projects that NAPWA carried out during its 30-year tenure as a nationally respected group representing people with AIDS.
The names listed in her motion are National HIV Testing Day, National Association of People with AIDS, National Gay Menās Awareness Day, National Gay Menās HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, National Healthy Living Summit, AIDS Watch, Staying Alive, NAPWA and National Association of People With AIDS, Inc.
āThis transfer of ownership will guarantee these assets are not lost and continue to help serve those living with HIV/AIDS,ā CEG said in a statement released on Dec. 30.
āWe hope to continue their mission and look forward to re-establishing partnerships and building new ones around these legacy programs as we push forward for those living with HIV and AIDS,ā A. Toni Young, CEGās president and CEO added in the statement.
However, Michael Kaplan, CEO of AIDS United, said he was troubled that CEG has filed trademark applications for most of the names, including the AIDS Watch name, with the U.S. Office of Patent and Trademarks. Kaplan said NAPWAās board prior to the bankruptcy filing authorized AIDS United and the Treatment Access Expansion Project, which also advocates for people with HIV/AIDS, to carry out the AIDS Watch project.
The project involves an annual two-day congressional lobbying effort in which AIDS activists from throughout the country come to Washington to visit the offices of their senators and representatives to push for federal AIDS programs.
āWe feel it is not a good idea to trademark AIDS-related programs and names,ā he said. āI believe they are in the public domain and they should be in the public domain.ā
Kaplan said AIDS United will ādefinitelyā challenge CEGās application to secure a trademark for the AIDS Watch name.
Young said CEG welcomes participation of other groups in the programs and projects represented by the various names. CEG maintains that NAPWAās board never transferred or assigned AIDS United or any other group the legal rights to the AIDS Watch name.
āCEG hopes to work together with those that have supported and sponsored these efforts in the past while increasing the reach into communities of color and women,ā Young said.
District of Columbia
Activists, policy makers mark Celebrate Bisexual Day in D.C.
BiPlus Organizing US hosted event at HRC

BiPlus Organizing US on Saturday hosted a Celebrate Bisexual Day event at the Human Rights Campaign.
Fiona Dawson, co-founder of BiPlus Organizing US, and MƩlanie Snail, committee member of the organization, emceed the event. HRC Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Rebecca Hershey welcomed attendees.
Heyshey discussed her journey as a bisexual, mixed race, Jewish woman. Hershey paraphrased Adrienne Maree Brown, stating āchange is coming, we are creating change.ā
PFLAG Learning and Inclusion Manager Mackenzie Harte gave a presentation on the history of bisexual identities, defined terms surrounding gender and sexuality and went over statistics of discrimination and health disparities that bisexual individuals face.
Harte’s presentation noted 48 percent of bisexual individuals reported an annual income of less than $30,000, compared to 30 percent of gay men, 39 percent of lesbians and 28 percent of all adults in the U.S.
Harte went on to say 28 percent of bisexual students report having attempted suicide; and bisexual people have a higher risk of mood disorders, substance abuse and mental illness than their lesbian, gay, or straight cohorts. Bisexual people of all genders face higher rates of sexual assault than those same peers. One reason for these statistics is isolation: 39 percent of bisexual men and 33 percent of bisexual women report not being out to any health care provider, and only 44 percent of bisexual youth report having an adult they could turn to if they were sad.
Harte also spoke about the Bisexual Manifesto, which the Bay Area Bisexual Network wrote in 1990.
āThe bisexual manifesto very intentionally was not binary,ā Harte said.
They said the text works against the stigma and stereotypes that claim bisexuality is confined to āmale, female.āĀ
Tania Israel, a bisexual advocate and psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, shared some of her bisexual haikus, which she calls, ābikus.ā
Dawson moderated the next panel.
Panelists included Nicole Holmes, a bisexual advocate and public health professional, National Center for Transgender Equality Communications Director Leroy Thomas and NCTE Policy Counsel Kris Tassone.
The panel talked about how shame and stigma drive the statistics that negatively impact the bisexual community. Another word that came up as a driving force was āintersectionality.ā
Holmes said that when it comes to intersectionality, itās important to not just ālist identities,ā but to look deep into āthe purpose behind why we are talking about intersectional identitiesā in the first place.
Adrian Shanker, senior advisor on LGBTQ+ Health Equity for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, spoke about health equity for the bisexual community.
āStriving for health equity remains a core priority. It also remains an unmet dream,ā said Shanker. āQueer people have always had to be our own health advocates.ā While health equity may not be here yet, Shanker says there is much in the works for the LGBTQ community, bisexuals specifically.
Shanker cited a National Cancer Institute funding opportunity that invites research proposals to cancer care for sexual and gender minorities, stating bisexual specific proposals are welcome. The impending potential government shutdown may postpone it.
The Biden-Harris administration is also working to ban so-called conversion therapy at the federal level. Additionally, 988, the national suicide prevention hotline, began a program to offer specialized support for LGBTQ youth and young adults last year.
Shanker said bisexual people should prioritize preventative screenings for skin cancer, oral cancer, lung cancer, regular cervical and anal pap tests, mammograms, prostate exams and colonoscopies.
āIf you have a body part, get it screened,ā said Shanker.
Megan Townsend, senior director of entertainment research and analysis for the GLAAD Media Institute, did a presentation on bisexual representation in the media and opportunities for advancement.
Ā āI want to see bi+/pan colors displayed on the White House,” said Dawson. “I want every national LGBTQIA+ organization to be talking about us, to put our concerns front and center.”
The data presented can be found here.
Delaware
Flight attendants union endorses Sarah McBride
Del. lawmaker would be first transgender member of Congress

Delaware congressional candidate Sarah McBride has earned the support of the Association of Flight Attendants, the nationās most prominent flight attendant union.
Itās the second big labor endorsement for McBride after the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 27ās endorsement. The Association of Flight Attendants praised her for spearheading efforts to bring paid family and medical leave to Delaware, which will take effect in 2026.
āSarahās record in the Delaware Senate shows that she understands how to work collaboratively, build power and make big things happen,ā the unionās president, Sara Nelson, wrote in a press release shared exclusively with the Washington Blade. āThatās the kind of leader we need in Congress, and weāre proud to endorse her candidacy.ā
McBride also announced her support for creating a list of abusive passengers and banning them from flying. Each airline has a list of passengers banned from flying, but airlines donāt share the lists with each other, though Delta Air Lines has asked them, because of ālegal and operational challenges,ā as a representative for the airline industry trade group Airlines of America told a House committee in September 2021.
āRight now, someone can be violent towards a flight attendant or another passenger and walk directly off of that flight and onto one with a different airline to endanger more people,ā an Association of Flight Attendants spokesperson wrote in a statement.
The Protection from Abusive Passengers Act would put the Transportation Security Administration in charge of building the database of passengers fined or convicted of abuse and has bipartisan support but has sat idly in committee since March. It failed to pass last year, and civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union have charged that the list would disproportionately target people of color and strip and a better step to reducing hostility would be making flights more comfortable. Reports of defiant and unruly passengers have more than doubled between 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2022.
āI thank the Association of Flight Attendants for endorsing our campaign,ā McBride wrote in the press release. āItās important that we recognize and celebrate the symbiotic relationship between strong, unionized workforces and the continued growth of employers here in our state.ā
The union representing 50,000 flight attendants across 19 airlines is putting pressure on airlines to grant union demands in contract negotiations. At American Airlines, unionized flight attendants voted to authorize a strike ā putting pressure on the airline to accede to its demands. Flight attendants at Alaska Airlines say they are ready to strike but have not voted to authorize one yet. United Airlines flight attendants picketed at 19 airports around the country in August, ratcheting up the pressure.
The unionās endorsement adds to a growing list of McBride endorsements, including 21 Delaware legislators, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Human Rights Campaign, EMILYās List, and Delaware Stonewall PAC. McBride, who would be the first openly transgender politician in Congress, has powerful connections in Washington ā including with the White House ā and is favored to win Delawareās lone House seat.
A poll commissioned by HRC shows her leading the pack of three candidates vying for the seat ā 44 percent of ālikely Democratic votersā told pollster company Change Research, which works with liberal organizations. The poll of 531 likely Delaware Democratic primary voters, though, was conducted only online ā meaning those with less familiarity or access to the internet may not have been counted ā and Change Researchās methodology for screening likely voters is unclear. The company also did not provide a breakdown of respondents by age, gender, and race, but says it uses an algorithm to make the results representative.
Nelson said McBrideās time in Delawareās state Senate shows her prowess in building power and working collaboratively.
āThatās the kind of leader we need in Congress, and weāre proud to endorse her candidacy,ā she wrote.
Virginia
Lawsuit seeks to force Virginia Beach schools to implement state guidelines for trans, nonbinary students
Va. Department of Education released new regulations in July

Two parents in Virginia Beach have filed a lawsuit that seeks to force the city’s school district to implement the state’s new guidelines for transgender and nonbinary students.
NBC Washington on Friday reported Cooper and Kirk, a D.C.-based law firm, filed the lawsuit in Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
The Virginia Department of Education in July announced the new guidelines for which Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked. Arlington County Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools and Prince William County Schools are among the school districts that have refused to implement them.
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