Only a couple of days after the tragic attack at the LGBTQ nightclub Pulse, where 49 souls lost their lives, a hate group in Washington State is hosting a rally to support an anti trans ballot measure. Just Want Privacy is a group that is trying to get Initiative 1515 on the ballot – an initiative that would forbid trans people from using the bathroom that matches their gender.

UW Tacoma is hosting this event in one of their auditoriums. They are doing this when the bodies from the Pulse attack have not yet been laid to rest. They are doing this when the Rainbow Center, a LGBTQ safe space and resource center in Tacoma, received threats and is under increased surveillance. Shame on UW Tacoma for providing a venue for Just Want Privacy to project their hate – a hate that leads to and encourages hate crimes on the LGBTQ community.

UW Tacoma issued a statement regarding the use of this space. However, we maintain that the university is not obligated to rent space to hate groups. If the university is truly on the side of trans rights, they could refuse to rent out the space. In the words of a genderqueer friend of ours, “You risk being sued, I risk being killed. You worry about bad PR, I worry every day about myself or my partners being killed.” The stakes are high. Furthermore, guess who is involved in this event? Blair Tindall. You’ve probably never heard of her, but she is the author of the book, Mozart in the Jungle, which Amazon Prime has picked up as a TV show. Don’t watch this show! Not only do our media experts tell us it is objectively awful (despite Gael Garcia Bernal’s presence… Gael, what are you doing?!?!), but Blair herself is hateful and ridiculous. In addition to her affiliation with Just Want Privacy, here are screencaps of a Facebook argument she had:

Charming!!! Not to mention she is Bill Nye’s ex-fiance and he got a restraining order against her… yeah, check out her Twitter for some real bitterness, ten years on.

Angry yet? Well, this is a face of the LGBTQ hate movement. But here at TBW, we encourage action. So here’s what you can do TODAY. Contact UW Tacoma and tell them to revoke the use of their space from Just Want Privacy.

Contact information: UW Office of Minority Issues and Diversity: 206-685-0518, UW Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Gabriel Gallardo: 206-543-2441, UW Tacoma – Mike Wark, Director of External Relations: 253-692-5771, UW Tacoma – Office for Equity and Inclusion: 253-692-4861, Email for CDO: vpomad@uw.edu, Email for Mike Wark: mwark@uw.edu Sample text for you to personalize: I’m writing to express my profound disappointment that a bastion of learning, UW Tacoma, is hosting a rally in support of codifying bigotry into law. The timing is particularly ominous. Just a few days ago, 49 people died when an LGBTQ nightclub was attacked. Just yesterday, Tacoma’s Rainbow Center, a resource and safe space for the local LGBTQ community, received threats. Just Want Privacy is a group that is actively working to legalize discrimination against the transgender community. They claim to speak on behalf of women – an erroneous statement given that many women’s groups in the state have denounced them and that they are hatefully targeting women who are not cisgender. And they certainly don’t speak for me. I don’t think UW Tacoma should be hosting people that speak so hatefully to the LGBTQ community and their allies, ESPECIALLY after the recent shooting, which only goes to show what happens when a culture of hatred is allowed to fester. If we want a peaceful, enlightened society – a goal of universities – it is our duty to not only model love and acceptance but to combat hatred wherever it appears. UW Tacoma, by hosting this event, is doing the opposite: providing space for, and therefore sanctioning, hatred. I strongly urge you to revoke Just Want Privacy’s use of the Carwein Auditorium. Since the event is TOMORROW, June 16, please write and/or call today!!! If you are in the area, you can also attend a counter-rally. And seriously, don’t watch or read Mozart in the Jungle. Retch.

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