LGBTQ

LGBTQ. An acronym standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer citizens of the United States, the LGBTQ community in Dubuque and elsewhere is represented by a variety of organizations. One, the Human Rights Commission, is one of the nation's largest LGBTQ civil rights group. (1)

The path forward for community acceptance was slow due to the efforts of such individuals as Sandra KIRKBRIDE. GAY MARCHES in the downtown area were initially met with open hostility. Several years of failed attempts finally led to success in 2005 when the city's nondiscrimination ordinance was updated to include sexual orientation. Gender identity was added the following year. Since 2006 more LGBTQ+city policies have been added including offering domestic partner benefits for all city employees (2008) and arranging a Better Together Dubuque Conference in 2012. In 2016 Dubuque was first recognized for its LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts by the Human Rights Campaign. The score of 82 out of 100 on the Municipal Equality Index in that year rose to 84 in 2017 and a perfect 100 in 2018, 2019, and 2020. (2)

In October 2017 the Commission issued its 2017 ranking of municipalities across the country based on the inclusiveness of their laws and policies regarding LGBTQ residents. The ranking included 506 cities in the United States including nine in Iowa. Each of the Iowa communities earned scores well above the national average of 57 points. (3)

Dubuque improved its ranking from 82 in 2016 to 94 out of a possible 100 points. The increase was largely due to the addition of an LGBTQ liaison in the city manager's office and the police department. The police department also formed an advisory group in 2016 that included transgender and LGBTQ representatives. Also important was the clarification in city contracts that nondiscrimination included gender identity. (4)

Dubuque also scored high in providing protections to LGBTQ people denied housing, employment, or public accommodations. In 20006 the city council added sexual orientation as a protected class under the city's human rights ordinance and added gender identity in 2009. As part of its recruitment and diversity training, the city provided LGBTQ programming. In 2016 police officers were trained in Iowa's transgender laws. (5)

Extra points were received by the city for offering programs for LGBTQ youth and its financial and staff support for the MULTICULTURAL FAMILY CENTER. INCLUSIVE DUBUQUE, a community-wide diversity initiative, remained a major goal. City Equity Outreach Coordinator Taj Suleyman stated the rating was proactive in empowering and advocating for all residents. The city, however, was criticized for not offering transgender-inclusive health benefits. (6)

Beginning in January 2017, efforts to start an LGBTQ health clinic were begun. Transgender and non-binary people, those who do not exclusively identify as a man or woman, reported a need for providers to administer hormone replacement therapy. In 2012 the University of Iowa Health Care's LGBTQ Clinic opened and specialized in working with the population. Between then and 2018, the clinic had treated an estimated 650 transgender patients with about 80% traveling to the clinic from outside Johnson County. Researchers have also identified increased smoking, substance abuse, depression and anxiety, STD and HIV infection, cardiovascular disease and suicide attempts within the LGBTQ community nationwide. The LGBTQ community is also more likely to lack health insurance and untreated medical needs. (7)

Those attempting to establish a clinic announced in 2018 that they were seeking a partnership with several health providers and were considering the use of telemedicine where a patient could consult with physicians using video-conferencing equipment.

The organization Key City Pride was established by partners Drevonte Morse and Corey Young in 2019. (8) In that year an LBTQ+Pride Family Picnic was held in MURPHY PARK. Organizers described its importance as showing support and showing "that we have a right to exist and we don't have to be ashamed of who we are." Prudential Insurance Company helped finance the event with a grant administered by the MULTICULTURAL FAMILY CENTER. (9) Since then, Key City Pride focused on education and events centered around the LGBTQ+community including the first Keychella Fest held for Pride in June 2020. During the PANDEMIC support group sessions were held over the internet on Zoom. A conference was scheduled for April 22, 2021 to inform businesses how to become better allies. (10)

Key City Pride was joined in its efforts by Clarke LGBTQIA+Alliance founded by Mo Foster, a CLARKE UNIVERSITY senior. While hindered by the pandemic, the group focused on monthly educational programs on LGBTQ+ topics for students. Foster believed that one of the reasons students more openly identified and supported LGBTQ+community activities was the growth of the internet used by people to educate themselves and voice their opinions. (11)

Solidarity Mural

In response to the racial equality protests across the United States in the spring of 2020, the “SOLIDARITY” mural was completed on July 2 on the Main Street side of Five Flags Center. In the mural measuring 28 feet high and 105 feet wide, artist Shelby Fry envisioned showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement and other segments of the community and to promote unity. Some of the symbols used as letters are meant to include those with disabilities (the wheelchair symbol), brain health issues (the first “i,” which is a semicolon, which are commonly associated with brain health), the LGBTQ community (the rainbow “D”) and transgendered individuals (the symbol serving as the “y”).

Concerns in 2021 included bills being introduced at the state and federal levels that were perceived as harming the LGBTQ+community. Senate File 224 in Iowa would prohibit students from using bathrooms that did not match their "biological sex." The bill was passed by a Senate subcommittee, the furthest such a measure had gone legislatively in Iowa. Surveys made to identify how people categorized themselves left out options. (12)

See: Joseph Edward "Jed" MATTES

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Source:

1. Barton, Thomas. "City Ups Score on LGBTQ Rights," Telegraph Herald, October 25, 2017, p. 1

2. Reese, Kayli, "Increasing Inclusivity," Telegraph Herald, April 4, 2021, p. 1A

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid, p. 2

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Goldstein, Bennet, "Volunteers Hope to Establish Dubuque LGBTQ Clinic," Telegraph Herald, April 23, 2018, p. 3A

8. Hogstrom, Erik, "Dubuque Pride Picnic a 'Celebration of Identity," Telegraph Herald, June 17, 2019, p. 5A

9. Reese

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.