Washington Needs a Commission on Boys and Men
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This is an excerpt from an interview of Brynn Felix by The Conduit Podcast host Marwan Cameron on July 22, 2024. Running to the left of incumbent Representative Greg Nance, Brynn placed third in the Aug 6, 2024 primary election for Legislative District 23 State Representative Position 2.
Andrew Van Winkle has unseated incumbent judge Timothy Hennessy, winning 52% of the vote in the race for Spokane Superior Court Judge Position 11. View our complete blog post: https://wibm.us/refreshing-humility-from-newly-elected-spokane-superior-court-judge-andrew-van-winkle/ In July 2024, a Spokane-based civic organization called People for Effective Government hosted a public forum. They invited all candidates for this race to participate, and Andrew Van Winkle was one of the two candidates who came. We made a video highlighting portions of Mr. Van Winkle’s comments from that night as he responded to questions from the moderator and audience members. Our perception of Mr. Van Winkle is that he is humble, curious, and willing to continue learning. These are important characteristics for any public servant.
View the blog post for this video: https://wibm.us/hannah-mcdevitt-volunteers-serving-homeless-addicted-men-and-women-east-of-portland/ Hannah McDevitt has been sober from alcohol, cocaine, meth, and opioids for nine years. Her husband, who is also in recovery, works as a therapist in addiction medicine, and they have a six-year-old son. Hannah lives in Portland. She has a sister in Vancouver, Washington. Hannah has been volunteering for four years doing harm reduction and overdose prevention work serving people living outdoors, many of whom are using drugs or alcohol, in areas east of Portland (the ‘East County’ area of Multnomah County). Hannah contacted WIBM expressing interest in helping us. She and Blair Daly then spoke on a recorded Zoom call about her experiences volunteering. This video shows nine minutes of that conversation that we chose to highlight.
Washington state lawmakers passed a bill that enables someone to sue for civil damages if their sexual partner non-consensually removes or tampers with a sexually protective device they had agreed to use. *View our complete blog post: https://wibm.us/should-washington-stealthing-legislation-include-hormonal-borth-control-methods-hb-1958-reproductive-coercion/ The definition of ‘sexually protective device’ in House Bill 1958 includes “an internal or external condom, spermicide, diaphragm…or any other physical barrier device intended to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection.” The legislation specifies that the definition does not include intrauterine devices (IUDs) or any hormonal birth control method. As the legislation made its way through the House of Representatives and then the Senate, certain lawmakers tried three times to amend the bill to add IUDs and hormonal birth control methods to the definition of ‘sexually protective device’. Each attempt failed. We made a video presenting the highlights of both sides of the debate on this aspect of Washington’s ‘stealthing’ law, which went into effect on July 1, 2024. With certain lawmakers arguing for “parity” or “equity” for men, this is a worthwhile debate for Washington Initiative for Boys and Men to call attention to in our role as an advocacy journalism platform. The main spokespersons for expanding the legislation to include IUDs and hormonal birth control were Representatives Michelle Caldier and Jenny Graham, and Senator Lynda Wilson. The main spokespersons against expanding the legislation were Representatives Jamila Taylor and Liz Berry, and Senator Manka Dhingra. Which side do you think presents the more convincing argument for whether IUDs and hormonal birth control should be included in Washington’s ‘stealthing’ law, RCW 7.7.113?
At a debate held in Bremerton on July 16, 2024, three candidates running for a seat in the state legislature expressed support for the creation of a Washington state commission on boys and men. The three candidates — Democrats Brynn Felix, Greg Nance, and John Gibbons — are vying for Position 2 in the House of Representatives for legislative district 23. The debate was held in front of an in-person audience at the Norm Dicks Government Center, and it was live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook. Marwan Cameron hosted the event sponsored by three organizations that he leads: Gather Together Grow Together, The Conduit Podcast, and — notably for WIBM’s interests — the League of Black Male Voters, which is a newly-established 501(c)(4) advocacy organization based in Kitsap County. (Gather Together Grow Together has endorsed the Washington state commission on boys and men legislation.) Video of the complete debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OCIyMi0qVo
This video shows excerpts from a public hearing held January 31, 2024 on House Bill 2052 which was about Increasing the availability of baby diaper changing stations. The bill passed out of committee but ultimately was not passed by the legislature as a whole. See more about this bill: https://wibm.us/lisa-callans-bill-2052-requiring-diaper-changing-stations-in-mens-restrooms-falls-short-during-2024-session/
Kirsten Fuchs is a Certified Prevention Professional in Spokane. She is the Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program Coordinator for the NorthEast Washington Educational Service District 101 (NEWESD 101). Kirsten earned a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from Eastern Washington University and completed a graduate certificate in Social Emotional Learning for Educational Equity. Part of Kirsten’s job in recent years has involved helping Spokane-area middle schools and high schools get set up with the Hope Squad program. Hope Squad came onto WIBM’s radar through the Kellen CARES Foundation, which is one of 20+ nonprofit organizations to date that have endorsed the legislation in Washington that would create a state commission on the well-being of boys and men. Watch the video and hear from Kirsten Fuchs. View this blog post: https://wibm.us/kirsten-fuchs-on-hope-squad-and-spokane-youth-cannabis-tobacco-suicide-prevention/
WIBM's Blair Daly spoke with Ashanti Branch for the Taking Off The Mask podcast (episode 194). Grief ended up being one of the topics of the conversation. Watch/listen to the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIHUz2ts5n4
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