Equality Arizona, a non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization held their policy brief in a webinar Friday discussing how the community is handling the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming primary election over Zoom.
In addition to webinars, the organization is providing resources through its crisis response network or can be contacted through their email as well.
One of Equality Arizona’s main functions is electoral work and this year it will be working on strategies to meet the needs of the current public health crisis.
Executive Director of Equality Arizona Michael Soto said how the organization reacted to the Arizona’s primary election this past March.
“We really saw a lot of amazing changes and interesting things happen in the primary,” Soto said. “What I saw is a really diverse field, really shifting the narrative and making sure the narrative of the party was reflective of the vast diversity of this country.”
Soto continued to explain that the Senate will play a big role in the 2020 primary election, along with congressional seats. It will be a busy election year and canvasing will look different due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the organization to strategize their efforts in order to be effective even with current limitations.
According to Soto, Equality Arizona’s campaigning efforts will depend on various factors such as when people are allowed out in public and when vaccine is developed. Equality Arizona supports mail-in ballots or having an all-digital election to increase voter turn out as an example.
The Arizona Senate special election is coming up as well in November, and the race is between the two candidates – Mark Kelly and Sen. Martha McSally, who currently holds the seat.
“Clearly one candidate is supportive of LGBTQ issues and one who is not,” Soto said.
Political Director of Equality Arizona JP Martin discussed what needs to take place regarding communities, especially the most marginalized groups, communities of color and the elderly.
According to Martin, there are 166 days left until the primary election and right now people are sheltering in place.
“A lot of us feel a lot of uncertainty about our leadership and I think it’s very important to continue with the messages that are resonating with folks,” Martin said.
Martin said courts are still processing evictions as well.
“All of the stop gaps that were supposed to help us have not come through and we’re seeing increased despair, disconnection, hostility,” he said.
There are social determinants of people’s health such as where they live, what they eat, access to healthcare which can increase the impact of COVID-19. Soto also mentioned in the webinar that members of the LGBTQ community don’t seek health care as often as they should. Therefore, the numbers are off on how many people are actually affected by coronavirus.
People in the webinar were also allowed to participate and make comments during the meeting. Equality Arizona mentioned contacting them through email in order to see what resources are available during the pandemic.
Tanner Menard, a webinar participant, voiced her fears for the community not only during COVID-19, but for after as well.
“My biggest concern is that physical isolation and virtual community will become more normalized following the pandemic,” Menard said. “I think that this was an issue for the queer community before COVID. It will be interesting to see how we reintegrate into community once this is done.”
Contact the reporter at jkoneil3@asu.edu.
