Table Of ContentCOVID-19, THE LGBTQIA+
COMMUNITY, AND
PUBLIC POLICY
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated long-standing
inequities, both in the United States and throughout the world. As studies
emerge to help us understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on
every facet of modern life, it is critical that the effect of the pandemic on
the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersexual, and Asexual
(LGBTQIA+) communities not be overlooked. While some pioneering
studies analyzing the impacts of the pandemic upon LGBTQIA+ commu-
nities have been conducted, and some efforts are being made to collect data
which can impact the development of policy, reliable data resources are lim-
ited to a few enterprising states, and this data has not been systematically
shared with public policy-makers or with the public to date. COVID-19, the
LGBTQIA+ Community, and Public Policy explores precisely how the pan-
demic has affected these communities and what concrete steps need to be
taken to ameliorate its effects.
As the chapters in this book demonstrate, the unusual nature of the pan-
demic has significantly impacted state and local LGBTQIA+ infrastructure,
leading to the closure of some institutions and reductions in functioning for
many others. The contributors examine the ways in which the pandemic has
highlighted pre-existing challenges in accessing adequate health care (includ-
ing mental health care and substance abuse treatment), employment, educa-
tion, secure housing, and other societal resources. Together, these chapters
present a state-of-the-field overview of health disparities in the LGBTQIA+
community and demonstrate the particular need for serious, timely, public
policy interventions.
Wallace (“Wally”) Swan, MPA, MAPA, and DPA, (he/him) has taught
public policy, administrative ethics, public and non-profit finance and organ-
ization theory at Western International University, University of St. Thomas,
Metropolitan State University, Nova Southeastern University, and has served
on the faculty of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.
He is currently a Contributing Faculty Member in the Master’s and Doctoral
programs at Walden University and has served as an Adjunct Instructor at
Hamline University. He has held city-wide elected office at the Minneap-
olis Board of Estimate and Taxation and is currently a member of the board
of the LGBT Advocacy Action Section of the American Society for Public
Administration.
COVID-19, THE LGBTQIA+
COMMUNITY, AND
PUBLIC POLICY
Edited by Wallace Swan
Cover image: chuchart duangdaw, Getty Images
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Wallace Swan; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Wallace Swan to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-21960-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-21958-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-27071-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/b23162
Typeset in Bembo
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
CONTENTS
Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Contributor Biographies xix
1 An International Pandemic, Misinformation,
and Policy Harms 1
Christopher R. Surfus
2 The Policy Process 18
Wallace Swan
3 The Civic Culture Reconfigured 29
Wallace Swan
4 LGBTQIA Issues Facing the New Administration:
Employment, Medical Care, Personal Finances, and Hunger 35
Lorenda A. Naylor
5 Impacts of the Pandemic on the Most Vulnerable
Subsectors of the LGBTQ Community 60
Al C. Johnson-Manning
6 Jobs for the LGBTQ Community 75
Wallace Swan
vi Contents
7 Immigration, COVID-19, and the LGBTQIA Community 79
Wallace Swan
8 LGBTQ+ Mental Health and COVID-19 83
Wallace Swan
9 COVID-19 and the Impact on LGBT Disabled Americans 92
Christopher R. Surfus
10 Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the LGBTQ
Prison Population 99
Dallas S. Drake
11 COVID-19 and Substance Use among LGBTQ+ People 123
Claire M. Burgess, Ankur Srivastava,
and Abigail W. Batchelder
12 American and Canadian Effects of the COVID-19
Pandemic on LGBTQIA Businesses 133
Wallace Swan
13 The Pandemic’s Impact on LGBTQIA+ Centers
and Service Organizations 136
Al C. Johnson-Manning
14 The LGBTQIA Community Effort to Define SOGI:
A State-by-State Summary of Data Collection 158
Wallace Swan
15 From SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity)
Data Collection to Vaccine Promotion: The Journey
of LGBTQ+ Health Activism during COVID-19 168
Adrian Shanker
16 The Minnesota Experience 174
Jeremy Hanson Willis
17 Utilizing State-Level Risk Factor Data to Analyze COVID-19
Risk and Impact among LGBTQI+ Pennsylvanians 177
Christina J. Graham, Jennifer D. Keith, Adrian Shanker,
Mara Aussendorf, and Katie Suppes
Contents vii
18 Impacts of the Pandemic on African American, Latino,
Asian American/Pacific Islander LGBTQ Populations 185
Dallas S. Drake and Wallace Swan
19 Arm in Arm: LGBTQ+ COVID-19 Vaccine
Equity and Coalition-Building 200
Kaylin C. Gray and Mardell J. Moore
20 Representative Bureaucracy as a Tool for
Addressing LGBTQ Inequities Highlighted by
the Pandemic 222
Jennifer Hooker
21 Public Health Care Policy Needs More Than a Vaccine 235
Paula Overby
22 Reclaiming our Time: From Discrimination to
Dignity 265
Christopher R. Surfus
Epilogue: A Fault Line in American Public Health:
From AIDS to COVID-19, to Monkeypox 273
Conclusion 275
Wallace Swan
Appendix 1: LGBTQ Youth/Adults and Homelessness
in the Time of COVID-19 279
Wallace Swan
Appendix 2: Effects of COVID-19 on Twin Cities
LGBTQIA+ Businesses 283
Wallace Swan
Appendix 3: LGBTQ Non-Profit Sustainability during
COVID-19 (Webinar) 288
Wallace Swan
Appendix 4: Wallace Swan and Associates: Accurate Info
for Government Policy 290
Wallace Swan
viii Contents
Appendix 5: State and Territory Questionnaire Letter 291
Wallace Swan
Appendix 6: Tabulation of Questionnaire Responses 293
Wallace Swan
Appendix 7: Racial, Ethnic, and SOGI Section of
Oregon COVID-19 Data Form 295
FOREWORD
I first met Dr. Swan at the 1994 annual conference of the American Society
for Public Administration (ASPA) in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Lorenda A.
Naylor (2021) thanked Swan and acknowledged his impact on the field of
public administration in her groundbreaking book, Social Equity and LGBTQ
Rights. She noted Swan’s contributions to literature in the area of sexual ori-
entation and gender, including his 1995 ASPA publication, Breaking the Silence:
Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues in Public Administration, which was the first
book on this subject published in the field of American public administra-
tion. He has subsequently edited five leading public policy and administra-
tion LGBTQ+ texts. Amidst a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era, Swan did not
remain silent. He asked difficult questions and told his public administration
colleagues to pay attention. In addition to his work on LGBTQ+ issues, his
contributions to the fields of public administration and human services have
also been significant since he has had authored 4 chapters, participated in
7 national and international proceedings, written 15 articles (including four
encyclopedia articles on ethics and leadership), and presented on 44 panels
in the United States, South Africa, India, Australia, and China (including
11 where he was the moderator or chair).
At that 1994 conference, Swan scheduled an open meeting for gay, lesbian,
and bisexual attendees, which involved chairing the first American public
administration panel on the subject of LGBTQ+ issues, something unprece-
dented during that era. A few years later, he ran as an openly gay candidate for
ASPA national vice president, and although he lost in a three-person race, he
continually was raising LGBTQ+ visibility—including spearheading an effort
to establish an ASPA LGBT section (which did not succeed because a sufficient
