The Secretary of State, Charlie Summers, started this whole debate when he tried to prove that over 200 people have fraudulently voted in Maine in 2010, specifically 200 college students. He lost that one because a two-month investigation proved that none of the students voted fraudulently and only one non-citizen in the whole state had broken the law and voted. ONE. One whole person committed voter fraud, out of a voting age population of 1,053,390. But Summers believes the state’s voting system is “fragile and vulnerable,” so he will continue his fight to tighten voting laws and make it more difficult for people to vote.

The Secretary of State for Maine is elected by the state legislature, so Summers does not have to answer to the public. As long as the state legislature is dominated by Republicans, his job is probably safe, at least for the time being. The people of Maine are not pleased with state money being spent on unnecessary ideas, no matter what party they are coming from.

Related articles

• Maine Voters Approve Of Same-Day Registration (lezgetreal.com)

The Michigan State House, Lansing

The Republican legislature in Michigan is taking up House Bills 4770 and 4771 this week to end the offering of health insurance to unmarried partners. The fact that these bills have been pushed by two openly anti-gay officials is blurring the underlying issue – this bill would hit straight couples as well as same-sex couples.

The bills would end the health care benefits for other eligible adults living with a state employee. Currently, those benefits are under an extension granted by the Michigan Civil Service Commission in January. The bills would not only terminate that extension, but prohibit the granting of those benefits in any other government in the state – from cities and towns, from public universities, from anything that might be considered a “government” entity – and prohibit unions from including them in collective bargaining.

The bills are being pushed by Republican Representative Dave Agema of Grandville and Attorney General Bill Schuette, who are pushing for anything that might make life difficult for gays and lesbians, which has naturally taken this debate into the issue of gay rights, but “eligible adult” can, in certain circumstances, also mean a straight partner, a child or a parent. All sorts of combinations of adults are denied the rights that are granted by a marriage license, and forced to enter into multiple legal contracts, paying out money for lawyers, for something that should be accessible with a simple partnership contract.

Sometimes, we are so focused on the rights of one group, we lose sight of others who are also being harmed. Emily Dievendorf, Director of Policy for Equality Michigan, issued the following statement: “These bill are yet another desperate attack on our community. Radical lawmakers are attempting to interfere with local employment policy and weaken working families’ ability to care for their loved ones. They are trying to codify their anti-gay biases into law. It’s simply intolerable and voters should be furious. Tens of thousands of public and private employees in our state have access to health care benefits for unmarried partners. Policies that provide such benefits are used throughout the country to treat employees fairly and retain talented workers. Leaders from Fortune 500 companies, public school districts, and municipal governments across the country know that their workforces are stronger when employees are able to take care of their families. Passage of these bills would help run our state into the ground. We call on the House to vote these bills down immediately and send a message that lawmakers value fundamental fairness, strong working families and a healthy workforce.”

Most major companies provide partners’ benefits. Some allow a broad definition of what constitutes a “family” to include any dependent, adult or child. Just attacking these bills as a “gay issue” misses the broader point and dismisses the possibility of broader support. What benefit does a state gain by cutting off access to health insurance for any population? Will those people then be eligible for Medicaid? Just processing the applications for assistance will place strains on the Michigan bureaucracy. Will they join the mass of uninsured Americans who are straining our medical system with unpaid bills? Few people think of the cost of the uninsured, but their situation hurts all of us. We pay for them in state and federal programs to provide health care for the poor. We pay for them in our health insurance premiums and medical bills which seek to re-coup the losses created by the uninsured. We pay for them in their lost work hours and lost school time because the denial of access to basic health care results in them only getting help when their health is in crisis and more time-consuming and expensive to treat.

We as a society are trying to find solutions to the problem of being 37^th in the world in health care delivery while being the most expensive country in the world in health care costs. Cutting anyone off from health insurance just makes the problem worse. Michigan House 4770 and 4771 impact far more than the gay and lesbian partners of civil servants. They impact the economy of the whole state.

Related articles

• MI House Approves Stripping Domestic Partner Benefits From Workers (lezgetreal.com)

14 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

For Wendy Iriepa, it was a wonderful wedding. The thirty-seven year old arrived at a Havana wedding hall in the afternoon in a vintage Ford convertible. She wore a white wedding gown, flowers in her hair and she was holding a rainbow flag. Her marriage to Ignacio Estrada, 31, was a sign of how much Cuba has changed in the years since the beginning of the Revolution when lesbians, gays, and trans people were persecuted.

Ignacio Estrada, who is openly gay, stated “This is the first wedding between a transsexual woman and a gay man. We celebrate it at the top of our voices and affirm that this is a step forward for the gay community in Cuba.”

Same-sex marriage is not legal in Cuba, but for Wendy and Ignacio, that does not matter as Wendy is a woman in the eyes of Cuban law. Wendy had sex-reassignment surgery in 2007. Her surgery was paid for by the island’s universal health care system.

According to the Huffington Post:

In the early years after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, homosexuality was considered highly suspect along with other “alternative” forms of expression, such as U.S. fashion trends and rock and roll.

Many gays and transsexuals were fired from government jobs, jailed, sent to work camps or left for exile. That climate of persecution was famously chronicled by exiled writer Reinaldo Arenas’ autobiographical “Before Night Falls,” later a feature film starring Javier Bardem.

Among the most vocal advocates for changes in how homosexuality are viewed is Mariela Castro, the daughter of President Raul Castro and niece of Fidel Castro. She is the head of the National Sex Education Center, a legitimate and government approved organization.

At a transgender event on Friday, Mariela Castro spoke about her institution’s work getting state coverage for sex change operations and about the anti-homophobia work she has done. She stated “One of our accomplishments has made it possible for Wendy to get married. It seems she found the love of her life and we wish her many congratulations, because all of our work has been for this, the well-being and happiness of our sisters.”

Despite the positive words, divisions remain within the LGBT Community in Cuba, and there is a tendency to blame the United States for groups that have broken off from Mariela Castro’s organization.

05 August 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

Being transsexual is neither easy nor exactly something that is absolute in terms of expression and surgeries. For some (myself included), surgeries are an absolute. It is necessary to have the final surgeries in order to be as completely female as possible, but others never have bottom surgery or only have the orchiectomy or any procedures that go part way. This is a problem for the Transportation Security Administration.

A recent settlement between Ashley Yang, 29, and the TSA means that TSA managers are having to undergo transgender sensitivity training. Yang was employed as a screener for two years at LAX, but was fired for using the women’s restroom. Yang had also been ordered to dress like a man and to pat down male passengers.

According to Kristina Wertz of the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, “Ashley lives her life as a woman. Her co-workers recognized her as a woman. Passengers recognized her as a woman. But her employer didn’t. She was asked to hide who she was just in order to earn a living.”

According to the Huffington Post:

The settlement, reached in December and completed last month, also called for Yang to receive five months of back pay and a five-figure award for pain and suffering.

TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said he could not discuss details of the case because of privacy rules. But he confirmed that the required training of managers started this summer and was ongoing.

Melendez, who reports that LAX has a staff of 2,500 security officers and 100 managers, stated “It’s part of the world we live in today. We need to be aware of transgender issues not only for our co-workers, but for passengers.”

Yang went full time in 2006, which was two years before she applied to work for the TSA. It was reported that “Her interviewer never doubted that the delicately featured candidate with artfully applied makeup and finely arched eyebrows was a woman, she said. Her California driver’s license identifies her as female.”

The report also stated that:

She informed the agency she was transgender before a background check revealed the name she used when she was a man. The agency reminded her that agents had to be the same gender as the passengers they search and asked whether she had gone through sex reassignment surgery, which she had not.

When she showed up for training, Yang was told that according to TSA regulations she would have to pat down men and was offered a position working with baggage. She insisted that part of the job’s appeal was working with people.

She was then told she would have to cut her long, highlighted hair, follow the dress code for male agents and use the men’s bathroom, she said. She obtained permission to wear a wig instead, but was told to buy one with “a more male look.”

Yang said she settled on a short Afro, but passengers and co-workers weren’t convinced. Because of her feminine appearance, she sometimes received inappropriate comments from men who were surprised to find a woman frisking them, Yang claimed.

She said men made comments like, “I haven’t had a girl touch me for a long time,” or, “Does this mean you are going to buy me dinner?”

Agents who did not know she was transgender would call her over to search women. After management became concerned that hair length requirements would violate the rights of some religions adherents, she was allowed to wear her hair in a bun.

There is much more to the report and it can be read here.

The story is not uncommon. From 2004 to 2007, I was required by Coastal Georgia Community College to use the gender neutral bathroom on campus rather than the women’s room due to potential problems from women on campus. One student did complain when she thought I was using the women’s restroom. Like Ms Yang, I have not had the full surgeries, but do look incredibly female.

It is disheartening that this is going on. What is more, the new security rules also mean that many trans people are facing the horrific choice of flying to their destination and getting shown to be trans or finding alternative means of getting to their destination.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

At 7:04 p.m. Eastern Time, the House of Representatives passed the debt ceiling bill. The final vote two minutes later was 269 in favor, 161 opposed and 3 not voting. The ayes were 174 Republicans and 95 Democrats.  When the vote passed the 216 mark, applause broke out.  Speaker Boehner was wielding the gavel himself for this vote.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords flew in from Houston, where she is still receiving treatment for the bullet that passed through her head last January, to cast her vote.  Rep. Giffords’ presence was the primary reason for all the applause.

The bill will now go to the Senate for a vote tomorrow.

It turns out that last night we only had half the information on the debt ceiling/deficit deal. Here is the full picture…..

Immediately, we have a $900 billion increase in the debt ceiling and an equal amount in cuts. The $900 billion increase in the debt ceiling will actually come in two stages, $400 billion today and $500 billion after a vote of “no opposition.” There will be a bi-partisan, bi-cameral 12-member committee established to determine where more cuts will be made, but there is no restriction on revenues or where the cuts would be made. The committee will consist of three member-groups nominated by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. By November, that committiee must present a comprehensive plan with either an additional $1.5 trillion in cuts or a balanced budget amendment. The debt ceiling will be raise $1.2 trillion in November, no matter what happens with the commission, but failure to agree to cuts will result in an automatic $1.2 trillion across the board cut in Federal Executive Branch spending. The bi-partisan, bi-cameral “super committee” will be the third or fourth such committee to try to find the best ways to bring our government spending under control.

There is a possibility, if John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have enough balls, that the committee will not include the most extreme members of their caucuses. Reid will definitely choose moderates from the Senate and Pelosi might throw in one Progressive, but she is also more likely to go for the middle of her caucus rather than the extremists. Both parties have learned, we hope, in the past few weeks that the majority of Americans are not members of either extreme and we want balanced, fair, moderate governance instead of extreme ideology.

The first $900 billion in cuts will come from “security” funds – defense, Homeland Security, veterans’ benefits, the State Department. Before anyone goes ballistic about reducing Homeland Security spending, far too much of it has been a huge waste. For the first eight years, there was a major flaw in Homeland Security plans. Dick Cheney, in an excess of paranoia, refused to allow inter-connectedness between jurisdictions. Homeland Security was just behind the two wars and the unfunded Medicare drug program as a giant sucking sound at the Treasury.

Of the $900 billion in immediate cuts, $350 billion will come directly from the Defense Department. If the “trigger” that cuts $1.2 trillion ends up happening in November, most of those cuts will come from the Defense Department. Defense is 20% of our budget, equal to Social Security and Medicare and as much money as is spent by the rest of the world combined. We could lose 87% of the Defense budget and still spend more than China.

It’s a lot of “what ifs” and speculation and targets. Now comes the hard part. Working out the “balanced approach” to bringing our government’s spending under control.

The key part of this deal is the fact that nothing is off the table in the committee, and that includes making changes to our revenue process. Now, we get to drag out all those video clips of all those Tea Partiers saying that they support gutting the special interest tax breaks, loopholes and credits in exchange for a lower set of tax rates. Now, we get to force them to put our money where their mouths were. The Bush tax cuts are due to expire in January, and if there is as much disarray over those as there was over this deal, we could see them automatically end with an increase in $3.9 trillion in revenue as a consequence. At the very least, the companies that are showing record profits have until December to start producing jobs or their sob-story excuse of “don’t tax job creators” goes right out the window, along with their tax cuts.

This may still not be enough to keep us from being downgraded. Standards and Poors was demanding a $4 trillion spending cut in 10 years. That was actually what the President offered in the negotiations – the “plan” he allegedly never offered according to the Republican talking points.

On the positive side, the cuts do not impact the things we most desperately need to restore the economy, the funds for investment and education.

The first vote on the plan is tentatively set for this afternoon in the Senate.

This deal still does not represent anything that remotely resembles rational governance. Everyone agrees on the end point – lower government spending, stimulus to create jobs. What is not agreed upon is the how. History says that not taxing the rich does not create jobs. History says the government must spend money to build our way out of a recession or depression. But as long as a small part of the Republican Party has as its goal the dismantling of the Federal government, this deadlock will continue. The Tea Party goal is not to solve the problems, but to return us to the failed Articles of Confederation and 50 independent governments with only joint defense as glue. We rejected that idea in Iraq when all they wanted were three independent states. Why should be accept the idea of 17 times as much division?

Related articles

• Debt deal: Obama, Hill leaders break through (politico.com)
• Congress Must Trim Deficit to Avoid Broader Cuts (nytimes.com)
• Debt ceiling: What they’ll be voting on (money.cnn.com)
• Sen. Lee inclined not to support debt-limit deal (thehill.com)
• A Few Thoughts on the Debt Limit Deal (news.firedoglake.com)
• A Tea Party Triumph (online.wsj.com)

This morning, a few more Republican lawmakers got in front the of the cameras and whined that they support eliminating tax loopholes as long as there is a lowering of tax rates. It’s the latest grand Republican spin.

This is what most Americans want to see. And it is what President Obama asked for in January in his State of the Union Speech. It is the best way to raise revenues, share the sacrifice and make us more competitive in the global marketplace. It is the best way to lower our deficits, avoid more debt and put people to work. But what the Republicans are doing is beyond disingenuous. It is lying.

They have had six months to bring this idea to fruition. They have had six months to correct the nightmare of our burdensome tax code. They have refused to even mention the idea until it became the one Americans want and they need to cover their asses. They could not under any circumstances agree to anything that President Obama suggested, no matter how good it was for the country. They relied on their propaganda machine to make sure that almost half the people in this country didn’t remember any part of the State of the Union and are now being convinced that it the Republicans who brought forth this wonderful idea.

THEY ARE LYING. Tell them so. Tell them loudly and often. Tell them they can get their rich donors to pay their salaries because we don’t have the money to. Tell them they can get their freeloading butts out of our office buildings. Tell them we want PRESIDENT OBAMA’s plan for fair taxes and they should stop taking credit for something they did not propose.  Tell them to grow up and admit they are trying to steal the credit like some school bully taking credit for a good homework paper they stole.

Find your voice. Please.

Related articles

• President Obama: Time Has Run Out (lezgetreal.com)
• Kasich Backs Obama Economic Plans (lezgetreal.com)
• Put On Blast: President Obama Urges The American People To Convince Republicans To Get It Together And Work This Debt Situation Out [Full Video] (bossip.com)
• VIDEO: President Obama US debt speech (bbc.co.uk)

Gov. Lincoln Chafee

In a stunning party cross-over, the Democratic legislature in Rhode Island passed a voter photo-ID law which Independent Governor Lincoln Chafee signed into law on Wednesday.

The laws that have been passed this year requiring photo-IDs for voting have all be passed and signed by Republicans. They are viewed as an attempt to disenfranchise minorities and the poor. Chafee defended the law, saying “Having reflected a great deal on the issue, I believe that requiring identification at the polling place is a reasonable request to ensure the accuracy and integrity of our elections. Notably, I spoke with representatives of our state’s minority communities, and I found their concerns about voter fraud and their support for this bill particularly compelling.”

The law phases in over the next three years, with any form of identification being required for 2012 and a state-issued photo-ID required in 2014. The state will provide free photo identification, and provisional ballots will be made available to anyone without the proper documents.

Though some of the state laws passed this year provide for a waiver of fees for IDs for voting, none of them address the problem of where people have to go to get the IDs and the cost of transportation or time off from work. Additionally, none have offered the ideal solution – a photo voter registration card with satellite offices available within voting districts. Certainly, with today’s technology, such sites could be set up for a small amount of money – a digital camera, a computer and a printer loaded with card stock would do it.

These laws have also failed to address the larger voting problem in this country – access to polls and sufficient polling equipment. We have seen too many instances in the last decade of long lines, too few polling machines, too few poll workers, polls closing or voting times having to be extended. The right wing has created an hysteria over the lie that millions of illegal immigrants are voting, and that fraud by Democrats is rampant. There have been no proven cases of fraud in any elections in more than a decade.

Rhode Island does not have a large Hispanic immigrant population, the kind that has fueled these laws in other locations. Democratic governors in North Carolina, Montana, Missouri, Minnesota and New Hampshire have vetoed similar laws. Gov. John Lynch of New Hampshire went so far as to call their proposed law the “most restrictive” in the country and said it would disenfranchise seniors, students, disabled voters and those who don’t drive.

Fourteen states have photo ID requirements for voting or have just passed new laws for them. Twenty-nine states require some form of ID. When we registered to vote in both Florida and Georgia, we were required to show ID and proof of residence and were mailed voter registration cards which we used at the polls. Here in Vermont, we simply give our names to the poll workers and they cross our name off the voter registration lists on their tables. Someone could, conceivable, claim to be one of us and cast a vote, but that fraud would be immediately detected when we arrived to vote. Unless all those fourteen states have really sloppy poll workers, voting should be as secure there without photo-ID as it is here.

Chris Matthews pointed out on his show recently that the best deterrent to fraud is small districts. As he put it, everyone in his neighborhood knows everyone else, so there is no question of someone voting who shouldn’t. Requiring photo ID on election day is a matter of going at the problem backwards. Easily reached registration stations where identification can be verified in a fairly leisurely manner, photo registration cards, manageable polling places, sufficient properly trained polling workers would do a lot more to make our election process accountable and accessible.

Anything, including the cost of traveling to a DMV office and lost wages, that impedes an American’s ability to vote is a violation of our most sacred right.

Related articles

• New Hampshire Gov. Vetoes Voting Restriction Bill (lezgetreal.com)
• Voter ID May Affect Trans Citizens (advocate.com)
• Do You Have Your I.D.? (bertman007.wordpress.com)
• Shrinking The Vote: Using Election Reform To Decrease Turnout (dailykos.com)
• Gov. Perdue vetoes voter ID bill (dailykos.com)
• DNC Chair: GOP Attacking Americans’ Right to Vote (usnews.com)
• Senate GOP adds photo-ID vote rule (dispatch.com)

7 July 2011
by Bridgette P. LaVictoire

Transsexuals in Vermont are celebrating the passage to two laws which were quietly passed by the state legislature this past year. Until this year, Vermont was one of the states that amended birth certificates instead of issuing a new document with the correct gender and sex. The crossed out birth sex would still be visible in later documents. Now, a new document will be generated with the correct sex on it.

Adding to the good news is that the changes are no longer going to be limited to those who undergo full sex reassignment surgery, but to those who undergo less invasive procedures. According to Kelly Riel, founder of Vermonters Ending Transgender Oppression, “Being able to have a birth certificate that reflects your gender identity and your gender expression without being forced to modify your body in ways you may not want to want to – or in ways that you can’t afford – is an incredibly large jump into being more open and inclusive for trans people.”

Another law requires that all single-stall bathrooms in state buildings be gender neutral. This is a wonderful move given the fact that many trans people tend to eschew public restrooms due to comfort, especially early in their transition.

Source

De’lonta acknowledges that if she loses this case, she will continue to try and castrate herself even if that means dying. She told the AP “That’s a possibility. But at the end I would have peace.”

The AP reported:

Experts say that De’lonta’s behavior is an unusual — but not surprising — manifestation of her disorder. At least 12 other inmates in Idaho, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Oregon, Kentucky and North Carolina have castrated themselves over the past 14 years, and several others have tried, said psychiatry professor George R. Brown at East Tennessee State University.

“This is not a choice. Transsexuals are born and not made,” said Brown, an expert in gender identity disorder. “If you didn’t have this condition, why would you want to have your genitals removed, if not by a competent surgeon but by your own hand?”

While many with gender identity disorder wish to get rid of their genitals, the majority never act — often because hormones and other treatments help make them feel more comfortable, Brown said.

According to research by Brown, about 27,000 people nationwide have gender identity disorder. Experts estimate 500 to 750 Americans undergo the surgery each year, with hundreds more seeking the procedure abroad.

For many trans women, the tendency is to attack their penis and testicles, and for trans men, the tendency is to attack their breasts.

Last October, after fighting the urge to castrate herself for several weeks after having not had them be as severe for a couple of years, De’lonta tried to do the surgery that the prison system would not give her using three green disposable razors. De’lonta is in prison for trying to steal enough money to have her surgery as well as a number of other crimes. She is also housed specifically in a men’s prison because there are no special facilities in the United States for transsexual prisoners.

This is the second time that De’lonta has had to sue over her gender identity disorder or gender dysphoria. In 2004, she was able through a court order to obtain hormone replacement therapy and that has produced noticeable changes to her body including the growth of breasts. She is not, however, allowed feminine clothing nor to grow out her hair in a female manner.

There are around 750 inmates who have GID of the more than 2 million in the prison system across the nation according to Brown, but this was according to numbers he was able to research in 2007. Inmates in several states have sued to try and get the surgery, but all but one of them has failed and one is still pending.

The AP reported:

Federal courts have said prisons must provide adequate medical care, and that they must protect inmates from themselves. But correctional officials and lawmakers balk at using taxpayer money for sex-change operations that can cost up to $20,000.

A Massachusetts bill to ban the use of public funds for sex change procedures, hormones and other treatments has been before a joint committee since January. Wisconsin lawmakers passed the Inmate Sex Change Prevention Act in 2006, but a federal judge declared it unconstitutional last year. The state appealed, and a decision is expected soon.

Virginia Republican Delegate Todd Gilbert has said that if De’lonta’s lawsuit is successful, he would seek to outlaw the use of state funds for the procedure saying “The notion that taxpayers are going to fund a sex change is just ridiculous.” Of course, Virginia houses its inmates by birth sex not by gender, and Virginia’s

The AP concluded their article by saying:

Advocates argue that treating repeated self-mutilations costs more than the surgeries. De’lonta, for example, has needed expensive airlifts three times for self-inflicted wounds.

The hormones and other treatments had kept her urges in check for years. She snapped Oct. 8 when an officer used a male pronoun toward her, despite a court order that prison workers refer to her as a woman.

“I screamed `She, damnit!’ becoming so overwhelmed it was hard to breathe,” De’lonta said.

Looking down, she felt repulsed and helpless. She cried herself to sleep, then hours later she prepared for her surgery attempt by covering her cell door’s window with paper and putting towels around the commode.

Using knowledge gained from mail-order anatomy books, De’lonta cut on and off for three hours before she passed out. It took 21 stitches to repair the damage.

“It’s like if this doesn’t exist, then I won’t have any more problems,” she said.

Born Michael Stokes, she didn’t understand from an early age why other girls’ names were different from hers, or why she felt no connection to the boys in her gym class.

She constantly looked in mirrors and couldn’t understand why the reflection was so unlike how she envisioned herself.

Years ago she legally changed her name. Ophelia was chosen for the Shakespearean woman who died for love; De’lonta because it was the last name of a slain friend; middle name Azriel for the angel who helps one cross over.

De’lonta first tried to cut herself when she was 12. By 17, she was robbing banks with the hopes of getting enough money to have a sex change operation. By 18, she was in prison, sentenced to more than 70 years for robbery, drugs, weapons and other charges.

She is eligible for parole this year, but a wide range of prison infractions mean it’s unlikely she’ll be released any time soon. Asked why she can’t just wait until she’s free to get the surgery, De’lonta says she would if she could.

“This is not something that I have any control over,” she says. “This is just how I was born.”

Northern Ireland's Gerry Adams

I’ve always said I don’t do LGBT stories, but there are times when the history in my field relates to the present in the LGBT community. So, another observation from the straight lady on the Lesbian blog……

One of the most important figures in the Northern Ireland peace negotiations was internationally recognized activist Gerry Adams. He was a hero of the cause of Irish Catholic equality. We all knew and ignored the fact that he had been an IRA terrorist with blood on his hands. We tunneled our vision to see the politician. But for years, the negotiations went nowhere. No one would give a single effing bloody inch.

Then, one morning, Gerry woke up and had an epiphany – he could have a life after the conflict. He did not have to live his whole life defined as a warrior. He could have a fulfilling life without the battle. That day, the nature of the negotiations changed. That epiphany made peace possible. Gerry brought his wife home from her 18 year protective exile. They quickly had a little girl in addition to the son they had before they separated for so many years. He has built a good life since the peace accord, a fulfilling life.

There can be life after the conflict. The battle does not have be a person’s whole identity. Only when the warriors realize that, can they do two things – fight to win and fight to make peace.

There has been virtually no reaction from the major LGBT groups about the amendment passed in Minnesota. Aside from MSNBC, where is the outrage? When the legal challenge to Georgia’s same-sex-marriage-banning amendment failed in the state supreme court, why wasn’t it taken to the Federal courts? The Georgia constitution clearly states an amendment can have only one clause. The same sex marriage ban had two. That’s about as legally simple as it ever gets. It’s freaking rare that a legal issue is that simple. Over and over, the battles never go far enough, or they appear, to anyone who actually knows the Constitution, to be conducted on the wrong battlefield.

In Oklahoma, the anti-Sharia amendment is being challenged in Federal court on the grounds that it is a backdoor establishment of a state religion. Any law that forbids religious worship has in effect stated that only one form of religion is acceptable. That is the proper grounds for fighting anti-gay and anti-abortion laws. They are based in religious belief, not in science or civil secular law principles. According to the non-establishment clause of the First Amendment, we should not be allowing clergy to have the right to certify the civil contract of marriage. It grants civil legal power to clergy. So why aren’t the legal challenges to those laws being fought on those grounds? Why are we bothering with the vague parameters of civil rights when we have the clear, indisputable First Amendment? Why are setbacks accepted so calmly?

There is a growing feeling in some parts of the LGBT grassroots that those big, moneyed groups that are supposed to be fighting for LGBT rights don’t really have their hearts in it. It is beginning to be believed that they are stalling and procrastinating because they can’t see how they could ever earn as good a living doing anything else. It’s a nasty, catty thing to rumor, but it has an unfortunate basis in evidence. What have they done for you lately? Not bloody much.

Do you remember in May of 1990, when Doonesbury comic strip character Andy Lippincott died of AIDS in his earthquake-damaged apartment as the Beach Boys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” played in the background? The song is so relevant to the battle for same sex marriage rights. The moment was so poignant, so pure in its expression of the hope for equality. “Wouldn’t it be nice if WE….” That was 21 years ago this month. Twenty-one years have been spent giving money to lobbyists, giving money to legal experts, and falling farther and farther away from the goals. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’s elimination is still being held up by fanatical anti-gays in Congress. Those same fanatics want to use taxpayers’ money to hire an outside law firm to defend the indefensible in DOMA. We are losing ground to the religious rightwingnuts every day, both on gay rights issues and women’s rights issues.

If you can imagine how nice it would be if you were equal, if you can see a future without the conflict, with the battles won, with all men and women free and equal and able to determine their own futures, then you should be the one leading the charge, not a bunch of overpaid “activists” who can’t imagine that they could have fulfilling lives without that identity of “activist.”

Related articles

• Faith Leaders Speak Out Against Anti-LGBT Marriage Amendment in North Carolina (hrcbackstory.org)
• Minnesota House Passes Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment (lezgetreal.com)
• New HRC Poll Shows Majority of Christians Support LGBT Equality (hrcbackstory.org)
• Equality NC’s faith leaders press conference challenges anti-gay lawmakers, counters fundie rally (pamshouseblend.com)
• As Anti-Marriage Group Wants ‘Adult’ Debate, Senator Frankin Expresses Dismay Over Minnesota Vote (lezgetreal.com)
• Minnesota Marriage Battle Begins (advocate.com)
• Poll: Christians Support LGBT Equality (advocate.com)

Janet Mock, a popular editor and blogger at People.com, recently sat down with writer Kierna Mayo to discuss a recent article that was published about her in Marie Claire.

Janet Mock via GLAAD

In the article, Mayo discusses her new memoir – in which, she shares her journey about accepting herself and coming out as transsexual.

Excerpt via GLAAD:

After high school graduation, many of my classmates were throwing big graduation parties and buying new cars. Those kids went looking for good times and great memories, but I was desperately searching for one thing only: a chance to be in the right body for the first time in my entire life.

(…)

Two weeks after the surgery, I was in class at the University of Hawaii, finally focusing on something other than my gender. Four years later, I left Hawaii, a beautiful, confident woman armed with a journalism degree and bound for graduate school and a career in New York City.

The article also goes into Mock’s trip to Thailand, where she had one of her final surgeries, as well as, telling her mother about her impending decision.

Janet can be reached at her website here.

This morning the Dallas County Commision voted 3-2 to include gender identity and expression to the existing non-discrimination policy.  The vote was split down party lines with Democrats Judge Clay Jenkins, Commissioner Wiley Price, and Commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia voting for the measure.

This vote came just a month after sexual orientation was added to the non-discrimination policy by the commission unanimously on March 22nd, following a campaign promise by Judge Jenkins. Jenkins later stated that the commission had been under the false impression that adding sexual orientation would cover trans people as well.

Maurine Dickey, a Republican Commissioner whose district includes Oak Lawn  a gay neighborhood, voted for  adding  sexual orientation but voted against trans rights.  In the run up to the vote for adding trans people to the non-discrimination policy, Dickey was hoped to be the third vote while  Price was undecided. However in an interview with the Dallas Voice Dickey compared the measure to giving protections to “overweight people” and “people with diabetes” raising controversy over her transphobia and questions as to why those people did not deserve protections too.

This bill’s passage comes as the Texas legislature is pushing for a bill to make it harder for trans people to marry within the state. Including trans people in existing non-discrimination policy at the city, county, state or federal level is still widely contested and, while progress is made in some places, there are places like Maine which are seeking to remove existing protections. Dallas County’s status as the ninth most populous county in the United States makes this a major victory for the trans community both at a local level and in the overall fight for trans rights.

Related articles

• Dallas County Gender Identity Protections Pass (bilerico.com)
• Dallas County Adds Trans Protections (Transgriot)
• Maurine Dickey compares being transgender to being fat, says she opposes protections (DallasVoice.com)
• Dallas County Adds Rights- Omits the Trans Community (Transgriot)

4/25/11 – By Nicole Lamb

Following the brutal attack on Chrissy Lee Polis at a McDonalds in Baltimore last Monday, the local trans community is holding a rally at the location.  Trans-United, Trans Maryland, the Baltimore LGBT Center,  and other allies have planned a candlelight vigil for tonight at 7pm for the attack and to raise awareness about violence against trans people.

Teonna Mae Brown, 18 years old, has been named as one of the attackers and is currently charged with first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault. Assault charges had been filed against Brown in July but were later dropped. Currently Brown is being held for $150,000 bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center. The 14 year old attacker’s name has not been released due to her being charged in Juvenile Court.

State attorney for Baltimore County, Scott Shellenberger, has announced that his office is investigating whether or not this will be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Related articles

• McDonalds Attack Victim Speaks Out (lezgetreal.com)
• Trans Woman Attacked At Baltimore McDonalds Is Not About Race, It’s About Homophobia (lezgetreal.com)
• Police Make Arrests In Baltimore McDonalds Assault (lezgetreal.com)
• Trans Woman Brutally Attacked at Baltimore McDonalds (lezgetreal.com)
• Candlelight Vigil Planned Tonight at Baltimore McDonald’s Where Transgender Woman was Beaten (towleroad.com)
• 18 Year old Charged in McDonalds Beating (BaltimoreSun.com)

Chrissy Lee Polis, the recent victim of a brutal attack at a Baltimore McDonalds, has spoken out about the attack in a video interview with the Baltimore Sun.

Fortunately  despite the terrifying amount of physical abuse towards her in the attack, Ms Polis seems to have suffered no major physical damage. Understandably she is afraid to go out after the attack, a sentiment shared by many other trans woman for who simply going out or using the restroom can put them at risk of violence.

Despite the boogeyman idea of  trans women being men who prey on women in the women’s restroom, an idea used by people to shoot down trans non-discrimination legislation, there have been no recorded incidents of it happening. Instead there are the incidents like this where trans women are attacked or arrested for solely using the restroom.

Related articles

• Victim Speaks Out About Attack (BaltimoreSun.com)
• Trans Woman Brutally Attacked at Baltimore McDonalds (lezgetreal.com)
• Trans Woman Attacked At Baltimore McDonalds Is Not About Race, It’s About Homophobia (lezgetreal.com)
• Baltimore McDonalds Fires Employee Who Filmed Attack (lezgetreal.com)
• Police Make Arrests In Baltimore McDonalds Assault (lezgetreal.com)

Vernon Hackett, the 22 year old McDonald’s employee responsible  for filming and posting online the video of the brutal attack of a trans woman on Monday, was fired for his actions according to a statement released by the franchise owner. In addition to posting the  video online, Hackett has also defended the attack and video on Twitter and Facebook by  calling the trans woman a man.

Mitchell McPherson, owner of the location, has also stated that action will be taken towards the other employees as warranted but there is no word as to what that may entail.

Note: Any and all racist or transphobic comments WILL be deleted.

Related articles

• McDonald’s Fires Employee Who Filmed Brutal Beating Of Baltimore Patron (SmokingGun.com)
• Trans Woman Brutally Attacked at Baltimore McDonalds (lezgetreal.com)
• Trans Woman Attacked At Baltimore McDonalds Is Not About Race, It’s About Homophobia (lezgetreal.com)
• Police Make Arrests In Baltimore McDonalds Assault (lezgetreal.com)

A lot of other people are offering their thoughts on the brutal beating of Chrissy Polis. They have voiced their opinions on what should be done to the attackers, the employees and the people who spread the video for entertainment. I want to address those who are feeding the hate.

It is time to call out the people who spread this hate. They are not Christians. They are not following the teachings of Christ. Christ taught love and tolerance and peace – not hate and bigotry. He stopped people stoning an adulteress, welcomed sinners to his side, taught that even those who did not believe in His Father were still good, moral people. The preachers of hate do not speak for Christ. It is they, with their perversions of the words of Christ, who are the disciples of Satan. Terry Jones and the Phelpses are not Christians. Any so-called minister who preaches that gays, lesbians and transgendered persons are Satanic is not a true Christian.

It is time to confront them about the fact that Christ said His Father’s kingdom was not of this earth, that people should render unto Caesar – pay their civic taxes. Christ denounced the idea of imposing God on government. Why should these un-Christians be allowed to try to impose their faith on our government?

Those ministers need to be identified, those churches need to be identified. These are the kinds of people who print hand-outs identifying abortion providers. It’s time to turn the tables. It’s time to identify them, label them in public, call them what they are – haters and bigots and enablers of violence. The LGBT community has been focused on the halls of power for too long. We have forgotten the battles to be fought at home.

It’s not enough to pass laws. These are the kinds of people who create posters showing the effects of an abortion. Why aren’t we the people who show the effects of hate? Why don’t we have posters showing the dead, the beaten, the effects of their hate? Why are we so afraid to confront them on their religion? It is a religion of hate, not Christianity.

There are so many real Christians in our nation – people of charity and tolerance and peace. Their religion is being smeared, violated, damaged, crippled and profaned by the purveyors of hate – those who preach hatred of Jews, Muslims, gays, lesbians, transgendered persons, anyone they can justify hating. The further from the word of Christ churches travel, the more good people leave them. Intensifying the messages of intolerance has certainly done nothing to slow the secularization of Europe.

We can start by finding out what church, if any, the two attackers and the employees at McDonald belong to and target those churches. Put them in the position of denouncing what they created or admitting that they do not believe in the teachings of Christ. Which radio and television preachers are spreading this hatred? Do they, when the disparate parts are linked, encourage violence? If they do, can the FCC shut them down? If the FCC can’t act, can they be sued? At what point can the preachers of hate be said to cross the line into slander and libel? These are questions we need to explore, avenues that need to be followed.

At the end of the day, the fact remains that Christ was a long-haired man who wore a dress, was over 30 and never married, hung out with a posse, preached radical ideas that challenged the teachings of his faith, protected animals and small children, defended sinners and was as far from a conservative as a man can get. That’s what got him killed.

Hate is not the way of Christ. Oppression is not the way of Christ. Violence is not the way of Christ. Those who practice it and preach it are not Christians.

The recent attack of 22-year-old transgendered woman, Chrissy Lee Polis in a Baltimore McDonald’s has struck a nerve within the conservative right part of society but for the wrong reasons. Polis was attacked as she attempted to enter the Ladies room, which the two assailants didn’t agree with. At

This is what it's about - not race!

first, the attack wasn’t being classified as a hate crime due to the fact that Polis wasn’t known to be a transgendered woman. It instead incited those (the conservative right, of course) that felt it was another instance of blacks using a “thug” mentality to bully an unsuspecting white woman because she happened to be white woman in a predominately black populated restaurant in a black part of town.

Of course, the Caucasian part of the conservative right wasting no time in jumping all over this – like, well, white on rice. The Free Republic website alone seems to echo those that are aligned with the conservative mentality that blacks are basically feral creatures that can’t be trusted.

Commenter Slump Tester weighed in about his disgust, glossing over the fact that this case happens to specifically about transphobia within the black community and not about race.

“Let’s all be sure to call McDonalds Corporate to let them know we saw their latest commercial! 1-800-244-6227, 7 days a week, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST I asked them if it’s standard procedure for an employee to film stuff like that, and then tell the perps to leave before the cops arrive, and if that’s the kind of people they hire. How long before the thugs will be hitting folks with bricks, and singing ‘You deserve a brick today’? “

Another poster, raygunfan pushed the sentiment even further, “…victim isn’t the right color, if it were the opposite, two white beating down a black tranny, this would have Jesse and co. flying in with a coterie of press sycophants…”

The Free Republic is not the only one echoing the same sort of sentiment, the Cobalt SS network weighed in with some of their thought processes. Member Whyyoumadson commented:

“Thats why a white guy cant hit a black guy…its a hate crime and they are trying to sue everyone and jesse jackson has to get involved. but if a black dude hits a white dude its all good and who cares 3 quarters of the time. I mean not eveywheres like that but in Chicago thats how it seems almost ALL the time.”

What the two assailants did was wrong, plain and simple, race notwithstanding. The assault had nothing to do with Polis being a white female; this was a hate crime. The two females, one being only 14, not only beat Polis but the abuse was so bad that she had seizures and no one – outside of a white, elderly woman – extended a hand. Even though, the conservative right would like to say this was all about race – those in the know – realize that this would have happened if the victim were black – the issue the attackers had with Polis was over feeling that someone (no matter how the person classified themselves) that was born a man was entering the ladies restroom. Not only that, but if the victim were a black, trans woman she wouldn’t be given the same amount of press because like most things involving black society – if it isn’t about painting blacks as negative, it is best that it is kept hidden.

Should people be angry over Polis’ beating in a McDonald’s restaurant? Should we be angry that employee, Vernon Hackett filmed it and then got it posted on World Star Hip-hop? Yes, we should – it is disgusting and it is tragic that someone wasn’t extended the common courtesy of using a public bathroom because of the attackers homophobic views on the subject. The fact that no one jumped in to help her shows again how much homophobia runs rampant in the black community. Still, at the same time, this is not a race derived crime – the conservatives and racists need to point their fingers at another story altogether because all this shows is how little they care to research the issues surrounding transphobia and urban society.

What we need to do is address those that feel it is okay to treat LGBTQ people in this manner, no matter who they are (including schools, the black church, and the conservative minded families) and examine why some of black society feels this type of injustice is okay. We need to fix that, instead of focusing on the race of the victim when it is not about her race but her gender.

Related articles

• Police Make Arrests In Baltimore McDonalds Assault (lezgetreal.com)
• MARYLAND: Trans Woman Brutally Attacked At Baltimore McDonald’s (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Trans Woman Brutally Attacked at Baltimore McDonalds (lezgetreal.com)

Image via Wikipedia

A trans woman was brutally beaten at a Baltimore McDonalds on Monday, April 18th, by two cis women after she tried to use the restroom. The attackers kicked and dragged the woman around by her hair while screaming at her in full view of employees and  customers. During the attack the manager yelled at the women to stop while other employees filmed the entire incident on their phones and did not assist the victim.  One customer does come try to help the woman to get the attackers to leave her alone. Following the attack the woman began to have a seizure.

Video shot of the attack by one of the employees has been put online and become very popular despite being pulled from Youtube for violating terms of service. This incident isn’t the first time a trans woman has been attacked in a McDonalds for trying to use the restroom. In 2006 Christina Sfora was attacked in 2006 entering a New York McDonald’s restroom, an attack that was egged on by employees and customers. Following her attack Sfora was arrested by police and abused her while in custody  before being released with all charges dropped.

You can contact McDonalds about their employees actions in not protecting their customers safety and for further humiliating her by posting the video online.

UPDATE:

The McDonalds Corporate HQ has issued the following statement on their website.

Our Concern Regarding the Baltimore Incident

We are shocked by the video from a Baltimore franchised restaurant showing an assault. This incident is unacceptable, disturbing and troubling. McDonald’s strives to be a safe, welcoming environment for everyone who visits. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of customers and employees in our restaurants. We are working with the franchisee and the local authorities to investigate this matter. We are doing everything possible to make sure the right thing is done.

Edit: Closing comments due to rampant transphobia.

Related articles

• Transgender Woman Severely Beaten at Baltimore McDonalds While Employees Watch (Bilerico.com)
• MARYLAND: Trans Woman Brutally Attacked At Baltimore McDonald’s (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• Video of beating in a Baltimore County McDonald’s goes viral (BaltimoreSun.com)
• NYPD Must Investigate Response to Alleged Assault of Transgender Woman at McDonald’s (AmnestyUSA.org)

Image via Wikipedia

04/15/11-Nicole Lamb

BBC Three comedy show Russell Howard’s Good News aired a sketch mocking trans women as it showed men dressed as female flight attendants  flashing passengers. Trans Media Watch has condemned the  sketch and say it is in response to news from a Thai airline that announced they would hire trans women as flight attendants. In response the executive Producer Sean Hancock has written:

“It is never our intention to cause offence, so of course it troubles me to hear of cases where we may have done so inadvertently.

“This sketch was not about transgender people per se, and while the BBC and the programme makers sincerely regret any offence we have caused to you, we would like to stress that the comments were not targeted at the transgender community.

“The sketch was about a fictional budget airline and the aim was to poke fun at the age old tradition of men dressing as women for laughs, very much in the vain of Les Dawson and Kenny Everett. We’re sorry if you felt this went too far but we have to credit the audience with the ability to discern that this is what we meant.”

The Problem of Comedy and Transmisogyny

Trans people are a popular butt of a joke in comedy still. There is a lot of transphobia within our society as we are often a  misunderstood and misaligned group so transphobic humor is generally not going to receive a lot of outrage from cisgender viewers.  And, regardless of what Fox seems to think, trans people have relatively little political or cultural power in which to fight back against transphobic attacks as our advocacy groups are smaller then most gay organizations and many supposedly GLBT organizations at best ignore our issues.

The media generally has only two ways it knows how to portray trans women. Perhaps less common are the deceivers who are portrayed as ‘passable’ women who are simply there to reveal they tricked a person, usually a man, into sex only to then reveal they are ‘really a man’. And more common to comedy there is the pathetic transsexual who does not look like a woman and probably never will. Like the Russell Howard skit they usually have lots of noticeable facial hair and generally act in a way that is coded to read masculine. Regardless of the variability of trans women’s ability to blend, these pathetic type trans women take it a step farther.

The pathetic trans woman, and they usually are trans women rather then trans men, has been prominent in a variety of mainstream pop culture humor. Saturday Night Live recently aired its Estro-Maxx skit featuring men with facial hair and in dresses advertising a hormone replacement drug. Craig Ferguson had his ‘half-sister’ Pam played by a guy made up to look ridiculous as per the pathetic trans woman stereotype and flashing his genitals like the Russell Howard Sketch (genitals are always a big focus). Family Guy featured Quagmire’s father transitioning and  Brian throwing up after having sex with them and finding out.

Some would say these recent example and countless others from comedies like South Park and Ace Ventura are regrettable but to be expected to some extent. There is still sexism, racism, homophobia and other examples of bigotry in comedy so  transphobia and transmisogyny aren’t really alone. However the issue of transmisogyny is a problem within progressive and even nominally GLBT media as well. Both the Daily Show and the Colbert Report are frequent defenders of gay rights however neither has had any problem using the slur ‘tranny’ or making jokes at the expense. Logo’s The Big Gay Sketch Show featured sketches like ‘Are You Smarter Then A Tranny Hooker’

Why It Matters

Of course the first thing you generally hear, especially on the internet, if you complain about anything in the media is that you should just relax and that it doesn’t matter since it isn’t real, generally from someone who is privileged enough to not have to deal with that particular oppression. However, media matters in shaping our culture and people’s views and that goes on to shape things like how they treat others and how they vote. Comedy is no different and saying something as a joke or not intending for it to offend does not change its negative impact on a community. That the show creators may make jokes about a variety of groups doesn’t mitigate that the primary intended audience for the humor is white, cis, heterosexual men while the primary groups being made fun of are not.

The Pathetic trans woman trope serves to dehumanize us in minds of people and make us objects of scorn. According to the study Injustice at Every Turn, trans people faced  elevated levels of discrimination in employment, housing, and other aspects of their lives compared to cis people.  Trans women of color in particular face high levels of discrimination as well  a high murder rate that is reflected in each year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance. Then there is the internalization of the constant reinforcements of negative stereotypes that contributes to the high suicide rates among trans people with 41% having reported attempted suicide.

In politics the  continuing fight for equal rights for trans people  often reflects the same tropes as the media. Any attempts at the city, state, or national level to  add trans people to non-discrimination law meets with the bathroom meme. From the opposition is the fear mongering about ‘men in dresses’ using the women’s restrooms preying on women and confusing the children. Regardless about facts about trans women already using the restroom without incident (except for when they are harassed and attacked by cis people) the fear mongering relies on the popular idea of the pathetic trans woman portrayed in the media to influence the public.

A comedy show using transphobic humor is not necessarily the cause of a trans bashing or why we do not have equal rights but it does help promote the transphobic attitude that makes life harder for trans people.

Changing Things

The problem of transmisogyny and transphobia  in comedy isn’t an indictment against humor surrounding trans issues in the media entirely.  In many ways being trans is a funny thing. I mean, you are going through puberty twice! And not all comedies portray trans people terribly, despite some flaws Better Than Chocolate does a good job portraying Judy.

Not dehumanizing trans women as the simple butt of a joke and instead treating them as equal human beings is a simple way of going about things. Many of the ‘apologies’ offered by shows, like the one by Russell Howard creator are merely non-apologies that blame you for having issue with the show rather then admitting there is something wrong with the show. This is a symptom of a larger issue of people with privilege not listening to those who are without it when oppressed people talk about their experiences and things that effect them.

Revolutionarily simple ideas, listen to trans women when they say something and treat them like human beings.

Related articles

• Transgender Group Furious At BBC for ‘Offensive’ Russell Howard Sketch (PinkNews.co.uk)
• Skirt Chasers: Why the Media Depicts the Trans Revolution in Lipstick and Heels (JuliaSerano.com)
• SNL Slammed for Transphobic Skit (advocate.com)
• CBS’s Craig Ferguson Sketch Mocks Trans “Character”. (craigfergusonnews.wordpress.com)
• Family Guy: Reaching New Transmisogynistic Lows (Bitchmagazine.org)
• More Transphobia on the Daily Show (NoDesignation.com)
• Injustice At Every Turn: Study of Trans Discrimination (bilerico.com)

Can you tell the gender of these feet?

The rightwingnuts are having birds over a J. Crew ad featuring designer Jenna Lyons and her son Beckett enjoying a toenail polishing session. Give me a freaking break!

Fox News.com Health column psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow wrote that “This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity.” Really? Hey Doc, did you happen to miss the whole “Alan Alda” thing back in the seventies? Missed the “Mr. Mom” revolution, too, didn’t you?

Not to be outdone, Erin Brown of Media Research Center said the ad was “blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children. Not only is Beckett likely to change his favorite color as early as tomorrow, Jenna’s indulgence (or encouragement) could make life hard for the boy in the future. J. Crew, known for its tasteful and modest clothing, apparently does not mind exploiting Beckett behind the facade of liberal, transgendered identity politics.” And you, Ms. Brown, don’t mind exploiting the boy for your conservative-hate politics, do you? I’ll bet you wrote nasty columns about Kate Hudson and Celine Dion not cutting their sons’ hair, too.

Just exactly where in this ad does it say that Beckett is transgendered? Even his mother probably has no idea if he will be or not. Dressing a boy up in skirts or letting him paint his toenails doesn’t make a boy transgendered anymore than it would make him gay. What Jenna Lyons is doing is refusing to stuff her kid into a narrow definition of gender based on clothing or length of hair or accessories. Get a clue here – a G.I. Joe is still a doll, not really different from a Barbie, just with worse taste in clothing. My sister got an electric train set for Christmas when she was eight. It didn’t make her a lesbian. Hell, it didn’t even make her tolerant of gays and transgendered persons.

My generation tried to free our kids from these strict gender roles back in the seventies. Many of us let our sons play with toy kitchens and our daughters play with trucks. We were grateful for the “boy” dolls that accompanied sets like Strawberry Shortcake, because it gave our sons a chance to play with their sisters and not be subjected to this kind of stupidity. We got hit with a backlash during the Reagan years with men bonding in Native American-themed groups that pounded drums and a whole bunch of other nonsense to assert their masculinity. Raising a child gender-neutral doesn’t determine that child’s sexual orientation or gender choices. It just makes that child more balanced, more open, more tolerant of others and less afraid to express himself or herself in a manner that best fits his/her personality and tastes. But, that’s what’s so intolerable to these rightwingnuts, isn’t it? Individuality is unacceptable if what is desired is Taliban-style conformity.

Anyone remember the front page picture in the New York Times a couple of years ago – a soldier in Afghanistan during a fire fight wearing his helmet, flak jacket and pink boxers? He’s straight. His girlfriend gave him the boxers.

Related articles

• Boy with Pink Toenails in J Crew Ad Sets Off Wingnut Alarms (towleroad.com)
• “Fox News Contributor Disapproves of Jenna Lyons Painting Her Son’s Toenails Pink” and related posts (nymag.com)
• J. Crew ad horror: Boy has painted toenails! (adweek.blogs.com)
• Nail Polish on Boy in Ad Sparks Controversy (foxnews.com)
• The J. Crew Transgendered Plot to Destroy America (bilerico.com)
• J. Crew Ad Says Boys Look Good in Pink . . . and in Our Clothes! (pinkisforboys.wordpress.com)
• J. Crew Ad Draws Wingnut Fire (joemygod.blogspot.com)
• The NEw Manly Thing (wdednh.wordpress.com)
• J.Crew ad controversy over hot pink polish (moms.today.com)
• Here We Go Again of the Day (thedailywh.at)

According to Equality Maryland:

Senators Kasemeyer (D-12), Klausmeier (D-8), McFadden (D-45), Middleton (D-28), Robey (D-13) and Zirkin (D-11) were expected to support ending discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment, and credit, but voted instead to recommit the anti-discrimination bill.

And Equality Maryland’s Executive Director, Morgan Meneses-Sheets:

“Six Senators who committed to support HB 235 took a walk on justice and fairness today and turned their backs on the most vulnerable members of our community. We are appalled that lawmakers continue to play politics with much needed protections for the transgender community.

“We must not forget all the positive strides we accomplish as a community this year overcoming significant hurdles, including getting this legislation out of the Senate Rules Committee. Supporters of this critical legislation made hundreds of phone calls and sent thousands of emails to their legislators. Countless members of the transgender community shared their very personal stories of discrimination. We are grateful to them for their courage and to every supporter who made their voice heard on this important bill.

“Equality Maryland remains committed to fighting against discrimination and injustice targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community at every turn. Progress takes time. Today’s result was not fair or right, but we will keep up the fight to make the Free State truly free.”

Many transgender advocacy groups in Maryland were opposed to the bill because of the lack of protection in public accommodations. TransMaryland being one of those groups which opposed the bill, and even called for it to be shelved until enough time had passed that there could be a better education campaign so that people would not oppose those protections as well.

On Friday the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, TLDEF, filed suit against Urban Treatment Associates LLC for the firing of trans man El’Jai Devoureau. Devoureau worked for Urban Treatment in a male only job as a urine monitor for men, monitoring male bodied outpatients as they provided urine samples for drug testing.

On his second day of work Urban Treatment was informed of  Devoureau’s trans status and promptly fired him despite a lack of complaints. In filings, Urban Treatment claimed that Devoureau was unqualified for the position as he was not male. This discriminatory behavior is not only the usual transphobic desire to  fire trans employees but also a direct attack on Devoureau’s identity as a man. New Jersey state law prohibits employment discrimination on basis of gender identity and expression.

Related articles

• N.J. transgender man sues former employer, saying he was fired because of his gender (nj.com)
• TLDEF Files Suit on Behalf of Transgender Man Fired from Male-Only Job (Transgenderlegal.org)

The provision covering public accommodations was removed from the bill by the House in order to get the rest of the package to pass. Currently, the GIADA covers employment, housing and credit, but leaves public accommodations up to the individual businesses. For this reason, TransMaryland has refused to endorse the bill. Jenna Fischetti wrote “We will continue to withhold our support for legislation or legislative strategies which exclude input from the greater transgender and transsexual community in Maryland, while seeking workable and long term solutions to the needs of our community.”

Currently, advocates believe that they have enough votes to pass the bill.

Equality Maryland wrote in their press release:

Lead Sponsor, Sen. Jamie Raskin:
“With HB 235, we’re fighting hard to see to it that we have civil rights protections for all our citizens in housing, employment and access to credit. Some people thought that this was too much for us to handle after we passed the same-sex marriage bill but I’m convinced we can maintain both thoughts at the same time. Indeed, it’s the same thought — equal rights for all.”

Lead Sponsor, Del. Joseline Pena-Melynk:
“I am proud of Chairman Frosh and the Judicial Proceedings Committee. After many years of hard work and difficult compromises, the General Assembly is sending a clear message that discrimination against any Maryland citizen is not appropriate and will not be tolerated when applying for housing, employment, or lines of credit. I remain optimistic that the Senate will vote to send these very important protections to the Governor by Sine Die.

Despite heavy opposition that relied on false testimony, the JPR committee saw the necessity of HB 235 and passed this bill to the floor. I am proud of their leadership in the Senate on this bill that will ban discrimination for some of Maryland’s most vulnerable citizens. As a mother and public servant, I am proud to see HB 235 pass out of JPR. The bottom line is that discrimination is wrong.”

Equality Maryland’s Executive Director, Morgan Meneses-Sheets:
“With the favorable passage out of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act (HB 235) is poised to have a Senate vote. Equality Maryland is committed to seeing this bill through and ensuring that it becomes law this year. While this amendment creates an extra step, we’ll keep up the fight. Pro-equality Marylanders have rescued this bill once, and they’ll do it again.

We remain grateful for and impressed with the amount of grassroots support that has surrounded this bill. Little over a week ago, the many declared this bill dead, and yet, here we are. We must continue to work hard and take this incredibly important first step in ending discrimination against our transgender community. This is simply about fairness and justice – this is truly about being the Free State.”

With Malaysia’s strictness concerning censorship laws, it is hard to believe that a movie featuring two male leads in a “romantic relationship“ would make it past the government run censorship board. “Dalam Botol,” or “In A Bottle,” was capable of doing just that.  The woman managed film not only was made with one of the smallest budgets in Malaysian cinema this year but has also in the span of 5 days grossed a little over 1 million ringgit ($330,000), which when you figure the actual budget was 970,000 ringgit ($320,000) means the film in less than a week turned a profit. Bringing into question whether Malaysian society is as conservative as it once

Movie Poster

claimed to be.

The controversial film focuses on two men in a romantic relationship with one deciding to have a sex change in order to appease his partner. This proves futile because the partner (once the operation has occurred) still ends up leaving afterwards. Jilted, the man starts to regret his decision to become a woman, while at the same time begins to fall in love with a woman – yet, the relationship is still doomed due to the male character’s sex change. Writer and producer, Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman is happy that her movie is being accepted in the Malaysian culture, “I hope it’ll inspire more films that are meaningful and linked to reality of people’s lives.”

At the same time, while the movie is being shown in packed movie houses – members of the Malaysian LGBT community aren’t too pleased about the depiction of misery between the couple, feeling that it sheds a negative light on the gay Malaysian community as a whole. Pang Khee Teik, who is a co-founder of Sexual Independence – a Malaysian sexual rights awareness group has stated, “Many of us Malaysian gays, lesbians and transgender have absolutely no regrets being who we are.”

Even with that, reviews among critics have been mixed. Some, like Khee Teik, believe that the film depicts the LGBT society in a negative way, which seems to be an often occurrence in films pertaining to the gay community. At the same time, others feel that it is a breakthrough for Malaysian film censorship because of the societal issues surrounding sodomy – a punishable offence of up to 20 years, even though it is rarely enforced.

Raja Azmi expresses that her goal with the film was not to encourage or discourage homosexual acts, but portray an unfortunate reality in a lot of Malaysian society.

She later revealed that movie is based on the true story of a close friend, nailing home the seriousness of how often this occurs and that through her film, she is giving those don’t feel like they have a place in Malaysian society a true voice.

Related articles

• Malaysian Gay-Themed Film a Box Office Success (towleroad.com)
• Malaysia’s 1st gay film makes profit in five days (miamiherald.typepad.com)
• Malaysia’s first gay film is a controversial hit (guardian.co.uk)

Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk, who authored the bill and was its lead sponsor, was dismayed at how opponents attacked trans people with regards to the workplace or the bathroom. She said “In the last few minutes I have heard some things that are truly sad. People have preconceived ideas and prejudices.” With regards to pulling the public accommodation provisions, she said “And I did so because the political reality is that I could not have gotten the bill out — look at the discussion today — if I had public accommodations in it. But it gives you protections.”

Almost exclusively, incidents in the bathroom are instigated by a cis person objecting to the presence of a trans person in the bathroom. (Simply put, I have never run into a situation where an incident was instigated by the trans person, but I am not omniscient.)

The vote came after fifty minutes of debate. Morgan Meneses-Sheets, the Executive Director of Equality Maryland, said “This is a huge demonstration in support of fairness today. We still have work to do. We’ve got to get it through the Senate. But we are overjoyed with the outcome today.”

It is a start, but it is not enough. TransMaryland was already objecting to the changes that were made to remove the public accommodation protections and called the changes unacceptable. In a form letter they asked their supporters to send to Maryland senators, they wrote:

All of Maryland’s protected classes deserve full and equal protection under the law. The civil rights movement in our country was founded to protect rights in public accommodations. Transgender and transsexual people experience grave abuses when accessing everyday goods and essential services, from retail stores and buses to police and court systems. From disrespect and refusal of service to harassment and violence, this mistreatment in so many settings contributes to severe social marginalization and safety risk.

HB 235 serves to perpetuate this by creating a further inequity in Maryland in which residents in Montgomery County and Baltimore City have full protections in their everyday lives, but the rest of the state is forced to suffer dire consequences. There is a member of the transgender and transsexual community murdered every 3 months just because of how they were born.

Please vote to end this needless loss of life, please amend HB 235 to include public accommodations or vote an unfavorable report.

The Maryland Legislature has until 11 April to clear all legislation, and that means all bills must pass through the House and Senate. The Senate still must pass this bill. The vote fell along

The Washington Blade noted:

Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), one of seven openly lesbian or gay members of the House of Delegates, noted that transgender protections were omitted entirely from a Maryland law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation that the legislature passed 10 years ago.

“It was a calculated decision and one that I frankly regret,” she said, referring to the omission of a transgender provision. “I think it was the wrong decision. And this bill today, House Bill 235, rights a very bad wrong that we need to do,” she said. “And I ask you to support House Bill 235, a very important step forward to end discrimination in Maryland.”

Transgender rights advocate Dana Beyer, who ran for a seat in the House of Delegates last year, called approval of the bill by the House historic.

“We still have two more votes to go to get this bill done and then we need to work on adding public accommodations next year,” she said. “Actually, the only statement from the opponents with which I agree was, you know, if you give them this now they will come back and say they want full civil rights. And, yeah, that’s the case. We want full civil rights, and we’ll get them one step at a time.”

Hopefully, advocates can get the public accommodations portion of the bill reinstated in the Senate. In fact, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate where it was sent to the Rules Committee where the Deputy Chair is opposed to the bill without being openly transphobic.

Metro Weekly reports:

Sen. Katherine Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County) chairs that committee, with Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery County) serving as its co-chair.

According to transgender activist Dana Beyer, who has been monitoring movement of the bill, the switch is bad news.

“It’s bad,” Beyer says, adding that there’s also no explanation given as to why the bill is going to the Rules committee.

“We don’t trust Frosh and this seems to be his way of killing it and leaving himself with clean hands,” Beyer says. “Bills don’t go to Rules Committee unless there’s a problem with them. This is not the normal process. There really is no reason for it. I would say this doesn’t look good, and there’s no excuse for it.”

Another activist in Maryland who has been lobbying for the legislation, Cathy Brennan, says the move means that the bill is “dead.”

“The legislation appears dead for this session and a key issue for activists is to determine why Brian Frosh insists on being such an obstacle for this legislation,” she says.

Given the fact that the biggest problems that trans people face are typically in public accommodations and then in work, housing and credit, the move may be a positive one. This is still developing, but it may mean that there is a need for those groups more centered on the LGB portion of the community to work more strongly with the T portion in order to get this bill passed in such a manner that it protects everyone.

According to the press release:

A report put out in February 2011 by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality found that 1 in 5 transgender people in Maryland have lost a job due to discrimination and 12% have become homeless.

Advocates emphasize that this law is a matter of life-or-death for some Marylanders and call on supporters to help secure passage this year.

Equality Maryland, along with members of the House of Delegates, and the LGBT Caucus, celebrate this victory and acknowledge the work ahead.

Del. Joseline Pena-Melynk (D-21), Lead Sponsor:

“Every Marylander should expect to work or live in comfortable housing without fear of losing either because of who they are. HB 235 provides the protection necessary to make sure that every Marylander can live without fear of discrimination.”

Del. Ariana Kelly, (D-16), Lead Sponsor:

“Transgender Marylanders face profound and often crippling discrimination in housing and employment. This bill [HB 235] is an important step towards mitigating this unjust discrimination. It will improve people’s lives, and it is clearly the right thing to do.”

Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Executive Director of Equality Maryland

“Today we thank Delegates Pena-Melynk and Kelly for their tremendous leadership. We are proud of the 86 Delegates who stood up for fairness today by voting to support HB 235. All hardworking people in our state, should have a chance to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families. Nobody should have to live in fear that they can be legally fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job skills or work performance. There is still work to do, but today, we’re one step closer in seeing all transgender Marylanders are treated fairly under the law.

Discrimination in jobs and housing happens a lot in Maryland and it’s time we put a stop to it. Data shows that 1 in 5 transgender people in Maryland have lost a job due to discrimination and 12% have become homeless. This law is a matter of life-or-death for some Marylanders. We look to the Senate now, where we will work with proven champions Senator Jamie Raskin and Senator Rich Madaleno to see this bill through to a swift and successful passage.”

LGBT Caucus members:

Del. Anne Kaiser (D-14):

“This bill will provide all Maryland citizens with the legal protections they deserve and it will also help end a lifetime of discrimination for LGBT individuals in Maryland. This bill allows transgender and transsexual individuals many of the same opportunities of growth and access to, housing and employment opportunities that are available to any other Marylander.”

Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-19):

“In the committee, transgender individuals gave poignant and disturbing stories of discrimination and abuse they have experienced. This is the year to ‘listen with our hearts’ as one mother said and give these wonderful friends, family, and colleagues protection against further abuses in housing, employment and credit by passing HB 235.”

Del. Luke Clippinger (D-46):

“Transgender citizens of Maryland have had to suffer discrimination in the realms of employment and housing for far too long. In Baltimore City, we are lucky to have an ordinance that was passed by former Mayor Martin O’Malley in 2002 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. All transgender Marylanders, not just those living in Baltimore City, should have the same protections against discrimination.”

Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-43):

“Ten years ago when anti-discrimination legislation passed the General Assembly, the transgender community was omitted from anti-discrimination protections in housing, employment, and credit. HB235 must pass to correct the wrong made 10 years ago. I am a strong supporter of HB 235 and will vote for its passage.”

Del. Heather Mizeur (D-20):

“Our transgender brothers and sisters deserve every protection under the law, and that’s why we’re standing up and fighting for HB235. Businesses need the very best workers and landlords need the very best tenants – regardless of the employee or renter’s gender identity. This bill will be a big step toward the day when transgender Marylanders can live their truth without fear of unemployment, underemployment, or homelessness.”

Del. Peter Murphy (D-28):

“I will continue to support protecting and advancing civil rights for all Marylanders. Surveys show up to 68% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals have experienced discrimination in the workplace. Maryland should band together and say, ‘enough’.

It’s important to realize that federal housing laws do not protect individuals against discrimination based sexual orientation or gender identity. Maryland needs to join the 12 other states across the country that offers these protections. We have an opportunity to do that this legislative session with HB 235. This bill is a strong effort to move us in that direction.”

Del. Mary Washington (D-43):

“These protections provided by HB235, would afford some of our most vulnerable members of our society some measure of much needed protections – protections that sometimes can be the difference between employment and poverty and shelter and homelessness. Maryland’s laws against discrimination are intended to promote fundamental values underlay our political system – personal liberty, tolerance of diverse backgrounds and points of view, and respect for privacy and individual liberty…this legislation is absolutely needed to make it clear that discrimination is never acceptable.”

Image via Wikipedia

Nicole Lamb

On Tuesday at 5 A.M., the body of of a trans woman was found in Forest City, Arkansas. According to police the victim, 25 year old Marcal Camero Tye, was shot  and dragged to death behind a vehicle.   While there are no suspects in custody yet, police have made plaster impressions of the car’s tire tracks in order to help track the perpetrators. Currently there is no word as to whether or not this will be treated as a hate crime by police. Arkansas is one of four states without its own hate crimes law.

Police  continually used male pronouns for Tye and referred to her as a cross dresser in their reports.  Local news WREG reported  on Tye’s death with incorrect pronouns but soon changed their story following complaint by trans activists.

Related articles

• Trans Woman Shot and Drug to Death in Arkansas (bilerico.com)
• Horror in Arkansas (slog.thestranger.com)

Image via Wikipedia

The Houston Police Department has linked Lucky Ward, accused of strangling a homeless woman to death in September, to murders of four other women through DNA.  Investigators are calling Ward a serial killer who preys  on those vulnerable in society, homeless women and trans women. On Monday Ward was charged with capitol murder of a trans woman by the name of Gypsy who was found dead inside of her apartment.

Ward is also suspected of the murder of the trans woman Myra Ical who was found dead in a field in January of 2010. Ical’s murder combined with the poor media coverage that portrayed Ical as a crossdressing man, a prostitute, and a drug addict despite any evidence supporting it, led to the transgender community holding a vigil in her honor as well as for 6 other trans women killed in Houston since 1999.

Murders and hate crimes against trans women often go under reported and unsolved in the United States and the world at large. In 2010 the Trans Murder Monitoring project reported over 330 murders of trans people over the past two years. They also reported the number of trans people killed each year increasing.

Cristan Williams, executive director of the Houston Transgender Foundation of America expressed her gratitude for the arrest.

In the past, HPD hasn’t had a great record of solving transgender murder. I don’t have adequate words to express my gratitude and my joy that this man is off the streets.

Ward is currently being held in the Harris County Jail without bail.

Related articles

• Houston homeless man linked to five strangulations (chron.com)

The film drew criticism and protests from trans activists. Most prominently criticized was the original trailer for the movie which included the names of several trans women who were murdered, such as Angie Zapata.  The names were later removed.  Many also criticized the use of the slur ‘trannies’ in the title.  The use of the word is regarded as controversial in most contexts and there is debate concerning whether it can or should be reclaimed.

The decision to include the film came separate from the trans selection panel, responsible for choosing trans inclusive films for the festival. Following  complaints, the Melbourne Queer Festival Film Festival staff released a statement on the website.

Ticked Off Trannies With Knives was selected by the main MQFF selection panel. The Trans selection panel of Teague Lee and Jonathan Williams were not involved in that selection process. The MQFF defends the selection of Ticked off Trannies With Knives, and believes that audiences have the right to make up their own mind about controversial films. We encourage discussion about the merits or otherwise of such films. The MQFF acknowledges that our dress up theme of coming along to the screening as your favourite ‘ticked off trannie’, while irreverent for some, is ill advised, and just plain insensitive. In line with this we have changed the night’s theme encouraging audiences to instead come along dressed up as their favorite superhero. As the late night session requires an audience participation element as per our funding agreement, we felt this change better reflected the film’s theme of vigilante justice for the trans characters in the film. The MQFF supports discussion and debate concerning queer representation in the media and believe that audiences should be allowed to critically engage with the film and the concerns its inclusion in this year’s festival may raise.

Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)  will be hosting the second Transgender Caucus on March 6th from 2:00 to 5:30. TENT invites all Texans interested in the rights of the gender diverse to participate in this event. During the event TENT and participants will explore the issues that the community identifies as being of high concern.

“We will use this opportunity to engage in small group deliberative dialogue to explore these primary concerns and shape an organizational platform that can be used as a draft blueprint for future lobbying and educational efforts.” says Katy Stewart,  the Chair of Transgender Education Network of Texas.

TO REGISTER CLICK HERE:  info@transtexas.org

The Transgender Education Network of Texas is an organization dedicated to furthering the education of gender diversity in the State of Texas.   We work to accomplish this through education and networking in both public and private forums.   Through our efforts we strive to halt discrimination through social, legal, legislative and corporate education.

The Transgender Education Network of Texas is an organization dedicated to furthering the education of gender diversity in the State of Texas,  working to accomplish this through education and networking in both public and private forums.

“Through our efforts we strive to halt discrimination through social, legal, legislative and corporate education.” (Website)

Contact  – You may contact us via E-Mail at info@transtexas.org

Related articles

• Texas – Vigil for Transgender Day of Remembrance (lezgetreal.com)

"Good Christian" Rapist Craig Nash

The news out of Texas is if a man rapes a ‘tranny’, he gets a slap on the wrist while his victim gets a life time of pain and suffering. Craig Nash received a year in jail on a misdemeanor charge of “official oppression” despite the fact that he arrested a transsexual prostitute in San Antonio, handcuffed her, drove to a hidden location, and forced her to perform several sex acts while he was on duty. Her story was confirmed by a rape kit that showed that Nash had raped her, and the GPS device in his patrol car showed that he had driven to that location. What is more, another victim had come forward to tell that she, too, had been raped by Nash.

Prosecutors cut a deal with Nash that he would avoid any and all felony charges of sexual assault by a police officer, and dropped all charges brought by the second victim so long as he pled guilty to this one misdemeanor charge and he agreed never to work in law enforcement in Texas again. His lawyers portrayed him as an honored police officer who ‘had a lot of heroic acts’ and that he was a good father with six children. Of course, a good man would never rape two women, transsexual or not. Prosecutors also felt that they should not pursue the felony charges because they would have had ‘additional issues’ to deal with- namely the anti-trans prejudices of the community who would probably feel that it was alright to rape two ‘trannies’ because, after all, as far as the community- and the prosecutors- cared, they are subhuman perverts.

Because of the lack of healthcare and the lack of employment protection across the country, many transwomen turn to prostitution in order to simply survive and to transition. Often times, this puts their lives at risk not only of catching venereal diseases, but also of being beaten or murdered due to prejudiced men who pick them up.

Note: I am well aware of the perjorative connotations of the words ‘tranny’ and ‘trannies’. I am making a point here about how transpeople are viewed by the likes of Nash and these prosecutors- simply put, as far as they are concerned- transpeople are not humans and this infuriates me.

Source

Melanie Nathan January 13-201

The new museum chronicling San Francisco’s gay, lesbian and transgender community celebrated its grand opening Thursday.

Harvey Milk’s pink framed glasses  – manuscripts – sex toys, all on display at the 1,600-square-foot space at 4127 18th St. (just off Castro street.)

The museum has two exhibits and hundreds of articles,  and this the LGBT History Museum is the world’s second museum dedicated solely to gay and lesbian archives and materials, museum officials said. The only other one is in Germany, notes San Francisco Gate.

Telling LGBT stories is at the heart of that project.

“We have gone all out to create a museum as rich, diverse and surprising as the GLBT community itself,” says Paul Boneberg executive director of the GLBT Historical Society, which runs the museum.

The 25 year old LGBT Historical Society, set on opening a museum for a decade,  finally found the perfect store front and signed a five year lease.

Dozens of neighboring businesses and individuals – donated thousands to the $250,000 price tag to open and run the museum for the first year, ensured that foot traffic will increase with its presence.

The museum’s opening was the top priority for the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, the association President Stephen Adams said, because it will draw more tourists and locals alike and “really help with the economic vitality of the neighborhood.”

The museum’s opening – a month and a half after the Smithsonian Institution removed a controversial video that appeared in the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibit on gay portraiture, “Hide/Seek” – brings the importance of having a museum dedicated to gay and lesbian issues to the forefront, said curator Gerard Koskovich.

Source: page C – 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Melanie Nathan
Nathan@privatecourts.com

This happened in progressive San Francisco -  when a DMV employee sent a transgender woman,  Amber Yust, a 23 year old software engineer,   a letter at home calling her gender change a “very evil decision” that would condemn her to hell.  On Thursday Ms. Yust  filed a claim against the California Department of Motor Vehicles, alleging the clerk who handled her application for a new driver’s license had violated her rights to privacy and civil rights laws and asserted grounds to press criminal charges.

Ms. Yust said the clerk at the department’s San Francisco office processed her application for a license with her female name in October. She received the letter addressed to her old name, David, four days later. It identified the writer as the person who processed Yust’s application.” Although I helped you with the name change, I have to say I do not support the reason for it,” says the letter, signed with only a first name and typed on plain paper. “I also do not believe the state’s recognition of it—through official documents—makes it legitimate or any less evil.”

The San Franciso Chronicle said the same employee had been reprimanded previously in a similar incident.

Alameda County (Oakland)  elections officials say  that the Judge elect was favored by a significant margin of nearly 10,000 votes — in the November  election and will fill the vacancy in California’s Superior Court.

Kolakowski had been leading since election night, but outstanding absentee and provisional ballots made the race too close to call until Monday. KRON 4 news in the Bay Area  is reporting the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund has said she is the first openly transgender trial court judge in the country.

Kolakowski who underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1991, has experience  as an administrative law judge settling energy contract and environmental compliance disputes for the California Public Utilities Commission.

Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence.  Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.  Many of these crimes against transgender individuals remain unreported and unsolved.  There is also a great deal of violence and discrimination aimed at the gender diverse population

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender – that is, as a transsexual, cross dresser, or otherwise gender-diverse – each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.

Other Observances Around the State For more information about this and other observances of the Day of Remembrance, please visit:  http://www.transgenderdor.org

San Antonio — November 18, 2010

6:30 PM
MCC San Antonio

611 E. Myrtle,
San Antonio

Houston — November 20, 2010

7:00 pm

A.D. Bruce Religion Center, UH Main Campus

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159425054097685

Dallas — November 21^, 2010

7:00 pm

Interfaith Peace Chapel

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/TransDOR.Dallas

Involved in the plan to improve services were representatives from the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance, Indiana Equality, and Ball Memorial Hospital. They made the announcement Tuesday. Vaught, who has not released what was wrong but is apparently doing fine, has stated “I’m happy with the outcome. I think that we reached a positive resolution.”

Vaught had several face-to-face meetings with hospital President and CEO Michael Haley and others at the hospital. She received an apology at the time. Haley stated

“Simply put, we failed to live up to our brand promise of care in regards to Erin and we apologize to her for . The majority of our outstanding team of health-care professionals is committed to providing every patient with excellent and respectful care. In the last month, I have heard from many team members who share my disappointment with Erin’s experience at BMH. Thankfully, her story has created the opportunity for us to provide additional support to our team members making sure that all LGBT community members receive expert, respectful and culturally competent care.”

BMH has also updated its non-discrimination and patient care policies to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

Vaught has stated “My goal from the outset was to try to make sure that my experience wasn’t repeated. Ball Memorial’s commitment to updating their policies and training their staff demonstrates to me that this is their priority as well. I look forward to following the training process and to utilizing BMH’s services for myself and my family in the future.”

INTRAA President Vivian Benge stated about the changes that they “should serve as a model for how community organizations, community members, and community advocates can collaborate in a transparent manner to bring about positive change.”

Jon Keep, president of Indiana Equality, stated “INTRAA and IE are committed to using this collaboration as a starting point for work with health-care providers throughout Indiana. BMH has generously offered to share the materials and expertise we all develop in training their staff with any health-care intitution that shares their commitment to providing excellent and accessible care to all Hoosiers.”

Haley has committed to continuing to work with both groups. He stated “We will lead by example at BMH, and I want to make it perfectly clear that our partnership with IE and INTRAA won’t end here. It will endure through our commitment to uphold our brand promise with every patient who comes here for care.”

Source

According to one name police officer, “A 21-year-old female native of Kyrgyzstan came to police on Sunday. The woman claimed that she had been raped by two men. However, when the woman showed her passport, it turned out that she was actually a man.”

According to another official “According to preliminary information, the victim, a well-known stylist from Kyrgyzstan, arrived in Moscow for sex-change operation and met two of his country-fellows at a Moscow restaurant. . .One of the owners of the apartment committed an act of sexual intercourse with the stylist and gave his guest some cash for a cab afterwards.”

The transwoman, who has not been named, took the offered cash as an insult and went to the police to file criminal charges based on Article 131 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation.  Article 131 covers rape.

The police reports repeatedly refer to this particular individual as a male despite her being post-op and transsexual.  It is unclear what the laws in her native Kyrgyzstan are regarding transsexuality and change of identity pre or post operation.

Source

The dispute took place on 1 August at an apartment in Woodlawn, which is located in an unincorporated area of Baltimore County. The assault appears to have occurred after the two began to undress and Majette stated that he was not interested in a “transvestite”. Antoinette Ford, a neighbor, has said that she overheard Majette and King arguing. Apparently King stated “Give me my money, give me my money. I want my money.” Another neighbor reported that King came to his door step bare-breasted and bleeding and seeking help.

According to Lt. Rob McCollough of the Baltimore County police stated “Mr. Majette had hit the other party in the head with a hammer and the other party also had taken a pair of scissors and tried to assault Mr. Majette.” Both have been charged with assault. According to King, she did openly state that she was transgender in her online posting. Majette was convicted of similar charges a decade ago after lesser charges, including assaut with intent to murder, were dropped.

The court date is set for 2 September.

Source

Nikki Araguz is the widow of a Wharton firefighter who was killed on the job.  She is transsexual, and began life as a male.  Since then, she has had a sex change operation and is considered female under Texas law.  A year ago, the Texas family code was amended to allow women just like Araguz to marry men.  According to Chris Tritico, a legal analyst for FOX 26, “Texas law now says you can get a marriage license after a sex change.”

Greg Abbot, the Texas Attorney General, has refused to issue an opinion on a different case which involves an El Paso couple, but this case is a bit different.  Sabrina Hill was born male and has since transitioned into a woman, but she is also married to a woman.  When the couple wanted to marry, El Paso County refused to give them a marriage license; however, Bexar county did so based on a 1999 court decision.

Many states refuse to acknowledge marriages between two women even if one of the couple was born male and they were married before that individual transitioned.  Some states, mostly in the North, continue to accept that marriage as being legally binding.  A couple who married and lived in, say, New York might find that their marriage post-transition is legal, but not if they move to, say, Georgia.  For states where same-sex marriage is legal or recognized, this issue is moot.

The lack of clarity regarding the law as it stands in Texas goes back to a 1999 case where a Texas court ruled that a person could not change their sex for the purposes of marriage.  Basically, if you were genetically male, you could marry a woman even if you were now, physically, a woman yourself.

Darrell Steidley, lead attorney for Araguz, stated that they are waiting for Greg Abbott to make some kind of decision on this issue.  He said “Yes, of course.  We were interested to see what the response would be.”  Tritico noted that part of the problem is that this is an election year.  According to Tritico, “I don’t think he wants to jump into this political hot bed in an election year, that’s what I think.  And that’s a shame because that’s why we elected him, to interpret and give us these rulings on these laws so we know how to operate.  I think he is shirking his responsibilities and it’s a shame.”

Regarding the court case and Texas law, Tritico stated “In other words, you are what you were born.  So what we have here is couples (for example) who started out a man. (That person) now looks and appears to be a woman, but under Texas law, (they’re) still a man, so (they) will marry this woman. So it appears we’re marrying a same sex couple.”

The confusion will continue for some time to come.  According to Tritico, “You have case law that says one thing, and family code says another thing, and Texas constitution says we don’t recognize same-sex marriages.”  However, Tritico states that the Texas constitution trumps all, but also believes someone will file suit in the end.  He said “Somebody is going to file suit over this issue somewhere, somehow.”

Source

The administrators and doctors of the hospital are involved in a discrimination complaint over the fact that the doctor finally turned Vaught away despite the fact that she was coughing up blood. The doctor said that they could do nothing until they had tests ordered by her primary care doctor. The doctor took two hours before refusing treatment for Vaught on grounds that she is transgender.

According to Haley, he is working with Indiana Equality and Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance in order to review its policies, employee benefits and diversity training. The hospital will also work on implementing a diversity council to help engage the local community better. Hopefully, their work will also include reminding the doctors of their Hippocratic Oath and the fact that they need to make sure that they are helping an not hurting people in the future.

Source

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• Indiana Hospital Refuses To Treat Transwoman Who Was Coughing Up Blood (lezgetreal.com)

Jones told authorities that “I was trying to make him act like a boy instead of a little girl. I never struck that kid that hard before.”

Roy A. Jones was the grandson of Donna Collins Smith and Daniel Collins. His mother has not been named. According to Donna Collins Smith, she knew nothing about what had happened because she had only just found out about her grandson’s death. According to Daniel Collins, “[Jones] infiltrated my family through our trust, through the heart of my daughter, and then stole the life of her child. I hope the justice system turns around and steals his.” The current charges would not likely amount to the death sentence, but they could be added to or upgraded at a later date.

Jones has pled not guilty during his arraignment at Southampton Town Justice Court. He is being held without bail.

Jones’ actions are not entirely uncommon. Unfortunately, many parents and even boyfriends of mothers try to gender police their children, and while that is usually not accomplished through physical violence, it often can be. Pedro Jones, basically, appears to have killed a boy in an attempt to police his gender and enforce a patriarchal standard specific to how Jones wanted the young boy to behave.  There is also a strong probability that the behaviors that Jones hoped to prevent this boy from exhibiting would have gone away on their own.  Even if they had not, it would not be an excuse for beating an infant to death, or anyone for that matter, who is the least bit effeminate.  Hopefully, the police will include hate crime charges to the mix as this was an anti-transgender or anti-gay hate crime.

Source

It stated when the admitting nurse at the ER entered that Vaught was male into the computer despite the fact that her ID stated that she is female. Vaught stated “I pointed out that my ID says female. There were two ladies there, and one of them snickered a little bit and covered her mouth. The other got a very annoyed look on her face. Vaught was there with her wife and son.

When she went to the exa-room, she was met with stares and insults. She was referred to as a ‘he-she’, an ‘it’, and a ‘transvestite’. Vaught is a transsexual, or one who is physically undergoing the process of changing physical sex. Transvestites are people who often get sexually aroused while wearing the clothes of the opposite gender, but have no desire to change sexes.

The doctor arrives two hours later and said that she could not treat Vaught because of “her transgender condition”. According to Vaught “I was confused. I told them I didn’t know my condition, that’s why I was there. She said ‘No, the transvestite thing.’ She said I couldn’t see a doctor until I came back with test orders from my doctor in Indy.” What her exact condition is has not been released.

Ball Memorial Hopsital spokesman Will Henderson has said that the hospital only became aware of Vaught’s concerns on 19 July via a Google Alert. According to him, a patient representative is investigating the incident. Henderson has stated “We take our patients’ rights policy very seriously.” The policy does not mention transpeople specifically, according to Henderson, but it should apply. Hospital president Michael E. Haley has stated about this via Facebook “And, should there be any merit to the concerns expressed in the comments, the Hospital will respond in the appropriate manner. [The hospital is] committed to providing care with respect, dignity and courtesy.” The investigation was triggered by complaints from advocacy groups which stemmed from Vaught’s allegations.

Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance president Vivian Benge stated “The irony here is that we spend so much time teaching about transgender issues at Ball State University, and yet there is Ball Memorial Hospital treading a transgender like this. It is so sad.” The reaction is not uncommon, according to Benge, but when Vaught and her suporters wrote about her experience on the hospital’s Facebook page, it attracted the attention of advocacy groups including Benge’s and Indiana Equality. The groups sent a letter to the hospital describing how Vaught was “inhumanely treated, dehumanized and disrespected.”

According to Benge, her group has arranged for Vaught to be treated at a hospital in Indianapolis. She stated “We are trying to help her to regain her dignity and humanity. This is a very difficult kind of thing to go through.”

Estrogen therapy carries certain risks, including the risks of blood clots. This is why doctors are suppose to be willing to treat transpeople with dignity. What this hospital did was put Vaught in mortal danger.

Source

Currently, less than one percent of Pakistan’s population pays its taxes. Many businesspeople and politicians do not according to officials. This is part of why they have so many government problems, and such instability. They also owe a lot of money to larger nations such as the United States.

Islam, by and large, looks down upon transsexuality and homosexuality. Different nations vary in how they approach it with some only imposing punishment if there is proof of anal penetration while others executing anyone caught engaging in any homosexual behavior.

The only oddity in all of this is Iran where transsexuality is viewed as a birth defect according to the teaching of Ayatollah Khomeini, and sex changes are legal and assisted but not completely accepted.

Source

Image via Wikipedia

Melanie Nathan 7-9-10

Drafted by Karen Doering, an attorney who has been involved in some of the most important legal LGBT victories and controversies, the American Equality  Bill takes the approach that piecemeal bills for various areas of discrimination be supported through recognition of our civil rights, first and foremost and may serve to yield an omnibus bill that will in essence get rid of all discriminatory legislation.  This is the first  Publication of the Draft is forthcoming.

It also recognizes that creating separate bills in separate areas breaks the interests of those against discrimination into small, separate pieces that dilutes the strong force of the coalition necessary to pass any bill on the federal level.

This is a critical approach to win Equality. Equality cannot come to fruition without the Benchmark – something specific that carries forth a universal message.  Now that we have the wording and the Goal- we need the BILL.

Who ever says this is “Pie in the Sky or Bold” (Bilerco) – is marginalizing our entitlement and our rights.  To my way of thinking anyone who suggest we keep the backdoor approach as our only approach does not have our absolute interests at heart.  Selfless advocacy means going for the only benchmark that will bring full equality, and if we are going to have a movement then we need to have the movement regardless of how many votes we may or may not get in Congress.  They need to know that we are not fighting for legislation; we are fighting for our lives and to live our lives, happily,  like other Americans, and that means equally.    I for one, have a right to enter through the front door -  and that is why I have touted this plan for all this time.

Special Credit also goes to Todd Fernandez for pushing for this and for being one of the few who listened with open mind and heart.

http://lezgetreal.com/2010/07/the-launch-of-hope-finally-grassroots-find-feet-the-american-equality-bill/

THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL
(Draft July 4, 2010)

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES TO EXISTING LEGISLATION
TO END LEGAL DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY

A. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION.

SECTION 1. Amends Title VII the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in employment.

SECTION 2. Amends the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, and 3 U.S.C. 411 (a)(1), to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in employment.

SECTION 3. Amends the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. §2000e-16a et seq., to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in employment.

SECTION 4. Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to clarify the definitions of “parent” and “son or daughter.”

B. HOUSING DISCRIMINATION.

SECTION 5. Amends the Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act) to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, real estate related transactions, and the provision of brokerage services.

C. DISCRIMINATION IN PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION.

SECTION 6. Amends Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation.

D. DISCRIMINATION IN THE USE OF PUBLIC FACILITIES.

SECTION 7. Amends §2000b of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for denial of equal use of public facilities.

E. DISCRIMINATION IN ACCESS TO CREDIT.

SECTION 8. Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited basis for discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction.

F. DISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES.

SECTION 9. Amends Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in federally funded programs or activities and adding an exemption for religious organizations.

G. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

SECTION 10. Amends the Americans with Disabilities Act to repeal discriminatory provisions.

THE AMERICAN EQUALITY BILL
(Scope and content only. This is not in filing format.)

SHORT TITLE.
Upon passage, this bill may be cited as the `The American Equality Act of 2010’.

PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to realize the American ideal of equal protection under the law by amending existing civil rights legislation to include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

FINDINGS OF LEGISLATIVE FACT.
(This will be an elaborate section that details the discrimination against LGBT people. Content TBD.)

A. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION.

SECTION. 1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e, is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in employment, as follows:

a. The following definitions shall be added at the end of §2000e:

(o) The term “sexual orientation” means homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.

(p) The term “gender identity” means the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth.

b. Sections 2000e-2(a)-(d), §2000e-2(h), §2000e-2(j), §2000e-2(l), §2000e-2(m), §2000e-3(b), 2000e(g)(2)(A), §2000e-16(a), and §2000e-16(c), are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” appears to include after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity,”

c. Dress and Grooming Standards. Nothing shall prohibit an employer from requiring an employee, during the employee’s hours at work, to adhere to reasonable dress or grooming standards not prohibited by other provisions of Federal, State, or local law, provided that the employer permits any employee who has undergone gender transition prior to the time of employment, and any employee who has notified the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition after the time of employment, to adhere to the same dress or grooming standards for the gender to which the employee has transitioned or is transitioning.

d. Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later.

SECTION 2. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, as amended, 5 U.S.C. §2302; Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16a et seq.; Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.; and Section 411(a) (1) of Title 3 of the United States Code are amended to specify that “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are prohibited bases for discrimination, as follows:

a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e.

b. 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(1)(A) and 5 U.S.C. 2302(d)(1); 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16a and 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16b; 2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1); and 3 U.S.C. 411(a)(1) are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” appear to add after the word “sex” the following words: “sexual orientation, gender identity”

c. 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16a(b) is amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability” appear to add after the word “sex” the following words: “sexual orientation, gender identity”

d. Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later.

SECTION 3. The Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. §2000e-16a et seq., is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination, as follows:

a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e.

b. Section 2000e-16a(b) is here by amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability” occurs by inserting after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity,”

c. Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing shall be construed to establish an unlawful employment practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the employer provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the employee’s gender identity as established with the employer at the time of employment or upon notification to the employer that the employee has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later.

SECTION 4. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §2611, is amended to clarify the following definitions:

(7) Parent. The term “parent” means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter. For purposes of this statute, the term “in loco parentis” includes but is not limited to an individual who is a defacto or psychological parent of the child.

(12) Son or daughter. The term “son or daughter” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, a child registered as a “dependent” or similar classification under the employer’s domestic partnership policy, or a child designated by an employee and his or her domestic partner as a “dependent” or similar classification pursuant to a municipal, state or federal domestic partnership registry, who is—

(A) under 18 years of age; or

(B) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

(13) Spouse – The term “spouse” means a husband or wife, as the case may be. For purposes of this statute, the term “spouse” includes a person designated a domestic partner under the employer’s domestic partnership policy, an employee’s civil union partner, a spouse from a domestic or foreign marriage, and a domestic partner registered pursuant to a municipal, state or federal law.

B. HOUSING DISCRIMINATION.

SECTION. 5. The Fair Housing Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §3601 et seq., is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in the sale or rental of housing, real-estate related transactions, and the provision of brokerage services.

a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e.

b. Sections 3604(a)-(b) are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words: “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”

c. Sections 3604(c)-(e), 3605(a), and 3606 are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words: “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”

d. Section 3605(c) is amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or familial status” appears by inserting after the word “sex” the following words:- “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”

C. DISCRIMINATION IN PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION.

SECTION 6. Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000a et seq., is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation.

a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e.

b. Sections 2000a(a) and 2000a-1 are amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion or national origin” appears by inserting after the word “religion” the following words: “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”

c. Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing shall be construed to establish an unlawful practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the proprietor provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the individual’s gender identity as established with the proprietor at the time the relationship first began or upon notification to the proprietor that the individual has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later.

D. DISCRIMINATION IN THE USE OF PUBLIC FACILITIES.

SECTION 7. 42 U.S.C. §2000b, is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for denial of equal use of public facilities as follows:

a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e.

b. Section 2000b(a) is amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion or national origin” occurs by inserting after the word “religion” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity,”

c. Certain Shared Facilities. Nothing shall be construed to establish an unlawful practice based on actual or perceived gender identity due to the denial of access to shared shower or dressing facilities in which being seen fully unclothed is unavoidable, provided that the proprietor provides reasonable access to adequate facilities that are not inconsistent with the individual’s gender identity as established with the proprietor at the time of the relationship first began or upon notification to the proprietor that the individual has undergone or is undergoing gender transition, whichever is later.

E. DISCRIMINATION IN ACCESS TO CREDIT.

SECTION 8. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, 15 U.S.C. §1691 et seq., is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction as follows:

a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e.

b. Section 1691(a)(1) is amended every time the phrase “race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status, or age” occurs by inserting after the word “marital status” the following words:- “sexual orientation, gender identity”.

F. DISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES.

SECTION 9. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000d, is amended to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as prohibited bases for exclusion from participation in, denial of the benefits of, or being subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, as follows:

a. The terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” are defined as in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000e.
b. Section 2000d is amended every time the phrase “race, color, or national origin” occurs by inserting after the word “color” the following words:- “sexual orientation, or gender identity,”

c. The provisions of this section regarding sexual orientation and gender identity shall not apply to any educational institution, as that term is defined in 20 U.S.C. 1681(c), which is controlled by a religious organization if the application of this subsection would not be consistent with the religious tenets of such organization as determined in its sole discretion.

G. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

SECTION 10. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§12101 et seq., and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §706, are amended to repeal discriminatory provisions, as follows:

a. 42 U.S.C. §12208 is repealed.

b. 42 U.S.C. §12211(b)(1) is amended to delete the words “transvestism” and “transsexualism” and the phrase “gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments,” from the definition of “Certain conditions” excluded from coverage under the Act.

c. 29 U.S.C. §705(8)(F)(i) is amended to delete the words “transvestism” and “transsexualism” and the phrase “gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments,” from the list excluding from protection an ‘individual with a disability’ for purposes of Section 501, 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

END.

How did this happen read

• The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)
• The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)

By Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com
Join Lezgetreal on FaceBook

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• The Launch of Hope – Finally Grassroots Find Feet – THE American Equality Bill (lezgetreal.com)

“DART will select employees strictly in accordance with the requirements of the job. DART is committed to hiring, promoting and retaining the best qualified persons in all positions and, to the extent permitted by federal and/or Texas law, DART will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation., gender identity or any other characteristic protected by law. Nothing in this paragraph extends any employee benefits to any individual who is ineligible for these benefits under any other provision of DART’s Administrative Employment Manual for Salaried.”

It is, alas, rather complexly put.  The  Transgender Education Network of Texas has expressed their concerns that it is unnecessarily complex, though their press release indicates that the DART board is open to simplifying the language in the future.  Kathryn Winters, Co-Chair of TENT stated in the release, “This is a very good first step.  I am thrilled with the work that Rafael McDonnell of the Resource Center, as well as local trans-activists, have done around this issue.  It gives me hope to know that something that started as a wrong has been turned around and created real positive change.”

According to the press release “Transgender Education Network of Texas is dedicated to furthering the cause of Gender Diverse people in Texas.  We accomplish this through education in both public and private forums.  Through our efforts we will strive to halt discrimination through social, legal, legislative and corporate education.”

6-23-2010- Written by Rachel Wahba

Lez Talk with Rachel-

Okay now I have seen it all: The infamous Lesbian Separatist Alix Dobkin loves boys! As long as they are her grandsons that is.  Singer songwriter Dobkin (‘Lavender Jane Loves Women,’) is quoted in the June issue of Curve magazine saying:

“I have two grandsons who I love more than anything in the world, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love women and put women first—I do.”

I was transported back to one highly charged issue of  “Dyke Quarterly,” published in the mid-seventies.

An entire issue was devoted to skewering Olivia Records for hiring (unknowingly I might add, because I was there) a pre-op male to female trans lesbian feminist —- imagine, that this inflexible perception, an ill conceived ideal in the first place, was devoted to ‘delegitimizing’ and attempting to destroy a groundbreaking lesbian feminist record company with it sole purpose of making lesbians visible in a fiercely male dominated industry.  Dobkin’s connection to this issue was influential.

This was especially hurtful and destructive coming from one of the founding mothers of womens’ music, famous for her “devotion” to women.  Yes that meant having to deny the sons of women; the banning of all penis bearing infants, toddlers and children from festivals and the like was strictly enforced.

Instead of supporting one of her own, the hatred fueled by what I can only refer to as envy disguised as righteous indignation, was one of the many episodes in the history of Olivia Records and the times.

Now to see Alix ever so proudly loving her penis-endowed grandchildren is a cause to celebrate. Everything changes! Perhaps little boys will no longer be banished (if that is still the case) from the Michigan Womyns Music Festival.

I remember those days and my relief that because my baby girl was penis free we were not lesbian persona no grata, unless we risked shunning overalls for skirts and dresses.  Unfortunately I am not exaggerating. Boys were taboo. I admit there was a moment in history where separatism served its purpose for many of us for a moment in time— until we regained our sense of self as strong/liberated lesbians.

Olivia Records with feminism as its guiding principle was suddenly made into the enemy. Under the guise of preserving Lesbian Feminism a barrage of rhetoric from Dobkin polarized the lesbian community and it took its toll.

It was demoralizing, invalidating, time consuming, and hurt the small collective of  lesbians, dedicated to Feminism, instilled by Olivia Records, while earning close to nothing simply for the love of women and commitment to providing women with community.

So here we are today, Olivia has morphed into Olivia Travel, taking tens of  thousands of lesbians on vacations with week long lesbian entertainment of music and comedy, a unique experience.

So Lavender Jane loves now loves HER boys. How sweet it is to see love transcend dogma. Too bad it took 36 years to get here.

By Rachel Wahba
Columnist for Lezgetreal

Additional Information: Refernces:

Read more about Alix Dobkins – There is a great deal more to her than her feeble attempts at invalidating OLIVIA…

In the 1970s Liza Cowan was the host of Electra Rewired, a late night talk show on WBAI-FM in New York City. She interviewed Maya Angelou, Yoko Ono, Germaine Greer, as well as local feminist and Lesbian activists. She also produced the live music series, The WBAI Free Music Store. While she was working as a radio producer she met and fell in love with Alix Dobkin, a folksinger who went on to produce the first all Lesbian record album, Lavender Jane Loves Women. Cowan and Dobkin were partners for six years.

While she and Dobkin were together, Cowan published and edited DYKE, A Quarterly, a cultural theory magazine. Her business and editorial partner was Penny House. DYKE lasted for three years, publishing two long issues per year. Considered both beautiful and contriversial, DYKE Magazine published articles on Lesbian Separatism, Lesbian Fashion, Dykes Behind Bars, as well as producing theme issues, like the Ethnic Dykes issue and the proposed but never realized issue on Lesbian Cartoons.

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• Alix Dobkin (lesbianlife.about.com)

ALIX NEEDED  to ADD a Page for Rumor Control to her website Quote:

Rumor Control

“Alix is a man-hater”

Nonsense! Some of my best friends are men. I certainly have strong opinions about men’s violence, men’s dominance, men’s politics, male institutions, male hierarchies and penis-centered culture (don’t you?), but man-hating is irrelevant in my life.

“Alix is against transexuals”

No way! I look to transexuals to break new ground and not to reinforce conventional gender stereotypes.

“Alix hurts little boys by excluding them from women-only space”

On the contrary, I treasure all children and hate to see any child spoiled by mistreatment and neglect, or misguided by ignorance and disrespect. Teaching little boys universal entitlement and teaching little girls that they have no right to privacy is ignorant and disrespectful.

“Alix believes that women-only space is sacred space”

True.

“Alix performs only for women”

False. I often appear before mixed audiences.

“Alix loves all Lesbians but doesn’t like some Lesbians”

True.

“Alix wants her work to have meaning for everyone”

True.

“Alix is ‘Politically Correct’”

I certainly hope so, and so should you hope to be politically enlightened and untrendy!

The press release is a little hard to fathom, but it is hopeful since many transpeople are discriminated against based upon their gender identity. Many states require some form of permanence to the transition before issuing things like new or amended birth certificates or driver’s licences.

Many transpeople do not opt to go for the complete surgery since it is often expensive and dangerous. There are transwomen who undergo orchiectomies, also known as surgical castration, either shortly before, long before or instead of complete genital reconstruction. There are also transmen who undergo top surgery or mastectomies, but do not undergo complete genital reconstruction either.

These changes will, hopefully, make it easier for many transpeople to move across borders on business and vacation. Hopefully, clearer information will be available soon. The changes go into effect on 10 June.

The White House has issued this statement:

Statement by the Press Secretary on Today’s Pardoning in Malawi

The White House is pleased to learn of President Bingu wa Mutharika’s pardon of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza. These individuals were not criminals and their struggle is not unique. We must all recommit ourselves to ending the persecution and criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity. We hope that President Mutharika’s pardon marks the beginning of a new dialogue which reflects the country’s history of tolerance and a new day for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Malawi and around the globe.

Monjeza and Chimbalanga are to be released on Monday. Currently, the United Nations is trying to put pressure on Malawi to reverse laws which date back to British rule of the nation. Those laws often date back to the Nineteenth Century and are not dissimilar to the ones currently in place in Uganda.

According to the Smoking Gun via Huffington Post:

“The X-ray revealed that [Negrin] has a small penis and co-workers made fun of him on a daily basis,” reported cops. Following his arrest, Negrin told police that he “could not take the jokes anymore and lost his mind.”

Negrin then assaulted Hugo Osorno with a police baton and demanded an appology.

Ok, so…what does this have to do with the LGBT Community?

Well, here is the problem. I am transsexual and these full body scanners will show that I am transsexual. Imagine if you will, having someone who is transphobic learn that I am transsexual. Imagine what they could decide to do in that case. They could, obviously, pat me down, order a strip search, or ridicule and humiliate me in front of the other passengers. They could even claim that they found something funny and make me out to be a possible terrorist. At this point, I’ll walk to Europe before I will fly there. Inside the US, I’ll take Amtrak instead of fly because I do not want to risk this very real outcome.

I know that many people might say ‘well, you are overreacting.’ I do not think so. There have been far too many horror stories in the past to really feel comfortable that, for someone who passes as well as I do, this secret could get exposed to people who I do not know and do not trust with my being transsexual.

Then there is the very real problem of breast cancer survivors. Many women who have had breast cancer have mastectomies. While the breast can be reconstructed, that reconstruction will show up on the scanners as well. At least one author has had to explain to her screeners why her left breast looked so odd. She had to have her breast removed and reconstructed.

While there has been a great deal made of the fact that these full body scanners could amount to child pornography, the bigger problem may lie in just ordinary privacy concerns and just how well the people at the Transportation Security Agency will handle them. A lot of us do not want the world to know that we had surgery on our breasts, or are transsexual. What is more, if these people cannot handle the issue in a meaningful and mature way amongst themselves, how are they going to handle it with total strangers? Could a transperson end up finding themselves assaulted somewhere in the terminal because the scanner picked up that they are transsexual?