A Little Of This And A Little Of That – Trans Issues

There were a few news items that caught my eye this past week that I want to share with you. The first is from Utah.

New poll: 71 percent of Utahns support non-discrimination ordinances
QSaltLake Staff
Feb 28, 2011

UtahPolicy.com released a poll indicating 71 percent of Utahns support the anti-discrimination law that has been passed in 11 different Utah municipalities. The poll also shows 73 percent of Mormons and 71 percent of Republicans support the laws.

The article goes on to say that despite the overwhelming support, including the Mormon Church, the bill will not make it out of committee. If there is so much support, why is there no support in the legislature? Is there some underlying reason? Maybe like transphobia?

The next article is from Philadelphia where the transit authority still put labels on transit passes with gender.

Transgender riders seek justice from SEPTA
February 28, 201
By Dianna Marder
Inquirer Staff Write

The opponent is SEPTA and the issue is the transit agency's use of M for male and F for female stickers on weekly and monthly passes.

The stickers, in use since 1981, are meant to prevent riders from sharing passes, said spokeswoman Jerri Williams.

But transgender activist Kathy Padilla said that doesn't make sense because "any two women or two men can share passes."

Other major transit agencies, including those in New York, New Jersey, Washington, and Los Angeles, do not issue gender-specific passes.

But here, each SEPTA employee who sells a pass judges whether the rider looks M or F, and if a bus driver or train conductor disagrees, the pass could be confiscated.
[…]
"So many times in the past, a government or bureaucratic system created a policy in which gender was unthinkingly made a part of a document or database, with unintended consequences like this," said Harper Jean Tobin, a lawyer with the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Well that’s the way we always done it and dang nab it we are not going to change.

Now to the third article, this one on politics. We seen other trans-people run for office and win. We now have a trans-woman running for mayor in Texas.

First transgender candidate in the Texas city's history
Mark Gould, Multimedia Journalist
WCSH6

AMARILLO, Texas (NBC) -- A man who became a woman hopes to become Amarillo's next mayor. It is the first time in the city's history that a transgender woman has filed to run for office. But it's not the first time this candidate has asked for your vote.

Candidate Sandra Dunn says "we all have our differences and that's what makes us great. Let me work for you as your mayor."

Today Sandra Dunn announced her intentions to run for Amarillo mayor. The mother of two was not always known as Sandra and this is not her first time running for public office. She ran for city and county commissioner when she was known as Fred Dunaway.