The DOJ

Last night I went to a local PFLAG meeting for the second time; now that I am helping out at the local LGBT free clinic, they asked to attend the meetings with their representative. I have known the couple that runs it for a great many years and they have done a great job with the chapter.

There was an article on NPR about the Department of Justice training of police forces around the country about trans* issues.

Justice's 'Peacemaker' Unit Focuses On Transgender Rights

By Carrie Johnson

April 16, 2014

Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole says its new training program is motivated by a simple yet powerful idea.

"The department recognizes what is often lost in the debates about transgender individuals, and it's that transgender lives are human lives," Cole told a group of about 130 police and community activists who recently gathered at the Justice Department to unveil the new program. "We heard you when you told us that we needed to establish a foundation of trust between those who serve and protect the public and those in the LGBT community, particularly the transgender community."

[…]

Diego Sanchez, director of policy for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, helped to develop the new Justice Department training.

"It can be very difficult to interact with law enforcement officials," Sanchez tells NPR. "We're people like everyone else. We're not any different than anyone else. However, when we're encountered by law enforcement officers, we often find challenges both in being seen or respected."

I have needed police for two accidents that I had, one was a hit-and-run, and another where I was stopped at a toll booth where the drive behind me didn’t stop. In both incidents the police officer was courteous and treated me with respect.

In the past I have worked with the DOJ Community Relations Service unit, one of their trainers gave a workshop at the conference that I helporganize and I attended a workshop that he gave at the True Colors conference this past March. He is also on the Safe School Coalition committee that I am on; the committee is run by the Connecticut Department of Education.