Another Brick From The Wall

The Trump administration just took another brick from the wall of protections for us that President Obama’s administration build for us.

Last year in July Trump said at the Republican convention,

During his 75-minute speech at the Republican National Convention in July, Donald Trump looked genuinely surprised at the roar of applause when he said, “As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect LGBTQ citizens.”

Yup right.

Trump administration narrows civil rights investigations, reportedly will stop investigating transgender bathroom access
LA Times
By Joy Resmovits
June 16, 2017

The U.S. Department of Education is telling civil rights investigators that they can limit the scope of their work, according to an internal memo uncovered by ProPublica.

The Department also is reportedly circulating an internal memo on enforcing gender discrimination laws that specifically tells officers to stop investigating whether transgender students have been denied the ability to use the bathrooms of their choice. A spokeswoman from the Department did not immediately respond to request for comment on this directive.

During the Obama administration, the department's Office for Civil Rights frequently made waves. The office named colleges that faced scrutiny for mishandling sexual assault; outlined protections for transgender students (which recently have been revoked) and identified patterns of discrimination in school districts and universities.

The Obama administration didn’t just pull their protections for us out of a hat, it was based on a long history of court victories. Going back to the Supreme Court 1989 decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins where they ruled that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sex stereotyping where a woman was not made partner in the firm because she didn’t look feminine enough, they told her to change her hair style, use more makeup, and wear a dress and high heels. From that decision the courts started recognizing the gender identity and expression is a form of sex stereotyping. The Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunity issued their ruling CHRO Declaratory Ruling on behalf of John/Jane Doe  it was based on the Supreme Court ruling (it is a good read if you want to understand the logic behind our legal protections).

So when the Trump administration revokes protection for us they are going against years of legal precedents.

The Secretary of Education said,

DeVos press secretary Elizabeth Hill said the rules are meant to speed up the resolution of complaints.

"These internal enforcement instructions seek to clear out the backlog while giving every complaint the individualized and thorough consideration it deserves," she said in an e-mail. "There is no longer an artificial requirement to collect several years of data when many complaints can be adequately addressed much more efficiently and quickly."

But Senator Murray called her out on it…

"President Trump and his Administration can claim to oppose discrimination all they want, but actions speak louder than words," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement. "Everything they are doing is making it clear that they want to defang and weaken the federal government’s tools to protect the civil rights and safety of people across the country."

Lhamon [Catherine Lhamon lead the Office for Civil Rights under Obama] called the new guidelines her "worst nightmare." The drive to reduce caseloads and close cases quickly, she said, leads to an "assembly line justice that does not open its eyes to the kinds of harms that OCR staff know exists in schools."

It is going to be a long four years and I have a feeling it is going to get worst.

Hate Runs Rampant

The place with the golden arches and Ronald McDonald has a HRC Corporate Equality Rating of 100! But to their employees it is anything but 100%.

This Transgender Woman Is Suing McDonald's For Discrimination
The former crew member reported verbal and physical abuse to her manager and was later fired, a lawsuit alleges.
BuzzFeed
By Cora Lewis
Posted on June 14, 2017


A transgender McDonald’s crew member experienced multiple cases of sexual harassment and discrimination on the job, including being barred by managers from using the women’s and men’s restrooms and relegated to a rear bathroom that was used as a storage closet, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed against the restaurant owner and the parent company.

La’Ray Reed worked at a McDonald’s in Redford, Michigan, for six months in 2015, during which time coworkers called her a "boy slash girl" and other sexual insults, and one groped her, the lawsuit alleges. She reported the mistreatment to the franchise owner and was later fired, she alleges.
[…]
In the lawsuit, Reed alleges a coworker groped her genitals at the urging of a store manager who wanted to know whether she had a penis. “You can’t feel it from the front. You have to feel it from the back,” the manager allegedly said over the headset system used by all employees.

Another time, a manager allegedly told a crew member to follow Reed into the ladies’ room to see if she was standing up or sitting down to use the toilet. “I had never had a problem using the ladies room until this day,” Reed wrote in an email to BuzzFeed News. “When I came out the restroom, the manager told me I could no longer use either of the restrooms in the lobby.”

Instead, the manager allegedly had Reed go to the back of the store and clean the out-of-use bathroom, which was being used as a storage closet. That became Reed’s bathroom, she says, which she was also made responsible for cleaning.

I hope that she also files sexual assault charges against the manager for groping her.

Meanwhile McDonald’s has a 100% HRC rating!

Activists point to the complaints as evidence that McDonald’s attempts to brand itself as an LGBT ally are empty rhetoric.

During this past weekend’s gay pride celebrations, McDonald's posted signs that read "Lovin' is Lovin'" and served fries in rainbow-colored boxes at stores in Washington, DC. Cathy Martin, vice president of McDonald’s for the region, called the themed items “a fun way to show our support of the LGBTQ community.”

Detroit-based LGBT rights advocate Heather Aymer said the promotion "smacks of hypocrisy" and that the company is "pretending to support the LGBT community by putting up flags, but not taking action against the unsafe culture it has created in the workplace for LGBT workers."

Don’t look for any help from the Trump administration…

During the Obama presidency, the Department of Labor issued guidance that suggested companies like McDonald’s should be considered the joint employers of the workers in their franchised restaurants, in a move that was cheered by labor activists and denounced by industry groups. Last week, the Trump administration formally withdrew that guidance.

Hate runs rampant in this country on both side of the political divide, there is no leadership in Washington, just oppression.

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This afternoon I am at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT watching Thoroughly Modern Millie with some friends.

Hate

There is a difference between opposing and hating someone or thing. I oppose the Republicans, I do not hate them. Both the Rev. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi brought about change without violence by using peaceful non-violence tactics.

When you pick up a weapon the other side has won.

It is a hard thing to do, stand in the middle of threats and intimidation. It is hard when you face discrimination, when someone purposely uses derogatory words and not strike back.

There was a Pride march down in Alabama over the weekend where the KKK tried to intimidate the marchers but the marchers didn’t take the bait, they ignored the taunting.

KKK members protest LGBTQ pride march in Florence: Hate 'reared its ugly head'
AL.com
By Connor Sheets
June 13, 2017

Several members of white nationalist groups dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes and other regalia staged a protest at a Sunday event in Florence described by organizers as Northwest Alabama's first-ever LGBTQ pride parade.

The relatively rare sight of people wearing KKK robes in public left many of the hundreds of LGBTQ folks and allies who attended the march feeling "shocked and then embarrassed," according to Benjamin Newbern, executive director of the Equality Shoals advocacy group.

"It was just crazy. This was a huge day for the LGBTQ community with the fact that nothing like this had happened before with members of the LGBTQ community marching in the streets here," Newbern said.

"Hate has always been here but it reared its ugly head yesterday to show that it's still around."

The KKK was lucky if they protested at a Pride rally here in Connecticut with their hoods on…

Public Act No. 11-55
Sec. 36. Section 53-37a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

Any person who, with the intent to subject, or cause to be subjected, any other person to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities, secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of this state or of the United States, on account of religion, national origin, alienage, color, race, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, blindness or physical disability, violates the provisions of section 46a-58, as amended by this act, while wearing a mask, hood or other device designed to conceal the identity of such person shall be guilty of a class D felony.

And in Connecticut a class D felony carries some weight behind it…

Class D Felonies. A class D felony is the least serious type of felony in Connecticut, punishable by a state prison term of one to five years and a fine of up to $5,000. 

Please stop the hate.

Is She The One?

There have been a number of trans people who have run for office, a couple of them have won minor races, but no trans person as far as I know won a major race.

Va. trans candidate wins primary, now faces anti-LGBT lawmaker
Washington Blade
By Chris Johnson
June 13, 2017

A transgender former journalist pulled off a surprise victory in a Virginia primary on Tuesday, winning the Democratic nomination to face off against anti-LGBT Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William) in the general election.

Danica Roem, who was seeking the Democratic nomination to run for the 13th District seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates, beat out Steve Jansen, Andrew Adams and Mansimran Kahlon to win her party’s backing, the Associated Press reported at 8:30.

If Roem succeeds in besting Marshall, she could become the first openly transgender person to be elected and seated as a state legislator. The general election will be held Nov. 7.

I hope that she wins, but it is going to be a hard battle to win the seat. She is going up against an incumbent Republican representative in a strong conservative district.

A Trans Woman & A Bathroom Bill Sponsor Could Compete For A Seat In Virginia's General Assembly
By Suszannah Weiss
June 13, 2017

Danica Roem could soon become the first trans person to serve in Virginia's General Assembly, Rewire reports. But to get the seat, she'll have to beat out a sponsor of one of the country's harshest bathroom bills.

On January 3, Republican Delegate Bob Marshall proposed a bill that would limit trans people's bathroom access even more than North Carolina's infamous bathroom bill. In addition to prohibiting people from using a bathroom that doesn't match their birth certificate in all government buildings, the "Physical Privacy Act" required schools to out trans kids to their parents. Roem announced that she'd be running for the General Assembly on the same day Marshall proposed the bill, which was ultimately killed.

I wish her luck, she will need it.

Uber

I don’t know if you have been following the news of the shakeup at Uber because of a corporate culture of sexual harassment that is becoming epidemic are large companies like Fox and Tesla.

David Bonderman resigns from Uber board after making joke about women at company event on sexual harassment
Washington Post
By Brian Fung and Craig Timberg
June 13, 2017

Billionaire businessman David Bonderman, a member of Uber’s board, resigned Tuesday after making what he called an “inappropriate” comment about women at a company-wide meeting that was aimed at addressing the harassment of women and other unprofessional conduct within the company.

The comment came as an interruption of fellow board member Arianna Huffington, who was explaining the benefits of having more female representation on Uber's board.

What do all these companies have in common?

They all share one trait that I feel leads to these complaints… they all have binding arbitration.

So what does this have to do about sexual harassment?

Well for one thing you can’t talk about it and these women who have come forward with their complaints are violating their contracts and can be sued by their employer. Second the companies hire the arbitration judge and if you lose you pay for the cost of arbitration which can cost thousands of dollars. Lastly if the company breaks the law, you can’t sue in court. So the deck is stacked against us because of binding arbitration.

In other words, you call you cable company and the tech come out to your house and starts cursing you and making derogatory comments and you file a complaint with the state agency that enforces the non-discrimination laws. The cable company can have it thrown out because you signed a binding arbitration clause… What! Wait I never signed anything about binding arbitration! Yes you did when you got cable; way down in the contract that you signed was the clause.

Just about everything you get have a binding arbitration clause.

What can you do about it?

Absolutely nothing.

There were a number of bills in Congress that would have limited binding arbitration to billing disputes and not violations of the law, however, the Republican Congress have let the bills die.

A Break Through

A couple of days ago I wrote about an article that said that there was no medical evidence supporting gender dysphoria, well this week the American Medical Association has come out supporting us with a trans policy.

American Medical Association Adopts Transgender Policies
'Broadening how gender identity is defined within medicine'
The Washington Free Beacon
By: Elizabeth Harrington
June 14, 2017

The country's largest organization of doctors is adopting a series of transgender policies, with the goal of expanding how "gender identity is defined within medicine."

The American Medical Association, a professional organization of over 200,000 doctors, is holding its annual meeting this week at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

The House of Delegates, which sets policy for the association, announced changes dealing with transgender issues on Monday, including a policy stating that gender is "incompletely understood."

"Acknowledging that individuals' gender and sexual identities do not always fit neatly into binary paradigms, delegates to the 2017 AMA Annual Meeting in Chicago took several actions that support broadening how gender identity is defined within medicine and how transgender patients are treated by society," the association said.

The group said the new policies are focused on transgender individuals and the "many others who do not identify with one particular gender."

In other words they now support non-binary people. They don’t have force us in to two boxes.

This is really a major shift in thinking!

I remember when the norm was trans women had to be attracted only to men and that is one of the reasons why we got the reputation of being liars because we would say anything to get our hormones and surgery.

Now the doctors are finally realizing that nature doesn’t do things as either or but tries experimenting all different types of combinations.

Let’s Make Connecticut #3!

I found out she was transgender, I just lost it! And I killed her.

That is what is known as the gay or trans panic defense and here in Connecticut, even with all our protections is still legal to use.

In 48 states, being scared of LGBTI people is still an acceptable murder defense
The so-called 'gay panic' or 'trans panic' defense is often used in cases of violence against LGBTI people
Gay Star News
By Rafaella Gunz
June 11, 2017

Back in 2013, The American Bar Association (ABA) released a resolution, calling for all states to ban ‘gay panic’ or ‘trans panic’ defenses in cases of murder and assault.

‘The American Bar Association urges federal, tribal, state, local and territorial governments to take legislative action to curtail the availability and effectiveness of the “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses, which seek to partially or completely excuse crimes such as murder and assault on the grounds that the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant’s violent reaction,’ their statement read.

They argue that these ‘panic defenses’ have no basis in medicine or psychology. In fact, ‘homosexual panic disorder,’ introduced in 1920 by psychiatrist Edward J. Kempf, is no longer recognizes as a legitimate affliction by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

However, only two states – California and Illinois – have successfully passed bills banning this type of defense. That means, in 48 states, claiming one was ‘freaked out’ by someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation is still a valid excuse for violent crimes against LGBTI people.

Let’s make this illegal here in Connecticut in 2018!

State Rights!

State rights! State Rights! You have heard the Republicans say over and over again. On the floors of the Senate and House. In congressional hearing. On the campaign trail. Their mantra was “State Rights!”

Betsy DeVos in her hearing to confirm her as Secretary of Education said she would not enforce Title IX she said she would differ to the states.

Scott Pruitt in his hearing to confirm him as head of the EPA said he is in favor of state rights.

On and on the Republicans talk about state rights…

Jeff Sessions personally asked Congress to let him prosecute medical marijuana providers
Washington Post
By Christopher Ingraham
June 13, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is asking congressional leaders to undo federal medical marijuana protections that have been in place since 2014, according to a May letter that became public Monday.

The protections, known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, prohibit the Justice Department from using federal funds to prevent certain states "from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana."

In his letter, first obtained by Tom Angell of Massroots.com and verified independently by The Washington Post, Sessions argued that the amendment would "inhibit [the Justice Department's] authority to enforce the Controlled Substances Act." He continues:

I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime. The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.

Sessions's citing of a "historic drug epidemic" to justify a crackdown on medical marijuana is at odds with what researchers know about current drug use and abuse in the United States. The epidemic Sessions refers to involves deadly opiate drugs, not marijuana. A growing body of research (acknowledged by the National Institute on Drug Abuse) has shown that opiate deaths and overdoses actually decrease in states with medical marijuana laws on the books.

So whatever happened to “State Rights?” The state legislatures voted for medical marijuana, so if you truly believe in state rights you will let the states decide on their marijuana laws and keep the federal government out of it. It will be interesting to see what the Republican Congress does with this request.

Human Rights Should Never Be A Popularity Contest

Back when the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution the founders wisely knew that there were certain basic rights that should not up to a vote, and over time we have come to realize that there are other basic rights that should not be put to the popular vote.

Pullman hospital accepting public comment on performance of gender reassignment surgeries
KHQ 6
Posted: June 09, 2017

PULLMAN, Wash. -
Dr. Geoff Stiller, a board certified surgeon who has staff privileges at Pullman Regional Hospital, is advancing his surgical training to include gender reassignment surgeries and the hospital is accepting public comment from June 12 to July 3, 2017.

As part of the process, the hospital says Dr. Stiller will be performing the procedures at Pullman Regional Hospital under the personal instruction and supervision of a preceptor. Other steps will also be completed before a decision on adding gender reassignment surgery to the services offered by Pullman Regional Hospital.

"Two key steps are completing the medical staff privileging process and receiving public comment regarding performing gender reassignment surgery," the hospital said in a statement.

Did they have public comments for open heart surgery? What about if they would treat cancer patients?

Then why are they having it for another AMA medically necessary approved procedure?

P.S. At least they could do if they are going to treat trans patients is to use proper terminology... Gender Confirming Surgery or Gender Affirming Surgery, not Gender Reassignment Surgery

A Target On Our Backs

With the climate of hate that Trump is stirring up is spreading out on to the streets and the bullies have been giving the green light.

Group Attacks Transgender Women, Tells Them to 'Get off Their Block': Cops
NBC News
June 11, 2017

Two transgender women were attacked by a group of people screaming insults in Brooklyn on Saturday, police say.

Around 1 a.m., London Jade and another transgender woman left the Happyfun Hidaway bar in Bushwick and attempted to buy alcohol at a liquor store nearby, police said.

Once they left the store, a group of three men and one woman approached the women and harassed them, screaming slurs and telling them to get off their block, police said.

The number of attacks on us is increasing. The Southern Poverty Law Center writes about the interview on NPR’s All Things Considered,

BEIRICH [Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project Director Heidi Beirich]: Well, we have seen since the latter parts of the Obama administration an incredible rise in the frequency of attacks like this, hate crime attacks and domestic terrorism attacks. And the targets of those hate crimes have tended to be those populations demonized by the Trump campaign and now Trump administration.

And, you know, we tracked almost 900 hate and bias incidents between the election and 10 days later. Those are numbers that are quite extraordinary for such a short period of time.

The latest data is from 2015 but Raw Story reports,

Although the FBI have no data post 2015, many local governments and police departments are better equipped. "We’ve had an uptick in hate crimes—actually a little bit more than an uptick," said New York City police commissioner James O’Neil in a radio interview. "We’re up 31% from last year. We had at this time last year 250; this year we have 328. Specifically against the Muslim population in New York City, we went up from 12 to 25. And anti-Semitic is up, too, by 9% from 102 to 111."

"I have no scientific evidence as to why," O’Neill explained. "But you’ve been paying attention to what’s been going on in the country over the last year or so and the rhetoric has increased, and I think that might have something to do with it."

The haters are crawling out of the wood work, be careful out there, beware of your surroundings.

Pure Hate!

When people are fighting for their human rights you expect backlash using lies and half-truths. All throughout history we see it making those who are demanding equal rights as sub-human, mentally deficient, unable to care for themselves, or mentally ill.

We see that in those who are trying to deny us of our rights.

Ten Transgender Truths for Legislators and Concerned Citizens
AmericanThinker
By Selwyn Duke
June 12, 2017


Whether you’re a lawmaker considering a “bathroom bill” or some other “transgender”-oriented legislation, or a citizen pondering a vote influencing the matter, you need the facts. The following are 10 “transgender” truths:

There is no sound science behind the transgender agenda. No “expert” can point to any physiological markers, in any given case, proving that at issue is a biological phenomenon and not a purely psychological one.

Wrong!

Totally wrong! There is a lot of research that shows otherwise. Just a short search on any online research databases like EBSCO or Google Scholar you dozens of peer reviewed papers.

The same argument can be used for left-handedness, no one knows why people are left handed but around the world is about 10 percent and for some unknown reason  LGBT people have a greater left-handedness percentage (gays 13% versus 11% lesbians 11% versus 10%).

The article went on to list,

The “transgender” diagnosis is based purely on feelings relating to what’s called strong “cross-gender identification”…

So what! There are numerous disorders that the only way of diagnosis is by talking to the patients.
This is also BULL! There are a whole slew of research on intersex babies who were giving Sex Reassignment Surgery (I use that term because they didn’t have gender dysphoria) and they knew their true gender. Case in point David Reiner that Dr. Money tried to “correct” knew his true gender no matter what Dr. Money said.

Then there is this one…

Proponents of transgender bathroom social engineering argue that such people have been using the opposite sex’s facilities for decades without raising objections. Yet this only proves that these individuals — who convincingly pass as the opposite sex — don’t need a law to gain access. Conclusion: The push to open bathrooms isn’t mainly about access; it’s about changing the way people think. Social engineering is the goal.

Um yeah, we never had a problem with bathroom until the Republicans stirred the pot of hate, now we need laws to protect us. Especially from the Republicans who are trying to ban us from going the bathroom.

They write these are with no references,  and use half-truths to force us back in the closet.

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One year ago today was the attack at the Pulse and we remember the 49 murdered and the 68 injured.

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Amanda L. Alvear, 25 years old

Oscar A. Aracena Montero, 26 years old

Rodolfo Ayala Ayala, 33 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Angel Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Simón Adrian Carrillo Fernández, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz, 22 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge Reyes, 40 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

Brenda Marquez McCool, 49 years old

Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25 years old

Kimberly Jean Morris, 37 years old

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old

Luis Omar Ocasio Capo, 20 years old

Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez, 25 years old

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez, 27 years old

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado, 35 years old

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old

Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan, 24 years old

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24 years old

Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez, 37 years old

Luis Sergio Vielma, 22 years old

Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez, 50 years old

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

The Same Old, Same Old With A Twist

We are used to being forced to use the wrong bathroom but what happens when you get kicked out of a single use bathroom?

Well it happened to a trans man out in Seattle, she was kicked out of a “family” bathroom.

Transgender Patron Denied Access to "Family" Bathroom at Seattle Public Library
The Stranger
By Rich Smith
June 9, 2017

In a very thorough Facebook post, a transgender man says two Central Library employees and one library security staffer denied him access to a "family" restroom on Monday, June 5.

According to Ryan Alley, one employee said he couldn't use that restroom because he didn't have a "family" with him, despite the fact that he says he's used the bathroom solo several times before. Alley then asked to speak to a supervisor, who allegedly affirmed the first employee's decision and added that the family bathroom wasn't available to transgender patrons. After asking to speak with someone else, Alley says, a security guard was called.

He includes video of his interaction with the security guard in the Facebook post. When the guard asks Alley to stop recording, Alley says he doesn't feel safe enough to stop recording. "Then you're not safe enough to use the bathroom," the guard replies.

The Seattle Public Library issued a statement,

Here's the statement from a spokesperson at SPL:

An adult patron recently requested use of the Family Restroom located inside the children’s area of the Central Library, which by Library Policy is for use by children with their caregivers.
The patron was not with a child and was offered private use of another public restroom on the same floor, but the patron declined.
The Library has been in contact with the patron and we are working to ensure accommodations are available when he visits the Library in the future.
The patron has contacted the Office of Civil Rights, which is looking into the matter.
In March 2017, the Library began the process of design and installation of a new gender neutral restroom for Level 3. Construction of the restroom is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Until that restroom is available for use, the Library will provide an option for transgender patrons requesting private use of a restroom.
The Library continues to be committed to providing a safe, welcoming space and experience for all patrons – children, teens and adults.
To clarify, this patron was not excluded from the Library for requesting use of the Family Restroom. Instead, the exclusion was based only on a failure to follow a staff member request.
Based on an administrative review of these circumstances that 3-day exclusion was immediately revoked and the patron has been welcome to use the Library.

But here is the kicker… The Seattle municipal “All-Gender Restroom Ordinance” says,

What does the ordinance do?This ordinance applies to single-occupant restrooms in public places in Seattle. This ordinance amends the Seattle Municipal Code to create all-gender single occupant restrooms. The measure applies to existing and newly-built City facilities, as well as public places in Seattle. It allows use of single occupant restrooms by any person, regardless of sex or gender identity, and prevents those restrooms from being restricted to a specific sex or gender identity. Restroom facilities without appropriate signage already in place will require new signs to be posted. The deadline for posting new signage is March 9, 2016.

So here we have a clear case of the staff not knowing or choosing to ignore the municipal ordinance. Was bias involved, we don’t know.

Listen to the gobbledygook the Seattle Public Library put out…

To clarify, this patron was not excluded from the Library for requesting use of the Family Restroom. Instead, the exclusion was based only on a failure to follow a staff member request.

Based on an administrative review of these circumstances that 3-day exclusion was immediately revoked and the patron has been welcome to use the Library.

So in other words, he was illegally denied access to the bathroom and when he protested the illegal order he was thrown out of the library for questioning the refusal of using the bathroom.

We are told to use the gender neutral bathrooms but in this instance even that was denied us.

But change maybe coming, we just need to look to Google in Boston for the answers,

How Architects Are Fighting For Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Design could play a powerful role in the battle for equitable public restrooms, but outdated code poses a serious problem.
C O Design
By Meg Miller
September 16, 2016

Yet designing these more equitable restrooms is often a challenge for a reason that has nothing to do with the debates of today: building code.

130 YEARS OF BATHROOM BUREAUCRACYWhen the Massachusetts bill passed earlier this summer, Ng was celebrating with other LGBT advocates at a party at Google’s Boston offices.

He found himself admiring the design of the bathrooms there: a series of fixed, single stall bathrooms that each contain a toilet, sink changing table, and lock. “Regardless of who you are and what you were born with”–or whether you are a parent with a young child–“you can use any bathroom,” he says. “It’s the definition of Universal Design: Each is outfitted with the exact same thing.”

That design solution seems simple enough, and many architects are already working to create bathrooms that are private, safe, and accessible for all genders, so that how you identify is a nonissue when you go to do one of the most basic and natural things in the world. But doing so means dealing with rules and regulations as outdated and frustrating as the bureaucracy that advocates come up against on the legislative side. The practical barrier to gender-inclusive restrooms? It basically boils down to building code.

I love this bathroom design!

I know at UConn when I was going to grad school I was asked to sign a petition to have more gender neutral bathrooms for trans students, I said no.

The reason I said no was because I wanted assurances that we would not be forced to use gender neutral bathrooms. I said I am in favor of gender neutral bathrooms but I wanted something in the petition to the effect of saying the gender neutral bathrooms were for everyone, and at no time is meant to limits the use of the bathroom of your gender identity.

Take A Little Trip To The Caribbean

Take a little trip, take a little trip
Take a little trip and see
Take a little trip, take a little trip
Take a little trip with me
                           "Low Rider" - Jerry Goldstein

People try to talk me in to taking Caribbean cruises with them, I back down for two reasons. First is I don’t like cruises and second… I want to live.

That might seem like a strange thing to say but many Caribbean island are very, very anti-LGBT. It might not be bad for lesbians, gays, or trans people who can integrate into society but for trans people who stand out in a crowd it could be deadly.

Most countries score an F on our LGBT human rights report card
The Conversation
By Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, Berwood Yost, and Scottie Thompson
June 8, 2017

June is Gay Pride Month, but the sobering reality is that most countries, including the U.S., do not protect sexual minorities.

Our research gives most countries in the world a failing grade in LGBTQ rights, reflecting widespread persecution of sexual minorities. Only one country in 10 actively protects the human rights of sexual minorities.

From persecution to protection
The Franklin & Marshall Global Barometer of Gay Rights (GBGR), started in 2011, ranks countries based on 29 factors that quantify how much a country protects human rights.

It looks not only at constitutional protections, but also societal indicators, political opinion, civil society and economic factors. For example, we look at whether the majority of citizens are accepting of sexual minorities and if gay rights organizations can peacefully and safely assemble.

Countries are then graded on a five-point scale, from F (“persecuting”) to A (“protecting”).

The extremes are stunning. In 2017, 23 countries have legalized same-sex marriage, yet 71 countries still criminalize same-sex acts.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria and Yemen score lowest on our scale, with an overall GBGR score of 3 out of a possible score of 100, while Luxembourg, Malta and New Zealand score highest, with 100 percent. A score of 100 percent doesn’t mean a country is perfect in its treatment of LGBT individuals, but it does mean they protect LGBTQ rights.

How do the Caribbean Islands do in the survey?

Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago all get an “F” for Persecuting.

So no, I really don’t want to walk around on the streets of any of those islands.

My Speech

Today I was asked to give a speech as part of the LGBT rallies being held across the nation this weekend and I am speaking in the to that I grew up in.

Speech June 10th

I don’t know if anyone knew that I grew up here in ________; but I guess you can tell by the way that I pronounce “______”

I stated in first grade at KGS and graduated from _____ High School in 1967. One of the problems with transiting in the town that you grew up in is that news of your transition spreads like wildfire. I was friends with a couple of high school friends in my class on Facebook and their high school friends wondered who this Diana is and then I started getting friend requests from some of them.

My fiftieth reunion is coming up this year and I’m still debating on whether I will attend or not. You see I don’t want to be the center of attention; I just want to have a good evening among old friends. But I am afraid that my transition will become the topic of the night, those who live in town have probably heard about my transition but those who are traveling from out of state I will probably be a shock to them. But if I decide to attend, I think I will be a shoe-in for the “Most Changed” no one can even come close.

When you transition in a small town it is hard to just be yourself, everyone knows your past and many times they slip and used your old name or as we call it our “deadname” or they use the wrong pronoun. You can never lose your past. When I go to the senior center I know a few people there from before I transitioned and I can say they handed it well when it dawned on them who I was and sometimes if I am in a playful mood, I tell them that was my evil twin who was impersonating me.

When you transition everyone around you also transitions, not only your family but also your high school friends and your fellow employees also transition. For some of us we will lose some friends but we will also gain new friends and those friends that stay with us through our transition will have a stronger friendship, while those that we never hear from again were not really your friends.

I remember ten years ago when I went to the ____ Probate Court and the judge said “…all the other transgender women form town…” and here I thought I was the only trans person in town back then, but now I see other trans women at the Stop and Shop and I know children who have transitioned even before they even started school here in town, they are totally accepted by their classmates. If there is a problem it is usually caused by an adult interfering.

If the parents do not make a fuss then the students do not have a problem with trans students in their classes, it is only when adults interfere that there is a problem and many time those adults are not even from town. At this year’s Transgender Lives: The Intersection of Health and Law Conference that is held the last weekend in April at the UConn Health Center, we had Nicole Maines for our keynote speaker. I do not know if you heard of Nicole, she is a teenager who is now attending college but when she was in high school her case set a precedent in the state of Maine.

She transitioned in middle school in small rural town and her school did everything right that is until a custodial grandparent told his grandson to follow her into the girls and that was when all of Nicole’s trouble began. The school disciplined the grandson, then the grandfather got a conservative legal organization to threaten the school system with a lawsuit if they allow Nicole to continue using the girls bathroom and locker room. The case escalated and Nicole filed a complaint with the state human rights agency which she won, the school system appealed the ruling and they won. The case then ended up in the Maine Supreme Court where they ruled in her favor.

I bring this up because Connecticut gender inclusive non-discrimination law is almost a copy of the Maine law, we also went through the same legislative debate so I feel confident that if we had a case similar to Maine’s we would also win.

Yes, we have anti-bullying harassment policies in schools and the town’s school climate policy says in part,

Bullying shall include, but not be limited to, a written, verbal or electronic communication or physical act or gesture based on any actual or perceived differentiating characteristics, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and  expression, socioeconomic status, academic status, physical appearance, or mental, physical, developmental or sensory disability, or by association with an individual or group who has or is perceived to have one or more of such characteristics.

But I wonder what would happen is someone pressed the issue, would our town officials cave-in to the pressure like the Maine town did? Would they stand up against the bullies? Or would a lawsuit have to be filed to make them obey the law.

Back when I was growing up I never even heard about trans people. Oh, there was Christine Jorgensen, Rene Richards, and other but I wasn’t like them, the media portrayed them negatively. There were no positive role models; the movies portrayed us as psychopaths and deranged kills or the butt of a joke on a television show. If you looked up transsexual in the school library it said it was a perversion and I knew that wasn’t me. So I thought I was the only one who felt this way, I was isolated and closeted.

But now children growing up know trans people because of the positive role models in the media and they see that they are productive members of society. The children today are able to learn that there’re other trans people feel the same as they do. They might even know other trans children, and also more importantly their parents understand what they mean when they tell them how they feel.

When I was in school there was absolutely no legal protect and it was the time of the Lavender Scare which was going on in Washington DC. Only a very few people understood the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity so as a result we were lumped together with the gays and lesbians and also back then trans men didn’t even exist they were just masculine looking lesbian. If you came out to your parents there was a possibility that you would be committed to a mental hospital.

Many in my generation says the trans children today have it easier than we did, but they are wrong, it is not easier to transition now because they now are faced with bullying and harassment while before we hid in the closet. Now the school climate is completely different, the administration is supportive of us; the school system has a school climate policy that includes us. But there is always the bullying from a few that they have to contend to.

Martin Luther King Jr. said about discrimination and harassment,

Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.

our laws are only as good as those enforcing them. Maine has laws protecting trans people but the school system ignored the law. However, today’s political climate has given the “green light” to bullies, they feel that they are empowered to discriminate against students who are different.

What can we do to prevent schools from ignoring the laws?

I like to quote Robin McHaelen the director of True Colors, “If you hear mean, intervene.” Most of you who are here today are allies and being an ally doesn’t just mean supporting LGBT students but also taking a pro-active role by speaking up. When we in the trans community speak up we have an axe to grind but when an ally speaks up they are speaking from the heart.

If you are in a check-out line at the grocery store and you hear mean speak out against it, let them know that you don’t agree with them.

To be an activist! Make being an ally an active verb, not passive verb. An activist speaks up. There is no time off for being an ally; it is a full time job.

Being an activist doesn’t mean that you have to be out on the picket line, it can be as easy as invited a trans girl to your daughter’s sleepover, it can be as simple as picking the trans boy for your sports team. Being an activist means being there for them when they need someone to just listen.

Being an activist means picking up the phone and telling your legislator that you support them when the take a pro-LGBT stance or telling them that you do not approve when they are anti-LGBT position.

In closing I just want to say that Connecticut has been leading the way in the nation for LGBT human rights. In 1991 Connecticut was one of the earliest states to pass a non-discrimination law which included sexual orientation, in 2004 gender identity was added the hate crime law, in 2011 after many years of trying Connecticut passed a gender identity/expression non-discrimination law.

Then in 2015 Connecticut lead the way to being able to change you gender marker on your birth certificate without surgery, was the eighth state to do so.

This year the legislature passed a law banning the barbaric practice of Conversion Therapy for those under 18, and it also increased the penalties for a hate crimes making the Connecticut law one of the strongest hate crimes laws in the nation.

But there were attempts to roll back our rights when a legislator in 2015 introduced a bill to strip our insurance protections.

We cannot rest on our laurels, we must be vigilant to make sure that there are no other attempts to repeal our human rights.

Saturday 9: C Is for Cookie

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: C Is for Cookie
Don't blame Sam. Harriet requested Cookie Monster.



On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This week's featured artist, Cookie Monster says his favorite TV show is Monsterpiece Theater. What show do you try never to miss?
Okay, okay, I admit it I’m hooked on NCIS and also Mystery Theater on PBS.

2) Though he goes by Cookie Monster professionally, he is still called Sid by his family. When will you next get together with your relatives?
I don’t know. I’m going up to the cottage to work on it next weekend and my brother, sister-in-law, and one of my nephews family will be there. However, I’m not staying the whole weekend just to finish one task and to take home some furniture.

3) Now for the cookie questions! Where do you weigh in on this age-old controversy: Is a brownie a cookie or a cake?
Oh well it all depends upon how you make them. Are they gooey fudge brownies or dryer brownies? The gooey ones I would say cookie but the other is more like a cake.

4) Fig Newtons contain no cholesterol. Do you read nutrition labels before eating snacks? Or does knowing the truth about your favorite sweets ruin your enjoyment?
Oh yes! I read the nutrition label so that I can track the carbs; I even weigh how much that I eat

5) Biscotti are designed for dipping into drinks. Do you like to dunk your cookies?
I don’t eat cookies. But once in a while I have been known to sneak a cookie but I don’t dunk them.

6) Do you prefer cookies made with milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips? Or are you a rebel who prefers butterscotch chips?
When I do sneak a cookies I go for the semi-sweet chocolate cookies.

7) Bill Murray once said, "Raisin cookies that look like chocolate chip cookies are the main reason I have trust issues." Do you like raisin cookies?
Yes, I like oatmeal raisin cookies. Actually they are a little, just little bit better for you than chocolate chip cookies because the oatmeal takes longer to convert into sugar, so spike is not as sharp spike of blood glucose compared to chocolate chip cookies.

8) Nabisco still sells animal-shaped cookies in a red box that looks like a train car labeled, "Barnum's Animals." However Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus gave their last-ever performance on May 21, 2017. Have you ever been to the circus?
Yes, but I was knee high to a grasshopper.

Okay here is a little known fact about my family… to get to my grandmother family graves you take a left at P.T. Barnum grave and go down past Tom Thumb’s grave and the family headstone are off to the right (go ahead and google it).

9) Have you ever received a memorable fortune in a fortune cookie?
Naw, I never read them, just eat them.

Showing The Flag

When you see the Rainbow flag what do you think?

In Philadelphia they want to add two more colors to the flag to represent People of Color, they added black and brown.

PGN Exclusive: City's new rainbow flag to include black and brown stripes
Philadelphia Gay News
By Jeremy Rodriguez
June 7, 2017

Amber Hikes, the city's director of LGBT Affairs, said she teared up the first time she saw the new rainbow flag, which will be presented at City Hall Thursday. The new flag will expand on creator Gilbert Baker’s original design by including black and brown stripes to symbolize the LGBT community’s racial diversity.

“Seeing an image like this flag instills so much pride in me as a queer black woman,” Hikes said. “When I see the flag, I feel like I see myself.”

Tierney, a Philadelphia-based advertising agency, approached Hikes and the Office of LGBT Affairs with the new design.

Hikes said the extra stripes are “simple, but remarkable.”

“The new design is a symbolic representation of Philadelphia’s commitment to centering the experiences, contributions, activism and dedication of black and brown members of our community,” Hikes said. “To me, this flag says: ‘We see you. We honor you. We celebrate you. You’re not just a part of us. You are us.’”

Okay up front I am going to say the I am totally against the addition on of new colors. The colors of the Rainbow flag were chosen from the color spectrum of the rainbow, not because of race. Period.

The history of the rainbow flag goes back to 1978. Yes it was designed by probably an all-white group but I don't know that for sure and it was most likely just a lesbian and gay group with no trans or bi people in the group.

How did the rainbow flag become an LGBT symbol?
Ask History
By Thad Morgan
June 2, 2017

It’s not uncommon to see rainbow flags flying outside of homes and bars, pinned to shirts and on the back of bumpers—all with the universal and proud proclamation that #LoveIsLove. But who created the rainbow flag, and why did it become a symbol of the LGBT community?

The rainbow flag was created in 1978 by artist, designer, Vietnam War veteran and then-drag performer, Gilbert Baker. He was commissioned to create a flag by another gay icon, politician Harvey Milk, for San Francisco’s annual pride parade.

The decision to enlist Baker proved serendipitous, as the idea of a flag to represent the gay and lesbian community had occurred to him two years earlier. As Baker told the Museum of Modern Art during a 2015 interview, he had been inspired by the celebrations marking America’s bicentennial in 1976, noting that the constant display of stars and stripes made him realize the cultural need for a similar rallying sign for the gay community. And as a struggling drag performer who was accustomed to creating his own garments, he was well-equipped to sew the soon-to-be iconic symbol.
[…]
With the help of close to 30 volunteers working in the attic of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco, Baker was able to construct the first draft of the now world-renowned rainbow flag. It was first showcased at San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.

And the meaning of the colors were assigned…

Hot pink: Sex
Red: Life
Orange: Healing
Yellow: Sunlight
Green: Nature
Turquoise: Magic/Art
Indigo: Serenity
Violet: Spirit

The original flag had eight colors and the current flag has six colors.

As you can see there is nothing about race in the colors.

Some argue that there are other versions of Rainbow flags in use. Such as a rainbow flags with a Lambda or a pink triangle or the transgender symbol on them but I say, how often do you see any of the many versions of them? I would say probably 99.9% of the rainbow flags that I see are the standard six color flags and when people think of the rainbow flag they think of the six color version.

If you want to call the flag a LGBT Unity flag or some other name I have no problem with that.

So what do you think?

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Update: June 11, 2017 @ 12:45PM

You don't make inclusion by adding colors to a flag,  you make people feel inclusive by your actions.

My question to the Philadelphia Pride committee, did you have people of color, Latinos, and people from other marginalized community on our committee this year?

Update: June 10, 2017 @ 7:20AM

I also don’t like that the Tea Party stole the Marine’s Gadsden Flag and corrupted its great history.

The origins of the Gadsden flag, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps
By 1775, the snake symbol wasn't just being printed in newspapers. It was appearing all over the colonies: on uniform buttons, on paper money, and of course, on banners and flags.

The snake symbol morphed quite a bit during its rapid, widespread adoption. It wasn't cut up into pieces anymore. And it was usually shown as an American timber rattlesnake, not a generic serpent.

We don't know for certain where, when, or by whom the familiar coiled rattlesnake was first used with the warning "Don't Tread on Me."

We do know when it first entered the history books.

The Tea Party calls themselves patriots but in reality they are thieves who stole a piece of our history.

Thumbing Their Noses

As many of you know the Texas governor is calling the legislature back into session to vote on a bill making it illegal for us to go the bathroom, use the locker room, or play sports.

Well one company kind of thumbed their nose at the governor.

Southwest Airlines subtly pushes back against Texas politicians’ transphobia
LGBT Nation
By Dawn Ennis
June 8, 2017

Texas-based Southwest Airlines released a new video to show support for a trans employee during Pride, one day after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a special legislative session to potentially discriminate against transgender students.
[...]
Ethan Avanzino is a gay trans man who works as a creative producer at the company’s training facility, making videos that update staff on FAA regulations and airline policies.

“Southwest Airlines University is a place where employees come to learn and grow,” the airline said in its post. “One Southwest employee shares his passion for his work, and the love and respect shared between him and his Southwest Family. #LoveAboveAll.”

But Southwest is not alone in this effort.

APPLE, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE AND OTHER TECH FIRMS OPPOSE 'BATHROOM BILL' TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION IN TEXAS
Newsweek
By Antony Cuthbertson
May 30, 2017

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai have joined nine other tech leaders in protesting “discriminatory legislation” against transgender students set to be passed by Texas lawmakers.

The so-called Bathroom Bill would mean transgender students would have to use restrooms that correspond with the gender stated on their birth certificate, not the gender with which they identify. In a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the CEOs said the law would be damaging for business.

“Such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business,” the letter, dated May 27, states. “As large employers in the state, we are gravely concerned that any such legislation would deeply tarnish Texas’ reputation as open and friendly to businesses and families.

“Our ability to attract, recruit and retain top talent, encourage new business relocations, expansions and investment, and maintain our economic competitiveness would all be negatively affected.”
[…]
Earlier this year, nearly 70 businesses sent a letter to Republican leaders opposing the bill, claiming it would “legalize discrimination.”

So let’s see if the legislature caves into the governor or they realize that it is a bad thing that the governor wants done.

Morph

Transitive verb
:  to change the form or character of :  transform
Intransitive verb
:  to undergo transformation; especially :  to undergo transformation from an image of one object into that of another especially by means of computer-generated animation
Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Language is continuously changing, what one word means not can be totally diffident from ten years ago or even a year ago. This is also true for words in sub-cultures, in my cultural competency workshops I have a slide that I use before I give definitions…

• Every culture has their own language

• Definitions evolve

• Words can have different means to different people

• Some people are very passionate about labels

Some of the more common definitions (At least for today) are…

Which brings me to today’s article,

I Was Recently Informed I'm Not a Transsexual
Our vernacular is evolving — especially when it comes to discussing LGBTQ lives — but not fast enough for some impatient folks.
Advocate
By Riki Wilchins
June 7, 2017

I was giving my Gender 101 presentation to an important corporate client in the Bay Area recently when I got to terms and definitions. It was then I learned I am no longer a transsexual. I tried to define the difference between “transgender” and “transsexual” but was stopped by three young people — two of whom identified themselves as nonbinary — who took strong exception to the word “transsexual.”

“We don’t use that anymore,” they said. This was backed up a young cisgender man, a UCLA queer studies major, who declared that the term was objectionable because it “medicalizes” trans people and inappropriately ties recognition of someone’s genital status — which is private — to their gender identity. So it was not only archaic but offensive.

This happened to me by a co-presenter.

I used this definition,

Gender Identity: Is the gender that a person identifies (maybe the gender that was assigned at birth or the self-identified gender)

And he wanted…

Gender / Gender Identity: A socially constructed system of classification that ascribes qualities of masculinity and femininity to people. (What you feel in your heart and mind)

I said okay we will use your definition because I wasn’t going to argue over it because both answers are correct. I think mine is easier to teach to a group than a sociological definition.

Riki continues,

It dawned on me that these three individuals probably read me as another privileged straight white cisgender male who was offensively referring to someone’s genital status. My co-facilitator took me aside and told me that our training was toast. There was enough bad blood and moral indignation hovering over the meeting to make it impossible for us to continue. But I wasn’t so sure. I always assume my transgenderness is apparent, though in this room I was obviously wrong. I needed to come out.

So I explained that — ahem — I started my own transition in 1976 and that “transsexual” was indeed the term of art. We used it. Those around us used it. The book many of us read was titled The Transsexual Phenomenon. I cofounded a nationwide protest group called Transexual Menace. (No mistake, one s [sic] by intention.) And oh, yes, I had my own surgery before any of you were born.
[…]
So in addition to no longer being a transsexual, I also realized I am no longer a “tranny.” Yet, in spite of being regularly corrected when I use the term, I have a stubborn affection for it; same as “queer,” another word I like — one that LGBTQ people have fought hard for and successfully reclaimed from the pejorative it was.

In any case, for me, the word “tranny” remains important, a word I’ve long paid dues to own. And I use it very intentionally. I accept that, to many people, it is archaic, diminishing, and offensive. I’m sorry, but I think it important to remind people, that despite being diminished and despised, we have come through. Let us realize political correctness in all our disparate selves, in all our disparate ways.

Which brings me to my presentation again, on my slide on Microagressions on words not to use…

Tranny (maybe used within the community)

There are many cultures where it is okay to use a word inside the community and not members outside the community and it is important for those not in the community to understand the difference.

As Riki said it is one thing to criticize when a person outside the community using the word but it is entirely different to criticize someone inside the community because you are denying them their identity.

You might also want to read my post last month “Talk A Walk On The Wide Side!” about a group up in Canada who thinks that the song is transphobic.

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For those who were wondering about my medical leave I had the flu with complications which is now taking it natural course.

Don’t Paint With A Broad Brush

We all have a tendency to paint groups with a broad brush, in this case… all religions hate us! Which is not true and more of them are becoming inclusive.

The United Methodist Church has appointed a transgender deacon 
Washington Post
By Julie Zauzmer
June 7, 2017

The bishop spoke the traditional words as she laid her hands on the new deacon named M with just a slight difference from the way those words have always been spoken before.

“Pour out your holy spirit upon M,” she said. “Send them now to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to announce the reign of God and to equip the church for ministry.”

Not “send him now” or “send her now.” “Send them now.”

That’s what M Barclay has been working for 12 years to finally hear.

Barclay, a transgender person who identifies as neither male nor female and thus uses the pronoun “they,” was commissioned on Sunday as the first non-binary member of the clergy in the United Methodist Church.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you know this is a common theme, we had over two hundred parishes that supported our gender inclusive non-discrimination bill here in Connecticut which far outweighed those parishes that were against us. We even had a bishop testify in favor of the bill.

If you hate religions that is one thing but if you hate them because they are anti-trans then please don’t because many and many more are joining affirming churches every day.

Out On Medical Leave

I have a minor medical problem, nothing serious, but I will not be posting for the next couple of days. 

Next Weekend Rallies

There are rallies not only being held down in Washington DC but also all around the country. Some of them have gotten a head start on them.

Rally For Transgender Civil Rights Urges Legislators To Pass GENDA Law
Long Island Weekly
By Kimberly Dijkstra
June 4, 2017

An estimated 100-150 Long Island residents marched down Franklin Avenue today, from Garden City to the steps of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola, in support of transgender civil rights. At the 4th Annual March and Rally for Transgender Civil Rights, members and allies of the LGBT community were joined by elected officials to urge legislators to pass the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which would add gender identity and expression as a protected class to New York’s existing human rights and hate crimes laws.

Marchers held high signs with messages “Trans Lives Matter,” “Pass GENDA Now,” “Nassau, It’s Time” and “Accept Diversity” as they made their way to the rallying point. Passing cars honked their horns to show their support along the route.

District 5 Legislator, and candidate for County Executive, Laura Curran spoke at the meeting place for the march. “Our job in local government is to keep people safe and make sure everybody is protected—no matter where they live, no matter who they love,” she said.

Here in Connecticut on Sunday in the Hartford Equality rally for LGBTQ rights from 2 until 3:30 at the state capitol and down in New London is the New London Equality March for Unity and Pride from 10 AM until 3 PM

Plus on Saturday there is a small rally that I’m speaking at

Even With All The Laws

Sometimes they need a head whack like they do on NCIS or in this case a lawsuit. I don’t know if it is arrogance, or feeling that the law doesn’t apply to them, or bias, whatever it is the only way to get them to change is by suing.

Metro-North cruelly outed transgender worker: lawsuit
NY Post
By Kathianne Boniello
June 3, 2017

Metro-North cruelly outed a pre-op transgender worker and then ignored his colleagues’ hateful attacks until they culminated in assault, according to a lawsuit.

Shine Williams, 43, was born “Sheri” but has spent more than 20 years living and working as a man, and has undergone testosterone treatments, he says in court papers.

Just a month after he was hired as a Metro-North coach cleaner in 2010, human resources executives claimed someone complained about a woman in the men’s locker room at Williams’ North White Plains workplace.

That prompted a review of Williams’ records, which included a driver’s license listing him as female.

The HR reps forced Williams to redo his Metro-North paperwork to change male pronouns to female ones. They also required him to use his birth name and switch locker rooms.

From there it got worst…

Years of discrimination followed, Williams said. He claims it came to a head in October, when a female coworker squeezed his crotch and asked: “How does it work? How big is it?”

Now he is suing Metro North and I think he has a pretty good case against them.

Here in Connecticut I learned of a case that is going to court where, from what I heard, the employer was fired when she came out at work.

---

Yesterday I asked some questions about the documentary “The Lavender Scare” I asked “if there are any people of color or Latinos in the movie or if trans people got mentioned” and the answer is that they did. The had a few black gays and lesbians and they also had a trans person.

The movie was excellent and for me scary in that I see it repeating now with Trump. In the movie they talked about the Senator McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee and how the committee when they couldn’t find any communist if the government he turned his attention to… Homosexuals!

Thousands were fired from government jobs and also those working on government contracts. President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450--Security requirements for Government Employment than banned lesbians and gays from government and federal contracts. When I heard that my mind raced to Trump and his threat of an Executive Order allowing federal employees and contractors to discriminate against us with the so called “religious freedom” exemption.

Is history repeating itself?

I think the best line on the movie was when a postal employee was being questioned by postal inspectors about his “homosexual activities” and they showed him a picture of him in drag and they asked him if it was him, his reply shocked the inspectors who thought he would deny it. But his answer was a gasps and he said that was a horrible photo of him in drag and if they want he could get them a better picture of him.

Another A Big Win In Court!

There has been a case making its way through the court system that has a big impact on the trans community and as you can guess it is about “locker rooms!”

Planet Fitness has a “no-judgment policy” where they allow trans people to use the locker room of their gender identity which was challenged by Yvette Cormier, the case began in 2015 when she saw a trans woman in the women’s locker room and complained to management, she eventually had her membership revoked so she sued. When she lost in court she appealed.

Health club wins key ruling in lawsuit over transgender
WWMT
By Associated Press
June 3rd 2017

MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan appeals court has ruled in favor of a Midland health club in a lawsuit filed by a woman who said her rights were violated when she encountered a transgender person in the locker room.

The court found no evidence of sexual harassment, noting that Yvette Cormier and a transgender woman were both wearing clothes at Planet Fitness.
[…]
In a 3-0 decision Thursday, the court said there was nothing illegal about the club yanking Cormier's membership.

So this is a validation of Planet Fitness policy.

Last year I did cultural competency training for a local Planet Fitness gym.

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This afternoon I am at the OutFilmCT festival to see,

The Lavender Scare
Whether or not you’re old enough to remember the time when the entire nation liked Ike, you will find this fascinating documentary about one aspect of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency chilling.  With the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, the president deemed homosexuals to be “security risks” and ordered the immediate firing of any government employee discovered to be gay or lesbian. His order triggered a vicious witch hunt that ruined tens of thousands of lives and thrust an unlikely hero into the forefront of what would become the modern LGBT rights movement.

I want to see if they white washed the movie, to see if there are any people of color or Latinos in the movie or if trans people got mentioned. After all a lot of the percussion was directed at us, there were laws back then that you have to be wearing at least three pieces of male clothes  

Are You Between The Ages Of 13 To 17?

If you are we want you for a study. UConn and the HRC are doing a study for LGBT students,

Researchers Launch National Study on the Lives of LGBTQ Teens
UConn Today
By Kenneth Best
May 17, 2017

UConn researchers and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) have launched a new, comprehensive national survey to examine the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) teenagers.

The online survey is open to LGBTQ teens between the ages of 13 and 17 living in the United States and seeks to provide detailed information on the lives of LGBTQ teens. HRC, which is the largest national LGBTQ civil rights organization, is using social media and affiliated networks to raise awareness about it.

“Our study takes a holistic approach to better understand the lived experiences of LGBTQ young people,” says Ryan Watson, assistant professor of human development and family studies and principal investigator for the study. “We are asking questions about sexual and gender identity, experiences at school and home, health behaviors, and the types of supports these teens receive from important people in their lives.”

The survey will continue online through the end of the summer, with a report based on the findings expected by early 2018.

I take it that this is a national survey and that HRC is working with other colleges around the country.

The goals of the study are,

“This study will allow us to look at how intersecting experiences related to disability, racial, and ethnic identities affect health behaviors, substance use, safety, and bullying for LGBTQ teens.” Learning more about these experiences can help researchers and policymakers to better understand how the current political climate of legislative battles over issues such as access to bathroom facilities in schools and other public buildings might impact particular youth in unique ways, says Watson.
[…]
Among the questions the survey hopes to answer are:

• How might support from peers, family and others shape LGBTQ young people’s lives and create opportunities for resiliency?
• What kinds of health concerns, such as smoking or stress, are common among LGBTQ teens?
• How many transgender teens feel their identities are respected at school, and are able access gender-appropriate facilities?
• How do intersecting identities, such as race or disability, affect the challenges and opportunities that LGBTQ youth encounter?

So if you are a high school or a college student go and take the survey.

Saturday 9: Lazy Bones

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Lazy Bones (1975)


On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is about a guy who'd rather nap than do his chores. Are there things you should be doing right now, instead of hanging around the blogosphere, answering these questions?
Yes, I have to start cleaning out my car because I am thinking of trading it in for a new model.

2) This song mentions a lazy afternoon of fishing. When did you last go fishing?
Oh probably 25 – 30 years ago, I used to be an avid fisherwoman but one time when I was taking the fish off the hook to throw him back in the lake. The fish said to me, “Why are you doing this to me? Causing all this pain just for “sport?” and right there and then I vowed to him to never fish again.

3) The lyrics catch our hero sleeping in both the sun and the shade. Do you have a nice, shady place to nap on your front lawn? Or would we catch you lying in the sun?
Well right now you will not catch me out doors, it is cloudy and only in the lower sixties. I’m not a big fan of the sun, you will find me in the shade or under an umbrella on the beach.

4) This week's featured artist, Leon Redbone, is a difficult man to nail down. Over the years he's claimed to be born in Ontario, and Philadelphia, and even Cyprus. Tell us about a time you got caught in a fib.
Hmm… that is a hard one to answer since I don’t fib that much.

5) Mr. Redbone has said that taking himself too seriously would be "the gentle kiss of death." What's something that you always take seriously and just can't joke about?
I don’t joke much, I am way too serious. I also don’t like jokes on somebody, I think those who do jokes on other people do it as a form of dominance.

6) He has retired from public life, and that includes his Facebook page, which is no longer available. What did you last post to your Facebook page?
WHY INTROVERTS ABSOLUTELY LOATHE TALKING ON THE PHONE

7) Leon always wore dark glasses when he performed. Do your sunglasses have gray, green, brown or rose colored lenses?
I wear neutral grey lens, wearing color lens throws off my color perception.

8) Recently Dick Van Dyke performed this song at a charity benefit, aided by his a capella quartet, The Vantastix. Last year, at age 90, he campaigned for Bernie Sanders. So Mr. Van Dyke is certainly not a "lazy bones." Who's the most active, energetic person in your life?
My brother.

9) Random question: You're at dinner with friends and someone begins a very long joke with, "Stop me if you've heard this before." You have heard it, many times before. Do you stop him? Or do you just sit through it again?
I would keep my mouth shut if there is a group of us.

Diversity

When I was in grad school we were discussing diversity and I brought up Lynn Conway and her career, how IBM let her go and it was their loss. Back then IBM was a white male bastion and you could always tell someone from IBM with their flat top haircuts, blue jackets, white shirts and a blue tie.

It was just Ms. Conway that was snubbed but also two long hair hippie type men with this new idea… a desk top computer and IBM thought that desk top computers were just toys and that real computers took up a whole room.

Transgender inclusion is good for business
American City Business Journals.
By Gabrielle Claiborne
June 2, 2017

Forward-thinking Atlanta companies recognize that transgender inclusion is good for business. They know North Carolina lost nearly $400 million in revenue as a result of exclusionary legislation. Consequently, Georgia businesses are taking action to let transgender workers and customers know they are valued.

“We are renovating our customer restrooms and the employee locker rooms. How can we make them more trans-friendly?” The manager of the Atlanta Ikea store recently reached out to my transgender diversity consulting firm with this question.
[...]
Training initiatives at progressive companies are being driven by an awareness that Georgia is one of four states with the highest population of trans people. According to a 2016 Williams Institute report, 0.08 percent of Georgia’s citizens, approximately 7,750 residents, are transgender.

Trans-inclusive local, national and international companies not only seek to provide customer service training; they also recognize transgender people in their marketing. Hallmark now has a greeting card celebrating a person’s gender transition. During the 2016 Summer Olympics, Nike aired a commercial featuring the first transgender athlete to make the U.S. men’s team. This year, Vicks released an advertisement highlighting the motherly love of a transgender woman in India.

When you have a homogeneous company everyone tends to think the same way, but in a diverse company people from different cultures think differently which allows it to think outside of the box.

But one thing that companies need to be aware of, diversity is much more that commercials with trans people in them or making gender neutral bathrooms. It also means hiring and promoting us.

Well That Didn’t Last Long

But did anyone think otherwise with this administration?

With the way Trump has been attacking anything LGBT did anyone think he would allow trans servicemembers to continue serving in the military?

The military is building a case to block transgender applicants — at least for now
Military Times
By: Andrew deGrandpre and David Larter
June 1, 2017

WASHINGTON — A controversial Pentagon directive that would allow transgender men and women to join the military beginning this summer now faces indefinite delay as senior leaders within each of the services voice lingering concerns about the Obama-era policy intended to end discrimination but dismissed by critics as social experimentation.

This development, confirmed to Military Times by multiple sources with knowledge of these internal discussions, comes as the Defense Department faces a July 1 deadline to fully implement a policy that one year ago lifted the ban on transgender personnel already in uniform, and established the conditions and timeline by which new applicants could join either through enlistment or as officer candidates.

President Donald Trump does not share his predecessor's view on transgender rights, while plenty in the ranks and inside the Pentagon have questioned the practicality of expending such effort to accommodate a comparatively small demographic. Those advocating for inclusiveness have suspected for many months that the administration could bring about the initiative's demise simply by declining to act upon it.

The article also goes on to say,

It's the latest in a series of related developments since Mattis took over at the Pentagon in January. Most recently, officials informed two transgender cadets set to graduate from the Army and Air Force military academies that they would not receive commissions and be allowed to serve on active duty.

Over the winter, the Pentagon quietly rolled backed protections concerning bathroom and locker room access for transgender students attending Defense Department schools. A directive issued last year after an incident in Germany, granted full access to transgender students’ preferred facilities with no questions asked. Now school principals — in consultation with students, their parents and teachers — address such matters case by case, as they had done previously.

I do not think it will stop with us, I think the lesbians and gays who came out under the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” have to be wary. I think that in the future you will see an even worst DADT law passed and a pogrom against all those LGBT servicemembers who came out under the Obama administration.

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Yesterday I was at a funeral for a friend and a strong ally of the trans community. It was a very emotional day.