Your Papers Please

I like flying but I don’t like flying when you're packed liked sardines and I don’t like having to go through the TSA screening.

Flying While Trans
The T.S.A. subjects transgender passengers like me to humiliating and dehumanizing treatment.
The New York Times
By Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
April 17, 2019

Flying while transgender — a term that increasingly includes not just those who are male or female but also those who identify as both or neither, like me — is undeniably improving. Last month, United Airlines expanded its gender options: Passengers can select male, female, undisclosed or unspecified, and can choose the honorific “Mx.” “Fly how you identify,” the airline touted in its feel-good tweet — and American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines quickly promised they’d make similar changes.

But it’s not actually possible to “fly as you identify” as long as the Transportation Security Administration screening process relies on the idea of binary gender. As the T.S.A.’s own guidelines state, “When you enter the imaging portal, the T.S.A. agent presses a button designating a gender (male/female) based on how you present yourself” — that is, how the agent perceives you as presenting yourself. This selection triggers expectations that guide the screening process. If, for example, an agent presses the pink “female” button for someone wearing boxers, an alarm will be triggered on the scanner, because loose fabric around the crotch of a female body is considered unexpectedly gender nonconforming. A compression shirt on the chest of someone for whom an agent presses the blue “male” button can do the same.
[…]
My cisgender friends did not know that T.S.A. agents judged their bodies and presentation every time they flew. They’ve never had to know. But among my gender-nonconforming and transgender friends, experiences like mine are common. In 2015, a survey of transgender passengers revealed that 43 percent had negative experiences with T.S.A. screening in the previous year.

As more states recognize a third gender will the TSA and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers will they recognize the state IDs?

Look what happened down in California to a trans girl.

9-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Detained for 32 Hours After Crossing the Border to Go to School
Time
By Suyin Haynes
 March 22, 2019

A 9-year-old U.S. citizen was accused of lying about her identity and was detained for more than 30 hours by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers when she tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this week, her family said.

Julia Isabel Amparo Medina was stopped on the routine journey from her home in Tijuana, Mexico to her school just over the border in San Ysidro, California, her mother Thelma Galaxia told local news outlet NBC 7 San Diego. Medina was being driven by a family friend, Michelle Cardenas, along with her 14-year-old brother and two other children.

Medina and her brother are both U.S. citizens with American passports.

But that wasn’t good enough for the CBP officers, they could figure out that she was trans for over a day.

After questioning, Medina was detained overnight and was only released and reunited with her mother roughly 32 hours later after CBP had verified her identification.

Why did they detain her?

A CBP spokesperson told TIME that Medina had provided “inconsistent information” during her inspection,” and that she was taken into custody “to perform due diligence in confirming her identity and citizenship.” The spokesperson added that, “It’s important that CBP officials positively confirm the identity of a child traveling without a parent or legal guardian. Some specifics of our techniques for determining the true identity of a person crossing the border are law enforcement sensitive information.”

Why did it take over a day for them to figure out she is trans?

This seems to me like blatant harassment and discrimination.

And you wonder why many trans people don’t like to travel.

There Is A Test Case Coming

How many times have you heard “religious Freedom” being used against us? Well now there is a test case to see how board the law is… does it cover more than LGBTQ+ people.

Does freedom of religion protect Americans who have a religious duty to shelter migrants?
Quartz
By Ephrat Livni
October 19, 2018

Scott Warren is active in a Unitarian Universalist faith-based Arizona humanitarian aid group called No More Deaths. His beliefs compel him to help people in need, he argues—and that includes helping migrants who cross the US-Mexico border into Arizona, and make their way to “The Barn,” a private building in the desert that serves as a base camp for the aid group, where Warren was arrested in January for illegally “harboring illegal aliens.”

Warren is charged with two counts of felony harboring and one count of felony conspiracy after he helped two men who sought refuge in the Barn. The federal complaint against him states, “After finding their way to ‘the Barn,’ Warren met [the men] outside and gave them food and water for approximately three days. [One of the migrants] said that Warren took care of them in ‘the Barn’ by giving them food, water, beds and clean clothes.”

They have been left alone until… three guesses until when?

But with the escalating crackdown on illegal immigration prompted by the Trump administration, however, agents are destroying life-saving supplies left by the group in the deadly desert. The Barn is being raided, and activists are increasingly targeted and arrested. “The targeting of our work is part of a larger governmental push to punish and abuse migrants and those who stand in solidarity with them,” No More Deaths writes on its website.

Now under the current administration “religious freedom” has been their rallying cry.

In another article that covers this topic…

Unitarians in the desert: A few basic facts go a long way in explaining religious freedom lawsuit
Get Religion
By Bobby Ross Jr.
December 6, 2019

[…]
But the Journal doesn’t require readers to do their own background research. Keep reading, and the paper outlines the legal arguments:

A central question in the case is whether the defendants are protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a bipartisan law signed by President Clinton in 1993.

The law expanded religious protections beyond the First Amendment and its guarantee of the right to practice one's faith free of government interference. Under the statute, the federal government may not hinder a person from exercising sincerely held religious beliefs without a compelling and unavoidable reason.

Department of Justice lawyers say enforcement of the permit rules serves important government interests: protecting the wilderness character of Cabeza Prieta–the third largest national wildlife refuge in the continental U.S.–and deterring illegal immigration. Accommodating the relief workers would lead to a flood of religious-exemption requests that would create regulatory chaos and threaten wildlife, the government has argued.

Prosecutors have also questioned whether the defendants' relief missions are truly religious in nature, suggesting the defendants were motivated by political or "purely secular" philosophical concerns.

So we are about see if “religious freedom” is purely universal or just aimed at LGBTQ+ people.

Shades Of Maine

About ten years ago on the prompting by the boy’s custodial grandparent a boy went into the girls bathroom in protest of a trans girl’s using the girl’s bathroom.

A High School Expelled A Girl For Kicking A Boy Who Entered The Girls' Bathroom To "Protest" Against A Trans Student
The boy entered the girls' bathroom at the North Pole High School in Alaska as a form of "protest" after a transgender student took a selfie in the boys' bathroom.
BuzzFeed
By Tasneem Nashrulla
April 15, 2019

A high school in North Pole, Alaska, expelled a girl who kicked a boy in the groin after he entered the girl's bathroom. The boy was there as a form of "protest" against a third student — who is transitioning from female to male — who posted a selfie from the boy's bathroom.

The incident at North Pole High School began earlier this month when the transgender student posted the selfie from the boys' bathroom on Snapchat, according to Dr. Karen Gaborik, the superintendent of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.

A group of boys at the school became "upset about the public nature of the post and restroom use," Gaborik said in a statement.

So they decided to enter a girls' restroom at the school to take their own Snapchat selfie "as a form of protest" against the transgender student's post, the statement said.

"Tomorrow identify as a women and use the women's bathroom if you want this shit to end," a snap about the protest — that was reposted on Facebook — said. "If we identify as Women and use the girls bathroom we are set so let's do it, don't do it to be a asshole we are doing it to boycot this bullshit."

The girls in the bathroom ended the protest quickly…

As the first boy in the group made it past the door of the bathroom, a girl who was leaving the restroom kicked him in the groin, Gaborik said. All the boys turned around and left the area.

I personally think it is in bad taste to take any photos including selfies, in the bathroom and here in Connecticut it is against the laws to photograph someone without their permission in an area where they have an expectation of privacy.

Oh… and the Maine case went all the way to the Supreme Court which found in favor of the trans girl

(You can read about here case here and here).

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When you are licensed to serve the public it means all the public not just a select few.

Catholic Bishops Stopped My Surgery Because I’m Transgender
ACLU Northern California
March 21, 2019

[…]
My surgery was scheduled for Aug. 30, 2017, at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka. It’s the only hospital in the area, and I was so excited that my community offered transgender care. I could get the operation close to home and then recover with my loved ones.

I had a pre-op appointment on Aug. 24 that went smoothly, and I followed all the instructions to prepare for my surgery.

On Aug. 30, I arrived at the hospital and they checked me in and did the surgery prep, which was extremely uncomfortable and triggering. I was given a pink gown. I asked the nurse if I could have a blue gown, but she told me I was having a “female surgery” and should wear the pink. I felt like a child all over again, sitting uncomfortably in a pink dress. But I forced myself to do it, I had been waiting so long for this.

They hooked me up to an IV to get ready to put me to sleep. About an hour after waiting, my surgeon finally came to get me. But when I saw the look on his face, I got a terrible feeling. He told me my surgery was canceled. It was denied by the Catholic Church for ethical reasons. I didn’t understand how this could be happening. The Catholic bishops didn’t approve of my surgery. It seemed unreal.

They threw him out of the hospital while he was still wearing the hospital booties…

Today, with the help of the ACLU, I filed a lawsuit. It’s unfair for St. Joseph to deny me care because I’m a transgender man. I should be able to go to the hospital where I live. Life in Humboldt County has been tough enough. Everyone thinks it’s a liberal place, but it’s not for trans people. I am regularly harassed and called names.

This is just the beginning!

Trump has said he was going to sign an Executive Order allowing medical staff facilities that get federal funding to deny treatment based on “religious freedom” to discriminate. And down in Texas there is a bill making its way through the Texas legislature to do the same thing, allow health care providers to refuse treatment on medical religious grounds.

Jail Time

I don’t know about you but as a trans woman I fear jail time and with a Tennessean.

Watered down ‘indecent exposure’ bill passes in Tennessee. It still endangers trans people.
LGBTQ Nation
By Nico Lang
April 10, 2019

A controversial “indecent exposure” bill passed the Tennessee House this week after lawmakers removed elements targeting transgender people. However, LGBTQ advocates in the state say the trans community isn’t out of the woods just yet.

On Monday, the Tennessee House voted 69-25 in favor of House Bill 1151, a measure opponents claim is a thinly veiled anti-trans bathroom bill. Sponsored by State House Rep. John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge), it would redefine the list of “public places” where indecent exposure can occur to include restrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities designed “for single-sex, multi-person use.”

The original version of the bill appeared to single out transgender people by claiming “gender dysphoria” and “gender confusion” couldn’t be used as a “defense to the offense of indecent exposure.”

Because HB 1151 uses the low bar of an “ordinary person standard” to define what constitutes a credible fear of harm, that language could have had a devastating impact on trans lives in Tennessee. Someone could have a transgender person arrested for indecent exposure simply because they feel uncomfortable sharing a bathroom with them or changing next to them.

And the bill has sharp teeth… up to six years in jail!

The bill also includes,

Other proposals would encourage the state to defend school districts that engage in anti-trans discrimination and allow adoption and foster care agencies to turn away same-sex couples on the basis of “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Let’s face it the Republicans hate our guts and will do everything in their power to criminalize us and force us back in the closet.

There are some who that Connecticut Republicans are different and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Here are some of the amendments and laws they tried to pass.

• In 2015 they tried to block insurance health coverage for us the bill was introduced by Rep. Rob Sampson (R 80th): HB 5193, An Act Concerning Health Insurance Coverage for Gender Reassignment Surgery.
• In 2011 when we were trying to pass the gender inclusive non-discrimination bill;
• An amendment requiring trans people to register with the Department of Motor Vehicle 
• Increased penalty of a crime that was committed while crossdressed.
• Exclusions for dorms rooms, showers, locker rooms, bathrooms
• Teachers: upon a majority vote of the board, reassign an elementary school teacher for the remainder of the school year if such teacher exhibits a change in gender identity or expression during a school year
• Birth gender bathrooms
• Requires a person to be diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria to be covered by the law

Fallout

There have been consequences from Trump’s attack on trans servicemembers, states have stood up against the ban, it affected student scholarships, medical care, and the list goes on and on.

California National Guard tells transgender troops: 'Your gender identity is the least of our concerns'
The Hill
By Aris Folley
April 12, 2019

Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, one of the California National Guard's highest ranking officers, said that the gender identity of his soldiers "is the least of our concerns," shortly after the Trump administration's policy barring most transgender people from serving in the military took effect on Friday.

Beevers, who serves as assistant adjutant general for the California National Guard, told The Hill that the state guard's leadership believes that the policy has enough opportunities for exceptions and waivers and that it still has "the opportunity to continue to bring transgender service members in as long as they meet the requirements for service."

"Anybody who is willing and able to serve state [and] nation should have the opportunity to serve. It's unconscionable in my mind that we would fundamentally discriminate against a certain class of people based on their gender identity," Beevers said. "That should be the absolute least of our worries."

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UT freshman loses military scholarship because he is transgender
The Daily Texan
By Emily Hernandez
April 16, 2019

Map Pesqueira said he came to UT to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker and serving in the army. He was awarded a national three-year Reserve Officers’ Training Corps scholarship to help fund his studies.

However, Pesqueira is a transgender man, and under President Donald Trump’s new policy banning transgender people from serving in the military, effective last Friday, Pesqueira is not allowed to serve in the military. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Defense voided his scholarship, Pesqueira said. He may not be able to continue his education at UT because he cannot afford it.
[…]
Lieutenant colonel Matthew O’Neill, UT’s army ROTC department chair and Pesqueira’s military science professor, tried to salvage Pesqueira’s scholarship by attempting to get Pesqueira “grandfathered” under the Pentagon’s 2016 policy, which lifted the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military, Pesqueira said. O’Neill declined to comment for the story, saying The Daily Texan must refer questions to the Defense Department, which did not respond to a request for comment.

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Transgender soldier says Trump administration ban hurts American readiness
MassLive
By Carolyn Robbins | Special to The Republican
April 3, 2019

SPRINGFIELD — A soldier is a soldier, no matter the gender, according to Staff Sgt. First Class Karen Kendra Holmes, who was born 62 years ago in Silver Springs, Maryland as Tony Holmes.
[…]
She argued that President Donald Trump’s ban on transgenders in the military is a policy will rob the nation of thousands of talented and committed people who want to serve their country.

Holmes, now a U.S. Government Safety Officer and member of the U.S. Veterans Reserve Corps, said Trump’s position that transgenders in the military adversely affects readiness is wrong.

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How The Trump Administration's Transgender Troop Ban Is Affecting One Military Family
NPR All Things Considered
By Lauren Hodges and Ailsa Chang
April 11, 2019

That's when the Trump administration's new policy on transgender military service takes effect. It effectively bans transgender people from joining the military. The more than 14,000 already serving will be allowed to do so openly, so long as they have that formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria filed by the deadline. If not, they must serve under the gender assigned them at birth - or leave the armed forces.
[…]
So why not take that potential elsewhere? Leave the military for a job where the policy doesn't affect B and their family?

"I have so much invested in the military," says B. "The reasons why I joined haven't changed...I joined right after September 11th. That had a profound impact on me and my ability to give back," adding that the military is where they found purpose.

There is no legitimate reason to ban trans troops and the ban is going to affect so many people beside trans people.

The ban also set far ranging prescient in the future leaders can ban marginalized communities for political reasons. For an example he could ban Muslims from serving by claiming they are a security risk.

This is bad for us and bad for the nation.

Got One!

There was a terrible assault on a trans women down in Dallas where multiple assailants kicked and beat her up.

‘Mob violence’: Police arrest one in potential hate crime after transgender woman beaten on video
The Washington Post
By Antonia Noori Farzan
April 15, 2019

A crowd gathers outside an apartment complex south of downtown Dallas, nervously watching and waiting. Before long, there are screams: A man in a long-sleeved white shirt and heavy-duty gloves appears to throw a slender, pink-haired woman to the ground, then pummels her over and over again as she writhes on the concrete. Dressed only in a crop top and skimpy shorts, she tries to shield her face as others join in and take turns kicking her.

To Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings (D), and many others who watched the footage that went viral on social media late last week, the brutal beating looked like “mob violence” against a transgender woman.

In the video you can see all her neighbors standing around with their arms crossed.

“The scary part to me is, if this was the apartment complex where she lives, where does she go home?” Leslie McMurray, the transgender education and advocacy coordinator for the Resource Center in Dallas, told the Dallas Morning News. “Where does she go home and feel safe?”

CNN reported that…

The suspects are reported to have used homophobic slurs during the assault, which was caught on video. Investigators have been reviewing the footage to determine whether the assault was a hate crime.

What is there to investigate? Right there in the video you can hear them calling her names.

According to the Washington Post article attacks against us are increasing in Texas…

The Anti-Violence Project, a group that tracks hate crimes against LGBTQ people, found that Texas witnessed seven anti-LGBTQ homicides — more than any other state — in 2017, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Last year, a 26-year-old transgender Dallas woman, Carla Patricia Flores-Pavon, was found choked to death in her apartment, though police said that the motive appeared to have been robbery and it was not a hate crime.

When the leaders at the top condone violence, the slime at the bottom get the message.

---

Update: 4:25 PM

Major breaking news on this case!

Man beat transgender woman after he was offered $200, Dallas police say
Dallas Morning News
By Claire Z. Cardona and Sara Coello
April 15, 2019

Updated at 1:30 p.m. April 15: Revised to include information from the arrest-warrant affidavit.

Police say a man who is accused of attacking a transgender woman Friday in east Oak Cliff was offered $200 to beat her.

Edward Dominic Thomas, 29, was arrested about 9:30 p.m. Sunday on a charge of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, two days after the attack that was recorded on video.
[…]
The victim had been driving between 5 and 6 p.m. Friday at the Royal Crest Apartments in the 3500 block of Wilhurt Avenue when she accidentally backed into another vehicle, she told police.

The other driver, who is named as a suspect in Thomas' arrest-warrant affidavit but who has not been arrested, said he ran the victim off the road to keep her from fleeing.

The victim, Muhlaysia Booker, told police the driver pointed a gun at her and refused to let her leave unless she paid for the damage. As a crowd gathered, someone offered Thomas $200 to beat Booker, the affidavit said.

One Strike Against Us

The latest lawsuit from the far-right against us will proceed.

Health club's appeal over transgender woman fails
Detroit Free Press
By Associated Press
April 14, 2019

MIDLAND, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court won't intervene in a lawsuit over a transgender woman in the women's locker room at a Midland health club.

Yvette Cormier says her membership at Planet Fitness was wrongly terminated in 2015 after she complained and warned other women at the club. Planet Fitness told her that it allows people to use the locker room that matches their identity.
[…]
Cormier says her rights under Michigan's consumer-protection law were violated when the club didn't disclose an unwritten policy about transgender members.

From what I understand is that it is no law banning discrimination against us it is only a ruling by the Michigan Civil Rights Commission so we could end up being screwed.

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One of the things that I have noticed between the Republicans and the Democrats is that the Republicans rule with an iron fist if you go against the party you will pay for it. But with the Democrats…

Meet the two Democrats who won’t support federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people
LGBTQ Nation
By Bil Browning
March 18, 2019

Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin are the lone Democrats who won’t sign on to the Equality Act. The proposed law would ban discrimination against LGBTQ people.

Both men are known for their conservative views and Republican-lite political decisions. They’ve both been a pain in the neck for Democratic leaders.

Lipinksi was the only Democrat to co-sponsor the “First Amendment Defense Act.” The measure would have allowed discrimination against LGBTQ people specifically. He also voted against previous bills that would have prevented discrimination and opposes marriage equality. He has the worst record on LGBTQ rights of all current members of the House and Senate.
[…]
Manchin isn’t exactly a stalwart supporter of equality either. He refused to sign on to previous bills meant to protect the LGBTQ community. While Democrats came out of the woodwork to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriages nationwide, the Senator put out a one sentence statement saying Americans had to follow the law.

The Republicans would have strip them of the committee memberships the Democrats did nothing, which I commend. I don’t like it when legislators are forced to kowtow the party line instead of using their own judgment, I don’t like that one of them voted for the “First Amendment Defense Act” but that should be left up to the voters to decide not the party.

Good News

More and more schools are recognizing us in our true gender, this time it is a men’s college.

Morehouse College to admit transgender men in 2020
The historically black men's college said students who identify as women will not be considered.
NBC News
By Dennis Romero
April 13, 2019

Morehouse College, the uniquely black, male alma mater of Martin Luther King Jr., Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson, announced Saturday that it will begin accepting transgender men as students in fall 2020.

College officials said in a statement that the new policy, approved by trustees, would not include "individuals who identify as women regardless of the sex assigned to them at birth."

Students who transition to female during their time at the Atlanta school will not be eligible to graduate but can appeal to Morehouse's president, officials said.

"I think Morehouse having the courage to speak to issues of masculinity in today’s environment is important,” Morehouse College President David Thomas told the Associated Press. "For 152 years, the world has, in some way, seen Morehouse as the West Point of black male development."

I can understand why people chose to go to a single gender college and it is great that the college affirms their gender.

Smith College, a women’s college in Northampton MA also has policy for trans students; they accept only trans women, they do not accept trans men but one difference is that I believe Smith allows trans men who trans transition while attending Smith are allowed to stay.

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

The courts are going to have another round to strip our protections from us.

Supreme Court revisits cakes and gay marriage
MSN
By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times
April 11, 2019

WASHINGTON — Wedding cakes and same-sex marriages are back before the Supreme Court, and this time the justices are being asked to rule broadly that the First Amendment’s protection of the “free exercise” of religion shields conservative Christians from state civil rights laws.

An Oregon couple who were fined $135,000 for refusing to make a cake for the marriage of two women have asked the justices to take their case. If the court does so, the new conservative majority could significantly change the law on religious liberty and LGBTQ rights. The justices could announce as early as Monday whether they will hear the case.

For nearly three decades, the court has followed a rule set down in a 1990 decision written by a conservative hero, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Rejecting a claim brought by Native Americans who ingested peyote as part of a religious ceremony, Scalia said that the Constitution’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion did not provide a shield against a “neutral and generally applicable law.” In the peyote case, two men had been fired for using an illegal drug.

Is that test going to be thrown out?

Will the court make every non-discrimination law null and void?

Will it just apply to us? Or will someone be able to use it against race and religion?

In January, Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh suggested they were ready to reconsider how far the free-exercise clause reached. They issued a partial dissent when the court turned down an appeal brought by a football coach who said he was fired for leading prayers on the field after games. The coach unsuccessfully claimed his firing violated his right to free speech. Alito suggested he should have appealed based on his rights to freely exercise his religion.

If they do take up the case I think it will hinge on Chief Justice Roberts.

Louise Melling, the ACLU’s deputy legal director, said she doubts the court will take up this invitation. “This is about creating a constitutional right to discriminate. Ending discrimination is a compelling state interest, so I don’t expect them to open this door,” she said.

In recent weeks, the court has been unusually hesitant in deciding whether to take up culture war controversies.

I sure hope they don’t open this can-of-worms.

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Another trans women has been brutally attacked, this time in in Dallas.

Transgender woman assaulted in 'mob' attack caught on video in east Oak Cliff
Dallas News
By LaVendrick Smith
April 13, 2019

Dallas police are investigating a potential hate crime after a transgender woman was assaulted Friday in east Oak Cliff.

Officers spoke to the victim at a hospital around 11:30 p.m., several hours after the attack at the Royal Crest Apartments in the 3500 block of Wilhurt Avenue.

The victim told police she was attacked after a minor traffic accident at the apartment complex. Police said the woman knew her attackers and that they used homophobic slurs during the attack, which was recorded on video.

The Mayor Mike Rawlings said of the attack,

"I am extremely angry about what appears to be mob violence against this woman," Rawlings said. "I am in contact with the chief and she assured me that the Dallas Police Department is fully investigating, including the possibility that this was a hate crime.”

A spokesperson for the Resource Center in Dallas said…

"The scary part to me is, if this was the apartment complex where she lives, where does she go home?" McMurray said. "Where does she go home and feel safe?"

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Meanwhile across the pond earlier in the month,

Trans teen left with head injury after being attacked in school changing room
Pink News UK
By Ella Braidwood
4th April 2019

A trans teenager from Grimsby was left with a severe concussion and boot marks on her head after being assaulted by a girl as she tried to go to the school changing room.

Coron Kraatz, 15, was assaulted by another student on March 19 as she walked to a school changing room for a PE lesson at Oasis Academy Wintringham, reports GrimsbyLive.

Kraatz was reportedly assaulted by the 15-year-old pupil because of her gender identity.

She was grabbed by the girl, who smashed her head on the ground and stamped on her face.
[…]
It is reportedly the third time Kraatz has been assaulted because of her gender identity.

She was previously attacked in a local park and on her way home from school.
[…]
Suzanne praised Oasis Academy Wintringham, which has permanently excluded the other student, for its response to the assault.

Just like their counterparts here the conservatives are using us as scapegoats and stirring up  hate against us.

Saturday 9: April Love

Sam’s Saturday 9: April Love (1957). 

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

The last couple of Saturdays have been crazy, last weekend I drove up and back to Cape Cod (3.5 hours one way) to talk to a contractor to remodel the bathroom for 45 minutes.



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

1) In this song, Pat Boone sings that April love is a wonder reserved for the very young. Do you think the sensation of falling in love changes as we grow older?
The way I look at it is people get hit by lightning ever day it doesn’t matter if you are young or old and love is the same way.

2) "April Love" reached #1 on the charts. Between this song and "Love Letters in the Sand," Pat Boone had a career year. Only one artist sold more records in 1957: Elvis Presley. When you think of Elvis, what's the first song that comes to mind?
Hound Dog

3) Pat was extremely busy in high school. He wrote for the school paper, ran track, and acted in school plays. Share a memory of your extracurricular activities during high school.
Science Club

4) It was his track coach who introduced Pat to the new girl in school, Shirley Foley. Three years later Pat and Shirley married, and remained man and wife for 65 years, until her death earlier this year. Who is the longest married couple you know?
My parents… 66 years

You can see the love in their eyes

5) Pat has lived in the same house for more than 60 years. He once received an offer to sell it for $18,000,000 but turned it down because it's the Boone family home and he simply doesn't want to leave. Do you plan on moving in the foreseeable future?
Nope, I been here since 1991 and I lived in town since I was 5.

6) Pat has a warm friendship with his neighbors, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Pat has mentioned in interviews that he has enjoyed bike rides around Beverly Hills with Sharon. Tell us about one of your neighbors.
I don’t know them. I say “Hi” when I see them but that is very rare.
Everyone has a lawn service, garage door openers, and lives in their backyard.

7) Mr. Boone was very critical of Barack Obama, enthusiastically supports Donald Trump, and has appeared on Fox News to express his views. How do you feel about celebrities talking politics?
Well it is their right to do so, but it is my right to ignore them.

8) In 1957, the year this song was popular, Dr. Ian Donald pioneered the use of ultrasound technology. Today ultrasounds are commonly used by doctors in diagnosing conditions affecting the eyes, blood vessels, kidneys, gall bladder and more. Have you ever had an ultrasound?
Yes for my kidneys

9) Random question: You're sitting alone in a restaurant, waiting for a friend. The waiter brings you a drink and the compliments of a member of the opposite sex seated at the bar. What's your reaction? Are you flattered, shocked, embarrassed, intrigued or annoyed?
I would be flattered… but I would tell him I’m a lesbian.

2019 Legislative Session

Current status of the bills that we are following:

HB-5505 AN ACT CONCERNING THE UPDATING OF STATE FORMS AND APPLICATIONS TO INCLUDE A NONBINARY GENDER OPTION. --- Passed out of committee

HB-6219 AN ACT CONCERNING SAFE BATHROOM FACILITIES AT SCHOOLS FOR GENDER NONCONFORMING STUDENTS. --- DOA (JF Deadline passed without a vote). The current law covers this...

"(21) "Gender identity or expression" means a person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth, which gender-related identity can be shown by providing evidence including, but not limited to, medical history, care or treatment of the gender-related identity, consistent and uniform assertion of the gender-related identity or any other evidence that the gender-related identity is sincerely held, part of a person's core identity or not being asserted for an improper purpose."

Under the current law it just says their gender identity... it does not say male or female. Therefore someone who is non-binary does not identify with their gender assigned at birth and therefore are covered by the current law. One of the things that we made sure when we were trying to pass the bill is that it covers non-binary, genderfluid, and crossdressers.

HB-7359 AN ACT CONCERNING A LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NETWORK. --- Passed out of committee

SB-58 AN ACT CONCERNING GAY AND TRANSGENDER PANIC DEFENSE. --- Passed out of committee

SB-388 AN ACT CONCERNING INTERSEX PERSONS. --- Passed out of committee, it was substantially modified by the committee. It is now basically a bill to add “intersex” to the non-discrimination statues and add a third option to gender markers on state document.

So what now?

Bills starting with HB move on to the House for a vote on them and bills stating with SB move on to the Senate for a vote (funny how that works).

If the bill passes their respective chamber then it moves on to the other chamber; however, all bill must be passed by June 5^th when the current legislature session adjourns at midnight.   

Schools!

[RANT]

This morning while eating breakfast I was reading the Hartford Courant’s “Town Section” of the paper and there was an article about a college/job fair. The article had photos of the different school that attended the event; many of them were “technical institutes” and that is what I want to rant about this morning.

But first disclaimers…
My father was the director (the principal) of E.C. Goodwin Technical School and then was the head of the four state two year Technical Colleges.
And I am a graduate of Waterbury Technical College.

I was the head of a test department for 25 years and over those years I got to interview many job applicants for electronic technicians and I got to interview many graduates from the “technical institutes.” What I found was the best technicians were from…

• Tied for first place: the state Technical Colleges and the military.
• Then came the state technical schools
• And in last place were the so called “technical institutes”

Back in the mid-seventies the “technical institutes” put pressure on the legislators to close the technical colleges because the private “technical institutes” could do it better without cost to the state(but move the expense to the student). But what I found was a diploma mill, if you wanted to repair copiers they were the place for you. If you wanted to do circuit board testing and repair well you were and still are out of luck.

The state community colleges started an Engineering Technology program but it is a very watered down version of the Technical College program. At Waterbury Technical College we had more technical classes and more labs; we had classes from motor/generator theories to computer programming.

Back in the early seventies we both recognized that the technical colleges were going the way of the dinosaurs here in Connecticut, while other states were embracing technical colleges Connecticut was going down the path of privatization. I lobbied my father to push having a school of technology within the state community college systems, that way they could autonomy in their curriculum, but in the late eighties and early nineties the community colleges started an Engineering Technology program which was a shadow of the old technical colleges.

I think what the state needs to do is to create School of Technology within the community college system that emphasizes technology over general studies; they need to talk to industry to find out what skills are needed here in the state. When my father was the head of the four state two year Technical Colleges he used to be in constant touch with businesses to access their needs. Let’s face it, the community colleges do a good job in general studies, they offer many concentrations but technology needs more than two or three classes tacked on to general studies classes, it needs it the other way around general studies classes tacked on to technology classes.

The state technical schools do a wonderful job of teaching high school students the trades and basic electronics but it is only a 5 year high school (the fifth year is because of the apprenticeship program).

[/RANT]

I Don’t Know About You, But…

When I started hormones the doctor sat down with me and explained the risks to me and one of them was increased heart disease and heart attacks.

Transgender patients more likely to suffer heart attacks, medical school residents find
GW Hatchet
By Shannon Mallard
April 11, 2019

Two residents in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences published a study last week finding that transgender individuals face a higher risk of heart attack.

A team of 11 researchers found that transgender men are four times more likely to suffer a heart attack than cisgender men and women, and transgender women are twice as likely to have a heart attack than cisgender women, according to the study. Researchers found that factors like limited access to health care, low exercise levels and health conditions like high blood pressure in the transgender community contribute to the increased risk – but they said the findings could inspire future research to help health care providers and transgender patients better work together to mitigate risk factors.
[…]
Nguyen said she and her colleagues researched the topic for about five to six months and finalized their results last month. She said the research team chose to investigate heart attack risk in transgender patients because there is limited research on cardiovascular health in the transgender community.

From the WPATH SoC v7 page 40…

For trans women,
Likely increased risk with presence of additional risk factors: Cardiovascular disease
For trans men,
Possible increased risk with presence of additional risk factors: Cardiovascular disease

So it was known risk, which I accepted.

“Our study would likely raise the awareness among clinical providers and transgender population about the risk of heart attack to emphasize about the importance of primary coronary artery disease prevention in the transgender population,” she said.

Alzahrani added that she hopes the study will lead to further research on heart attack risk in transgender patients and encourage lawmakers to institute policies aimed at decreasing the number of instances of heart attacks.

So I guess this just reiterates our current understanding of the risks.

Profiles In Courage*

Here are two articles about people who stood up against bigotry.

Armenia roiled by transgender woman’s speech in parliament
The brief address event prompted political and diplomatic squabbling, but also was hailed as a landmark step for LGBTI rights in the country.
Eurasianet
By Giorgi Lomsadze
April 10, 2019

It must have taken a lot of courage for Lilit Martirosyan to walk into the parliamentary hall, stand up before lawmakers, and make history. A transgender Armenian woman giving a speech in the country’s parliament was an unprecedented event in this socially conservative part of the world.

“I stand for tortured, raped, burnt, stabbed, killed, banished, discriminated, poor and unemployed transgender people of Armenia,” Martirosyan, an activist for transgender rights, told the lawmakers at an April 5 hearing on human rights. She went on to say that hate crimes against transgender people mostly go unpunished. “I call upon you to carry out reforms and policies to achieve gender equality, and to ensure human rights for everyone,” she said.

“As the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, head of a family steeped in Armenian traditions and faith, I say this [transgender rights] is not going to pass,” said Gagik Tsarukyan, the head of the second-largest faction in parliament. “This is a vice and we must hide the vice as we did before.”

Her speech stirred up hate and brought out the religious right to protest the speech.

Three days later, a crowd gathered in front of the parliament, with a collection of religious figures and other social conservatives condemning the speech and, according to activists, threatening violence against sexual minorities. Some of the protesters even called for consecrating the parliamentary floor to cleanse it after Martirosyan’s speech.

The protest was rebuffed by the European Union

The EU mission in Yerevan and EU member state embassies issued a statement condemning “hate speech, including death threats directed at Ms. Lilit Martirosian, her colleagues and the LGBTI community as a whole.”

Which in return got rejected by Armenia.

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A court in Russia seems to have gone against Putin and ruled in favor of a trans woman.

Russian court sides with transgender woman who sued employer
The ruling marks the first time that a Russian court has recognized workplace discrimination against a trans person.
NBC News
By The Associated Press
April 10, 2019

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — A court in St. Petersburg has sided with a transgender woman who has sued her employer over discrimination.

The ruling marks the first time that a Russian court has recognized workplace discrimination against a transgender person.

It is kind of amazing because there are laws (one of them is a gay propaganda law) in Russia that makes it illegal to promote LGBTQ+ rights.

---

*”Profiles In Courage” by President John F. Kennedy won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize.

Hell No We Won’t Go!

Was the cry of the Vietnam war protesters but now it could be used by trans service members who are going to be kicked out of the military tomorrow.

Trump’s Transgender Ban Brings Chaos and ‘a Lot of Fear’ to Troops’ Families
The hidden impact of President Trump’s transgender troop ban has been on the troops’ loved ones, whose lives, they tell The Daily Beast, have also suddenly been thrown into chaos.
The Daily Beast
By Samantha Allen
April 11, 2019

Peg Fram was driving when she learned the president wanted to fire her spouse.

Back in July 2017, Trump tweeted that “transgender individuals” would no longer be allowed “to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military.” Those “individuals” included Bryan Bree Fram, an Air Force lieutenant colonel and non-binary transgender person who serves as the communications director for the advocacy group SPART*A. Bree called Peg as the latter was driving from Minnesota to D.C. to deliver the news.
[…]
The couple was 14 years deep into military life by that point. They were raising two little girls, who are now aged 10 and six. The family was also single-income: Although Peg has a degree in forensic science, she had stopped working years ago, in part because crime labs were reluctant to hire someone as transient as a military spouse—and because a second job would only go toward child care expenses anyway.

There is no legitimate reason why a trans person cannot serve in the military.

Meghan McCain rips Trump transgender military ban days before implementationThe Hill
By Owen Daugherty
April 10, 2019

Meghan McCain is ripping President Trump’s policy of banning transgender troops from serving in the military, calling it “an unfair, un-American, and dangerous policy.”

In a post on Twitter on Wednesday, McCain said its “indefensible” that the ban is set to go into effect Friday.

“This discriminatory policy will lead Transgender service members, patriots who have decided to serve their nation, to live in the shadows,” she wrote.

Included in her post was a clip from “The View” in which active-duty Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, who is transgender, spoke about the impact the new policy will have.

“On Friday, the 12th, as many as 15,000 transgender service members stand to lose their jobs,” King said Wednesday on the program. “For those of us who are grandfathered in because we’ve already come out and we already have a diagnosis, there’s the possibility for systematic discrimination.”

Ms. McCain is following in her father’s footsteps. The clip from “The View” is about this…

Transgender Army members talk new military policy on 'The View': 'If you’re transgender you’re simply not welcome'
"If they're transgender, they're at risk of receiving substandard care now."
ABC News
By Joanne Rosa
April 10, 2019

Transgender Army members Staff Sgt. Patricia King and Capt. Jennifer Peace discussed on "The View" Wednesday how the Trump administration's new transgender policy will change the lives of transgender people who currently serve their country and those who plan to join.

Both King and Peace, who is also an intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, are actively serving in the military. They received the Harvey Milk Foundation Valor Award at this year's Diversity Honors, where they met "The View" co-host Meghan McCain.

The new military transgender policy, instituted by the Pentagon on March 12, will go into effect on Friday, April 12. Under the new policy, transgender people currently serving in the military will be allowed to continue serving so long as they follow the designated dress and grooming standards based on their birth gender.
[…]
King, who has been serving for nearly 20 years, was the first person to have the military finance the cost of her reassignment surgery, but claimed it was a "difficult process" with "a lot of red tape."

I wonder how many of the 15,000 are in critical positions and is going to affect military readiness?

---

Legislative Update!

SB 58 AN ACT CONCERNING GAY AND TRANSGENDER PANIC DEFENSE.

Was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with a unanimous vote! 37 Yeas 0 Nays
Next stop is the Senate. The call for vote on the bill was seconded by Sen. Kissel (R) the minority leader in of the committee. So there is hope that this bill will pass and become law.

To Be Seen Or To Be Invisible

That is you choice to make not mine to make for you. You have to decide but for many trans people there is no doubt that they are trans. Here are two articles (one is a year old but the message is still current) about being out.

Why Transgender Visibility Matters to Me
"I can be visible now."
Teen Vogue
By Stella Keating
March 31, 2018

In this op-ed, Stella Keating, a 13-year-old transgender girl living in Washington state, explains what Transgender Day of Visibility means to her.

In many ways, I’m a lot like my peers. At 13, I enjoy listening to music, reading, and shopping. I draw, play violin and ukulele, and love social media.

But in other ways, I’m different than many of my classmates. For one, I love history and politics. Hamilton is my anthem and I know the lyrics to the musical by heart. When I picture my future, a life working in politics and government is a constant. Someday I hope to maybe even run for office.
[…]
Being out has allowed me to support other trans youth. I am a resource for my teachers, school staff and allies. Sharing our family’s story models that we are just like many other families. We laugh, cry, sometimes argue (mostly about cleaning my room or practicing violin), and love each other unconditionally.
[…]
To all my peers who hear mean comments, who face bullying and who wonder whether they can reach their dreams, know that you are not alone. In the words of my favorite musical Hamilton, “I know that we can win, I know that greatness lies in you. But remember from here on in, history has its eyes on you.”

Yesterday I was on a panel to help future doctors become knowledgeable in treating us when they have a trans client and this afternoon I will be on a panel at another university in the eastern part of the state.

---

I am not a fan of humor when it gets its laughs from marginalizing others.

NZ Herald apologises for 'offensive' transgender comic strip
News Hub
By Sophie Bateman
April 10, 2019
The New Zealand Herald has apologised for publishing a cartoon widely condemned as transphobic.

Instalments of the UK comic Alex regularly appear in the Business section of the newspaper. First printed in 1987, Alex is set in a satirical corporate financial environment.

Wednesday's strip showed two male bankers discussing their colleague 'Stephanie', a transgender woman drawn as a masculine-looking figure in a skirt and high heels.

One of the men observes that "as a transgender, Stephanie has a really good deal". He goes on to say that she is permitted to take time off work to receive medical treatments and therapy as part of her transition "with no questions asked".

"Basically she has carte blanche to skive off at will on the bank's time, and even when she comes back to work no one dares challenge her... unlike if she was still a man," he says.

The other man notes Stephanie's voice is "more gravelly than ever", which his co-worker explains is because she's been bunking off work to cheer at a rugby game.

The comic was roundly criticised when it was posted to the r/newzealand Reddit forum. It's also been called bigoted by Twitter users, some of whom questioned whether NZME deserved its 'Rainbow Tick', which is awarded to companies that show solidarity with the LGBT community.

Yes it is a hatefully comic strip it generates laughs at our expense. They thought they could get away with poking fun at an oppressed community and the question is why? They knew they couldn’t use race or religion but for some reason they thought we were fair game.

The newspaper thought that this would help…

"We sincerely apologise for the offence caused by the cartoon - we believe it was meant to highlight transphobia and was not intended to be offensive to the transgender community," they told Newshub.

"The cartoon missed the mark. We will be more vigilant in future."

The apology “missed the mark” because it shows a complete lack of understanding of the trans culture, they didn’t have a clue that the opposition uses the same type of message to marginalize us. They  “missed the mark” because it shows a complete lack of understanding that for many trans people they cannot integrate into society because they will always be identified as trans.

---

I am at a speaking engagement on the Day of Visibility at a university in the eastern part of the state, the topic is “Building Resilience in Times of Backlash” and our legacy, how you are working to achieve it.

We all have to make the decision on whether to be out or in the closet and we cannot judge the decision that they made. We do not know their family situation, or how their employer would react with them being out. We do not know if they can cope with being out. So don’t judge people on the Trans Day of Visibility or National Coming Out Day, respect their choices.

Good News & Bad News

It sometimes seems like we are making two steps forward and three steps backwards… it seems like hate is winning.

In corporate America they are starting to realize that there is value in hiring us.

Although transgender workers face steep barriers, corporate America wants to hire them
Los Angeles Times
By Melissa Gomez
April 8, 2019

While working at a hair salon in Santa Monica, Ryan Blake played a role.

Blake recalls acting like a “stereotypical gay dude” at the business, not a 22-year-old gender nonbinary individual who doesn’t necessarily identify as either male or female, which can find expression in pronoun usage or dress.

It’s not “he” or “him.” Blake uses “they” or “them.”

“I knew in my heart that if I came into work like this,” said Blake — gesturing to their black cardigan, black skirt, tights and heeled boots — “it would be a problem.”
[…]
So Blake never did, and that’s why the stylist could be found recently at the first job fair for transgender, gender nonbinary and nonconforming individuals sponsored by the St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in South Los Angeles.

The event at Los Angeles Trade-Tech College, which was not unprecedented, drew more than 700 job seekers from a community that often faces employment discrimination for its diverse gender identity or expression.

At one time we looked into having a job fair here in Connecticut for trans people and what we found was that we couldn’t get enough backers for it. In order to have one here we need a large LGBTQ+ organizations as a partner. Los Angeles has a population of around 4 million people… Connecticut has a population total of 4 million.

During the Obama administration, there were advances in transgender rights, such as the historic lifting of a ban on military service. But under President Trump’s conservative agenda there has been a rollback, including a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Trump’s decision to reinstate the military ban — and the revocation of federal policy that allows public school students to choose the bathroom consistent with their own gender identity.

I think many companies understand that the rollback in protections is only temporary once Trump leaves sanity will return.

---

As news goes global so does the hate large new corps spread, the far right-wing National Review had this to say about  us.

Employees Quit NHS Transgender Clinic over Kids’ Experimental Treatments
By Mairead  Mcardle
April 8, 2019

Five employees of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) have quit a controversial NHS transgender-therapy clinic, citing fears that children are being misdiagnosed as transgender and given harmful and irreversible hormone treatments.

The five former clinicians at the Gender Identity Development Service, which is based in London and Leeds, expressed their concerns to the British daily The Times. Each of them was part of a team charged with deciding whether patients as young as three should be prescribed hormone blockers to prevent the onset of puberty. The number of child referrals to GIDS skyrocketed from 94 in 2010 to 2,519 in 2018.

Later when patients reached age 16, they would be prescribed a regimen of sex hormones in order to develop the physical characteristics of the gender with which they identify.

There is so much bias in just these paragraphs…

• Children don’t just start off on hormones or puberty blockers they go through extensive therapy
• Children don’t start off at the age of 3 or even at 10 with puberty blockers (note they don’t block testosterone or estrogen hormones they block the trigger for the start of puberty; they work by “suppressing the secretion of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone”).
• Puberty blockers are giving when the child starts Tanner Stage II
• Yes they do start hormones at around 16 but it is only after therapy.
• Yes the numbers have increased but it is due mainly because there is more awareness of gender dysphoria.

We Are Evil!

The far right sees us as trying to stifle free speech or their right to raise their child because we will not let them torture their children.

Transgender tide
A professor at the University of Louisville says he lost his job for advising parents to help their children embrace their birth sex
World View
By Jamie Dean
April 08, 2019

A little over two years ago, I wrote an article about the growing push to affirm transgenderism in children and teenagers. National Geographic had just published an issue praising the movement, and featured a cover photo of a 9-year-old boy dressed like a girl.

Ken Zucker, a secular psychologist in Canada, had recently lost his longtime position at a mental health center in Toronto for suggesting parents should try to help confused children become secure with their birth sex.

During that time, I spoke with Allan Josephson, a professor and psychiatrist at the University of Louisville, who offers similar counsel. He told me Zucker’s firing had been “an incredibly sobering experience for many professionals to see.” Many realized: “If that could happen to him, perhaps it could happen to me.”

Two years later, Josephson says it’s no longer a hypothetical scenario.

On March 28, attorneys for the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Louisville on behalf of Josephson. They say the school effectively fired the professor over his once-mainstream views.

There have been many studies that have shown the conversion therapy has increased suicidal idealizations, self-harm, and depression in children who have been forced into conversion therapy.

All the major professional associations ban their members from preforming conversion therapy but that doesn’t deter the ADF lawsuit,

The ADF lawsuit challenges the University of Louisville’s actions as violations of Josephson’s free speech. The group’s website says school officials acted against the professor “with an eye to ensuring that neither he nor anyone else dares to express viewpoints they find objectionable on medical and psychiatric issues.”

So in other words they think that “free speech” override treatments that cause harm.

And of course they bring up the junk science that was done on “Rapid Onset of Gender Disorder” how we silenced her study even though her study was seriously flawed.

I foresee many more of these lawsuits against states that have banned conversion and atone of them will go all the way to the Supreme Court.

---

Today I am at am on a panel for second year students at a local medical school.

It Must Be Hard…

…When a spouse transitions. I have never married but I know of a few couples where a spouse transitioned, some survived, some divorced, and one couple that I know were divorced but are now back together.

My Wife Supported Me During My Gender Reassignment Surgery. Then Came The Hard Part
‘Sometimes we would think, Why shouldn’t we stay together? We love each other, and our marriage is about a lot more than sex.’
Chatelaine
By Kristen Worley and Johanna Schneller
March 29, 2019

Kristen Worley is a former world-class cyclist who now champions the rights of women in sport. She has challenged the gender policies of the International Olympic Committee and related sports bodies, which she successfully argued were designed to discriminate against female athletes. Worley was born a boy, adopted by a conservative family, and felt like an outsider from a young age. Woman Enough (published this month by Random House) is about her legal battle and personal journey, including her decision to pursue gender reassignment surgery. In the following excerpt, she offers a candid description of the experience of transitioning and how it changed her life.
[…]
My wife Ali jokes (but isn’t joking) that she married a man, raised a teenager, and ended up with a wife. By teenager, she’s referring to my hormonal changes. For the first few years, she had to keep reminding herself how she’d felt as a teenager, and that I was basically hormone soup.

It has to be very hard to transition as a couple.

I remember a couple that I know the wife talked about the things that she missed… falling asleep on her husband’s shoulder on the subway… walking down the street holding her husband’s hand. She still does them today but they get stares.

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Today I am at a local medical school to take part in a LGBTQ+ panel for the second year medical students.

One Small Victory

We can use every win we get in today’s political climate.

Yellowstone County discriminated against transgender employee, Human Rights Bureau finds
Billings Gazette
By Rob Rogers
April 3, 2019

Yellowstone County may have discriminated against one of its deputy county attorneys when it denied her access to health care last year.

The Montana Human Rights Bureau said recently that Yellowstone County had unlawfully denied Eleanor Andersen Maloney, a transgender woman, "gender-affirming health care."

Maloney had begun exploring health care options after being diagnosed with gender dysphoria while employed by the county. She was a prosecutor working child abuse and neglect cases.

Maloney resigned from the county attorney's office last summer. She's since moved to western Montana, where she works for a nonprofit organization that provides support and legal help to battered women and children.

Not only did the county deny the payment but they also stabbed a knife in her back and twisted it.

The county denied her request, citing its health insurance plan that excludes "services or supplies related to sexual reassignment and reversal of such procedures."

Citing the same policy, the county also sought a return of payments from Maloney's therapist for the counseling sessions she had received related to gender dysphoria.

But she got the last word, or rather the state did.

In its finding, the Montana Human Rights Bureau wrote that, "if an insurance product carves out medical procedures, relying only on a person's status as transgender as the determinative criterion, this is a distinction based on sex and it violates the Montana Human Rights Act's insurance provision."

This is a huge win not only for Ms. Maloney but also for all the trans people in Montana!

Ms. Maloney in her brief said, “Maloney compares it to changing religions.” In the Schroer v. Billington case the judge said, “The Schroer court held that just as discrimination against converts from one to faith to another is still discrimination based on religion, so too discrimination against transgender persons is still sex discrimination.”