We Need To Focus On Education

We all know how many states have protection for us, we know where we can pee in peace, but it turns out many non-LGBTQ+ don’t have a clue.

Americans' perception of LGBTQ rights under federal law largely incorrect:
Reuters/Ipsos
By Maria Caspani
June 10, 2019


(Reuters) - Almost half of all Americans incorrectly believe that federal law protects lesbian, gay and bisexual people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released this week.

A month ago, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, which would codify anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in areas such as healthcare and housing into federal law.

But the bill faces stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate and the administration of President Donald Trump, a Republican, opposes the bill on the grounds that it threatened “to undermine parental and conscience rights.”

Some supporters of the bill say the disconnect between the public perception and the actual protections afforded to LGBTQ people shows a need to drum up support for the legislation.

“The public might be getting the sense that we’re fully integrated in society and that we live a trouble-free life, and that is a challenge for my organization,” said Stacey Long Simmons, director of advocacy and action at the National LGBTQ Task Force, which works on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer people.

First of all what the hell is “conscience rights?”

When I was interning at True Colors I tabled at the Channel 30 Wellness Fair that they held each year and when I was asked what our organization did and I said “True Colors is a non-profit organization that works sexual and gender minority youth.” When I mentioned “LGBT” I saw questioning looks on their face and some even asked “What is ‘LGBT’?”

Let’s face it we live in a bubble, if someone asked us how many states offer protects for LGBT people most of us could answer 20 and Washington DC. Or any other fact about trans rights and we talk it for granted but most people have no idea.

It is very rare to pass a non-discrimination law on the first time, why? Because we need to education the legislators, now it appears that we need to educate people about our federal protections.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 45% of respondents believed federal anti-discrimination protections already exist for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, including 40% of those aged 18-34 and 57% of registered Republicans. Only 23% said they were not protected at the federal level.

Only one in three respondents knew that transgender people were not protected from gender identity discrimination under federal law. The rest either said they did not know, or they believed - incorrectly - that transgender people already had federal protections.

We have our work cut out for us.

So the question is; how do we educate them?

White Washed

I usually like PBS documentaries especially American Experience , they are usually well researched, fair and balanced but I have to question Stonewall Uprising which air on Tuesday June 11^th. I just got finished watching it and they had a couple of white “drag queens” that they interviewed and in the video that did use footage of trans people. But the only black person that was shown other than in the videos of the uprising was putting on her makeup.

All the people interviewed were white.

If you watch it tonight let me know what you thing about the show.

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I am up in the Northwestern part of Connecticut for lunch at my nephews with my brother and sister-in-law, hence the short post.

Family is important to me and I am one of the lucky ones who has family support and love.

Domine Domine Domine

When I were little we used to joke “domine, domine, domine we are all Catholics”

I have nothing against religion unless it pokes it head in to my life, you are against abortion, fine just don’t tell me what I can do with my body. You are against trans people, fine just don’t deny my right to exist.

This Vatican statement is probably the result of old men sitting around a table who have no idea what they are talking about.

Vatican rejects trans people, says they 'annihilate the concept of nature'
Statement issued during Pride month described as a 'harmful tool that will oppress and harm' LGBTI people
Gay Star News
By Joe Morgan
10 June 2019

The Vatican has issued a statement rejecting trans people, saying they ‘annihilate…the concept of nature’.

In a new document issued during Pride Month, the Congregation for Catholic Education has issued a crushing statement on trans issues.

The office responsible for overseeing education calls trans people experiencing ‘nothing more than a confused concept of freedom in the realm of feelings and wants’.

‘Male And Female He Created Them’, was released by the Vatican on 10 June without prior announcement.

It is described as an ‘aid for Catholic schoolteachers and parents’. The document is also signed by Italians Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi and Archbishop Angelo Zani.

Pope Francis has not signed the document.

However, this is the most critical statement on trans people the Vatican has given since the pontiff compared trans people to nuclear weapons.

I call this the “Ostrich Syndrome” stick our head in the sand and hide from truths you don’tlike

Well first off it is the Pope who is “annihilate…the concept of nature” in nature there’re gay and trans animals. There is so much research showing being trans or gay is part of natural selection and I don’t care what the Pope says, I only care because people will probably use his statement to discriminate against us.

Where’s The “T?”

One of my pet peeves is when they say LGBT but it is really just Gays and Lesbians, Forbes just did that.

Will LGBT Retirees End Up Back In The Closet?
Forbes
By David Rae
June 5, 2019

What does your dream retirement look like? Your life experience living as part of the LGBTQ+ community will likely play a role in where you retire, how much money you have to spend in retirement, and even your healthcare needs as you age.  Sadly, homophobia may put a damper on part of your gay retirement plan.  It might even drive some part of the community back into the closet as we get older.

A few years back, I wrote ‘Who will care for LGBT Seniors” which very lightly touched on some of the financial issues facing the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender retirees.  As if planning for retirement wasn’t daunting enough, we as a group face some additional retirement hurdles.

Since then, I’ve met people who’ve gone back into the closet after entering retirement communities.  Others living in fear of what will happen to them once their “family” is no longer able to keep an eye on them. Many may wonder if they will be able to afford Long Term Care, and if they will ever actually need it. All of this on top of the fear of ‘getting old’ which many of us are working hard to ensure this process happens as slows as possible. I’ve heard many gay men joke  that they are suffering from Peter Pan syndrome (I don’t wanna grow up….)

STOP right there!

I did a search of the article and the only time transgender was mentioned in “Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender retirees” and there was no mention at all of transphobia… Zip, Nada, Zilch

Previously I’ve written that Gay Married Couples make more that Lesbian Couples, who many more than all married couples as a whole.   This is great news, but it may obscure the fact that people in the LGBT community are also more likely to be living in poverty throughout their lives. Think of it as a barbel- many are doing great at the top, and many are not doing well at the bottom.

Since the title of the article is LGBT… how about something about how much trans people make?

As a gay financial planner, the intricacies of LGBT healthcare are beyond my expertise… 

Yeah, well I think the whole article is “beyond my expertise.”

Homophobia is still an issue in retirement communities.  Many LGBT retirees have ended up back in the closet as they age…

Well that is all nice if you are gay you can hide, but many trans person are always out we are always facing transphobia while you hide. We were out in the frontlines at Stonewall where a bunch of drag queens doing a Rockettes kick line… but we got pushed aside to make it a “Gay” movement.

What is your plan to be fiscally fabulous in retirement?

My plan is to go out doing a Rockettes kick line!

I don’t object to the article what object to is calling it “LGBT” if you just want to talk about what gays and lesbians then title the article according but don’t include us and not even mention us.

70th Birthday Reunion

I know I’m as old as dirt; my high school class had a get together last night to celebrate the class turning seventy years old.

I was very undecided whether I should go or not because my invitation came with my deadname and since everyone knew that I had transitioned I wondered if it was a slight. As I was standing in line to fill out a name tag one of my classmates came up and said she was very sorry for the error and that the database has been corrected.

None of my close friends from high school came but as I circulated around I got a number of hugs from classmates and I was invited me to sit at the “Doe Table” well I can’t say stage table because it was an unescorted women’s table except for one lone husband.

It was just another typical banquet type function… groups of people standing around talking in the same clique as in high school. So I was kind of an oddball because in high school the clique I hung out in were not there and also it was because the women’s group that I sat with all hung out together in high school so what they talked about was what they did together in high school, but I did learn some juicy tidbits from our high school… oh that was what really happened!

I volunteered to help out with the Fifty-fifth reunion.

Two of the best reasons why some didn’t come last night…

• One was on a photo safari in Africa
• Another was in a sailplane race

Seventy, the new fifty!

Observations:

• Dress was casual and I wore an ankle length skirt, most of the women wore slacks, a couple wore dresses or skirts so I was dress appropriately for the occasion.
• The guys walking around with canes were the “jocks.”
• Those who were lushes in high school are lushes in their seventies.
• Out of a class of 167, twenty-seven of us have gone to "Class Eternal."
• New class motto… Stay alive ‘til 55 (We graduated in '67 so our 55 reunion will be 2022)

Saturday 9: I'm Moving On

Sam’s Saturday 9: I'm Moving On (1965)

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



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

1) In this song, Chyvonne Scott sings that she's sick of her lover's "conniving." Tell us about a time you felt deceived. (It doesn't have to involve romance.)
Just recently, they asked us to post an event on our non-profit Facebook page, then it was one request after another ending up with them wanting us to send a letter endorsing their graduate research project.

2) She realizes it's time to move on to another love. What's your favorite love song? Is it about a relationship that's running smoothly? Or is it like "I'm Moving On," about an unhappy love affair?
I am going to pass on this question since I don’t really have a favorite love song.

3) Though Chyvonne Scott enjoyed only limited success as a recording artist, she was very popular in New York clubs. When did you most recently listen to music performed live?
The Saturday before Memorial Day when I had a party at my house,some of my friends brought their guitars.

4) In 2017, this song appeared on a Samsung commercial that poked fun at rival iPhone. Is your cell phone an Apple or Android? How did you choose your phone?
Android Nokia 6.1, I chose it because in has a new version  of the Android operating system which allows you to delete the apps that came with the phone.

5) Chyvonne is an unusual name. In 1965, when this song was first released, the most popular baby names in the US were Michael and Lisa. Do you have any Michaels or Lisas in your life?
Yes, I know of a couple of Michaels or Lisas.

6) Also in 1965, Winston Churchill died. In researching this week's Sat. 9, Sam discovered a Churchill quote that's new to her: "I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught." Share something interesting that you recently learned.
A new free software program (I hate Apps… they are programs or software and the people who program them are programmers… not coders) called Notepad++ that edits HTML code. It is pretty neat, sometimes you forget to close a tag or you miss a comma and this picks up the errors and highlights them.

7) In 1965, one of the most successful movies ever made, The Sound of Music, was released. Have you ever seen it?
Oh yes, many times it has been on TV.

8) Lava lamps were already popular in England and Brussels, but in 1965 they were introduced in the US. Do you think lava lamps are cool?
Yes, in college we tried making one it was a bust.
It is not hard to make (now with the internet it is easy to find “how to” videos) it is just wax, mineral oil and alcohol. The trick is finding the right types of wax with the right specific gravity that is less than the mineral oil and alcohol when it is hot and greater than the mineral oil and alcohol when it is cold.

9) Random question -- You have to buy something very personal that you find embarrassing. Would you rather pay cash for it, so your identity would be unknown but you'd have to face the cashier? Or order it online, where you could avoid looking anyone in the eye, but you have to share your name and address?
I take the anonymous approach, so I don’t have to stand in-line and all the people behind me see what I am buying.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

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It is a beautiful morning; I am sitting out on the deck drinking my morning coffee as I write the blog. There are wild roses in my back yard and they are very fragrant, they fill the air with a beautiful perfume. 

Sad News

Another trans woman has bring murdered which bring the know murders up to nine so far this year.

Black Trans Woman Murdered in North Carolina Is Ninth This Year
The body of Chanel Scurlock, 23, was found in a field early Wednesday.
The Advocate
By Trudy Ring
June 6, 2019

Another Black transgender woman has been murdered, her body found in a field in Lumberton, N.C., shortly after midnight Wednesday.

The victim, identified by friends and activists as Chanel Scurlock, 23, had suffered fatal gunshot wounds. Reports by local media misgendered and deadnamed her, and her mother said Scurlock was a gay man. But trans activist Monica Roberts and friends posting on Facebook identified her as a trans woman. Scurlock lived in Lumber Bridge, about 20 miles from Lumberton, in the southern part of the state. She is the ninth trans American known to have been murdered this year; all of them are Black women.

A photo showing Scurlock in feminine clothing was taken down recently from an unknown person's Facebook page recently, and she was going to meet Tuesday night with the person who deleted it, Raleigh TV station WRAL reports. Friends feared she was going into a dangerous situation, according to the station.

Please stop the hate!

Remember only you can stop the hate… "When you hear mean intervene"*.


*From True Colors

Guns

I was reading an article on the town budget and $200,000 will be spent next year on school police officers (I refuse to call them “resource officers” they are police officers and can and do make arrests, more on that latter), multiply that for all the towns in the state and around the country… that’s billions of dollars each year.

I am old enough to remember that “and” used to mean something.

Then came Reagan who packed the court with justices handpicked by the NRA (just like Trump is doing with “religious freedom.”) and they disregarded “and” giving gun rights fanatics unlimited rights to buy, carry, and own any type of weapon.¹

Before that ruling the Second Amendment was interpreted as not giving unfettered individual right to a gun.

Now we have laws that say shoot first ask questions later, they give the law a fancy name “Stand Your Ground” of course the other person doesn’t have a say because they’re dead.

Now we have “Open Carry” laws where people are walking the streets with AR-15s and one guy walked into a bank with a pistol on his him. When the bank official called the police and the police came and questioned him why he had a gun he refused to say, the bank official told him to leave. The last that I read he was suing the bank and police for the audacity of questioning why he had a gun in a bank.

One time I was in the check-out line at a grocery store and I noticed a guy in another line with a pistol on his hip and a CCDL tee shirt on… now what the hell did he need a gun to go grocery shopping?

And now we have to turn our school into prisons with armed police officers patrolling the hallways, metal detectors, surrounded by chain-linked fences what are we teaching the children?

I AM NOT AGAINST GUNS!

I am against “open carry,” large capacity magazines, assault style weapons, ghost guns, and I am for universal background checks including private sales.

I have gone small game (rabbits, woodchucks, etc.), I took skeet shooting for a gym class in college, and many of my friends own guns. For me I don’t want guns in my house, but that is my opinion and I respect other responsible gun owners.

So what sparked this rant?

A meme yesterday. It said that more Americans have been murdered in the U.S. since the first of the year than on D-Day the bloodiest landing in history… let that sink in.
The D-Day invasion killed 4,413 soldiers; over 6,000 people have been killed by guns this year so far.².

1. How the NRA Rewrote the Second Amendment
2. More Americans were shot to death by March 6 this year than died on D-Day

Before the police officers they used to hand out detentions and suspensions for school violations now they arrested and it becomes a “school-to-prison pipeline.” It gives school officials a chance to wipe their hands of the incident and pass it off to the police.

It Is A Hard Thing To Do

It Is A Hard Thing To Do
Let’s face the deck is stacked against us when it comes to discrimination cases in favor of businesses. On Monday I was reading Jillian T. Weiss blog “LGBTQ WORKPLACE LAW & DIVERSITY” about a Muslin who sued for discrimination under Title VII and lost.

I have always said proving discrimination is so hard, this case is not about trans but religious and race…

Dr Weiss JD wrote on her blog,

I find this case very interesting, as it is a reminder of the kind of evidence needed to win an employment discrimination lawsuit. Of course, the 11th Circuit US Court of Appeals (covering Alabama, Georgia and Florida) is very conservative when it comes to this, but so are some others. Essentially, the Court said that showing other people who were treated differently isn't enough to show bias. Showing retaliation for complaining requires a very close connection in time between the complaint and the termination or other allegedly retaliatory action -- closer than 3 months.

And in the Florida Record…

Court rejects discrimination claims against NetJets by pilot who is Muslim
By Asia Mayfield
August 4, 2018

MIAMI  – Judge Kathleen Williams granted defendant NetJets Aviation's motion for summary judgment in a discrimination lawsuit filed by former employee Ameer Siddiqui. The court found that Siddiqui failed to adequately support his claims.
[…]
Williams agreed with the plaintiffs. Siddiqui rests his argument on NetJets' decision to place him on administrative leave and his eventual termination. Administrative leave, however, is not a retaliatory action and his termination was based on the results of multiple interviews and a board meeting, according to the ruling. Siddiqui did not demonstrate that he was treated differently than other employees in similar situations, according to the ruling.

I was moderating a panel of lawyers from the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and they were answering questions from the audience and I learned a lot one question was about a boss picking on a trans woman an one of the lawyers from the CHRO asked does he do it to the all the other employees? She said yes and the lawyer replied that it is not discrimination is the boss is an equal opportunity jerk.

Like I said it is very hard to prove discrimination unless they are really stupid and come right out and something “We don’t hire trannies!” most of the time it is covert and not overt.

One time at work the HR department wanted me to keep a log of everything one of my employees did, so I told the employee about what HR wanted me to do and I suggested to the employee also keep a log. It wasn’t a discrimination case but about taking to many smoke breaks, one of the boss said he was always on the loading dock smoking or talking to women on the production line.
It is also a good idea to keep a log if you feel that you are being harassed or discriminated. If other employees keep calling you by your old name, or use derogatory names, or you get passed over for promotions or raises or you when you talk to HR write it down in a log book with numbered pages.

If you go to a lawyer saying “they are always picking on me” the lawyer is going to ask you for the facts.

Write down in the logbook with something like “Jane Doe called me by my old and when I corrected she said okay and using my old name and when I complained to HR the manger he said get over it and stop being a wimp” put down the date, time and location... June 7, 2019, 3:00PM in the cafeteria during break the details and the more details you have the stronger case you have.

And don’t forget that there’re time limits to file.

The Final Score

The 2019 legislative session is closed so how did we fair?

Our batting average was 0.166

Which some people might not thing that is good, only one bill out of six passed but we are not talking about baseball but the legislature and that is average passage. There is a saying for activists… “see you next year.”

HB-5505 AN ACT CONCERNING THE UPDATING OF STATE FORMS AND APPLICATIONS TO INCLUDE A NONBINARY GENDER OPTION.
Passed in the House not voted on in the Senate

HB-6219 AN ACT CONCERNING SAFE BATHROOM FACILITIES AT SCHOOLS FOR GENDER NONCONFORMING STUDENTS.
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and it never made it out of the gate in the House.

HB-6482 AN ACT CONCERNING A LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NETWORK.
The bill never was considered… see HB-7359 which is the bill that was moved forward.

HB-7359 AN ACT CONCERNING A LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NETWORK.
Passed in the House and the vote was almost unanimously but never got voted on in the Senate. $250,000 was in the budget for the bill. Note: there might be some hope in the special session as an amendment to the budget.

SB-58 AN ACT CONCERNING GAY AND TRANSGENDER PANIC DEFENSE.
PASSED! On the governor’s desk.

SB-388 AN ACT CONCERNING INTERSEX PERSONS.
The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and it was never heard in the House.

I just wanted you to realize that passing a bill the first time and passing more than one LGBTQ+ bill in a session is very hard. There is kind of an unwritten rule in the legislature… one LGBTQ+ bill a session. Yeah it sucks and I hoped that we could break the curse this session but the curse struck again this session. But I think that they passed the most important

To pass the gender inclusive non-discrimination law five years.

It is also harder to pass any bill because of the budget it is taking up more time in the legislative session, it was a long session this year but it is still relatively short by other state standards, just six months. This year the budget took exceptionally long to pass and also there was a long debate on tolls which will have a special session later this summer. The special session usually do not have any legislation introduced but amendments have been added to the bills being discussed but it is a long shot.

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Non-LGBTQ+ bill that I testified for…

HB 7198 AN ACT CONCERNING SOCIAL WORKERS.
Passed!

The bill required any person who uses the title "social worker" to be licensed as a clinical social worker or have a BSW, MSW or a PhD in Social Work.

I emailed my Senator yesterday morning…

Dear Senator Bizzarro

I am emailing you this morning to urge you to vote in favor of HB 7198 An Act Concerning Social Workers.

I am a social worker with a MSW from UConn School of Social Work but I am not a clinical social worker but rather macro social worker. My concentration is in what is called Community Organizing as such I don’t need to have a LMSW or a LCSW but I am still a social worker. Many of the interns working at the LOB are marco social work students and when I was at UConn many of my classmate interned for legislators. You will find us working at places like the CT Coalition to End Homelessness, or Journey Home or other non-profits around Hartford, and the state. We use what we learned at UConn every day and we are proud to display the MSW after our name.

This bill if passed would protect social workers from having their degree degraded by those who have not taken the time to earn a BSW or a MSW but still call themselves “social workers” without taking the time to earn the degree.

Please vote in favor of HB-7198.

Thank you,
Diana

And he replied…

Hi Diana.  Just wanted to let you know that I voted in favor of this Bill and it passed through the Senate a few minutes ago.  Thank you for reaching out to me with your opinion on this, and please stay in touch.

Gennaro Bizzarro
Connecticut State Senator, 6th District

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[RANT]

The word activism means “a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue”

I sat and listened at "town hall" meetings to people who said we want gender neutral IDs. We want to ban Trans/Gay Panic defense in criminal cases. We want…

But take a look at the people who sent in testimony for any of those bills and look to see how many individuals sent in testimony. Take a look at how many people shared the CTAC Facebook posts, two three people? I don’t know how many people contacted their legislators but I bet it was less than a dozen and I would even wager that the opposition had more people contact their legislators against the legislation than contacted them in favor of the bills.

Not everyone can sit around the Legislative Office Building (LOB) but it only takes about a half hour to write a testimony for the bill. It only takes a minute to call or email your legislators but how many “activists” took the time? How many people thanked me for taking the time to testify or post on Facebook actually contacted their legislators?

The leaders of the chambers and the legislators keep track of which bills have voter support and which bills do not and when they hear crickets they don’t push the bill forward.

Yes, the opposition probably was whispering into the ears of their legislator friends.

You want legislation to pass… well you have to work for it.

[/RANT]

Two Bill Left… Must Pass By Midnight

Yesterday the House passed SB-58 AN ACT CONCERNING GAY AND TRANSGENDER PANIC DEFENSE, the bill bans the use of trans/gay panic past in both chambers unanimously! The Governor Lamont said he would sign the bill.

Connecticut will be the fifth state to ban using trans/gay panic defense in court cases.

• California
• Illinois
• Rhode Island
• Nevada

The other bills are…
HB 7359 AN ACT CONCERNING A LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NETWORK.
Still has to be voted on and right now the Senate has been talking about the budget all day and our bill having been brought up yet but the session ends tomorrow night at midnight. The bill will probably be in the Consent Calendar* and will hopefully make it to a vote

SB 388 AN ACT CONCERNING INTERSEX PERSONS.
To address the needs of the intersex community who have suffered from discrimination and inaccurate documentation of their sex by providing relief from such issues.

*CONSENT CALENDAR
A group of bills that all members of a committee or house agree to pass without debate with one roll call vote. A single member may have a bill removed from the consent calendar merely by asking.

Connecticut Lawmakers Move to Ban 'Gay Panic Defense'Criminal defendants in Connecticut would be barred from claiming as their sole legal defense that they panicked after learning about their victim's sexual orientation.U.S. News and World Report
By Associated Press,
June 4, 2019

HARTFORD, CONN. (AP) — Criminal defendants in Connecticut would be barred from claiming as their sole legal defense that they panicked after learning about their victim's sexual orientation under a bill heading to the governor's desk.
The state House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that prevents defendants from using the so-called gay panic defense. That defense blames a violent reaction on discovering a victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

Rep. Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, a Democrat from Bethel, made note of the 1998 death of Matthew Shepard, the college student who was beaten to death by two men in Wyoming. Defense attorneys unsuccessfully attempted to use the gay panic defense. A judge would not allow it and those men were convicted.

"It's a very important case that we should not forget about," said Allie-Brennan, noting the recent increase in the number of reported hate crimes the U.S. According to the FBI, the number increased by about 17% in 2017.

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Despite Trump, States Advancing on LGBTQ Rights
Red states show least progress, but pushback on trans students falling short
Gay City
By Matt Tracy
February 5, 2019

The Human Rights Campaign’s newly unveiled State Equality Index report, which offers a comprehensive look at the status of local laws and polices pertaining to LGBTQ rights nationwide, demonstrates a slight improvement throughout the last year in the efforts to enact comprehensive protections.

Sixteen states and Washington, D.C. received the top “Working Toward Innovative Equality” grade for 2018, which is an increase from the 13 states on the list in last year’s report.

The best and worst states were largely divided along party lines corresponding to the results of the 2016 presidential election. Each state with a top grade for 2018 voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016, while 26 of the 27 worst states on the list voted for Donald Trump.

Leading the way in the latest report were California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The states receiving the worst grades were Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

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As of 3:10 Substitute for House Bill No. 7359. AN ACT CONCERNING A LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NETWORK.
(As amended by House Amendment Schedules "A"
(LCO 9091), "C" (LCO 9117))
Committee Reports: HS, APP
So far the bill has not been called yet.

Let’s Face It We Are Getting Old

When the first Pride March happened (and trans people were not included) there were no corporate sponsors, there were not police marching with us, and those that marched knew that they could face repercussions just for marching. Now things have changed… or has it?

For LGBT boomers, a growing concern about elder care
The Alton Telegraph
By JoNel Aleccia and Melissa Bailey,
June 3, 2019

Two years ago, nursing professor Kim Acquaviva asked a group of home-care nurses whether they thought she was going to hell for being a lesbian. It's OK if you do, Acquaviva said, but is the afterlife within your scope of practice?

After Acquaviva's talk, an older nurse announced she would change how she treats LGBT people under her care.

"I still think you're going to hell, but I'm going to stop telling patients that," the nurse told Acquaviva.

Acquaviva, a professor at George Washington University School of Nursing in Washington, raised the example at a panel hosted by Kaiser Health News on inclusive care for LGBT seniors. It was one of many examples of discrimination that these older adults may face as they seek medical care.

LGBT baby boomers, dubbed "the Stonewall Generation," came of age just as the 1969 New York uprising galvanized a push for gay rights. After living through an era of unprecedented social change, they're facing new challenges as they grow old.

"Fifty years after Stonewall, there's a new generation of LGBT elders who never thought they'd get an AARP card," said Nii-Quartelai-Quartey, AARP's senior adviser and national liaison on the issue who also participated in the panel.

By 2030, there will be an estimated 7 million LGBT people in the United States over 50. About 4.7 million of them will need elder care and services, according to SAGE, an advocacy group.

Back then I never thought that I would be an “OUT” trans person, I always thought that I could stop crossdressing if the “right” girl came along. But now I face the possibility of being the only trans person in a long term care (LTC) facility.

‘Stonewall Generation’ Confronts Old Age, Sickness — And Discrimination
Kaiser Health News
By JoNel Aleccia and Melissa Bailey
May 22, 2019

[…]
In a country where most elder care is left to family, many LGBTQ people are estranged from relatives and don’t have that option. Turning to others for care — in assisted living centers, nursing homes or hospice settings — makes them uniquely vulnerable.

“The fear of living in a situation where they can’t advocate for their own care and safety is terrifying,” said Hilary Meyer, chief enterprise and innovation officer for SAGE.

Three-quarters of LGBT people are worried about having adequate family or social supports, according to a nationally representative survey of AARP members released last year.

If you look at the research you will find that what they are really talking about are just lesbians and gays in all the articles on LGBTQ+ seniors we might be mentioned in passing.

Often, those fears are founded, according to results of a forthcoming survey of more than 850 hospice and palliative care providers about LGBT patients and family experiences.

“I think the information we’ve got is actually quite discouraging and quite concerning,” said Gary Stein, a professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University who co-led the project.

Most providers surveyed said LGBT people received discriminatory care, he said. For transgender patients, two-thirds said that was true.
[…]
“For transgender patients, there was lots of discomfort around what to call the person,” Stein said. “A number of people said patients were called ‘it’ instead of a pronoun.”

I know or knew of several trans persons who were in LTC facilities and they were the only ones in the facility, and in one case there were a couple of hundred people in the home.

The state of Connecticut unit on aging is working on a policies of inclusion of all minorities, there has been greater awareness of minorities populations in LTC facilities and it is not just us or lesbians and gays but also religious minorities, race, and national origin. Can you imagine is you are a black trans woman in a Lilly white LTC facilities? Talk about intersectionality!

Policies, policies, policies, what good are they?
All the laws and polices in the world will not help us if we are the only trans people in a nursing home and the LTC facility is not enforcing their polices and you are being harassed not only by the staff but by the other residents.

Violence Against Us Is Increasing

There has been a series of murders in Texas and the numbers violent crimes keep increasing.

Why violence against transgender Americans is a crisis that’s under reported
PBS
Nation
May 24, 2019

A recent series of murders of transgender victims is causing growing concern, particularly for trans women of color. It comes at a time when trans celebrities are more accepted in pop culture than ever before -- but also as the Trump administration aims to roll back Obama-era discrimination protections for transgender people. Amna Nawaz talks to the Anti-Violence Project's Beverly Tillery.

Judy Woodruff:
There is growing concern in this country and fear about deadly attacks against transgender Americans, particularly trans women of color.

As Amna Nawaz tells us, a series of murders in different cities in just one week has underscored a larger pattern of violence over several years.

And yet it comes at a time when trans celebrities are more accepted and more prominent in pop culture.

Amna Nawaz:
Judy, the most recent killing took place last Sunday in north Philadelphia.

Michelle "Tamika" Washington, 40 years old and a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community, was shot several times. Her death came one day after Muhlaysia Booker was found dead in Dallas. Booker was just 23, and just weeks before her death, she was attacked in a mob-like beating after a minor traffic accident.

One week before those murders, 21-year-old Claire Legato was shot in the head in Cleveland. She was killed after an argument between her mother and the suspected shooter.

Earlier this year, two more black transgender women, Ashanti Carmon and Dana Martin, were also killed. Last year, more than two dozen transgender people were killed. And according to a 2018 Human Rights Campaign report, there were at least 128 trans people killed in 32 states since 2013; 80 percent of them were people of color.

Let's now take a closer look at this now with Beverly Tillery. She's executive director of the Anti-Violence Project, an LGBTQ anti-violence organization.

Beverly, welcome to the "NewsHour." Thank you for being with us.

I want to start by asking you about this recent state of killings. They happened across the country. The circumstances are all very different in each case. Do you know or believe that these women were targeted because they were transgender?

Down in Texas the violence and murders of trans people are also on the rise, in this New York Times article they write about the it.

After Third Killing of a Transgender Woman in a Year, Dallas Police Urge Vigilance
By Liam Stack
June 3, 2019

For the third time in less than a year, the Dallas police said Monday that they were investigating the killing of a transgender woman, raising the specter of a spree of violence targeting one of the most marginalized communities in the city.

The police said the woman, Chynal Lindsey, 26, was pulled out of White Rock Lake on Saturday afternoon. Her killing was the second in two weeks of a black transgender woman in Dallas, and she was the fifth transgender woman in three years to be violently attacked or found dead in the city.

At a news conference on Monday, Chief U. Reneé Hall of the Dallas Police Department said Ms. Lindsey’s body bore signs of “obvious homicidal violence.” When asked if there could be a serial killer hunting transgender women in the city, Chief Hall urged people to remain calm.
[…]
Major Vincent Weddington told reporters the department was investigating four unsolved murders of black transgender women: two that occurred in 2019, one in 2018 and one in 2015. In addition, the department said in a statement that the remains of a transgender woman were found in a field in July 2017. It said that case was classified as an “unexplained death.”
[…]
The police said last month there did not appear to be a connection between the two attacks against Ms. Booker. But the department said it was investigating similarities between her slaying and attacks on two other transgender women: an October murder and a nonfatal stabbing in April.

And in Philadelphia the police arrest a suspect in the murder of a trans woman.

Arrest Made In Transgender Activist Murder: Philadelphia Police
Michelle "Tamika" Washington, 40, was a longtime advocate for the transgender community in Philadelphia.
The Patch
By Max Bennett
May 21, 2019

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Police have made an arrest in connection with the murder of a Philadelphia woman known for her transgender activism.

Troy Bailey, 28, of Philadelphia, was arrested in connection with the Sunday, May 19 murder of Michelle "Tamika" Washington, 40.

Bailey was arrested the night of Monday, May 20 at 750 Race St., police said.
[…]
"Tamika's death has devastated our community," said Amber Hikes, Executive Director of Philadelphia's Office of LGBT Affairs. "As Tamika's loved ones and LGBTQ Philadelphians mourn her loss, our Office continues to stand in solidarity with trans women of color—who throughout history have fought for our rights, protected our communities, given us shelter, and reminded us of the incredible power of our identities."

Many of the attacks go unreported because we are afraid of the police, let’s face it for many trans people the police are not our friends.

Transgender Chicagoans say police encounters can be dehumanizing. A new report says CPD is failing them and we have good reason to fear them.
Chicago Tribune
By Hannah Leone
May 10, 2019

In her decade advocating for transgender people charged with crimes in Chicago, attorney Lark Mulligan says she has learned the patterns: “gender checks” that can feel like sexual assault. Name-calling. Feeling targeted, humiliated, dehumanized.

She was not surprised by a report this week concluding Chicago and 24 other big-city police departments all fail to meet the needs of the transgender community. Even when there is a policy, little is done to train officers or make sure they follow it, advocates say.
[…]
Mulligan said the report's findings resonate throughout her work in Chicago, where the Police Department is under a federal consent decree to improve, among other things, its policy on dealing with transgender people. “The policy itself is inadequate to say the least, and harmful I think in many ways, but in my experience, the few protections that are in there are rarely if ever followed by CPD officers interacting with trans people,” she said.

Would you pick up a phone to call 911 is you knew you were going to be harassed by the police if you called?

I know someone who was on vacation with her girlfriend down in Miami when they were harassed by three guys and a woman, they were verbally abusive and threating violence. They called the police and guess who the police blamed? The trans woman and her girlfriend, they were the ones the police went after, the victims not the abusers.

And the feds are becoming worse than the local police, an asylum seeker died in ICE custody.

Transgender asylum-seeker dies after six weeks in ICE custody

Johana Medina Leon, a transgender woman from El Salvador, died Saturday, the first day of Pride month.
NBC News
By Ben Kesslen
June 3, 2019

A transgender woman from El Salvador seeking asylum in the United States died Saturday in a Texas hospital four days after being released from custody, officials and advocates said.

Johana Medina Leon, 25, complained of chest pains and was brought to Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. That same day, ICE said she was processed for release on parole. Leon died on the first day of pride month.

"This is yet another unfortunate example of an individual who illegally enters the United States with an untreated, unscreened medical condition,” said Corey A. Price, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in El Paso, adding that "many of these aliens attempt to enter the United States with untreated or unknown diseases, which are not diagnosed until they are examined while in detention.”

And it is going to keep getting worse in today’s climate when “our leaders” in Washington look the other way to violence against all minorities. When “our leaders” encourage hate speech and call it “free speech”, when “our leaders” encourage discrimination and call it “religious freedom.”

I Can’t Carry A Tune

I am tone deaf but there is at least one trans person who isn’t…

'They Know That I'm The Real Deal': Transgender Baritone Makes Opera History
NPR
By Ari Shapiro Heard on All Things Considered
May 30, 2019

This month in Tulsa, Okla., opera singer Lucia Lucas made her U.S. debut. She also made history.

At the Tulsa Opera, Lucas sang the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Mozart's character is a ruthless, macho womanizer. Lucas is a transgender woman with a rich baritone voice and is the first known trans woman to sing a principal role on an American opera stage. In a conversation with NPR's Ari Shapiro, Lucas said she doesn't want her performances to be entirely defined by this historical marker.

"It's meaningful because any time something happens for the first time, it's meaningful," she says. "But it shouldn't be meaningful. Trans people shouldn't have a barrier to entry, except for just talent."
[…]
Lucas spoke with All Things Considered about her experience; hear the full conversation at the audio link.

Being out and being trans is one of the best ways to counter transphobia

You don’t have to be an activist to change people minds about trans people all you need to do is be yourself, you don’t need to be on stage, on television, you don’t need to wave the trans flag or leading a protest, all you have to do is be yourself. Go do your job, go do your shopping, and just live your life.

Ms. Lucas when she is on stage singing hopefully people will just be listening to the music and forget that she is trans. I think that is our goal to be seen as a person and not a trans person.

Who Has Our Backs?

Earlier, and earlier are the presidential politics is beginning, now it is over two years before the election are candidates are politicking for the office.

We hear that this or that candidate will have our backs, while other use their hate for us to get votes and donation and others are doing...

Targeted assault on transgender Americans highlights need for Equality Act
Bangor Daily News
By The Editorial Board.
June 1, 2019

Three times in one week, the Trump administration issued rules and proposals to take rights and protections away from transgender Americans. This is a targeted assault on an already vulnerable group of people that should concern all Americans.

Last Tuesday, the administration finalized a rule that allows health care workers to refuse to treat transgender patients based on religious objections. On Wednesday, it announced draft rules that would allow homeless shelters that receive federal funds to turn away transgender individuals.

And, in the most sweeping anti-transgender move yet, the administration last Friday, released a proposal that would gut patient protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity that were included in the Affordable Care Act. The same proposal would also eliminate protections from discrimination for women who have had abortions.
[…]
Sen. Susan Collins is the act’s lone Republican sponsor in the Senate, with only a handful of Republicans signing on in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“All Americans deserve a fair opportunity to pursue the American dream,” Collins said when the Equality Act was introduced in March. “It is time we ensure that all people are judged on their talents and abilities, and have full access to the services they need and the opportunities they seek.”

Just keep in mind that it was Sen. Collins who cast the one of the deciding votes in favor justice Kavanaugh.

Meanwhile Democratic candidate are fighting over one another who can protect our rights the best…

Kirsten Gillibrand unveils LGBTQ agenda on first day of Pride
CBS News
By Cara Korte
June 1, 2019

The only Democratic candidate for president who has campaigned at a drag club, is now the first candidate to present an agenda to protect the rights of gay and transgender Americans. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced Saturday — the first day of Gay Pride Month — her plan to help enforce LGBTQ rights.

Gillibrand's plan sorts priorities into four categories: equal rights, families and children, health care, and safety.

Gillibrand would also use the Department of Justice to classify LGBT individuals as a "protected class" and direct specific attorneys in the department to focus on the abolition of LGBT discrimination.

To safeguard equal rights, Gillibrand would call on two federal agencies to fight LGBTQ discrimination. Upon being elected, she would overturn the Trump administration's ban on transgender men and women serving in the military, and direct the Department of Defense to ban restrictive policies affecting HIV-positive members of the military.

Many other Democratic candidates say they are supporting us including former Vice President Biden.

Biden: Fastest way to end transgender violence 'is to end the Trump administration'
CNN Politics
By Caroline Kelly
June 01, 2019

(CNN) Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden on Saturday accused President Donald Trump's administration of endangering the LGBTQ community by failing to defend LGBTQ individuals' rights and safety.

In a speech to the Human Rights Campaign on the first day of Pride Month, Biden described the difficulties still faced by many transgender people, including lack of access to health care and social services, as well as transphobic violence that he said was enabled by the Trump administration.

"We've already had five, just this year, five black transgender women killed violently in 2019 -- that's outrageous. It must, it must, it must end," Biden said as the supportive crowd broke into applause.

"And the fastest way to end it is, end the Trump administration," he said, before referencing Trump's transgender military ban and move to withdraw protections for transgender students.

Biden argued that the Trump administration was at odds with the notion of America as a beacon of decency and stood "on the wrong side of history."

He says all the right things, but so do all the other Democratic candidates, however the election is still seventeen months away.

However there are those who don’t think that the Democrats are doing enough.

The Democrats’ Neglect of Transgender Rights
It's not just about bathrooms. It's about livelihoods—and lives.
The New Republic
By Casey Quinlan
May 28, 2019

To most political observers, President Donald Trump was never expected to champion transgender rights, but since taking office, Trump-Pence administration attacks on the trans community have been relentless. Since the start of 2017, the White House has instituted a trans military ban, rolled back protections for transgender access to bathrooms and other facilities, and erased references to LGBTQ people from government websites and from federal data, to name but a few of its actions. Recently, the administration let it be known it opposes the Equality Act, a nondiscrimination bill for LGBTQ people, which recently passed the House.

And Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a regulation that rolls back an Obama administration policy designed to protect transgender people from discrimination in health care. The Trump rule removes language from federal health care law that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

Yet, when the Trump administration began, with the virulently anti-LGBTQ Vice President Mike Pence at Trump’s side, Democrats shrank from the opportunity to even mention transgender people by name. Various pundits and talk show hosts called the struggles of transgender people “boutique issues” and “campus pet peeves.” In April 2017, David Betras, the longtime chairman of the Mahoning County, Ohio, Democratic Party, told media outlets that he didn’t think Democrats were sending the right message to blue-collar voters.

I think that actions are more important than words. When the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in 2009, it was the first law to include us. It is stated right there in the law that the victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

And it was signed into law by president Obama… a Democrat and no other legislation passed any chamber until this year when the Democrats took control of the House.

Do you remember in New York state when they passed SONDA in 2002 they said they would come back for us… well it took until 2019 to pass GENDA.

Why did it take so long to pass GENDA?

Well the Republican controlled the Senate until last year and the Democrats now have a trifecta the Senate, the Assembly, and the governorship.

Still, when NCTE recently asked every member of Congress to put a transgender flag outside their offices to show support for Trans Visibility Week, response was mixed. More than 100 members of Congress, including many Democrats running for the 2020 presidential nomination—such as Sanders and Senator Kamala Harris—did so. But that leaves more than 180 Democratic senators and representatives who decided not to participate in this simple show of support.

True. But how many Republicans displayed the trans flag?

Let’s look at legislation introduced around the country…

Democrats… Just about every pro-LGBTQ+ legislation has been introduced by Democrats.
Republicans… Just about every anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been introduced by Republicans

Yeah they might not talk about us on Sunday morning talk shows but they support pro-LGBTQ+ legislation and policies.

What’s my connection with this History’s Guy video?

Rampart General this is Squad 51

Back in 1976 I worked for a company called Pioneer Medical which made radio EKG machines to connect hospitals with ambulances, do you remember the TV show “Emergency?” Well we made those radios and base stations.

My connection is that in 1976 the company had the contract to install the system in Xenia Ohio and out I went to Ohio and it was an amazing sight to see. Every tree didn’t have a top and was leaning to one side and every tree was leaning in a different direction. There were blocks after blocks without any homes, just streets in a grid.

Saturday 9: It's Late

Sam’s Saturday 9: It's Late (1959)

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



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

1) Ricky Nelson laments that he should have been home hours ago. When is the last time you stayed up later than you should have? What were you doing?
The Saturday before Memorial Day, I had a party at my house and it didn’t break up until 11.

2) Compounding Ricky's problem is that he's nearly out of gas. How is your gas tank right now? When did you most recently fill 'er up?
On the way up to Cape Cod, I didn’t want to buy gas on the Cape; it is twenty to thirty cents more.

3) It gets worse! He can't call home because he doesn't have a dime for the pay phone. Have you recently been in a situation where you've been glad you had your cell phone handy?
No, but I wish a friend did. She stayed overnight at the party and she forgot he meds, some of the meds were expensive and couldn’t miss taking them. I called her cell and home phone and left her a voice mail, she lives 3 hours away so when she got home she had to turn around and come back to my house.

4) The video for this song is from an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ozzie Nelson, Ricky's father, was in charge of the show and made the rules. One was that no one was allowed to smoke on the set ... except his wife, Harriet. Do you smoke? Have you ever lived with a smoker?
Well it depends upon what type of smoke you’re smoking. Cigarettes I smoke about one week when I was around 10 or 11 and my father caught me! I couldn’t sit for a week.

5) Life magazine coined the phrase "teen idol" to describe Ricky's popularity. According to Tiger Beat, today's teen idols include Johnny Orlando and Ruby Jay. Johnny was born in 2003, Ruby in 2004. Sam admits that before today, she had no idea who these young people are. How about you?
Nope, never heard from them.

6) While Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan have posthumously praised Ricky Nelson's music, 1950s music critics dismissed him as a lightweight. What's the last review you read? Was it written by a professional critic, or was it contributed by a consumer to a site like Amazon or Yelp?
It was on Amazon and Home Depot reviews

7) At the height of his popularity, Ricky tried his hand at movies, appearing in the western Rio Bravo with John Wayne. He turned 18 during the filming, and Wayne celebrated by playfully throwing Ricky into a sack of horse manure. Do you think pranks and practical jokes are funny?
Nope, you are getting laughs at other people expense.

8) In 1959, when this song was popular, the St. Lawrence Seaway was completed. It connects Canada to our Great Lakes. Without looking it up, can you name all 5 Great Lakes?
Yes.
Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior

9) Random question – You drive past a local motel and see the car of a very married friend right there in the lot. Would you ask her about it?
Nope.
I would give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they had a fire in their house.


Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

Years Of Work Undone

With a stroke of a pen all of our work has been undone, for me it started with a late night phone call. A call from a trans woman sitting out on the street at night in sub-zero cold.

She was just thrown out of a male homeless shelter for being a trouble maker. Why? Because some of the other residents threw a chair at her and hurled derogatory comments at her… so the shelter instead of throwing out the trouble makers they threw out the victim.

Homeless shelters could deny transgender people under proposed Trump administration rule
USA Today
By Kristin Lam,
May 23, 2019

A Trump administration proposal could allow federally-funded homeless shelters to deny services to transgender people, marking what advocates say is another attack on the community.

The proposal, published Wednesday, would rollback Obama-era protections to prevent single-sex shelters from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development rule change, homeless shelter operators could create a policy to consider "an individual’s sex for the purposes of determining accommodation within such shelters and for purposes of determining sex for admission to any facility or portion thereof."

Some of you might remember Jennifer Gale who died in Austin Texas when she couldn’t find a homeless shelter on a cold Texas night and some of you might think it couldn’t happen here in Connecticut because we have laws protecting us…. WRONG!

Editorial: Trump rolls back protections for transgender Americans
San Francisco Chronicle
Chronicle Editorial Board
May 25, 2019

The Trump administration is going backward on transgender rights. In just the past week it announced that it is eliminating “gender identity” as a factor in health care and changing rules on federally funded homeless shelters in a way that could result in discrimination against transgender people.

These policies represent a disturbing reversal of gains in providing transgender Americans with equal protection under the law.

Most significantly, the Obama administration had redefined discrimination in health care “on the basis of sex” to include gender identity. In 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction against that policy, finding that “Congress did not understand ‘sex’ to include gender identity” as a basis for discrimination.

The Trump administration should have appealed that ruling. Instead, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new regulation that would align with the judge’s ruling.
[…]
The health care regulation was one of two federal rule changes that could sanction bias against transgender people. Also last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development rolled out a proposal that would allow federally funded homeless shelters to consider “privacy, safety, practical concerns, religious beliefs” in deciding whom to admit.

Those conditions raise the possibility that homeless transgender Americans could be denied shelter on religious grounds or claims of practical problems. The Housing and Urban Development department has said it would allow shelter providers “greater flexibility when making decisions about individuals who may misrepresent their sex to access female-specific or male-specific shelters.”

When we* were doing training for the homeless shelters around the state we faced pushback from some of the shelters. One shelter manager said “No way I am going to let a woman with a p**is in to ‘my’ shelter.” We tried to tell him he has to; that he agreed to do so when he accepted funding from the state of Connecticut and from the federal government. The woman from HUD tried to tell him he had to but when still refused, she said “well give back the money.”

The shelter manager complained to our Senators and his 6^th District Representative and they all said… obey the law!

Well that is all going to change under the Trump/Carson administration; they are striking our protection from the HUD policies that protect us and it will apply to any shelter receiving federal funding and that are all the shelters. But to make it even worst, their “religious special rights” policy will mean that federal policy will circumvent state laws. All a shelter would have to say to not allow a trans woman in a women’s shelter is say the magic words… “It is against my personal religious beliefs.”

So we are going to plunged back into the days of us freezing to death on a park bench.

*We =
AIDS CT
CT Coalition to End Homelessness
CT Fair Housing Center
CT TransAdvocacy Coalition
HUD (Last year we were told that HUD would not participate in the training anymore)

Saturday Is The Start Of Pride Month And Is Also…

When the statues to Ms. Rivera and Ms. Johnson will be announced.

Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York
Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, both key figures in the gay liberation movement, will be honored with a permanent installation in Greenwich Village.
The New York Times
By Julia Jacobs
May 29, 2019

Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, pioneering transgender activists who were at the vanguard of the gay rights movement, will be immortalized in a monument that may be placed down the street from the Stonewall Inn, the city said on Wednesday.

Ms. Johnson and Ms. Rivera were both drag performers and vibrant characters in Greenwich Village street life who worked on behalf of homeless L.G.B.T.Q. youth and those affected by H.I.V./AIDS. They are also believed to have been key figures in the June 1969 Stonewall Uprising who fought police as they raided the gay bar on Christopher Street.

The planned monument will be publicly announced on Thursday in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the uprising, which was a seminal moment for gay rights. It is also part of the city’s effort to fix a glaring gender gap in public art. Statues of L.G.B.T.Q. individuals are virtually nonexistent among the city’s monuments, and the city says the dedication to Johnson and Rivera will be one of the world’s first for transgender people.
[…]
The monument is estimated to cost about $750,000, a spokeswoman for the city said, and officials will begin searching for an artist shortly. Officials hope it will be completed by the end of 2021. Its exact location will be finalized after discussions with the community.

Who would have thought all those years ago that there would be statues to trans people honoring their achievements for our rights.

The article also said,

Even within the community of gay rights activists, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Rivera were often sidelined. Ms. Rivera often quarreled with gay political leaders who excluded transgender rights from their priorities, memorably warning, “Hell hath no fury like a drag queen scorned.”

Even today we still have to fight with some of “our gay brothers and our gay sisters” for our rights. 

We have been written out of Stonewall so many times in movies, in magazine articles, and in books that we have to be forever vigilant. How many times have to heard it was the beginning of the “Gay Rights” movement when in reality the Stonewall Uprising was the beginning of the LGBTQ+ movement.

Right in the heart of the uprising was Ms. Johnson and Ms. Rivera, no one know for sure who started the rebellion but one thing is certain is that there were lesbians and trans people right in the heart of the it.

Sylvia Rivera in an interview with Leslie Feinberg in 1998 in the magazine Workers World said,

In 1969, the night of the Stonewall riot, was a very hot, muggy night. We were in the Stonewall [bar] and the lights came on. We all stopped dancing. The police came in.

They had gotten their payoff earlier in the week. But Inspector Pine came in-him and his morals squad-to spend more of the government's money.

We were led out of the bar and they cattled us all up against the police vans. The cops pushed us up against the grates and the fences. People started throwing pennies, nickels, and quarters at the cops.

And then the bottles started. And then we finally had the morals squad barricaded in the Stonewall building, because they were actually afraid of us at that time. They didn't know we were going to react that way.

We were not taking any more of this shit. We had done so much for other movements. It was time.
[…]
I'm glad I was in the Stonewall riot. I remember when someone threw a Molotov cocktail, I thought: "My god, the revolution is here. The revolution is finally here!"

In another article this time by Jessi Gan “Still at the back of the bus”: Sylvia Rivera’s struggle she quotes Rivera… “characterizes the Stonewall Inn as ‘a white male bar for middle-class males to pick up young boys of different races.’”

We must be always watchful that we are not written out of history.

Will This Make A Difference?

Looking at how depathologize of gays and lesbians affected them I would say depathologize of gender dysphoria will have the same result.

The World Health Organization Will Stop Classifying Transgender People as Having a 'Mental Disorder'
Time
By Suyin Haynes
May 28, 2019

The World Health Organization (WHO) will no longer categorize being transgender as a “mental disorder”, after a major resolution to amend its health guidelines was approved May 25.

The United Nations’ health agency approved a resolution to remove “gender identity disorder” from its global manual of diagnoses, in a move that will have a “liberating effect on transgender people worldwide,” says Human Rights Watch. According to the newly-revised version of the International Classification of Diseases (known as ICD-11), published by the WHO, “gender identity disorders” have been reframed as “gender incongruence.” Gender nonconformity is now included in a chapter on sexual health, rather than being listed with “mental disorders” as was the case previously. Activists are now hoping that the ICD-11 will be implemented by the WHO’s 194 member states over the next three years.

In several countries around the world, the process of medically transitioning gender is based on the now-outdated ICD framework, which classifies being transgender as a “gender identity disorder” under the category of “mental disorders.” In Japan for example, the law requires those seeking to transition gender to have a diagnosis of “gender identity disorder” and to be sterilized before their new gender identity can be reflected on official documentation. U.N. member states, of which Japan is one, are now responsible for putting ICD-11 into practice at a national level, a lengthy process that has been given a target deadline of January 1, 2022.

Okay first let me say that I fully support this, we need to get us out of the DSM and into the ICD.

Let’s look at how depathologizing of sexual orientation effected gays and lesbians, well first it freed them from the closet and eventually lead to the merry-go-round golden ring of marriage equality. It lead to decriminalizing of being gay or lesbian, it lead to protections, and it lead to the normalization of being gay or lesbian. What it didn’t do change the minds of the bigots.

I see removing us from the DSM and being labeled with a “mental disorder” will have the same effect, the bigots will still hate us, and businesses will still discriminate against us but we will be accepted into society more readily.

What it will also do is shoot down Trump saying we can’t serve in the military because we have a “mental disorder” and all the things his cabinet has done against us will be harder to justify.

So the overall result I see in removing the categorization of having a “mental disorder” very positive, now if only the APA will do the same thing.

Okay, okay I did use the fact that I was diagnosed with a “mental disorder” once. I was in a jury pool for a very ghastly murder case where the defendant was going to plea “temporary insanity” and the judge asked of the jury pool, “has anyone been diagnosed with a “mental disorder?” my hand went up so fast… I was excused from the case.