[Discussion] Trans Issues and Rights

This thread is for the discussion of current events relating to trans rights, for discussion of the lives of trans people and difficulties they face, and for basic questions about the lives and experiences of trans people. (If basic questions become dominant we'll look at making a Q&A thread at that time.)

Two-Spirit Lakota Woman Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow is the Second Reported Trans Woman Murdered in the US This Year

Jai Bornstein, 19
Mesha Caldwell, 41
Jenny Swift, 49
Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, 28

23-year-old killed in officer-involved shooting in Sharon

Jai Bornstein, 19
Mesha Caldwell, 41
Jenny Swift, 49
Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, 28
Sean Hake, 23

We're at Del. Bob Marshals press conference on HB 1612 is a bill would that would cause immediate harm to our trans community & economy.
Speakers are maligning the trans community 1 after the other with false and misleading comments. One claiming it's "time for men to be men."
Del. Marshall makes the false claim that HB2 has has zero economic effect on North Carolina. Well ... http://www.forbes.com/sites/corinnej...
Remember you can let your legislators know that HB1612 should be dead on arrival http://equalityfederation.salsalabs....
Del. Bob Marshall say @Forbes article is "fake news."
Transgender Virginan asks "where should I use restroom?"

Del. Bob Marshall responds "not here."

That last one. Welp. :l

It Takes Enormous Privilege to Think Performing at Trump’s Inauguration Isn’t Political

Still, Evancho insists that her performance isn’t political. She told the New York Times, “I just kind of thought that this is for my country. So if people are going to hate on me it’s for the wrong reason.”
Evancho’s decision to perform for Trump is compounded by the fact that her 18-year-old sister, Juliet, is transgender. A lot of people are having a hard time reconciling her support of her sister, who is suing her school district over access to the women’s restrooms, and her support of Trump. She describes the bathroom lawsuit in the same way she talks about the inauguration, saying, “For me it’s not political. It’s just accepting people for who they are.”

I can't speak for what her sister is thinking but...I don't care how naive she is, if it were ME, then she'd be cut the f*ck out of my life permanently after that betrayal.

Rep. Borders courts needless controversy with birth certificate bill

There is no reason for this whatsoever. They just hate us and they won't stop.

Health experts condemn attempts to ‘cure’ trans people in wake of controversial BBC documentary

(didn't watch it but apparently it was as horribly researched and biased as you might expect)

The BBC has been hit with a string of formal complaints about documentary ‘Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?’, which aired last week.
The programme followed former gender doctor Kenneth Zucker, who was sacked from a clinic treating trans people in Canada because of concerns about his attempts to ‘cure’ transgender children. As part of treatment Dr Zucker encouraged parents to “set limits on things like cross-dressing” and stop them playing with “girlish” toys, in order to convince trans people to “feel more secure about his or her actual gender”. His practices were disavowed by Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health where he had run the Gender Identity Service, after concerns were raised about the harmful treatments.
In a coincidentally-timed announcement, today 13 groups – including the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the Royal College of GPs, the British Psychoanalytic Council and the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy – signed a statement disavowing any attempts to ‘cure’ trans people.
Plans are being drawn up by the groups for a Memorandum of Understanding a clear message that trying to change someone’s gender identity through therapy is impossible, unethical and potentially harmful. A similar Memorandum of Understanding for ‘gay cure’ therapy was created in 2015.

The full list of signatories of the announcement:

The signatories are: UK Council for Psychotherapy, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, British Psychoanalytic Council, British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies, The British Psychological Society, College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists, The Association of LGBT Doctors and Dentists, The National Counselling Society, NHS Scotland, Pink Therapy, Royal College of General Practitioners, the Scottish Government and Stonewall.

Chelsea Manning's sentence has been commuted. She's scheduled to be freed on May 17.

Article needlessly deadnames her, but this is such a relief.

Thank f*ck for that, about Bloody time. Although I'd like to see her out NOW and not 4 months into a Trump/Pence administration.

pyxistyx wrote:

Thank f*ck for that, about Bloody time. Although I'd like to see her out NOW and not 4 months into a Trump/Pence administration.

Yeah, that part confuses me. Is Trump/Pence able to reverse that action?

I don't think so, because I've never heard of other commutations being reversed after the fact. But I'm not sure of the source of the power, so maybe there's some loophole.

Edit - Looks like there's no balancing power to this power in the Constitution, so no way for the commutation to be reversed.

Demosthenes wrote:
pyxistyx wrote:

Thank f*ck for that, about Bloody time. Although I'd like to see her out NOW and not 4 months into a Trump/Pence administration.

Yeah, that part confuses me. Is Trump/Pence able to reverse that action?

Doesn't look like they can. (PDF warning):

Q4: Who can grant a commutation?
A: Only the president of the United States can grant a commutation to a person convicted in a
federal court. Congress and the federal courts do not have or share this power, cannot overturn
or reverse a commutation, and cannot create rules limiting the president’s use of the power

I would assume it's like a pardon, and Chelsea went through a full trial with conviction, so double jeopardy would apply.

About the schedule: This is apparently the standard for commutations. From the NYT article:

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2aPHkRVEAAXhcc.jpg)

TLDR: Virginia HB1612 (bathroom based on birth certificate + schools reporting students to parents) and HB2011 (telling trans people which bathroom to use isn't discrimination and individual school boards can't protect trans people) fail in committee, Human rights bill covering employment, housing, and public accommodations for queer people failed in committee. Human rights bill covering only employment has not yet passed or failed. "Religious Freedom" bill allowing people to not honor marriages passes the committee.

BREAKING: Virginia anti-trans bathroom bill gets tabled on voice vote
But a "religious freedom" bill involving exemptions for same-sex marriages lives on
(John Riley, Metro Weekly, 2017-01-19)

Boy Scouts will allow transgender children into programs

11 minutes ago
DALLAS (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America says it will allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in its boys only programs.

I don't know if this is the right place, but there is an active kidnapping of a trans person from Las Vegas..

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/2VgisAf.jpg)

Share it to social media if you can.

I think all the US people on my Facebook feed are just people from GWJ, but I've share it anyway.

White House will let Obama's rules on LGBTQ rights protections for Federal employees stand.

An executive order protecting gays and lesbians who work for federal contractors "will remain intact" at President Trump's direction, the White House says. The move could allay concerns that Trump might end recently adopted protections against an anti-LGBTQ workplace.

The White House announced the move in a relatively short statement early Tuesday, saying that the president "is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community."

The announcement comes after reports that the White House was considering a new executive order that would undo former President Obama's 2014 executive order that gave new protections to gay and transgender people. When it was signed, the order applied to 28 million workers — roughly a fifth of America's workforce.

In today's statement, the White House says, "The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression."

Wish we could trust the guy...

*suspicious Fry gif*

Big speculation is that they backpedaled when that anti-LGBTQ executive order leaked and prompted outcry. So the protests may very well be having an effect.

They're clearly trial ballooning a lot of things to see what they can get away with. I fully expect this crap to come back around later.

Demyx wrote:

They're clearly trial ballooning a lot of things to see what they can get away with. I fully expect this crap to come back around later.

I'd imagine he'll just sign any Religious Freedom bill that the GOP in the House and Senate sends up the line within the next month. Last I heard, a few different folks were writing one anyway. Why EO what will be law soon anyway?

Small town Texas Mayor comes out as Trans.

As the new mayor of New Hope, I would like to tell you all what a privilege it is to serve you. Since 2003 I have had the privilege of being an alderman, road commissioner and mayor pro-them. In May of 2016, I became your mayor.

My wife has lived in New Hope since she was 2 years old. Along with our 2 daughters, we have lived here since 1999, on the same farm my wife was raised. I was born and raised in Greenville, Texas.
As your Mayor I must tell you about something that has been with me since my earliest memories. I am Transgender. Twoyears ago, with the support of my wife, daughters and son-in-law, I began Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). At the time, I did not imagine I would hold the Mayors position, but here I am.
I know that transgender people are just coming to light in our society, and we have made great strides in the last few years. Celebrities like olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox from the show ‘Orange is the new Black’ and popular shows like ‘Transparent’ , society finally has a chance to see and learn about who we are. It is gender identity not sexual preference that applies to me. I love my wife, and she loves me, we have no intention of change. My daughters have been adamant supporters of me and are proud to tell people their father is transgender.

I am self employed and all of my customers have been understanding and supportive.
I live my life as a female now, and I will be performing my duties to the town as such. I have written a blog documenting my decision process and experiences as transgender and I think you would find it contains much insight. The site is JessHerbst.Com

I’m not especially sensitive to the pronoun I’m called, and I expect people to take time to make the change. I use the name Jess, a simple change from Jeff.

I will continue as Mayor and hope to do the very best for the town. Please feel free to email me questions or comments, my email is [email protected]. The Monthly Town Council meetings are on the last Tuesday of every month, at Town hall on Rockcrest. The meeting begins at 7:30pm. There is a spot for public comment at the beginning of each meeting if you wish to address me, or the council about this or any other town matter. I encourage you to do so, it really is the best way for the council to know what issues need addressing.

Thank you for your attention.

pyxistyx wrote:

Small town Texas Mayor comes out as Trans.

As the new mayor of New Hope, I would like to tell you all what a privilege it is to serve you. Since 2003 I have had the privilege of being an alderman, road commissioner and mayor pro-them. In May of 2016, I became your mayor.

My wife has lived in New Hope since she was 2 years old. Along with our 2 daughters, we have lived here since 1999, on the same farm my wife was raised. I was born and raised in Greenville, Texas.
As your Mayor I must tell you about something that has been with me since my earliest memories. I am Transgender. Twoyears ago, with the support of my wife, daughters and son-in-law, I began Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). At the time, I did not imagine I would hold the Mayors position, but here I am.
I know that transgender people are just coming to light in our society, and we have made great strides in the last few years. Celebrities like olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox from the show ‘Orange is the new Black’ and popular shows like ‘Transparent’ , society finally has a chance to see and learn about who we are. It is gender identity not sexual preference that applies to me. I love my wife, and she loves me, we have no intention of change. My daughters have been adamant supporters of me and are proud to tell people their father is transgender.

I am self employed and all of my customers have been understanding and supportive.
I live my life as a female now, and I will be performing my duties to the town as such. I have written a blog documenting my decision process and experiences as transgender and I think you would find it contains much insight. The site is JessHerbst.Com

I’m not especially sensitive to the pronoun I’m called, and I expect people to take time to make the change. I use the name Jess, a simple change from Jeff.

I will continue as Mayor and hope to do the very best for the town. Please feel free to email me questions or comments, my email is [email protected]. The Monthly Town Council meetings are on the last Tuesday of every month, at Town hall on Rockcrest. The meeting begins at 7:30pm. There is a spot for public comment at the beginning of each meeting if you wish to address me, or the council about this or any other town matter. I encourage you to do so, it really is the best way for the council to know what issues need addressing.

Thank you for your attention.

I hope Jess has a good spam filter. I can't imagine the deluge of garbage about to hit that inbox.

I suspect Trump's play here is going to be 'We're going to protect you from the scary Muslims', which is the same thing he did after Pulse.

FWIW I've been seeing that the kidnapped trans woman was found alive in New Mexico.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Las...

Freyja wrote:

I suspect Trump's play here is going to be 'We're going to protect you from the scary Muslims', which is the same thing he did after Pulse.

FWIW I've been seeing that the kidnapped trans woman was found alive in New Mexico.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Las...

Thank you for the update. That's equal parts relieving and terrifying.

I didn't think that the election would end up being this bad so soon. I thought there would be a lot more posturing like most administrations, but this guy is going full board out the gate. I am very thankful to be in CA and I imagine there will be a lot more people fleeing here when orders get heavier.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politi...

"Just wait and see.."

You motherfu----

NCAA continues to squeeze North Carolina. No playoff or championship venue bids will be considered for NC through 2022 unless HB2 is repealed in the next 7-10 days.
http://deadspin.com/north-carolina-w...

I've been watching a show called Terriers on Netflix. Great show. I've no idea how I've never heard much about it until now, but it ran for one season on FX before it was cancelled. Anyway, in episode 9 there is a trans character that is a major part of the plot line. Has anyone here seen that episode? I was wondering what some of your thoughts might be on the way the character was portrayed and especially the way the episode ended.