The Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has sent a letter instructing insurers to review their policies and identify and correct any exclusionary language that would prohibit a transgender person from similar procedures available to non transgender persons.
These procedures include transitional costs and Sexual Reassignment surgery. Insurers have 90 days to submit the corrections for review.
Source: Transgender Law Center "The DMHC directive applies to HMOs and PPOs regulated by the Department of Managed Health Care. In 2012, the Department of Insurance issued non-discrimination regulations with similar protections for health insurance regulated by the Department of Insurance. Combined, this means that all California health plans and insurers cannot arbitrarily deny medically necessary services provided to other policy holders or members simply because the patient is transgender.
The newly issued DMHC letter instructs health plans to revise current plan documents to remove exclusions and limitations related to gender transition. For transgender people, how and when they transition is typically a private decision made with their doctor. The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians have all deemed transition-related care to be medically necessary for transgender patients."
Individuals with questions about today’s announcement or other questions about their health coverage should contact the Department of Managed Health Care’s Help Center at 1-888-466-2219 / http://www.HealthHelp.ca.gov.
Transgender Californian’s who experience discrimination or have legal questions should contact Transgender Law Center at 417.865.0176 x306/ http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org
For more information or interview requests please contact Mark Snyder, Communications Manager, 415.865.0176 x310, .mark@transgenderlawcenter.org
Transgender Law Center works to change law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org
I'm not going to bash anyone for watching porn, even porn they didn't pay for >until now that is. Most all of us have accidentally on purpose looked at images like those at least briefly, for a few hours. So what's the harm? There's a few people in the Vatican City who are watching the porno transgender porn. But who could it be?
I don't know, maybe one of the 58 cardinals, 293 clergy with status as members of pontifical pornographic representations or 62 other members of the clergy. Maybe one of the 101 members of the Swiss Guard or the remaining 43 are other lay persons? It could have been any of the nearly 100 percent male citizens of Vatican City.
Here's the Rub
After these self righteous pious assholes made me cry condemning me for being who god made last Christmas eve they went back to their bedrooms and jacked off to stolen pornographic movies of people just like me. THATS FUCKED UP.
I am always interested in reaching more of our diverse global trans and allied community so I often research who is visiting planetransgender and what key words were used to find our blog. Without fail searches from religiously oppressive countries like Saudi Arabia, and the Vatican include the pejorative "tranny" and "sex". Those visits are always short because they don't care about us, they just want to masturbate. They quickly leave and head to a porn site.
Now I'm going to extrapolate. Get your head outta the gutter, I said extrapolate not masturbate. Sheesh. OK so I said I wasn't going to condemn anyone for watching porn 'until now' right? Well, I'm calling these Christians out. Not just because they condemn us but because the very same people who star in these movies, the ones they condemn, age and when we age, people stop filming them and they end up, god forbid, like me, on the streets. Prostituting myself. Gang and drug dependent. Alone. Beaten and hopeless.
I'm not implying any of the actresses they were watching had life experiences like mine but this is my 2,002 post since 2007 and I can't venture how many of those articles were about alienated trans people murdered while engaging in or being in the vicinity of gang activity, illegal drugs and known areas of prostitution.
With out hope.
How many of them like myself only needed that one break to make it? How many of our brothers and sisters became so saddened by these Vatican Assholes trans bashing us they turned away from the lord? Forever is a very long time.
And these Vatican city jack offs could care fucking less. Like I said they don't visit web sites to learn who they are condemning. They could care less. Assholes.
One of the actresses had a different and valid complaint about the Vatican's religious duplicity. Tiffany Starr released the following statement Monday evening on the Daily Dot:
I have always identified as a Transsexual Woman and got into porn to be able to express my open views of sex. I consider myself bi-sexual but really enjoy women and other transsexual women. My scene with Sheena Shaw was steamy, affectionate and raunchy so I can see why whomever at the Vatican watched picked us. Porn isn’t as taboo as many people try and make it out to be. For someone to know what they enjoy and pleases them isn’t taboo but a great form of self expression. I am sure Christians feel it was sinful as part of their morals but I think its great that this person was taking time to enjoy himself. What I don’t agree with is downloading it from a tube site. Tube Sites steal the work of producers and stars who work and spend money to produce them only to have them illegally downloaded from a site, thus “thou shall not steal”. So as much as I am pleased that he enjoys my body of work, no pun attended, I wish it was done the correct way. So with that being said I must show my compassion and charity work and if the person himself wants to email me tstiffanystarrxxx69@yahoo.com then I would be happy to send him a free autographed DVD and a personal thank you.
Masen Davis Executive Director of Transgender Law Center and Cristan Willaims of the Transgender Center debate Representative John Kavanagh, author of HB 1045.
A naked trans person is committing a lewd act by default according to Kavanagh. It follows then if a naked cisgender person and a naked trans person were standing side by side in a place of public accommodations the trans person would be subject to arrest if the facilities owner or manager decided so. Kavanagh's law would not pertain to cisgender people.
Kavanagh is still living in the Jim Crow era. His previous bill made it illegal for a trans person to be in public accommodations that did not correlate with there birth certificate unless they were looking after a minor or cleaning it.
Two days after his 19-second knockout win over Philip De Fries, UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione has had his contract suspended by the promotion for calling Fallon Fox a "lying, sick, sociopath, disgusting freak.". according to USA Today.
This is making headlines everywhere but in the world of MMA cage fighting calling someone a freak happens everyday, so what really got Mitrione suspended?
Mitrione: In the heat of a moment you can have a full rational thought. When I was starting my ground pounding against Phil I though about my options and immediately thought since he (Fallon Fox) is a Lioyd Irvin student maybe he doesn't know how to defend against a rape joke. He definitely knows how to apply a rape joke but he doesn't know hoe to defend it"
Ariel Helwani : All of a sudden you win a fight and you get your swag back thats nice to see.
Mitrione: My favorite joke is the last one, this is where it gets kinda gruesome..."
"It's amazing how life imitates art. The lead antagonist Buffalo Bill is a woman beater that pretends to be a woman well maybe instead of being the queen of swords Fallon Fox should consider being the king of the buffaloes."
"I have not seen a man beat a woman like that since Chris Brown beat Rihanna. That is just exceptional how he (Fallon Fox) beatss unknowing woman like that. Anyways my last joke since he's obviously intent on braking all the rules on fighting, if he ever fights again which I hope he doesn't if he loses to a woman will he charge that woman with a hate crime since that woman opposes on his freedom as a tranny?
Ariel Helwani : Why do you hate Fallon Fox so much and why do you keep callin a 'she' a 'he'?
Then looks directly into the camera no longer reading from a card explains:
"Because he's not a she. He had a gender change not a sex change he's still a man for 31 years, 31 years, thats a couple years younger than I am, he was a man and 6 years of taking performance dehancing drugs you think it's going to change all that? Thanks ridiculous. That's a lying sick sociopathic disgusting freak! And I man that because you lied on your license to beat up woman. That' disgusting you should be embarrassed of yourself...the Florida licence deal that's an embarrassment to us we should all protest that. The woman thats fighting him props to you I hope you beat his ass and I hope he gets black balled and never fights again."
The possible penalties Mitrione might face may include a finical penalty which would be a huge hit on his finances now he finally won a bout.
But the last thing Mitrione would want would be the penalty UFC Executive Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence Epstein detailed when akec about the new code of conduct in February:
“For example, if you make a discriminatory comment about a certain community, you would be required to provide some community service to that community,” Epstein said. “In our view that’s going to turn into a benefit. It’s easy to criticize people you don’t know, but once you get to know somebody, once you get to experience what they’re all about it sort of changes you as a person in a way that money or fines could never do.”
In February KPFA News reported on Black transgendered Berkeley resident Kayla Moore's death in Berkeley Police custody, after a violent struggle with police at her apartment on Allston Way on February 12th. Earlier this week Berkeley Copwatch, which has been conducting a citizen investigation of Moore's death, contacted KPFA to say that the coroner's autopsy report on the cause of Moore's death will be withheld indefinitely at the request of the Berkeley Police Department.
KPFA spoke to Berkeley Copwatch founder Andrea Prichett, who said that she and other Berkeley Copwatchers plan to attend the Berkeley City Council meeting on April 30th, at City Council Chambers, 2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Berkeley, at 7 pm.
On February 12th, 2013 Officers from the Berkeley Police Department killed a transperson named Kayla Moore. In the days to follow, BPD would remain silent on how somebody could just die in their custody.
As the weeks passed, Berkeley Copwatch was able to get some information from the coroner, and on February 28th they held a press conference to call for an investigation into Kayla's suspicious death.
Berkeley Police would still not come forward with any information.
On March 12, one month after the killing, a autonomous protest would be held in Berkeley by concerned people from around the bay.
Instead of bringing answers, Berkeley Police brought undercover units, who would fan out into the march attempting to identify "leaders" of a leaderless march. The march started in People's Park, would go to the police station, and end back by the park without incident.
If Berkeley Police put as much time, money, and energy into the investigation of Kayla Moore's death, as they did on this particular march, the "investigation" would have been done weeks ago.
Seems a skeleton was found in Prague. What made this skeleton special was she was facing east, was surrounded by jugs and was pre op! Next thing I'm reading is how the skeleton might be the oldest known gay bones. So I got a exclusive interview with her Gurrl, the the transgender Prague Skeleton.
Gurrl explained how it was back in the Corded Ware culture of the Copper Age thousands of years and religions ago. "Yeah so we GNB (Gender Non Conforming Bones) had it pretty good back then...except some of the right wingers bones got all bent when we'd do our 'business" Gurrl elaborated, "..so there were boulders chiseled woman and and some chiseled "men". Naturally us female trans skeletons would go with the cis woman skeletons. It was cool for years but then out of the blue this one freakazoid skeleton named Kavanagh introduced "NoRock4U" sticks. It was all messed up"
So there you have it. Somethings haven't changed. But we're working on it.
Karen Quimby, a regional field director for HRC, tearfully explained to San Antonio Gender Association (SAGA) she was only enforcing "message control" when she hounded a young trans flag waver to tears demanding he take our flag out of camera view.
According to the witnesses she returned three times finally bring reinforcements to tell the the young man 'marriage equality isn't a trans issue'. Quimby said she couldn't remember if she had said that (message control again?) but according to QSanantonio she said she 'might' have said something to that affect.
Quimby told SAGA she didn't know what a trans flag looked like when she confronted Brian. This is extremely hard for me to believe. Quimby, a senior staffer her employment is listed on the same page as the HRC president where she..."develop(s) field organizing plans and implementing strategies to elect fair-minded candidates and to pass pro-equality federal, state and local laws "with HRC since 2010.
Brian posted this introduction and video on his facebook wall.
"This moment right catches the feeling of what happen last week in Washington DC. C.d did what I couldn't after, I had been threaten by a videographer that she was gonna burn the Trans* Flag, I had it off and wondered how we were going this ...situation...this is what started our mission of holding HRC accountable for their actions. This WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN...not while Autumn GetEqual Leaf, Sally Jo, Liberty Manos, Tom GetEqual Morgan, Melissa Kleckner, Jerame Davis, John M. Becker, Scott Stuart Gaffney and myself continue to make sure ALL of use are EQUAL!"
The complete HRC message was that there are no undocumented queer or trans people in the marriage equality movement, only all American red white and blue flag wavers.
Some at the SAGA meeting noted much of the conversation then focused the near total lack transgender employed by HRC.
I was at the Philadelphia LGBT media convo and had the pleasure of hearing Allyson Robinson speak about her time at HRC. She spent much of her time lamenting about how some had said she was a token to HRC. She then went on to explain passionately she believed she had a positive influence as the lone trans employee during those years.
I would not venture to speak for Donna Rose, the only other recent trans employee, who's tenure was so unceremoniously discontinued after Joe Solmonese's snub post ENDA. It was traumatizing for many including myself. We believed in HRC until that moment not because of what they were but because we believed and loved Donna.
So does HRC discriminate against transgender people in employment or is it that no self respecting trans person would allow themselves to be yet another HRC pawn? In my heart I know somewhere there's a high profile trans person who would jump willy nilly into the opportunistic HRC spotlight.
But that's not going to help transgender people. We need meaningful employment in the rank and file. Maybe Quimby's job?
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mara in person after all these years and I got to tell you, she impressed me. I included this clip from the Philly LGBTmedia convo because Mara's narrative was a harbinger of the events that followed. When we compartmentalize our community's needs we stratify our advocacy monetarily inevitably delineating urgency, alienating those who are not part of the "message". Again.
[bing translate] Angel Okan, Bursa, transgender Irem Okan's mother brutally murdered in 2010, stabbed 44 times. This documentary, seven mom and dad, they live in a conservative, homophobic and transphobic society, parents, family and what it means to be an activist again be described, these special experiences with the audience witness to share in a friendly manner.
Source Turkey Gay Club: Turkey, especially in recent years, a growing conservatism in making itself felt, and many life significantly under the influence of the sanctions to continue.
On the other hand come out with the moms and dads told the children of LGBT and LGBT these approaches and other relatives and friends, and have received impressive results when they try to convince all of society.
So far, they have families LİSTAG'lı interviews, participated in both events or news pseudonyms are used in newspapers and magazines all the time and not showing their faces were included. Now open up the society, family members who choose to show their faces so they decided to realize my child documentary and crossed the whole world in front of the camera to announce the words
Michelangelo Signorile takes apart the rationale behind John Kavanagh's noloo4u bill recently voted out of committee along party lines. His original bill expressly targeted transgender people for all intents made normal daily functions illegal.
Signorile: So now a business could make a choice (subjective determination) and not allow someone to use there restrooms?
Kavanagh replies indicating his abhorrence of gender non conforming people "Someone who is biological male but thinks in there mind they are female" would be allowed to patronize stores, restaurants and other places of public accommodations. What the business could do is to restrict a person from using there restrooms and could call the police if they refused to comply.
Kavanagh: "Bathroom wasn't the central issue. People are clearly uncomfortable when a person enters a bathroom of the opposite sex all off us have experienced that." (really?)
Signorile: "so what are you worried about? No one knows or cares about whats going on in the next stall over!"
Kavanagh defends his bill saying "A tree fall in the the woods nobody hears it " implying if his law is broken and no one knows or is harmed by us using the bathroom that keeps us from being attacked, who would know?
Exactly!
Q:If we trees have been falling since the beginning of time why would Kavanagh criminalize our 'movements' now, when no one ever heard us falling before?
A:Transphobia
So you're standing on a corner minding my own when a cop suddenly whirls you around, gratuitously grabs your tits and ass and throws you roughly in a squad car charging you with prostitution.
You're crime? Being in possession of nine condoms, wearing $990 platforms, a slit mini skirt and white pirates top, braless.
But really, what did you do wrong?
In order to be arrested for what you were wearing as a NY Times article "Arrests by the Fashion Police" frames it, you would have to have committed a fashion Faux Pas. So whats that?
A faux pas is "a socially awkward or tactless act, especially one that violates accepted social norms, standard customs, or the rules of etiquette".
Well you're not tactless, violating social norms and customs enough to get busted and sure not messing with anyone's etiquette. And nether am I. We're just expressing our gender, legally and creatively.
I think the Times well intentioned article unintentionally puts the victims in the offenders camp. The fact is the NYPD see us as convent easy targets of opportunity to satisfy there bosses insatiable appetite for stop and frisks.
NYPD, we are GNC. We are here.
Plus, writing about this is a great excuse to show off my new pumps.
be sure to check out the boycott petition at the end of the Indigo girls letter PETICIÓN A LAS PARTICIPANTES EN EL 'Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival' (MWMF): BOICOT AL 'MWMF' HASTA QUE LAS ORGANIZADORAS INCLUYAN COMPLETAMENTE A LAS MUUJER3ES TRANSEXUALES
We want you to know some of our thoughts about our participation in Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Indigo Girls have a lot of respect for protest and dialogue in our feminist and queer movements, and we want to do our part to encourage growth and evolution in our community. We care about MWMF deeply, and in our years of playing the Festival, we have evolved and benefited from the experience. We have received many gifts from this unique and powerful gathering.
Our hope for all the past years has been that the Festival would move towards an intention of Trans-Inclusion. We have continued to search our selves and look at both sides of this issue and truly respect the different points of view, but have always come back to our core belief that Trans Womyn should be included in the Festival, and their womynhood should be honored by the intentions of MWMF. The current intention for the Festival to be for “Womyn born Womyn” only grew out of an important necessity to honor the idea that womyn have a variety of self expression and appearance and they need a safe space where their womynhood is not in question as they stand in many different places on the spectrum from femininity to masculinity. This intention has a very important historic basis and has kept the space safe for many womyn over the years. But we strongly feel that the time is long overdue for a change of intention, to one that states very plainly the inclusion of Trans Womyn. To us, this change of intention is the only path to a truly
“safe space” for womyn.
We are in a time of struggle and rapid changes in our movement and we would be remiss to not recognize that many of the strides that have been made are a result of Trans Activism and the strength and perspective they have brought to the queer and feminist revolutions. We feel that if someone identifies as a womyn, they are a womyn and should be welcomed into our community with open arms. We will only be stronger for it.
We will be playing the Festival this year in the spirit of change We encourage the Founders and the community of MWMF to find the bravery and compassion that we are all endowed with to create a space that is Trans Inclusive. We know these changes are complex and take time and careful consideration. MWMF has a long and important history of being on the cutting edge of positive change- a torchbearer for the hard transitions within the feminist and queer movements. This is the time to fulfill MWMF’s most vital role in our community and help to honor the Trans Community out in the world, by honoring them within the world of Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. We hope in the end that we can all find our “safe space” and comfort on the sacred land of MWMF.
We understand that there are many folks who feel passionately about these issues, but we encourage people on both sides to act peacefully when they express themselves. There is nothing to be gained from hateful rhetoric or aggressive actions. All over the world queer, and specifically Trans folks are beaten and killed for being who they are. The community of MWMF has a responsibility to fight this hate and be a beacon of love and light for all womyn suffering under hate and oppression, and this includes our Trans Sisters. If you are against Trans Inclusion at MWMF, that is your prerogative, but that does not mean you have to be aggressive towards the Trans community. This kind of hate and aggression will rip our community apart and we all know who benefits from “divide and conquer” and it’s not womyn or queers.
Although we are playing the festival, we honor the current protest against MWMF and hope that it will help move the community towards change. Any money that we make playing the Festival will go towards Trans Activism. We will make a statement from stage at the Festival in support of Trans Inclusion. We have made it clear that this will be our last time at the Festival until MWMF shows visible and concrete signs of changing their intention. We have no animosity towards anyone in this case but see the deep and fearless legacy that MWMF has had during its existence and we honor that. We also honor the prayerfulness that has been a part of this struggle on both sides. This is not an easy path, so we empathize with all who struggle to make their decisions. We love Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival and hope for it’s continued presence and power in our lives.
Sincerely,
Amy and Emily, Indigo Girls
April 4th, 2013
FIRMEMOS TODAS/OS PARA PARAR LA TRANSFOBIA, EL CISEXISMO Y LA EXCUSIÓN DE LAS MUJERES TRANSEXUALES DEL 'Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival', el evento «para mujeres»[sic] (SOLAMENTE para mujeres CISEXUALES, ya que NOS EXCLUYE EXPRESAMENTE A LAS MUJERES TRANSEXUALES) más grande del mundo:
"The official stance of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival indicates that the Festival is open only to cisgender women and that transgender women are not officially allowed on the grounds as volunteers or attendees. This is in accordance with a long-standing policy of exclusion that founder and producer Lisa Vogel confirmed as recently as 2006. Although in the past some of the staff has “looked the other way,” the policy against trans women that is in place has cultivated a climate of transphobia at the Festival. This situation is unwelcoming and unsafe for transgender women and has become a divisive influence on feminist communities, both at Fest and around the US."
SourceKBTX.com: "It was standing room only in the meeting room of the Texas A&M Student Senate Wednesday night as senators voted in favor of the "Religious Funding Exemption Bill," a bill recommending to university leadership that students have the ability to opt out of mandatory student fees which are contrary to a student's particular religious or moral views."
"The vote total as announced at the meeting was 35-28 - an official count published by the Senate has yet to have been published."
"The bill, which previously bore the name "The GLBT Funding Opt-Out Bill", has taken heat from critics who say the bill is a blatant attempt to de-fund Texas A&M's Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Resource Center."
I was overwhelmed with sadness today thinking about this today. It is a shame people who call themselves Christians should spend so much time and energy making others foreigners to the lord. Welcome to Texas young minds.
This video is heart wrenching. Kelly Young was truly loved by her family, friends and community. She was loved.
Early Wednesday morning police were called to a home in the 2200 block of Barclay Street for a report of a shooting.
Rescue crews found Young inside of the home; she died at the hospital.
If you have any information about the murder of Kelly Young, you can call the Baltimore City Police Homicide Division at (410) 396-2100.
A Houston transgender student who was originally denied her right to attend prom in a dress has received good news!
Source: ABC: Tony Zamazal says she asked the school last month for permission to wear a dress to prom, along with a wig, makeup and pump style shoes. Zamazal says the Spring HS assistant principal initially told her that would be unacceptable, because boys were tuxedos and girls wear dresses.
"I had gotten kind mad, ranted on Facebook, and it kind of blew up from there," Zamazal said.
Zamazal tells us she appealed to the principal, who allegedly said she would have to consult with the school board because it would be a community decision. Zamazal, at that point, went public with her dismay and the ACLU offered to help, writing a letter on her behalf to the school district, explaining that the school's position was unconstitutional.
Two Christian Democrat MPs, Tuve Skånberg and Annelie Enochson, have broken ranks and are opposing a goverment sponsored proposal doing a way with the country's forced sterilization of transgender people.
Since 1945 the Swedish goverment has required transgender people to be sterilized prior to official recognition of their authentic gender. Currently this requirement has little practical affect on a trans woman's life, other than the traumatic realization her goverment doesn't want any more people like her, as uterine transplants have not yet been perfected. However this requirement deprives trans men from there right to procreate.
The English language source "The local" reports that the the two Mps are warning in a oped published in the right wing newspaper "Dagen" that a 'third gender' would be created if trans Swedish transmen were allowed to give birth.
The infamous Dagan was one of the first newspapers to reprint Jyllands-Posten's Muhammad cartoons which, according to the editor, was made in the name of freedom of speech. The printing of these drawings resulted in attacks on Norwegian installations in some parts of the Muslim world.
The Swedish goverment is currently being sued by transgender people for it forced eugenics requirment.
Gay Star News Reports: "Last month, Wilson admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old girl who said she was 16, after telling her he was 16 when he was really 22."
"He also admitted to kissing and cuddling another girl who was also 15 at the time, and also lied about his age."
"Despite the ages, it is believed due to the ‘obtaining sexual intimacy by fraud’ charge, Wilson was only convicted on the basis he had lied about his gender history."
"Nathan Gale, development worker at the STA, said: ‘There are other factors involved in this case, the two young women involved were only 15, but in bringing these particular charges the message the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has sent to trans people is, we will criminalize you if you fail to disclose your gender history to sexual partners."
"Source Scottish Transgender Alliance:" On 6th March 2013, a court case was heard in the Edinburgh High Court where a Scottish trans man was accused of two counts of 'obtaining sexual intimacy by fraud' for not disclosing his gender history and real age to two teenage girls. He entered a guilty plea, meaning he will face jail time. Sentencing has been deferred pending background reports."
"The Scottish Transgender Alliance is very concerned about this case and the message the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is sending to trans people. The Scottish Transgender Alliance strongly oppose any criminalisation of trans people for not revealing their gender history to sexual partners. Obviously there are other factors involved in this case and other details which we may not know of. However we have requested an urgent meeting to clarify the position of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service on this. We have also sent a letter to the Lord Advocate expressing our concerns."
"If you share our concerns, please consider signing our online petition "Trans Privacy Not Jail" which calls upon Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to urgently work with trans equality organisations to address the concerns of trans people that they risk imprisonment simply for non-disclosure of their gender reassignment status to sexual partners."
Equality Texas is shepherding SB237 through the Texas Senate. As a transgender Texan I will tell you this. We desperately need this legislation to become law. Many companies will hire us but have no idea how strongly our employment will be resented by staff potentially making our daily lives a living hell.
"S.B. 237 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression."
"Currently, employment protections are in place to protect employees and job applicants against discrimination based on race, color, disability, religion, sex, and national origin. S.B. 237 adds sexual orientation or gender identity or expression to that list."
"Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Several cities in Texas, including Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio provide such protections to municipal employees."
Similar bills by Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, went through the motions the last three legislative sessions but failed to pass. Villarreal filed a companion bill this year that will be heard by the House Economic & Small Business Development committee.
The allegations stem from a June 15, 2012, incident, when Smith’s mother, Jenette Cox called 911 after Smith – a transgender woman who was born a man – went into diabetic shock. When EMS responders arrived on the scene and found the victim to be transgender, they failed to render services, Cox alleges.
“This is somebody who needed urgent care and didn’t get it, and basically what stopped them were breasts on an originally male body,” said Ilya Novofastovsky, the Sheepshead Bay attorney representing Cox in the malpractice and discrimination case against the NYPD and the FDNY, which operates the EMS.
Brennan sent me this tweet yesterday as she began outing trans people who were on the dating site "OK Cupid".
In Brennan's mind this was punishment for our telling the readers of the Time article she was attacking trans people on, who she really is.
Cathy Brennan is an attorney believe it or not. But this isn't the first time she maliciously outed a trans person. Brennan had no qualms about outing a trans teen to his school high school.
HRC is slipping into a quicksand pit of duplicity and once again it's trans and queer people who are suffering.
On March 27th HRC staff members accosted C.d. Kirven and Brian who were waving a Bi flag and a trans flag respectfully, while attending the marriage equality rally at the Supreme court.
The HRC staff members were most upset by the trans flag focused in on Brian, terrorizing him to tears to the point he dropped our flag and ran off crying. C.d., a cisgender ally, jumped in at that time picked up our trans flag and stood her ground proudly waving our flag for us.
HRC has since offered two contradicting statements:
The latest on April 1, 2013 by Fred Sainz, Vice President, Communications and Marketing.
"Human Rights Campaign Statement on March 27 Events"
"In the midst of a tremendously historic week for our community, two unfortunate incidents at the United for Marriage event at the Supreme Court last week have caused pain in the community. In one case, a trans activist was asked to remove the trans pride flag from behind the podium, and in another, a queer undocumented speaker was asked to remove reference to his immigration status in his remarks."
"HRC joined in a coalition statement on Friday apologizing for these incidents and the individuals involved have personally offered their apologies to those affected. But to be perfectly clear, HRC regrets the incidents and offers our apologies to those who were hurt by our actions. We failed to live up to the high standard to which we hold ourselves accountable and we will strive to do better in the future. Through both our legislative and programmatic work, HRC remains committed to making transgender equality a reality."
In a previous press release on March 28th HRC Communications director Michael Cole-Schwartz issued this statement to Qnotes denying any wrong doing in response to the growing ground swell of condemnation.
“It was agreed that featuring American flags at our program was the best way to illustrate this unifying issue which is why when managing the area behind the podium, several people were asked to move who were carrying organizational banners, pride flags or any other flag that was not an American flag,” the statement read. “Several people refused and they were allowed to stay. The coalition welcomed the variety of signs and flags that were throughout the plaza that demonstrated the wonderful diversity of our community.”
HRC added, “It is a not true to suggest that any person or organization was told their flag was less important than another — this did not occur and no HRC staff member would ever tolerate such behavior. To be clear, it is the position of the Human Rights Campaign that marriage is an issue that affects everyone in the LGBT community.”
I just contacted C.d. Kirven. I asked her if anyone had contacted her or Brian and offered an apology. C.d. Responded "No one has contacted me. I'm unsure about Brian."
First off, HRC did NOT join in the apology made by the coalition. At that time they too busy lying saying they were innocent of all the allegations.
If it weren't for social media HRC wouldn't have said a thing about their tyrannical behaviour much less offer a 'personal apology' to thin air. They still need to contact these three people personally, Jerssay Arredondo, Brian and C.d. Kirven and present themselves as a responsible respectable organization and offer a heartfelt apology.
And please, don't don't tell me 'oh everything is fine now can we get back to winning' because the shit is broken and ignoring the problem is not going to help. The public thanks to the white washed portrayal of the marriage equality movement during the rally doesn't know undocumented trans and queer folk are the ones most affected by the upcoming supreme court marriage ruling.
And thats just how HRC wants it.
HRC needs to come to terms with the fact rich white men are not the only people in this struggle. HRC needs to put our interests, undocumented binary non conforming queer and trans people in front of corporate concerns then maybe, just maybe we can say things are getting better.
C.d. kirven who along with another person are the people Jerame Davis, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats witnessed being bullied by HRC at the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Rally.
C.d. wants to clear the air and sent this statement on what transpired:
"Happy Easter! The flag belong to Alex Rangel of Get Equal who brought the trans flag at the rally. Brian was waving the flag for Alex as I waved the Bi Pride flag. When HRC asked Brian to remove the flag an argument ensued then another woman walked up to Brian stating she was going to burn the flag while I was having words with the first women then Brian dropped the flag on the ground and ran off crying.
I tried to console him but he kept crying. I grabbed the Trans Pride flag and dared either one to say anything to me. The HRC didn't want the Trans pride flag behind the speakers bc they did not want to explain what it meant to the press. As a matter of fact, the lady from HRC told Brian " This is about marriage equality not the Trans community.
I did pick up the flag from the ground & made sure it was in every shot. I waved it proudly the rest of the rally. I said Trans pride is gay pride and gay pride is Trans pride.
I was forced like the undocumented queer activist to change my speech. Everyone knows I was mistreated the same way he was and since the stories have been released I have told them again but I'm a black lesbian so no one cared! HRC claiming my wording was too aggressive and dark!
My statement as one of the very few asked to change their speech:
"Everyone in the LGBT community knows the HRC has a diversity problem but no serious action has been taken to correct this issue. We will have race & trans protests against HRC starting her in Dallas if serious steps are not taken to become more inclusive of LGBT people of color & the trans community. We are either one in the fight for full federal equality or we are separate seeking justice for ourselves until we make serious changes around diversity our fight for full federal equality will never be attainable."
TTYL,
Chas
C.d is featured in the begining of this MSNBC Last Word video proclaiming at the rally:
"We will no longer be satisfied living in the shadows of freedom"
HRC bullies a trans flag waver "Out of the picture" at the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Rally and tells a queer dreamer not to talk about his life experiences.
Jerame Davis, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats, posted on Facebook he saw a person he knew to be a HRC staffer hounding a person demanding that their transgender flag be taken down.
“I was there. I saw this happen,” Davis wrote on Wednesday on facebook. “It was only the HRC reps asking for the trans flag to be moved. If they’d only asked once, I’d have given them a pass, but they continued to harass this person over a flag.”
HRC maintains they did no such thing and offer no apology posting this statement on Q Notes
" “It was agreed that featuring American flags at our program was the best way to illustrate this unifying issue which is why when managing the area behind the podium, several people were asked to move who were carrying organizational banners, pride flags or any other flag that was not an American flag,” the statement read. “Several people refused and they were allowed to stay. The coalition welcomed the variety of signs and flags that were throughout the plaza that demonstrated the wonderful diversity of our community.”
HRC added, “It is a not true to suggest that any person or organization was told their flag was less important than another — this did not occur and no HRC staff member would ever tolerate such behavior. To be clear, it is the position of the Human Rights Campaign that marriage is an issue that affects everyone in the LGBT community.”
Thursday Davis posted on Facebook "HRC is mishandling this situation. While not directly, they are essentially calling me and John M. Becker liars when we were actually direct witnesses to all of this occurring, unlike the folks putting out the statement."
"No other flags were asked to be removed from the shot. There were pride flags, American flags, and marriage equality flags all on display. I had a flag of my own. And at one point, organizers directed a person with a pride flag to block someone who was hijacking the media with pictures of dead young gays who were victims of discrimination."
"It disappoints me greatly that HRC has chosen the circle-the-wagons-and-deny tactic once again when there were multiple witnesses to what happened. Shameful."
John M. Becker confirmed he also say HRC bully the person waving the trans flag:
"Thursday.Jerame and I attended the rally together and as he pointed out earlier today, both of us saw this happen. I cannot verify the word-for-word accuracy of the quote in this blog post as I was just out of earshot in that loud and exciting envir...onment, but regardless of whether the words spoken were as blunt as the writer alleges or couched in nicer-sounding language, the sentiment and intent were unmistakable. This greatly dismayed me and others nearby, and we affirmed the flag holder and encouraged him to stand his ground. I'm so glad he did."
"I'm sure the staffer was acting out of a misplaced sense of caution in that excruciatingly high-pressure environment -- and I'm equally sure it was not HRC's intent to exclude or deeply offend, but regardless of the circumstances, people *felt* excluded and *were* deeply offended. HRC really should apologize for this regrettable incident before it casts any larger a shadow on an otherwise beautiful event."
The United For Marriage Coalition the organizer of the rally was quick to acknowledge wrong doing had been committed and offered an apology for the events March 27th in this statement found on Bilerico Project"
"Since the conclusion of the rallies on Wednesday, the coalition has learned about the mistreatment of a few individuals who were attending and speaking at the rallies. In one case, a queer undocumented activist was asked to edit his speech to hide part of who he is. In another case, several activists were asked to lower the trans* pride flag in order to keep out of the scope of TV cameras.
We apologize for having caused harm to the individuals involved. Apologies are being made individually and collectively and we are working to make direct amends.
Arredondo, a gay undocumented queer was selected to speak on the group’s behalf. He said that prior to getting on stage, someone from the Human Rights Campaign revised his speech.
“I was told not to share the reality of what it means to be an undocuqueer immigrant in this country,” he says in the video.
Imelda Plascencia, another QUIP member, also appears in the YouTube video. She says the experiences that LGBT people who are undocumented “are not acknowledged but rather continue to be pushed into the closet and excluded from dominant narrative.”
“It is not enough for LGBT communities to say that they are in solidarity with our struggle,” Plascencia says in the video. “Solidarity is love reflected through actions and support.”
Alma Leyva, also a QUIP member, concludes the video asking the Human Rights Campaign to apologize for revising Arredondo’s speech.
It's crucial that our queer trans dreamer community does not allow ourselves to be assimilated, bullied, coerced or threatened by HRC. Our movement is not defined or owned by rich white gay men. I cut my teeth protesting HRC in the South West, failed bargaining with Joe Solmonese personally one morning, and was rewarded with a half dozen horse mounted police and a dozen other cops at his bequest hounding us step for step at the Houston Gala protest.
Fuck HRC. Like a former leader of a major LGBT advocacy group told me once "Fuck them. They'll tell you one thing while screwing you over. Don't tell me you're my friend while you're steady fucking me over."
It was an amazing rally. The first video is artistic and draws our emotions so quickly I wanted to share.
The CSPAN video is three hours long. There are so many amazing speakers it's well worth the time.
FIERCE held a press conference at the courthouse where the NYPD are on trial for their unlawful Stop and Frisk policy. The NYPD is intent on erasing of transgender people from the city by targeting trans youth of color with continuous public humiliation, threats and assaults ultimately forcing them to make a choice.
As a white trans person, if I was faced with this intolerable life and death situation I would have two options. Conform to the rigid gender binary or leave the city. Trans and queer people of color are left with one choice. The NYPD under the direction of their masters are committed to erasing trans people of color from the city and failing that, gendercide.
Transcript from the FIERCE video:
"...but whose quality of life are they protecting? The reality of our lives as queer and transfolk of color speaks truth to the fact that we are excluded from the 'us' we speak of and the NYPD has no interest in serving and protecting our communities. It excludes us when trans bodies cannot walk down Christopher St. w/o being profiled for being sex-workers b/c they have a condom in their pocket; when a group of queer POC standing on a corner is easily mistaken for being a gang; when black and brown bodies are viewed as violent just b/c of the color of our skin; when we see and hear about our people being killed due to state violence."
"The NYPD has used their power to try and erase us, to keep us silent and to keep our stories from being talked about and heard. Ours are the stories that go unheard and we have been hidden in the statistics for far too long. I'm here today to not only share my story with you, but to tell all of you that these are the stories of many black and brown queer and trans."
"To let everyone know that walking while trans, queer, black and or brown is not a crime."
"I am not the first from the community to be targeted and mistreated by the NYPD and I surely won't be the last. And that is exactly why FRIECE fights everyday to make sure the West Village, a historical safe space for the LGBTQ community remains a safe space for LGBTQ POC."
"In the W. Village we've experienced years of gentrification which has meant the pushing out of our community, policing and more profiling of trans youth and decreased access to public space."
"We believe that the Floyd case is a step in the right direction but is not where our work ends. We know that the NYPD is rooted in institutionalized racism, transphobia and homophobia. These systems of oppression won't stop and neither will we. When this case is done we will remain on the front lines of this fight for justice. We will continue to hold police accountable. We will continue [??]-watching. We will continue to create our own systems of safety that are rooted in community power and resilience. From Amadou Diallo, Cece McDonald to Kimani Gray we will not stop raising our voices, we will not be silenced, we will not lose hope. And we as a whole will continue to fight and expose the systematic oppression projected by the NY Police Dept."
Thursday morning Medicare and Medicaid Services (CSM.gov) unilaterally began asking for public comment on changing its policy for Gender (sexual) Reassignment Surgery with the goal of possibly having Medicaid fund those surgeries. It seems the good people at Medicaid realized their rational for disallowing SRS was irrational.
Presently GRS is not covered by the ancient CMS.Gov policy because:
Transsexual surgery for sex reassignment of transsexuals is controversial. Because of the lack of well controlled, long term studies of the safety and effectiveness of the surgical procedures and attendant therapies for transsexualism, the treatment is considered experimental. Moreover, there is a high rate of serious complications for these surgical procedures. For these reasons, transsexual surgery is not covered.
Just hours after beginning the 30 day comment period Medicaid changed there minds about asking for public comments and took the link down.
one RED HOT haters POTATO to the Medicade comment section.
Mara Keisling of the NCTE messaged me moments after the last post went up and said there is a better process in place now.
The Hill reports:
"a spokesperson said Friday evening that the proposal has been withdrawn. HHS pulled information from its website Friday after various news media outlets reported on the issue."
"The controversial decision to consider using taxpayer money to cover sex changes was sure to attract criticism from Congress."
"An HHS spokesman said HHS' Departmental Appeals Board is weighing a challenge to the department's ruling that sex-change procedures are experimental and should not be covered by Medicare and Medicaid. While that challenge works its way through the system, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has withdrawn its proposal to reconsider the coverage policy on its own."
The Advocate is reporting the agency which determines if a surgery should be funded my Medicaid is reconsidering adding Sexual Reassignment surgery.
Including SRS would be a humongous step forward by the federal goverment. Its crucial we comment especially since there's only 28 days left to do so. Now only if they'd get there link fixed.
I'll update as soon as they do. Hopefully they'll reset the timer.
Transsexual surgery for sex reassignment of transsexuals is controversial. Because of the lack of well controlled, long term studies of the safety and effectiveness of the surgical procedures and attendant therapies for transsexualism, the treatment is considered experimental. Moreover, there is a high rate of serious complications for these surgical procedures. For these reasons, transsexual surgery is not covered.
