Happy Janet Mock Day!

As y'all are aware of, Janet's tour across the country in support of Redefining Realness continues, and tonight she is in San Francisco. 

She was given a proclamation at an event that is happening right now declaring today in San Francisco as 'Janet Mock Day'.  

I also found it deliciously ironic that it happened (snicker, snicker) on the very day the last Piers Morgan Tonight show is being broadcast on CNN.

Aww, my heart bleeds for him.  Psyche.  

Naw, I know I won't miss watching him berate guests and neither will America 

But back to the #girllikeus of the hour.  Congrats Janet for the well deserved honor!   



 And oh yeah, happy Janet Mock Day!

Trans*forming Communities Conference At CSU-Chico

Another day, another opportunity for those of you on the Left Coast to attend a trans conference

This one is taking place on the California State University-Chico campus and is sponsored by the Associated Students Gender and Sexuality Equity Center of CSU-Chico.

It is their first annual one, entitled TRANS*forming Communities and will be taking place on Saturday, March 29, 2014 from 12-5 PM PDT at the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium.   The conference will include a keynote address by Eli Erlick (Executive Director and founder of Trans Student Equality Resources), workshops by Lexi Adsit, Lynn Breedlove, Isa Noyola, and Marisa Boyce, and everything else they can pack into a single Friday. 

TRANS*forming Communities will consist of speakers, workshops, and panels dedicated to celebrating and honoring the diverse identities and experiences of trans* people. It will be a safe place for trans* people and allies to come together, share resources and knowledge, and create a community where people can flourish and live authentically. Anyone with a desire to learn and better our communities is welcome.

It's their first one, so show them some love if your schedule is free, you're in the Chico, CA and can attend and get your learn on.  Won't cost you anything since it's gratis and they're even feeding you lunch if you make the effort to show up and support the hardworking students who put this together. 

You can register for this free conference at this link: www.transformingcommunities.eventbrite.com

 

If you need any further information about the inaugural TRANS*forming Communities Conference, you can check out the blog or give Sarena Kirk a call at (530)-898-5724 

Upcoming TLC Transgender Leadership Summit

Contrary to what that graphic says, unless a miracle happens, I will be in Harris County when this event kicks off.   But that doesn't stop me from making you Left Coasters aware of it.   

For you folks on the Left Coast, if the weekend of April 11-13 is open on your calendar, you may wish to head down to the CSU-Northridge campus for the Transgender Leadership Summit

It's sponsored by the Transgender Law Center and is a leadership conference designed to build the foundation for community members to take action for trans* equality and justice through informative workshops ranging in topics from legal, health care, organizational development and much more

And you get to meet some cool people doing the work at the same time.

This year there will be a first ever preconference institute for trans and gender non conforming people of color on Friday April 11 from 9 AM-4 PM PDT entitled Our Intersecting Identities and Building A Movement Of Justice.

The institute seeks to broaden and build awareness of the issues POC communities face and discuss strategies and solutions toward building a broader movement that centers those experiences. 

So if you're interested in attending, you can click on this link for further information or to register for #TLS14.

Congrats Cecilia!

Congrats to my Cali homegirl Cecilia Chung, who along with trans women Desiree Jade Sol and Dayna Sinopoli were honored Monday by the California State Assembly as Women of the Year. 

Every year each California state lawmaker selects one person in their assembly district for the honor who have broken down barriers and helped fight for equality.  

Assemblyman Phil Ting, (D-San Francisco), honored San Francisco resident Cecilia.   Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) selected Desiree Jade Sol of West Hollywood; and Assemblyman Mark Stone, (D-Monterey Bay), chose Dayna Sinopoli of Monterey Bay.

In addition to being honored in a ceremony on the floor of the California Assembly, she and the other honorees received resolutions celebrating her accomplishments.  

I've known Cecilia for years and finally got to meet the senior advisor to the Transgender Law Center in person during Creating Change 2014.  She's also a health commissioner at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, plays a leadership role in international organizations such as the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) and the Sero Project.

She's also been a trans trailblazer in her own right.   She was the first deputy director of the San Francisco based Transgender law Center, the first trans woman and first Asian to be elected to lead the Board of Directors of San Francisco’s LGBT Pride Celebration, and the first person living openly with HIV to Chair the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.  

Under her leadership, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission documented widespread discrimination against transgender people and prompted the city to adopt many pioneering anti-discrimination ordinances and policies.

"Cecilia has an inspiring record of breaking down barriers," said Assemblyman Ting. "Her bravery and brains have made our community a more compassionate and welcoming place. As we strive for even greater equality, we can simply look to her for a roadmap forward. Cecilia's passion and commitment to equality know no bounds."

Inaugural BlaqOut Conference Coming Next Month

The inaugural BlaqOUT Conference will be held April 18-19 on the UC Riverside campus!

The University of California, Riverside cordially invites all folks who self identify as Black/African American or of African descent and as Same Gender Loving, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning or somewhere on the LGBT spectrum to apply to attend. 

So what does it cost to attend BlaqOUT? 

• The Regular Registration Fee is $20 per person selected to attend and a t-shirt is included.
• The Reduced Registration Fee is $10 per person selected to attend, NO t-shirt.
• Some scholarships will be available for those unable to afford reduced registration.
• Information on paying registration fees will be sent via email to those people selected to attend BlaqOUT.
• For those receiving support from their campus (student government or departments), an invoice and W-9 form will be provided upon request.
  

The deadline to submit proposals for this inaugural conference was extended until March 9, so for those of you on the Left Coast or interested in attending this event or presenting at it, you have a little more time to do so.  Notifications of accepted proposals will occur by March 14.

The deadline to submit the online application to attend the event is April 1 with registration payment due by April 4. 

Will keep you posted as the date draws closer for this inagural event.

AB 1266 Repeal Referendum Fails To Qualify For 2014 Ballot!

Great news out of California!  The Forces of Intolerance-California Division have failed in their mission to overturn AB 1266!  

The School Success and Opportunity Act was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown August 13 and took effect January 1.   It requires that the gender identity of trans students in grades K-12 is recognized and they have access to facilities, activities and sports teams based on their gender identity

Of course the right wing haters didn't like that, and mobilized in an effort to get AB 1266 repealed. The spot check was at just a high enough percentage to move the verification process to the next step of verifying all the signatures and cause concern for the trans community and our allies in California and across the nation. 

The Orwellian named Privacy For All Students opponents were spearheaded by NOM's Frank Schubert, who orchestrated the Prop 8 repeal campaign. 

PFAS needed at least 504,760 signatures to force a public vote on AB 1266 and get the repeal referendum placed on the November 2014 ballot.   Had that happened, it was sure to be a just as nasty and divisive a campaign as the Prop 8 one was.

PFAS submitted 619,387 signatures, but California county election officers determined that just 487,484 of them were valid, according to a final count posted on secretary of state Debra Bowen's (D) website.

Translation: they failed.to qualify.

While the PFAS anti-trans coalition is telling their supporters they will continue the fight against AB 1266, the Support All Students Campaign that introduced and passed the law is celebrating along with transpeople across the country.

Said Transgender Law Center Executive Director and Campaign Chair Masen Davis: “This law gives schools the guidelines and flexibility to create an environment where all kids have the opportunity to learn. We need to focus on creating an environment where every student is able to do well and graduate. This law is about doing what’s best for all students — that’s why it’s supported by school boards, teachers, and the PTA.”

- See more at: http://www.frontiersla.com/frontiers-blog/2014/02/24/breaking-frank-schubert-loses-effort-to-overturn-trans-student-law-fails#sthash.6Dxaluu5.dpuf

And the big winners today are the trans students in California.

Jewlyes Gutierrez Case Update

It's not the result we'd like to see in the Gutierrez care (drop the charges, Dan Cabral) but in her recent February 6 juvenile court hearing Jewlyes Gutierrez was ordered by Judge Thomas Maddock to participate in a restorative justice mediation hearing with the girls who started this mess in the first place. 

I still find it problematic that Jewlyes was the only once charged with battery when the other three girls bullied her for months, instigated the fight and were getting their shots in on Jewlyes who was defending herself. 

The other element that bothers me is that no one except this blogger has has really asked the hard things that make you go hmm questions about how much influence the obviously transphobic detective investigating this case had to do with that outcome.

The mediated restorative justice sessions will take place, with Jewlyes returning to Maddock's court May 1 to report on the progress and a possible dropping of the battery charge. 

“I am relieved to know that Jewlyes will now have the chance to find peace and safety outside of the criminal justice system," said Transgender Law Center Executive Director Masen Davis.  "Youth belong in schools not jails. All students, including transgender students, should be able to go to school feeling safe and supported. At Transgender Law Center we have heard time and time again from transgender youth, especially youth of color, who are being excluded from being able to participate fully in school due to concerns about safety.”

While I eho the sentiments of Masen, I'd be more relieved if the charges had been dropped,

Upcoming February Bay Area Trans* H4CK

For those of you in the Bay Area, you'll have another opportunity to participate in an upcoming Trans* H4CK. 

Trans* H4CK is creation of Dr. Kortney R. Ziegler that melds computer coding and app building with trans social justice to create programs and apps that solve real world trans problems . 

The first ever one in Oakland last September I had the pleasure of attending.  It was a wonderful and fascinating event I was honored to be there in attendance for and be one of the judges making the tough decisions as to which projects won.

On February 18 from 7-9 PM PST Kortney is putting together another Trans* H4CK for trans and queer nerds and calling for you to come together for a night of collective hacking, networking in a safe, diverse and friendly environment. 

No tech skills are required and hackers of all levels are welcome to attend.  Light snacks and refreshments will be provided, but space is limited.  

The location of the hack will be released a day prior to the event to ensure privacy, so if you're a trans or queer hacker, sign up ASAP..

Justice For Jewlyes

Now that Creating Change 2014 is receding into history, I have some time to refocus my attention on what's happening in the trans community while I was doing my part to make our Houston flavored event an off the charts successful one.

There has been increasing pressure being applied on the Contra Costa County DA's office to drop the case against Hercules HS transteen Jewyles Gutierrez, who is being charged with battery  for defending herself against three girls who were bullying her nonstop for several months .

And just in case you were wondering, outside of the three girls who bullied her being suspended from school for the fight, they aren't facing charges. 

A Change.org petition calling on Contra Costa County DA Daniel Cabrera to drop the charges has garnered almost 200,000 signatures and sponsorship from Transadvocate, and GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) as of this writing.

If you wish to add your name to that list of people outraged over what is increasingly appearing to be charges based on a recommendation from a transphobic cis female detective, you can follow this link to add your name to this petition.

The lengthening list of people speaking out against these unjust charges also includes San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, who along with four co-sponsors introduced on January 28 a non-binding resolution  urging that the unjust charges be dropped. 

"What happened to Jewlyes Gutierrez is reprehensible," Campos told the SF Weekly. "Prosecuting Jewlyes for defending herself merely stigmatizes and bullies her again, this time in an official capacity and by the institutions who's duty it is to act as her protector. It is important that as a city, we in San Francisco stand for what is right and acknowledge that we must commit to protecting the most vulnerable among us and demand the same of communities around the country, especially in the Bay Area."

Will be keeping an eye on this situation.

Change.org Petition For Jewlyes

I posted about the jacked up situation trans teen  Jewlyes Gutierrez  finds herself in in terms of being charged with one count of battery by the Contra Costa county assistant DA Dan Cabral for defending herself against three girls who were bullying her.

He's claiming it's 'out of his hands', but we'll see about that.   Just as they charged Jewlyes, they can drop them as well.

This petition to get them to drop the charges has over 23,000 signatures at this writing, so let's see if we can get more.   International trans peeps, you are welcome to sign his one as well.

Here's the link to it.

Goodbye, Minister Bobbie Jean

The homegoing service for our gone too soon sister Minister Bobbie Jean Baker happened in Oakland today, and I am happy to hear the reports from my West Coast peeps that the church was full and our sister got the sendoff she deserved..

I was hoping as a tribute to her the sanctuary at First Congregational Oakland UCC would be filled, and I presume a lot of othe rpeople in the Bay Area felt that way, too

I know I'm going to miss chatting with her like everyone else whose life she touched, but we are comforted in the knowledge that Heaven has gained another angel.

Rest in power, Bobbie Jean.  Know that we will continue to fight  for the liberation and the human rights of our people.   Know also that your ministerial colleagues will pick up the torch that you left behind, raise it high and carry it forward

Know that you were loved by me and every person you ever touched in our community, and we'll see you on the other side.

Bullied Trans Teen Girl Being Charged For Defending Herself

When 16 year old Jewelyes Gutierrez got fed up after being bullied by three girls for being trans and defended herself, the last thing she was expecting after the November 15 fight at Hercules HS was to be charged by the Contra Costa County DA for it.

But that's exactly what has happened in this case.  Gutierrez is being charged with a single count of misdemeanor battery for defending herself against three cis female attackers who had been bullying her. 

Wanna guess what happened to the bullies?  Nada.

What the hell was Contra Costa County DA Mark Peterson and assistant DA Dan Cabral thinking?  One of the girls takes spit laden gum out of her mouth, threw it in Jewelyes' face, and Jewelyes is the one getting charged? 

You've got to be kidding me.

"When I initially received this case, I was shocked that the district attorney's office decided to charge Jewelyes," said Kaylie Simon, Jewelyes' public defender. 

"I don't understand quite why the District Attorney's office would prosecute someone who's already been a victim of bullying. I think it's a further victimization of somebody who's been a target of homophobia and transphobia."  

So do I.    DA's Peterson and Cabral need to drop the charges they leveled at Jewelyes and let the school handle it, which it already did with suspensions to all the girls involved.

Charles Ramsey, the President of the West Contra Costa School Board, says this should have been a teachable moment and not "something that should rise the level of where it has to go to the District Attorney's office for prosecution."

So do the right thing Contra Costa DA's office.  Drop the charges.

TransGriot Update: Here's a petition asking the Contra Costa DA to do precisely that.

AB 1266 Repeal Referendum Effort Clears Initial Hurdle

After hearing the news coming out of California moments ago, I'm going to repeat what I said in a post last month.  Hope you Cali peeps have a game plan in place if the PFAS haters succeed in getting this on the November 4 ballot.

My concern about that possibility is elevated because of the news that the haters effort to get a referendum on the ballot to repeal AB 1266 cleared the first hurdle.  

The random sampling indicated that AB 1266's opponents failed to gather the 504,760 valid signatures of registered voters they needed to put their measure on the ballot, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen (D) said.   However Los Angeles County was the last one in the spot-check verification process, and its 77.9% verification rate bumped up the statewide verification rate to 77.93% and 482,582 signatures. 

While that was below the 81.5% one needed to shut down implementation of the law or immediately put the repeal referendum on the California ballot, it was enough to move it to the second phase.  Secretary of State Bowen's office will now check every one of the 619,241 signatures received on those petitions, and that process needs to be completed by February 24.

So that now another month and a half of waiting to see if this referendum happens or it doesn't.

In the interim, Childen of Light, better be using your time wisely.

AB 1266 Random Sample Validation Deadline Today

My Left Coast transpeople and their allies have their eyes turned toward their state capital of Sacramento awaiting word on whether the transphobic haters efforts to put a repeal effort on the ballot for have successfully made it to the next round of the process or they failed.

Deadline for all 58 California counties to complete the random sample validation is January 8, but hope the supporters have been using their time wisely and setting up their game plan in case this does happen.  

AB 1266 went into effect on January 1, so it is NOT on hold pending the results of the signature count.

And the news so far has been bad for the Forces of Intolerance trying to kill the law.   The Orwellian named Privacy For All Student (PFAS) group needed to gather 504,760 signatures to put the issue on the November 4 ballot, and the PFAS haters verification percentage has been steady at 78.24%   

Even with the Mono and Tulare County petitions that were ordered by a state judge to be checked because they were initially refused because they came in after the Veterans Day weekend deadline didn't help the PFAS haters much.   The Mono County only added 17 signatures to the total and the Tulare County ones added another 3,872.

If that continues to be the case, it means that they will have submitted 484,487 signatures, 20,000 shy of the number needed and the attempt to put AB 1266 on the ballot for repeal will have failed.

We'll find out later this afternoon if that still is the case.

Homegoing Services For Minister Bobbie Jean Baker January 11

For those of you who may not have heard the tragic news, our West Coast sister Minister Bobbie Jean Baker was killed in a hit and run accident January 1 after attending a New Year's Eve watch service.

Here's the information about the homegoing service for those of you on the Left Coast who want to pay your last respects to our sister who was very active in the trans* faith community.

It will be officiated by Bishop Yvette Flunder and take place next Saturday, January 11 at First Congregational Oakland UCC starting at 1 PM PST.

Address of the church is 2501 Harrison St, Oakland, CA.

For those of you in the Bay Area whose lives she touched, I hope you will consider attending and being there in body for those of us who would like to be there but can only do so in spirit.

Let's fill that sanctuary up as a tribute to her and in honor of her years spent in service to our community

If there are any updates to the story, I will pass them along as soon as I get them.
 

Minister Bobbie Jean Baker Passes Away

I was stunned to hear moments ago from Louis Mitchell of the sudden passing of Minister Bobbie Jean Baker.

She was born in Memphis, TN, and overcame some challenging circumstances in her life before moving to the Bay Area in 1992.   She became an ordained minister at the City of Refuge UCC in San Francisco and served as the West Coast Regional TransSaints Minister of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, and Lay Minister at Transcending Transgender Ministries of CORUCC. 

She was the lead singer of the world renowned all transgender member Transcendence Gospel Choir for a decade

I had the pleasure of meeting Min. Baker during the TransFaith in Color conference in Charlotte in July 2012, and we touched base with each other from time to time via Miss Major.  . 

Min. Baker in addition to being a seminary student at the Pacific Religion School, was a sought after speaker and workshop leader.  She worked for several Bay Area non profits as a peer advocate, case manager, supportive housing manager, with certification as an HIV Risk Assessment Counselor and Domiestic Violence Specialist. 

Minster Bobbie Jean Baker will be missed by her ministerial colleagues in the trans faith ranks and all who loved and admired her in the Bay Area and beyond.

Rest in power and peace, sis.

As soon as I find out the details of what happened and the date, time and location of her homegoing service, I will pass them on to you.

TransGriot Update:  According to Bishop Yvette Flunder's FB page, she and Deacon Bobby Wiseman were struck by a hit and run driver after Watch Night service. Deacon Bobby is in the hospital at present and reasonably stable. Min. BobbieJean passed away at the scene of the accident.

Hope You Cali Peeps Are Coming Up With A Game Plan In Case The Repeal AB 1266 Referendum Gets Enough Signatures

As you read this post, the signatures that were collected in the effort by the haters to put a Repeal AB 1266 initiative on the ballot in the 2014 election cycle are being verified and counted.

So what is AB 1266?   It's the School Success And Opportunity Act, the bill passed by the California Assembly and signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown (D) that restates the obligation of California schools to allow transgender students to participate in all school activities, programs, and facilities. 

It also reaffirms to school districts, teachers, parents and students that California’s nondiscrimination law not only covers trans students, it requires public schools to respect a transgender student’s identity in all school programs, activities, and facilities. This bill will simply ensure that transgender boys and girls are treated just like all other boys and girls so that they can participate fully in school activities and graduate on time.

But the haters, including the Family Research Council, the Pacific Justice Institute and the California Republican Party despise AB 1266 and have been organizing to kill it by any means necessary including lies, disinformation, demonizing and bullying trans students.

For the moment the news is encouraging from the Left Coast.  As the referendum against AB 1266 proceeds to random sample, the proponents operating under the Orwellian name of Privacy For All Students, would need 92.1% validity to qualify the measure for the November 2014 ballot. So far the smaller California counties that have submitted their full validation have had 72.49% validity rates.

But my inquiring mind is asking this question.  Which of those 58 California counties were the ones that failed to make the validity threshold?  Did they include any of the more populous California counties like Alameda (Oakland), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange (Anaheim), San Diego, Contra Costa, Riverside (Palm Springs), San Bernadino, Fresno, Santa Barbara,  Solano, San Mateo, Santa Clara (San Jose), and Sacramento just to name a few?

We trans peeps can't allow ourselves to be tempted to take the tranquilizing drug of complacency in this situation or relax until the California Attorney General's office utters the words, "It failed'.  

We need to be ready to jump into political combat mode if it doesn't. 

I know the San Francisco based Transgender Law Center is monitoring the situation, but what happens if the haters do get enough signatures to trigger a referendum to repeal AB 1266, and are they and our California allies doing enough to plan for what they do if that happens?  
 
I've always been a prepare for the worst case scenario while hoping for and working toward the best case outcome kind of girl, and worst case scenario in this instance would be they get enough signature to trigger the repeal referendum.

So what needs to happen if they do?   First order of political business is this AB 1266 repeal referendum must be spectacularly defeated and die a politically painful death. We must send the message that their bathroom demonization tactics and lies to oppose trans rights, which is the only thing they have left to oppose trans human rights laws, will not succeed at the ballot box.

At that moment that the Repeal AB 1266 referendum is approved this becomes not just a California issue, but a political and movement one for the entire US trans community we must win.   It's also an issue that will require a national level response to it. 

We know for a fact that once they get the word, the haters will be mobilizing if they aren't already to pour every dollar and fly every conservative hate activist and field organizer west to California. 

Cali Gay, Inc peeps, they won't all be white either.   To give the overwhelmingly white conservafools and money behind the effort a veneer of diversity, they will find useful fools like Jesse Lee Peterson down in LA and other non-white sellouts to shill for this Kill AB 1266 effort.   They will find cookie-chomping knee-grow pastors willing to sell out the Black and Latino trans community for their media face time and 40 pieces of silver.

The haters are definitely going to be bankrolled by out of state interests and flying in conservafool carpetbaggers to help them, so y'all better be prepared to counter that.  You need to be prepared to do the same simply because you will be justified in doing so to defend AB 1266.

You should not hesitate in IMMEDIATELY asking for national and INTERNATIONAL help and money from the trans community and our allies.  You should be putting together now your lists of liberal progressive churches, pastors, Hollywood actors, athletes and politicians, and double checking to make sure they are ethnically and regionally diverse.  

From the millisecond the referendum gets cleared by the Cali Attorney General's office you need to pounce on and utterly destroy to the point they are radioactive the bathroom meme and all the other scare tactics the wingers are going to throw at it because it's the only way they can be successful.

You need to find the Cali trans kids like Ashton Lee who fought to get it passed and who benefit from the law.  Give them face time along with cisgender kids and parents willing to rebut the lies of the haters that they are 'doing this for all California children'. 

Make sure your California media buys reach Black, Asian and Latino voters and places besides the LA and San Francisco metro areas. 

Don't be afraid to go for the right wing jugular because you've not only have the moral high ground, you got to be in it to win it.  

Cali transpeople, you need to do your part to help defeat the haters too.  T-bills need to be donated to the coalition when it forms.  If you can't give cash, sweat equity is also needed in the form of volunteers to phone bank, canvass, register voters, staff offices, and Get Out The Vote mobilization on election day to defeat it.   Get informed about AB 1266 and go to war in the comment threads of your local newspapers to counter the lies the haters will be trying to spread.

You must do the little things to win the hearts and minds of undecided voters.  Attention to details like that may help you defeat the hate referendum.

And when you build that diverse intersectional coalition to defeat this repeal effort, in addition to making sure it is properly funded and the money raised is spent wisely, hire some trans peeps in the getting paid positions to help coordinate strategy for this AB 1266 defense effort .  We are the people best qualified to talk about our lives and come up with the necessary talking points to come up with a clear message about us. 

We transpeeps (for a fee) can also tell you what NOT to say either.

It's also personal for us transpeople, too.   I have some other ideas, but they will only be released to the Defend AB 1266 coalition or whatever name they come up for it should that become necessary.

Hopefully you learned your lessons from the failed 2008 Prop 8 efforts, but just in case you forgot them, just wanted to make sure you didn't frack stuff up in this critical effort in 2014 that trans people will need you to win, preferably in a decisive manner should it come to pass.    

Another Day, Another Trans Student Attacked In California

More evidence that so called blue states can have their nekulturny transphobes in their midst causing drama as well. 

As we wait to see if the haters gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on AB 1266, now comes news video of an incident at a Contra Costa, CA high school that shows why the law is needed and why it needs to win in November 2014.

A transfeminine student tired of being bullied by her tormentors confronted them, and that confrontation degenerated into a fight in which the trans student was attacked by three cis girls.

 

LA Fitness Hates On A Transwoman

One of my not so fond memories of one of my frequent non-rev trips to Los Angeles in the late 90's was when I flew out there as soon as my gate shift was over at 9 PM on Wednesday to spend two of my three consecutive off days hanging out with my homegirl Seni.

But unfortunately on that particular trip my flight got delayed due to a cold front passing through the Houston area.  It not only cooled the temps off in the IAH area, it created dense fog that dropped visibility enough to create lengthy ATC delays into and out of IAH because at that time it only had four runways  

By the time we finally took off  to do the 3 plus hour flight to Los Angeles my 12 AM Pacific time arrival in LAX became a 2 AM one.   Me thinking I'd be able to make up that sleep I lost on the trip to the Left Coast was cruelly shattered when Seni woke my peacefully slumbering butt up to accompany her to her nearby LA Fitness gym for a workout.  

I was so pissed off that when I hit the Stairmaster in that near Beverly Hills area location I was stomping my pissivity out on it for 20 minutes before I realized it was set to be much harder than I normally liked and my legs reminded me of it a few minutes later when they cramped up. 

That trip down Moni Memory Lane was generated because of the story that TransGriot reader Jazmine Brockington sent me concerning transwoman Yanel Valenzuela.  

She was allegedly told after she revealed her trans status to an LA Fitness employee in an effort to get workout advice specific to her situation she could no longer use the women's locker room.  

The cis female manager at the Montclair, CA location  (located at 9385 Monte Vista Ave in case anybody in the LA area wants to organize a picket of it)  told a stunned Valenzuela she could no longer use the women's locker room.   The manager was also unmoved when Valenzuela produced her carry letter from her gender therapist and herCalifornia DL with the F in the gender code area. 



“It gave me emotional stress,” Valenzuela told reporters. “I don’t think it was fair... I felt hurt because I don’t understand why she did it. She had no reason. She had no complaints from anyone."

According to news reports in the area LA Fitness is aware of the situation but has no comment   And note to that transphobic cis female manager:  In California trans people are a protected class under the state's anti-discrimination laws.

"I hope this never happens to anybody again because it’s not fair for me to be disrespected in front of clients and members that come here,” Valenzuela said. 

So do I Ms. Valenzuela.  And hope you give Lambda Legal's LA office a call while you're at it. 

And it is because of situations like this why I go straight the hell off when some cis person, especially from the GLB community tries to suggest we pass half-assed trans human rights laws (Massachusetts) that don't have public accommodations language in them. 
 

Second Person Arrested In Vivian Diego Assault Case

The Los Angeles Police Department has announced they have arrested the second of the four suspects involved in the vicious early morning May 31 beating of transwoman Vivian Diego on Hollywood Boulevard near Vine Street..

21 year old Samuel Garunts was arrested October 23 and according to LAPD officer Drake Madison has been a person of interest in the investigation for some time according to an LA Times report by Ari Bloomekatz and Robert Lopez 

 21 year old Nicol Shakhnazaryan was arrested June 20 and charged with battery with serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.  He has pled not guilty to those felony charges.   

Two down, two to go.  

LAPD investigators have set up a special email account, hollywoodcrimetips@gmail.com, for anyone to contact them or provide information.   In addition, anyone with information about the attack on Ms. Diego can contact LAPD's Hollywood Area Detective Division at (213) 972-2967 or (877) LAPD-24-7 during non-business hours or weekends.

And yes I'll be keeping tabs on this Left Coast case until justice is served.