LZ Granderson's TEDx 'Gay Agenda' Talk

I had the pleasure of meeting and having some insightful conversations with CNN and ESPN journalist LZ Granderson during the 2012 edition of NBJC's OUT on the Hill, and have mad love and respect for him.

This TED talk that he conducted May 2012 during TEDxGrandRapids is mocking the right wing talking point of "The Gay Agenda', and needs to be seen again.

So here is his TedX talk that was held in Grand Rapids, MI entitled 'The Myth of the Gay Agenda'

What Next For Our TBLG Rights Movement?

The parades are over and the street sweepers have done their work to clean up the trash after they ended.   Some of our BTLG peeps said prayers of thanksgiving during Sunday services in TBLG friendly churches while others woke up to hangovers after celebratory partying well into the night in the gayborhoods during a Pride Weekend that occured as a major policy objective was achieved.

Yes, life in America was forever impacted by the landmark SCOTUS ruling that established a fundamental right to marry and allowed many of my gay and lesbian friends in states like Texas hostile to same sex marriage to do so.  It also conferred after a 12 year battle recognition of the marriages of many others who got them in other locales, but the states they resided in refused to do so.

And yes, it reinstated the ability of my trans brothers and trans sisters to get married that we`d had ever since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the plane from Denmark and have them recognized across this nation.

While the landmark SCOTUS ruling is something to celebrate, it still doesnt benefit the vast majority of people who still have to deal with the reality that in 29 states they can be fired for being gay, and 32 states for being transgender.

And as I have said more than a few times, you need money to pay for the wedding license, the wedding chapel, the wedding dress, the wedding tux, the wedding planner, the wedding rings, the wedding reception, and life after the wedding.

So what should our major TBLG policy priority be after marriage?   Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

A full court press now needs to happen to get ENDA passed nationally, and do a local civic and state by state push to enact ENDA-style laws in all 50 states.

Your bi and trans sisters and brothers need their human rights respected, protected amd codified into law.   Trans folks need ASAP the basic human rights protections you GL folks have enjoyed for decades and sometimes got by repeatedly throwing us unde the legislative bus as you did in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire just to name a few egriegious examples of it

We want as trans men and women the ability to openly serve in our country`s armed forces.  We want the near genocidal slaughter of trans women of color to end along with the end of the problematic incarceration of undocumented trans feminine women in ICE detention centers with cisgender men.

And yes, we trans people, and especially trans people of color, want to be sitting at the power tables in LGBT orgs helping formulate policy.  We need trans elected officials on large city councils, state legislatures and eventually as US senators and congressmembers.

We need to have a human rights wave building that serves to rise all LGBT boats with it, not just the community have mores.   We need to have a movemen that is also invested in being a justice for all movement and not a just-us one.

We also need to be a stand up ally to other groups and movements that supported our causes in ou time of need and not ones that use as an excuse to opt out of them `this isn`t an LGBT issue`.

The right to healthcare is an LGBT issue.   Fighting for economic fairness is an LGBT issue.  The right to vote is an LGBT issue.  Climate change is an LGBT issue.  A woman`s right to choose is an LGBT issue.   Combating racism and sexism is an LGBT issue.

We LGBT peeps need to focus on being a shining example to the rest of straight cisgender America of how to build and sustain an intersectional anti-racist movement and community.

We need to lead and show the nation and the world how to eradicate anti-Blackness, sexism, transphobia, biphobia and racism from our ranks as our contribution to building the `beloved community` that the Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr often talked about.

We also have to develop the ability to multitask.  While we focus on solidifying our gains at home, we must also be aware that US based wingers like Scott Lively are spreading their LGBT hate message overseas to where it is unfortunately finding receptive ears and causing problems for our GLBT brothers and sisters in those nations.

As you probably realized by now, it takes sustained effort to achieve policy goals. The hard part is to defend and keep them while under sustained attack by our prevaricating right wing oppressors.

This community is at a crossroads now.  It can either acknowledge that the human rights work in our BTLG ranks is not even close to being done and start working on the next phases of our movement, or it can repeat the mistakes made in Canada after they achieved marriage equality in 2003 and stopped working for policies and legislation that protected the LGBT have nots.

Which path will the American LGBT community take?   I hope it`s the former and not the latter one.

Trans and Gay Panic Legal Defenses Banned In California

The good human rights news just keeps on coming. 

The California Assembly passed on a 50-10 vote in August the AB 2501 bill authored by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla that bans the use of trans and gay panic defenses in California criminal courts.  

Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed the bill into law, and it makes California the first state to ban the odious trans and gay panic defenses.

There is absolutely no justification for the use of ‘panic defenses,’" Assemblywoman Bonilla said in a statement. "Clearly this tactic has been utilized by defendants, unjustly targeting members of the LGBT community, based on damaging stereotypes. With AB 2501, we are moving forward to ensure equality in our courts and making it very clear that discrimination against the LGBT community is intolerable and unacceptable.”

Here's hoping that other states follow California's lead and pass similar legislation.

Shreveport Passes TBLG Rights Ordinance!

For the longest time the city of New Orleans was the lone municipality in the state of Louisiana that protected their TBLG citizens from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

They were joined last night by Shreveport, the  second largest city in the state of Louisiana. 

Mayor Cedric Glover had in 2009 signed an executive order in that protected GLBT city employees from discrimination.

On a 6-1 vote last night, the Shreveport City Council passed the Fairness Ordinance, that adds gender identity and sexual orientation to the classes of people protected by is non-discrimination laws.

The lone NO vote was Councilmember Ron Webb, who let his homophobic flag fly before the vote and tried to postpone to vote so the haters would have time to mobilize and stir up hatred in an attempt to derail the vote.  For those of you TBLG folks in Shreveport who live in Webb's District E, y'all know what to do to him in the next elecion cycle. Punish him at the polls.  .

The Fainess Ordinance also protects BTLG Shreveport citizens from discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and public spaces.  It was pushed by PACE, People Acting For Change and Equality, a local group pushing for human rights advances in Northwest Louisiana.   They spearheaded the successful Be Fair Shreveport effort.  

“Discrimination is not only wrong, it’s bad for business,” said PACE political director Adrienne Critcher, who cited both ethical and economic reasons for the ordinance.

Yes it is.  It's past time another Louisiana city joined New Orleans in protecting all its residents from discrimination.  

Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria, Monroe, where y'all at on this human rights issue? 
    

Naomi Testifies At Philippine Congress Hearing

Y'all know I have much love for my transpinay sister Naomi Fontanos, who is the Executive Director of GANDA Filipinas.

Was thrilled to hear she spoke at a December 5 (Philippine time) Philippine House of Representatives hearing as a resource person.  It was for a Committee on Women and Gender Equality (CWGE) hearing on proposed national anti-discrimination measures.   Multiple bills have been filed in the Philippine Congress to protect the human rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters in that nation

I'm exceedingly proud of Naomi, our transpinay and transpinoy sisters and brothers, and our allies there who have worked tirelessly for years to make this day happen.  

Let's hope and pray the arc of the moral universe is bending toward justice and human rights for our trans cousins in the Philippines.   Let's also hope that their testimony legislators heard opened hearts and minds, leads to legislative passage and heralds the beginning of a marvelous 2014 human rights wise for all of us around the world. 

Here's what Naomi had to say about it courtesy of her FB page:

Spoke at Philippine Congress in a hearing on anti-discrimination legislation and was overjoyed that more than one bill to protect the rights of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Filipinos had been filed in the House of Representatives.

I was happy, too, that representatives from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other agencies expressed their full support to end all forms of discrimination in the Philippines. This, certainly, did not happen overnight and is the product of the hard work of activists and allies who came before us. I am grateful to them for making this moment possible. I also want to thank activists of the present time who work tirelessly and sometimes anonymously but always lovingly to make sure that those who will come after us will have, hopefully, a better quality of life.

Dios mabalos sa indo gabos! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! Thank you all so very much!

***

 Your trans cousins here in the States and around the world hope that the better life you're working towards for you and future generations happens sooner rather than later.

Moni's Thoughts About The Trans Inclusive ENDA Passing The Senate

The renaissance of the trans human rights movement in the late 80s early 90's led to our first lobbying foray into Washington DC in 1994.  One of the things we asked for at that time was to have trans people covered in ENDA by adding gender identity language in the bill which the GL community and Gay, Inc. either ignored or was openly hostile to.   

In 1996 a non-inclusive sexual orientation only version of ENDA reached the final vote stage in a GOP controlled Senate and failed 50-49

It took a lot of work and lobbying by myself and a cross section of transpeople since 1994 to get us included in ENDA.  Many of those people who took up that cause are no longer here on this planet or are retired from the movement.  There were some bumps and bruises along the way as we continued the make the argument that ENDA would pass with transpeople in it and 'incremental progress' is unacceptable. 

Yesterday I cried a little when I saw the trans community's nearly two decades of lobbying work vindicated when S.815, the trans inclusive ENDA passed on a 64-32 vote with the support of 10 Republican senators, 2 independents and 52 Democratic senators.

Sen Bob Casey (D-PA) didn't vote because he is away with his wife in Boston who is having surgery to repair a heart valve according to a Washington Post story..

Who were those GOP Ten?    Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH.), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Kirk (R-IL), John McCain (R-AZ.), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-PA).

Sens. Hatch and McCain were in the Senate during the 1996 ENDA vote and voted NO at that time.  

The 32 ENDA NO votes were all GOP senators, so keep that in mind when they run for reelection in 2014, 2016 or 2018.

We still have much work to do.  It can't become law until it passes the Teapublican controlled House and receives President Obama's signature. 

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is too 'scurred' of the Tea Party to let that bill hit the House floor for a vote it could probably pass because he desperately wants to keep that speaker's gavel.

But before we roll up our sleeeves to do that, we take a moment to savor this legislative win before rolling up our sleeves for the tough battle ahead. 

Trans Inclusive ENDA Faces Key Senate Votes Today

According to my sources on Capitol Hill and the Senate Democrats page, the moves will be made today for final passage of S. 815, the trans inclusive Employment and Non Discrimination Act (ENDA)  

According to the Senate Democrats page, at 11:45 AM EST, there will be two roll call votes in relation to the following:

Toomey amendment #2013 (broadens the number of groups covered under the religious exemption) (60-vote threshold) and (the committee-reported substitute amendment will be agreed to by unanimous consent)

Motion to invoke cloture on S.815, ENDA, as amended 
(TransGriot update: Passed on a 64-34 YEA vote) 

If cloture is invoked, there will be a third roll call vote at 1:45 PM  EST on passage of S.815, ENDA, as amended.

(ENDA passed the final vote 64-32!)

Will history be made today?   You may wish to tune into C-SPAN 2 to find out.

ENDA Passes Key Senate Cloture Vote

By a 61-30 margin, the US Senate passed a procedural cloture vote on the trans inclusive Employment and Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) that shuts off the chances of a Republican filibuster and allows debate on the legislation to begin on the Senate floor.

It also increases the changes that ENDA will pass when it comes up for its final vote sometime on Wednesday.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) was one of the first people to speak on behalf of this legislation. 




As soon as I get the list of who voted YEA and NAY, I'll add that to this post.   I already know my Texas Senate idiots both voted NAY.

US Senate Vote On Trans Inclusive ENDA Happening Later Tonight

For the first time since November 2007, a vote is scheduled to be taken on The Employment and Non Discrimination Act  (ENDA) later this evening.  

The passage of ENDA by Congress and its subsequent signing into law by President Obama would make it illegal to discriminate against someone in hiring or employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity

This trans inclusive version of the bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)  in the Senate and has the public support of all 53 Democratic senators, both independent Senators and four Republicans.  Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) are ENDA co-sponsors, while Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) voted for it in committee.  Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) has indicated he is 'inclined to support the bill' and has a gay son and it true, it would bring the bill to the 60 vote threashold needed to cut off GOP-Tea Party attempts to filibuster it.

The trans community has long and bitter memories of being cut out of ENDA in 2007 by then Rep. Barney Frank in controversial circumstances.  The trans free bill passed the House 235-184 but subsequently died in the Senate    In 1996 another trans free version of ENDA was voted on in the Senate and failed 50-49.

This cloture vote will pave the way for that to happen, with the final vote scheduled to happen sometime on Wednesday.  

We'll have to see what transpires (pun intended) in tonight's vote, but hope we get to witness history.  

2014 Olympic Flame Lit And Headed To Sochi

As an lifelong Olympics junkie, the news from Greece that the Olympic flame has been lit usually gets me excited and fired up for and breathlessly anticipating the upcoming winter or summer Games wherever they are happening. 

When I heard the news that actress Ino Menegaki, dressed in her high priestess role, lit the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia last Sunday and subsequently lit a torch from a cauldron inside Athens' Panathinaiko Stadium, all I felt this time was sadness.  It was grounded in the knowledge that this Olympic torch was headed to the host country of a winter Olympic Games that persecutes my fellow TBLG citizens based on the lies of American based right wing christofools.

The flame, placed in a lantern, was handed over to Hellenic Olympic Committee president Spyros Kapralos who passed it on to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak to trigger the Olympic torch run that will spend seven days in Greece before heading to Moscow and starting its 40,000 mile journey across Russia until it arrives in Sochi four months from now.


There was a peaceful protest by LGBT human rights activists held on the front steps of the Acropolis Museum where the Olympic flame made an overnight stay inside the Acropolis before being moved to a cauldron in the courtyard of the museum. 

The activists unfurled the rainbow flag and banners stating "Homophobia is not in the Olympic Spirit" and "Love is not Propaganda."

"The Olympics should have taken a stand against this law in Russia because the Olympic ideals are for supporting human rights and diversity and that's not what's happening in Russia," said protester Zak Kostopoulos.


Yes, the IOC should have taken a stand.  But exactly what is that stand?   A boycott of the Games only hurts the athletes who have trained for years to take part in them.   I would have along with others around the world supported a move of the 2014 Winter Games to another nation as George Takei suggested.  

The IOC has already caved in.  Others around the world have four months to decide how they are going to take a stand against the unjust Russian laws.     

Bigotry Costs You Big Money

One of the lessons that corporations should know but seem to forget at times until it whacks them on their bottom line is that bigotry can cost you big money.

The latest corporation to learn this lesson the hard way is Barilla Pasta chairman Guido Barilla

Barilla, the number one pasta make in Italy that does $3.9 billion euros annually in business made the comments during a recent interview in which he was quoted as saying he and his company will not feature any gay families in their advertisements because he supports a “traditional family.” He then followed up by stating that if someone disagrees, well, they can “go eat another brand of pasta.”

Dude, you are about to learn just how much purchasing power the TBLG community (about $800 billion dollars) has in addition to how much brand loyalty matters. 

Well, the TBLG community and their supporters took Barilla's advice and if they weren't donating his pasta to food banks, it went straight to the trash.   His competitors like Bertolli Germany  took advantage of the bigoted remarks of its rival by releasing ads and making statements to the effect their pasta is for everyone to enjoy.

Hey, I still haven't eaten at Reicher-fil-a Chik-fil-a (and I love their food) ever since Dan Cathy made his jacked up remarks and doubled down on them.

I used to enjoy their commercials.  Now I roll my eyes every time I see one of them because it's a reminder to me of the anti-gay attitudes they wallow in.  Neither am I inclined to spend my hard earned T-bills at companies who donate to organizations that oppress me and my allies.  


Target is still trying to get back in the GLBT  community's good graces as a preferred store after they donated $150,000 to a business group backing a Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2011 who was anti-marriage equality.  

The African-American community stopped patronizing Dillard's after racial profiling incidents in Texas were the catalyst for 80 African American shoppers to file suits against the company.   Since 1994 six unarmed customers have been killed after confrontations with their loss prevention security.  Five of those customers have been non-white.  Dillard's was also sued by customers in Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia on similar racial profiling allegations. In Alabama, eight black women who were patrons of Dillard’s beauty salons sued the company for race-based pricing.


IKEA scrambled to apologize after a commercial was released in Thailand the local trans community considered disrespectful and the Thai Transgender Alliance called them on it.

Guido Barilla recognized that he fracked up, and is now trying to do damage control and apologize.  But it may be a case of too little and too late to get their lost market share back in the BTLG community.  

Once you insult the LGBT community and tell us you don't need or want our consumer dollars, we have long memories.
    
And he and his company are also learning the hard lesson that bigotry costs you big money.

The San Antonio Non-Discrimination Ordinance Is Becoming A Houston City Election Issue

When San Antonio passed their trans inclusive human rights ordinance by a lopsided 8-3 margin on September 6, I and many TBLG people here on our end of I-10 were paying attention including Mayor Annise Parker.

"It is absolutely something we should do, and the majority of council members have publicly stated they are in support of a nondiscrimination ordinance," said Parker in a Houston Chronicle interview. "But this is an issue that requires all of council to be engaged and agree it is time to move it forward. When it happens, we will do that."

Houston has a 1998 executive order issued by former Mayor Lee Brown that protects gay city employees from discrimination that Mayor Parker updated in 2010 to include trans city employees. 

Of course our resident conservabigots like Dave Wilson opposed it and want it repealed.  Wilson also ran for mayor in the 2011 cycle and got his butt kicked.   There was also a 2012 effort to place a nondiscrimination item before H-town voters which unfortunately did not reach the ballot.

As I mentioned in my post about how I and the Houston person of color trans community want full trans equality and made the case for it, we are in the middle of a mayoral and city election cycle that ends November 5.  The question about a Houston non-discrimination ordinance similar to San Antonio's has come up in not only the mayor's race but has also been asked by the Houston League of Women Voters in their City Council candidate forums.

Wanda Adams, my city council member is term limited and is running for the HISD school board.  That has sparked a 12 person race in District D for her soon to be vacated seat.

Assata Richards, who has the Caucus endorsement in the District D race, answered this question affirmatively during the recently televised LWV-Houston forum.  I did not like Dwight Boykins dodgy answer during the District D candidate forum, and I look forward to the next time I talk to Larry McKinzie so I can ask him what his stance on that issue is along with the other District D City Council candidates. 

I'm also interested in hearing what Ben Hall and the other mayoral candidates stance is concerning this issue of protecting the human rights of trans Houstonians like moi as we get closer to November 5 along with the people running for at large city council seats.

I also have other issues of importance like mass transit that I will also base my decision on when I step into the voting booth to select the people I think are best qualified to lead this city, but where they stand on my human rights as a proud trans Houstonian will be one of the criteria I use to sort out who gets my support and my precious vote.    

CAUSA Change.org Petition About San Antonio Non-Discrimination Ordinance

'After a delay of the final vote in June, the San Antonio City Council is back at work and will soon vote on prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran's status in employment, housing, and public accommodations. No one should lose their job or be denied service just because of who they are, or if they served their country. This commonsense proposal to amend the San Antonio city code will bring San Antonio in step with other major cities such as Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Austin, each of which has included these protections in their city ordinances.'
--from the CAUSA San Antonio Non-Discrimination Ordinance Petition 

CAUSA, the Community Alliance For A United San Antonio has a Change.org petition that seeks to garner 5000 signatures in support of the inclusive ordinance and they need your help TransGriot readers to get there.

I'm doing my small part from my end of I-10 to help them pass the non-discrimination ordinance including getting the word out about what's happening in the Alamo City and writing this open letter I published today to Ivy Taylor, the lone African-American councilmember.who is undecided.

The vote is scheduled to take place September 5, and it would be nice if CAUSA could hand this peition in with 5000 (or more) signatures as part of this process.   They are so close to victory but need some help getting over the civil rights goalline.

Please consider signing this human rights petition and helping CAUSA expeditiously reach their 5000 signature goal.  

Open Letter To San Antonio City Councilmember Ivy Taylor

Dear Councilmember Taylor,
I'm writing this open letter to you because I understand at the moment you are one of four San Antonio councilmembers who are undecided about how you will vote on the proposed changes to the San Antonio non-discrimination ordinance.

Section 2-550 of it would read

(a) It shall be the general policy of the City of San Antonio to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age or disability, as set forth in the Divisions following, unless exempted by state or federal law or as otherwise indicated.

(b) A religious corporation, association, society or educational institution or an educational organization operated, supervised or controlled in whole or in substantial part by a religious corporation, association or society does not violate the non-discrimination policy by limiting employment or giving a preference in employment to members of the same religion.

I understand you may have some valid concerns about that, but as an African American transperson who also happens to be a proud native Texan, I believe the changes to San Antonio's are necessary, way overdue and here's why. 

In 2012 UCLA's Williams Institute released a study of 61 non discrimination ordinances that have gender identity and sexual orientation language.   That study also included Austin and Dallas.  

They found that not only did municipalities with these ordinances not have any problems attracting qualified contractors to carry out government work or operations, the 61 municipalities also reported it wasn't administratively burdensome or causing additional administrative costs.


The National Transgender Discrimination Survey entitled 'Injustice At Every Turn' was released in 2010, and it documents how much hell the trans community, and especially transpeople of color are catching by NOT being included as a protected class for non-discrimination.

In its Texas specific results, there were alarming indications of widespread harassment and discrimination aimed at transgender Texans.

• 79% reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job
• 26% lost a job
• 22% were denied a promotion
• 45% were not hired

• Harassment and Discrimination at School

• Those who expressed a transgender identity or gender non-conformity while in grades K-12 reported alarming rates of harassment (85%), physical assault (46%) and sexual violence (9%)
• Harassment was so severe that it led 11% to leave a school in K-12 settings or leave higher education

• Economic Insecurity - Likely due to employment discrimination and discrimination in school, survey respondents experienced poverty and unemployment at higher rates than the general population:
• 10% of respondents had a household income of $10,000 or less, compared to 4% of the general population, which is more than twice the rate of poverty
• 10% were unemployed compared to 7% in the nation at the time of the survey

• Housing Discrimination and Instability - Survey respondents experienced blatant housing discrimination, as well as housing instability, much of which appears to stem from the challenges they face in employment.
• 8% were evicted
• 15% were denied a home/apartment
• 17% had become homeless because of their gender identity/expression
• 22% had to find temporary space to stay/sleep
• 50% had to move back in with family or friends
• 39% reported owning their home compared to 67% of the general U.S. population

• Harassment and Discrimination in Accommodations and Services
• 47% were verbally harassed or disrespected in a place of public accommodation or service,including hotels, restaurants, buses, airports and government agencies.
• 23% were denied equal treatment by a government agency or official
• 16% were denied equal treatment or harassed by judges or court officials.
• 23% of those who have interacted with police reported harassment by officers
• 41% reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance

• Health Care Discrimination and Health Outcomes
• 16% were refused medical care due to their gender identity/expression
• 1.9% were HIV positive, compared to the general population rate of 0.6%
• 19% postponed needed medical care, when they were sick or injured, due to discrimination
• Only 43% of the respondents had employer-based health insurance, compared to 59% of the general U.S. population at the time of the survey.
• 41% reported attempting suicide at some point in their life, 26 times the rate of the general population of 1.6%

And yes, Councilmember Taylor, these things are happening to transpeople who reside in the Alamo City. 

To underscore the point these things are affecting trans people who live in San Antonio, in 2005 and 2010 two SAPD officers, Dean Gutierrez and Craig Nash were arrested for sexually assaulting trans women while on duty and later received ridiculously low sentences for it.  

There was the nationally televised 2011 case of former San Antonio Macy's employee Natalie Johnson who mistakenly believed her personal religious beliefs trumped Macy's corporate policy as she denied a gender variant person access to a dressing room.

Lone Star State shero Rep. Barbara Jordan once stated, "One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves."

The question being asked of San Antonio at this time is does the Alamo City accept people who are different from themselves like its LGBT residents?    If the answer to that question is yes, then the second question you must ponder is in the face of demonstrated discrimination and harassment aimed at the LGBT residents of San Antonio, does the city have the will in the face of loud and wrong opposition to pass non-discrimination laws to protect the human rights of those same LGBT people who are different from themselves? 

Passage of this non-discrimination ordinance would make it clear that San Antonio is willing to accept people different from themselves. Its defeat would send the opposite message across the city, the state, the nation and the world.


Councilmember Taylor, it would make me, my fellow African-American trans Texans in San Antonio and across the state and our supporters in the African-American community proud to know that the lone African-American member of the San Antonio City Council was a drum majorette for justice.  It would make us happy that you stood up for our humanity and the human rights of our transgender brothers and sisters residing in the Alamo City.

You have the power to make history and change this negative paradigm the trans citizens of San Antonio currently experience and usher in a new birth of freedom and equality for this downtrodden community.

As a fellow African-American who also happens to be transgender, I am humbly and respectfully asking for your YES vote in favor of the revised non-discrimination ordinance.

I hope and pray that you will do so and be one of the San Antonio councilmembers next month who stand on the side of human rights and justice.

Sincerely yours,
Monica Roberts
The TransGriot

Help Our San Antonio Trans Brothers And Sisters Pass A Trans Human Rights Non Discrimination Ordinance

TransGriot readers, need your help with a critical Lone Star State human rights mission. 

I wrote about the upcoming vote around September 5 concerning trans inclusive revisions to San Antonio's Human Rights ordinance that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation and is sorely needed. 

There was a contentious San Antonio City Council public hearing on the issue in which 120 people spoke pro and con about and we are also battling FOX Noise sliming and lying about the ordinance as well

This ordinance is desperately needed.  We have had two trans sisters sexually assaulted in 2005 and 2010 by two San Antonio cops who barely served any jail time for their crimes.  In 2011 we had a gender variant person there denied access to a Macy's dressing room by faith based transphobe Natalie Johnson who the local wingers there are trying to use as their  'christian persecution' poster child in opposition to the ordinance.

And that's before we even start talking about the Texas specific results of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. 

It takes six votes on San Antonio City Council to pass ordinances.  As of this moment we have FIVE supporters for the changes who are Mayor Julián Castro, District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal, District 4 Councilman Rey Saldaña, District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, and District 6 Councilman Ray Lopez.

Call them and tell them thank you for support the changes to the San Antonio Non-Discrimination Ordinance that prohibit discrimination on gender identity and sexual orientation grounds.

Two have said they are voting NO period, and they are  District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan and District 10 Councilman Carlton Soules.

But there are four people on council who haven't committed yet and one is rumored to be leaning NO.   The Forces of Intolerance and their FOX Noise allies sliming the changes need all FOUR of these people to vote their way to defeat the ordinance while all we need is just ONE.  Let's shoot to get ALL of them voting our way for an overwhelming victory.

Please respectfully ask these four people for their YES votes. 

Those councilmembers are District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor, District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, District 7 Councilman Cris Medina, and District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg . 

They need to hear people calling or e-mailing them in favor of this ordinance.  Mayor Castro and the San Antonio City Council are damned sure hearing from the Children of Darkness who are foaming at the mouth opposed to it.  Children of Light y'all need to get busy being just as zealous in FAVOR of this ordinance. 

You can share this website supporting equal rights in San Antonio.  You know that as I get further developments as to what's transpiring human rights wise on I-10 west I will keep you posted.

But start calling these folks tomorrow and don't stop until September 5 because the haters sure won't.

TransGriot Update: Here's a Change.org petition I'm asking you to sign and share asking the San Antonio City Council to support and vote for the inclusive non-discrimination ordinance.

CAUSA's website

Not Feeling The Sochi Olympic Boycott Proposal

In the wake of the draconian anti-LGBT laws that Russia has implemented resulting in persecution for our TBLG cousins living there, their allies and are now being extended to visitors to the country, loud calls have started to emerge for a boycott of the approaching 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi this February.

I have mixed emotions about the idea, but if you pin me down and ask me to make a definitive stance on it, I'd have to say nyet to it. 

While I'm appalled and pissed off about the anti-TBLG crap going on in Russia, I also have the advantage, unlike some of the younglings calling for an Olympic boycott now of seeing what happened the last time somebody suggested we stay home for political or human rights reasons and the effectiveness of it.

In December 1979 the then Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and as one of the responses to the invasion besides a grain embargo, President Carter proposed a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Moscow that summer from July 19-August 3 if the Soviets didn't withdraw their troops from the country by February 20. 

They didn't and the Carter Administration began the diplomatic work of making the Olympic boycott a reality. 

Eventually 60 nations joined that boycott, some reluctantly.  While it resulted in the smallest Olympics in the last several decades with only 80 nations participating in the Moscow Games, it triggered a retaliatory Soviet bloc boycott of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. 

The Soviet Union also didn't remove their combat units from Afghanistan for another nine years.

The only people the Moscow Olympic boycott hurt were the athletes who spent years training for it and never got another opportunity to compete in an Olympic cycle. 

Those who were younger like 1984 swimming triple gold medalist Tracy Caulkins got their shot in a subsequent Olympiad at the Olympic glory that eluded them in 1980.    But that wasn't the case for many of the folks who were at their competitive peak in 1980 and were knocked off the 1984 team by younger competitors or the 1980 Moscow Games were their last Olympiad after having competed in 1972 or 1976.  They were left with nagging 'what-if' scenarios that have dogged them for much of their lives.

The 1980 Moscow Olympics went on as scheduled without them and the boycott did not remove one Soviet combat unit from Afghan soil.

So with the Winter Olympics coming to Sochi, why repeat the mistake?  It's interesting to note that these boycotts are always proposed by people who have never spent one day in their lives training to be the person standing at the top step of an Olympic platform, getting the gold medal and hearing their national anthem played as they watch their flag rise. 

They propose them because it's not their lifelong dream that's being dashed.

The proposed Sochi Olympic boycott is not going to get Russian President Vladimir Putin or their legislature to repeal the anti-LGBT law.   But you can continue to point out for the world to see what the Russian government is doing to their own people.
 
You can call for people to not attend the Sochi Games, not watch it on television, buy Sochi Olympic themed merchandise and give the athletes the choice of deciding whether or not they will compete there instead of having the decision forced upon them by their governments. 

Olympic boycotts simply do not work as political tools, only hurt the athletes and historically haven't  accomplished the political policy goal they are trying to achieve.
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WTF Just Happened In Puerto Rico With SB 238?

Oops, guess I spoke too soon about SB 238 passing the Puerto Rican House and Senate .

Seems that while the news was being trumpeted around the world about the sweeping trans inclusive version that would have protected TBLG Puerto Ricans against discrimination in public accommodations, housing, governmental services and other private entities, the faith based haters were still actively working to strip those categories from it before it reached Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla's desk for his signature.

According to an AP report they succeeded.   On May 27 a modified version of the bill was passed by the Puerto Rican Senate that removed the clauses banning discrimination against TBLG Puerto Ricans in commercial transactions, property rentals, public accommodations, and other circumstances.

So now the question inquiring GLBT human rights minds like moi are asking is which version of the bill did Governor Garcia Padilla sign into law?   Is it the version of SB 238 that has those clauses or the May 27 one the faith based haters were pushing to strip them from the bill and keep their special right to discriminate alive?

Governor Alejandro García Padilla signed the legislation at his official residence in San Juan along with HB 488, which adds domestic violence law protections for gender identity, sexual orientation, and marital status. 

He issued a statement via Twitter: 'The dignity of being a human being is inviolable because we are all the same and we must be equal under the law.'

He added: 'Today is a great day for Puerto Rico. I feel that I have fulfilled my duty as a Christian to sign these laws.'

But my question is how great a day?  Which version of SB 238 did you sign Governor Garcia Padilla?  If you signed the original sweeping bill, it was a doubleplus good day for the Puerto Rican TBLG community. 

If it was the modified one that strips commercial transactions, property rentals, public accommodations, transportation and other circumstances from it, you signed a worthless, unjust Massachusetts style law and far from 'fulfilling your duty as a Christian' to treat everyone equally, you just failed in that task. 

How can you even part your lips to call it equal if you have a LGBT non discrimination law that keeps you as a rainbow Puerto Rican from being fired from your job, but the transphobic bus driver transporting you to that job can kick you off his bus?  

You can work for a restaurant, but the homophobic restaurant owner can kick you out of his establishment if you and your trans, gay and lesbian friends attempt to eat there.  If you're trying to rent an apartment or beachside cottage the phobic building owner can refuse to rent it to you without fear of being punished for it.. 

Who the hell LGBT activist wise was watching the Puerto Rican legislature and the governor's office to ensure the tougher bill was the one that received Governor Garcia Padilla's signature?   Instead of doing the civil rights job right the first time you'll now have to (like Massachusetts is painfully doing right now) go back to the Puerto Rican Legislature and refight the pitched battle you just fought to have those categories the Senate just stripped out added back into the law.  

A human rights law without public accommodations language in it is not only unjust, it's a worthless law.

And since 2014 is an election year, good luck making that happen and getting a governor who narrowly won his seat in the 2012 election cycle to sign it.