Number 5- Rest In Power Zakaria Fry

When a person goes missing, once you pass ten days that the person was last seen alive or heard from, the likelihood that the missing person in question is still alive drops with each passing day.

So when 28 year old Zakaria Fry went missing along with 70 year old Eugene Carrell Ray back on January 18 in Albuquerque, NM., while we held out hope that both might still be alive, the missing person odds told us there was a high probability she might not be.

Fry had moved to Albuquerque from Indiana several years ago according to her sister Brittany Willis, and was renting a room from Ray.    Rat was a prominent attorney in the area, and Ray's family told APD that they feared that he could have been involved in a violent situation.  He was last seen alive on January 18, and his home was found in disarray along with some suspicious items. 

Fry was reported missing a few days later.  She was last heard from on that same January 18 date, with a friend receiving a text from her.

Yesterday the Albuquerque Police Depart confirmed that the two bodies found by rancher Fidel Montoya in the small town of Stanley, NM on February 19 have been positively identified as Eugene Ray and our trans sister Zakaria Fry. 

Fry's body was found by Montoya crammed in a trash can on the edge of his property 45 miles from Albuquerque   Ray's was found in a different location on a dirt road two miles away.

A person of interest was recently spotted driving Ray's car and APD is looking for him.

This is still an open investigation according to APD Public Information Officer Simon Drobik.  They still don't know why they were killed, and haven't released any information as to how they died.

APD is asking anyone with information that could potentially help solve this case to call Crime Stoppers at 505-843-STOP (7867)

Fry is the 5th trans person we have lost in 2018, and we hope that the person or persons who committed this heinous crime are caught and expeditiously brought to justice.   

Rest in power and peace, Z.   

Election Registration Deadlines Today In TX And Several States

If after watching (or not watching) the second debate and you are sufficiently motivated enough to vote on November 8, then you better bust a move because today is the deadline day to get registered.

Texas is one of those states in which today is the deadline to get registered to vote along with georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Just a reminder, here's the rest of the voter registration deadlines for October.

In the District of Columbia today is also the deadline to register in advance of the election, but you can do same day registration there. I'd suggest you do it now DC if possible.

Florida's deadline was originally today, and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to extend the deadline despite the fact that county offices in much of the state were closed because of Hurricane Matthew.  
Thanks to a successful voting rights lawsuit filed by the Florida Democratic Party, the voter registration deadline was extended by US District court Judge Mark E. Walker (Obama appointee) by one day, with another hearing coming later today to determine whether to extend it beyond Wednesday.


Once again, presidential elections matter, and if you wish you exercise that right to vote on November 8 or during early voting if your part of the country offers it like Texas does (October 24-November 4), you must handle the first step of it and register to vote.

The clock's ticking.    You can check your registration status or register to vote via this link.

If you believe your voting rights are being messed with, call the ACLU Voter Protection Hotline at 877-523-2792

Damian's Graduation Ceremony At UNM

Despite the efforts of thousands of people around the world who attempted to get transphobic Archbishop Michael Sheehan to defer to common sense and allow Damian Garcia to walk with his Albuquerque St Pius X HS classmates in a black gown, it unfortunately didn't happen and Damian skipped the ceremony.

On May 30 the University of New Mexico welcomed their newest Lobo to the fold by hosting a special graduation event for him at the UNM LGBT Resource Center attended by several dozen people in which Damian was the keynote speaker and got to wear his black graduation robe.

One of the people in attendance was Hawaii Human Rights Commissioner and recent Harvey Milk Champion of Change honoree Kim Coco Iwamoto, who received her law degree from the University of New Mexico's law school

“For me it’s amazing for young people like Damien take a stand for him being his authentic self,” she said.

Damien was emotional as he spoke about seeing a community come together on his behalf. "“I’ve seen a community, the LGBT community come to the rescue, so to speak, of a fellow member,” Garcia said. “Because of this and all the support, I’ve grown as a person as well as the community growing as a whole.”

He starts school at UNM in the fall and plans to become an attorney.

Damian Skips His HS Graduation

In case you're wondering how the situation with Albuquerque transteen Damian Garcia played out, when the ceremony kicked off at 10 AM MDT yesterday the Class of 2013 of St Pius X HS was one member short.  

While his classmates left a seat open for him in protest,  Damian decided to skip his graduation after the archdiocese of Santa Fe and the school refused to budge on letting him wear a black gown to the ceremony.

“I’m fully respecting this and myself by not walking and/or attending the ceremony at all,” he said on his Facebook page.

Meanwhile at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, NM where the ceremony was held, Michael J. Sheehan, the archbishop of Santa Fe, tried to make it sound like he was being persecuted as the Roman Catholic Church tends to do when they get caught in their public displays of transphobia. 

In his address to the nearly 200 graduates Sheehan talked about discrimination and standing up for what’s right, warning students that sometimes in life they will be persecuted for standing up for their Christian values.

Archbishop Sheehan, discrimination against and persecuting trans people is not a Christian value.  You know you were wrong on the issue, especially when you wouldn't show your cowardly face to the local media to defend your bigotry.   

Damian probably won't be the last trans student to go through St Pius X High, so you may as well get ready to have this conversation again.

Damian has been accepted to the University of New Mexico, and they along with the University of New Mexico's LGBT Resource Center will welcome their newest Lobo to the fold by holding a graduation ceremony for him on May 30 from 5 to 7 PM MDT  in a courtyard next to Scholes Hall on their main campus.

27,072 People (And Counting) Say Let Damian Walk In Black Robes

The pressure is mounting on Archbishop Michael Sheehan and Superintendent Murphy in this now viral story of Albuquerque, NM St. Pius High School senior Damian Garcia's simple request to walk in his graduation in a black cap and gown being denied. 

Received an e-mail from Torrey Moorman who spearheaded the MoveOn.org petition on Damian's behalf that has now garnered as of the moment I'm compiling this post 27,072 signatures toward their new goal of 30,000 signatures. 

Monica;

We have called Superintendent Murphy's phone and said: "We want you to know that we hold you and the entire Archdiocese in the Light. We are fully aware of how difficult this must be for Archbishop Sheehan who grew up being taught if you have a penis you are a boy, and if you have a vagina you are a girl."

"Unfortunately, just as the human genome project has proven unequivocally that there is no genetic variation between the races, science is proving gender and sexuality are not so simply defined. We fully appreciate that growth is uncomfortable and extremely difficult."

"William posted a photo stating: If you want to change, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable. All growth is uncomfortable, whether it is the growing pains of bones growing faster than muscle, or the pain of accepting a new definition of human sexuality. We respect your difficulties and hold you in love and Light as you go through this difficult time. We have faith that Archbishop Sheehan will make the right decision in Christ's love: To allow Damian to walk with his graduating class in black robes."

We encourage everyone to give Archbishop Sheehan and Superintendent Murphy this message. The message that decisions made out of love, instead of fear, pave the way to a loving and peaceful planet.

Sincerely,
The Moorman family, Cat Provost, and the Garcia family

All the school and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe had to do was simply let Damian walk.  To prevent such drama in the future they need to consider the possibility of having every future graduate of St. Pius High wear the same color cap and gowns.

But nope, since the Roman Catholic Church has been conducting a decade long holy war aimed at trans people and the transphobia injected into the Vatican by Paul McHugh has now filtered down the chain of command from Rome, they now have a PR mess on their hands. 

It also makes them look like bigoted and petty faith based trans oppressors to Albuquerque and the rest of the world and reinforces the disturbing decade long pattern of the Roman Catholic Church being hostile to trans people.

As I said in the comment I posted when I signed the petition: 

This is a no brainer situation.   Damian identifies as a male, has been presenting as one for over a year, and his classmates, faculty and family recognize him as one.

You only graduate from high school once, so why not let Damian walk in the black male gown?

You still have time to change that negative perception by letting Damian walk in a black cap and gown.

But the clock's ticking..

Let Damian Walk In Male Cap And Gown MoveOn.org Petition

A MoveOn.org petition has been created by Torrey Moorman in support of Albuquerque, NM transteen Damian Garcia.

The petition was created with the goal of getting St Pius High School to allow Damian to walk in his rapidly approaching May 22 graduation in the  black cap and gown for male students.

Here's what I posted when I signed the petition, which has over 20,000 signatures at the time I compiled this post
: 
This is a no brainer situation.   Damian identifies as a male, has been presenting as one for over a year,and his classmates, faculty and family recognize him as one.

You only graduate from high school once, so why not let Damian walk in the black male gown?

Why not indeed, St Pius High School?  Your transphobic resistance to doing the decent and right thing and trying to hide behind the policy excuse only makes you look more bigoted to the rest of the world and reinforces the disturbing decade long pattern of the Roman Catholic Church being hostile to trans people.

TransGriot Update: The petition reached its goal of 25,000 signatures and is now shooting for 30,000.

Albuquerque Catholic HS Forcing Transman To Wear Female Graduation Gown

In our latest episode of School Administrators Being Transphobic Jerks, we head west to Albuquerque, NM and Saint Pius High.

Damian Garcia is a senior at the Catholic run high school who transitioned and had a legal name change last year.  He is recognized as a male student by his parents, family, fellow students, faculty and teachers. 

“I look at him and I call him my son. That's how he wishes to be acknowledged is as a male,” said father Luis Garcia in a KRQE-TV 13 interview.  .

But Damian's birth certificate still has the wrong gender code on it despite the name change.  The superintendent of the school, reflecting the decade old anti-trans hate injected into the Catholic Church by Dr. Paul McHugh, is seizing on that to force Damian to walk in his graduation in a white robe.  

For some reason Saint Pius HS in its graduation ceremony has male students wear black gowns and female students wear white ones.  Of course Damian wants to wear the gender appropriate gown for him, the black one.

Graduation gown a problem for transgender student

“I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends,” said Damian. “I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.”

His father agreed with him. “All you want in life is to see your kids happy and healthy. You never want to see them suffer or being ridiculed or be made fun of,” Luis said.

Your high school graduation should be one of the happiest times in your young life, and the Saint Pius school  superintendent is sapping the joy out of this occasion for Damian by being a transphobic jerk.

Maybe it's time for Saint Pius to consider having everyone wear the same color graduation gown so this doesn't happen again.