Happy 2016-17 School Year To My Trans And LGB Siblings

HISD and other school districts in the Houston area started classes today, and I'm thinking about this in the wake of my niece Kacielyn and one of the many transkids I know like Kai starting kindergarten today.

Kai's mom Kimberly Shappley has been fighting a battle with the Pearland ISD to get then to see the error of their transphobic ways and not discriminate against her daughter.

They are taking their lead from their transphobic superintendent Dr John Kelly and being obstinate about forcing a trans feminine child into bathrooms with cisgender boys, so Shappley may have to escalate the fight for her daughter's freedom, liberty and human rights to the legal system.

It's also a reminder of the DOE/DOJ Dear Colleague letter that is being contested in federal court by a group of ten states led by my indicted GOP Texas attorney general who is indulging his oppressor gene.

Back to this school year post.

While this school year is already shaping up to be a contentious one for trans kind, it's also one of great possibilities for you as well.  In addition to kids like Kai starting their school years in kindergarten, some are making the jump to middle school.  Others of you are starting high school or heading into your senior year, and some of you are heading off to college or into your last year of college.

And major props to those of you who are in grad school or law school.

Some of you before this year is over may have the opportunity to make some trans history along the way and become your school's (or your state's) first ever trans masculine or trans feminine homecoming kings or queens, or winning prom king or queen.

Some of you may choose to excel or compete in sports or other activities as your true selves, while others of you will be more concerned with simply handling your academic business and making friends along the way.

Whatever way you choose to handle your school business, know that your trans elders support you, and stand ready along with several organizations like Lambda Legal, the ACLU, GLSEN, GLAD and the Department of Justice to ensure your Title IX human rights are covered.

Best of luck to all of you and hope this is a successful 2016-17 academic year for all of you.

Ho Hum, Another Transphobic Gay White Male Advocating TBLG Separation

Another day, another not so shocking instance of a transphobic white gay male making the case to throw transpeople under the human rights bus.

On the eve of South Dakota governor Dennis Daugaard trying to make up his mind whether he is going to be a trans human rights hero or a trans human rights oppressor, another one of those 'We Want A Divorce From The T******s' pieces popped up this morning in USA Today.

This op-ed was written by Joseph R. Murray, who was a campaign official for Pat Buchanan and would be surprised if he was a member of either GOProud or the Log Cabin Republicans.

Let me get right to the heart of why I and other trans people are tired of white gay men clamoring for separation now that you have accomplished much of your gay and lesbian legislative and societal wish list by simultaneously using the trans community as legislative bargaining chips.

It was trans people, and specifically trans people of color like Marsha P. Johnson who threw the first bricks and shot glasses at Stonewall while you Fire Island gays were cowering in your closets.  And far too often in my nearly two decades of human rights advocacy,it has been primarily white gay men who have been the biggest obstacles to trans human rights progress.

If you think I'm kidding about that, LGBT history has far too many instances of trans folks being thrown under the legislative bus in the name of 'incremental progress' and LG led groups breaking those promises to come back for us.  

And who came up with the bathroom meme?  Before the right wing started using it to attack us and human rights laws in general, it was Rep. Barney Frank with his 'penis in showers' arguments in the late 90's designed to stymie trans inclusion in ENDA.

Which brings me back to talking about this latest example and the repeated ignorant line that trans rights and gay rights are not the same.   While there are some issues that are unique to the trans community. we also identify as gay, bi or lesbian in Trans World in terms of our sexual orientations.

And if our human rights as trans people aren't secured, your hard won human rights gains in Gay World are also less secure.

Now that we have the Republican Party and right wing evangelicals coming out of the closet in terms of working to openly attack our humanity and human rights, now is not the time for advocating kicking the trans community to the curb from a movement we helped build and far too much of our blood has been shed in order to make real the promises of democracy and human rights for trans Americans.

And we're tired of conservative white gay men showing their inner transphobe and making the fatally flawed assumption that your whiteness, your wallets and your eager willingness to sell out the rest of the LGBT community will protect you from the anti-LGBT discrimination that your party wishes to impose on all of us.

2014 WH LGBT Pride Reception Today

I know two people who will be in the room when this happens at 4:30 PM EDT, and will probably find out in a few hours who the other peeps were who were in attendance.

The White House LGBT Pride reception happens today, and as soon as the video of President Obama's remarks is up, I'll embed it in this post. 

One of the people I know who will be there and repping my community well is Dr. Kortney Ryan Ziegler.    One of my fellow Texans will be in the room as well.

Congratulations to those of you who were invited to attend.  Y'all have fun while you are in DC.    

Where Will You Be On The 28th?

'A man who will not labor to gain his right is a man who would not, if he had them, prize and defend them' --Frederick Douglass

That quote came to mind during a conversation I was having with Meghan Stabler yesterday about this HERO fight.in which we talked about the optics and the importance of this fight, especially for the trans community. 

Meghan used to live inside Loop 610 before moving to North Texas, and while here she served as the President of the Pride Houston board.   She lamented during our conversation updating her about the HERO political situation that Pride Houston draws over 250,000 people to party and grab the trinkets  She wondered aloud how many of those people who will be attending Pride Events next month are involved in this fight for their H-town human rights, much less will show up at 901 Bagby Street.

I asked the same question about the peeps who attended the just concluded Houston Splash.   How many of them are involved, signed up to speak and ready to prize and fight for their human rights?

This is the human rights fight of our 21st century time.   This is the moment we've waited 30 years for in terms of taking Houston off that short list of cities that don't protect the human rights of their TBLG citizens.  

We are on the correct and moral side of the arc of the human rights universe and it's bending toward justice for us.  So what's stopping you from joining the fight to pass the HERO?   
 

For my trans brothers and sisters, it's even more important we show up and show out.  We Houston trans people have a long and proud history of struggle against oppression.   Whether it was Toni Mayes filing a successful lawsuit against HPD in 1975 to get them to stop harassing her,  Judge Phyllis Frye who helped kill the anti-crossdressing ordinance in 1980 among her many accomplishments as the Godmother of the Trans Rights Movement, the late Dee McKellar, Sarah DePalma, myself and Vanessa Edwards Foster being part of the team that founded NTAC,  we've been fighters not only for our own human rights but the human rights of the communities we intersect and interact with.  

And we have another generation stepping up to lead and build on our work.. 

So where will you be on the 28th?   I know where I'll be and I'd like you to be, but if you can't make it to City Hall, make those phone calls to city council members.   If you happen to hear people badmouthing the HERO as you're out and about in your daily Houston lives, correct the disinformation as I did on my bus ride yesterday by pointing out the HERO would expand their human rights.

And if you're not ready to tell your story in front of city council or one on one, you can at least wear red on that day to silently support it.

If We Tell You It's A Slur Word, Dont Use It

I'm still amazed that elements of the white gay male community are still tripping about the RuPaul mess and using it to let their transphobia fly simply because we told you we will not tolerate you or anybody else in cisgender world using the two words we consider slurs to us. 

And that's not overpolicing language, being PC (and I hate that term), creeping fascism or the other over the top BS I've seen in predominately gay male site comment threads over the last month. 

I'm also megatired of elements of the white gay male and drag community trying to prop Andrea James and Calpernia Addams up as their apologists and human shield cheerleaders to attack the rest of us transpeeps who hold the majority consensus opinion that 't----y' and 'shemale' are unacceptable slur words.And in some cases, some of those white gay males have gone transphobically off the rails in doing so.  

Words matter.   They matter because hate thoughts + hate speech = hate violence.  Words matter because they have the potential to be weaponized and hurt marginalized communities when aimed at them by people with societal power.   Words matter to a trans community facing unacceptable levels of anti-trans violence aimed at it in addition to anti-trans discrimination. 

When a majority of people in a marginalized community tells you a word is offensive to them, you don't fracking use it if you wish to be considered respectful allies to that community.   I don't see gay men using the slur words the Latin@, African-American and Jewish communities have told them are offensive or claiming they are 'being PC' for demanding they not do so.  

So why are they tripping in this case?   Is it because it's the trans community telling them not to do it? 

Let me drive this point home once again.  You don't get to make the call as to what words are or aren't offensive to my community.  WE make that call.  If you respect our community as you claim you do, then heed our repeated request to simply NOT use the offensive slur words.  

Hell, if Jerry Springer can stop using it, so can you. 

Neither do we need trans people acting as agent provocateurs undermining the message we as a community are trying to send to the world NOT to use them.  Bottom line is we have seen the same gay male community hypocritically crying to us about 'word policing' tearing people new anuses for using the slur words unacceptable to them.   So why is it acceptable for gay men to demand people not use the slur words they deem unacceptable, but the trans community is considered to be 'word policing' when we do the same thing in defense of our humanity?

If it is acceptable for you gay peeps to demand people respect your community and your humanity by insisting that people not call y'all the f-word that rhymes with maggot among others, then we as trans people expect the same reciprocity in the name of defending our humanity that you not use the slur words deemed unacceptable to ours.

Cleveland TBLG Community Rally On Sunday

Been advised by Zoe Lapin that a community rally to discuss the trans murders of Brittany Kidd-Stergis and Betty Skinner, the latest outbreak of racist Cleveland media transphobia and other issues of importance in the local trans community will take place at Trinity Cathedral on Sunday,  December 15. 

Trinity Cathedral is located at 2230 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland and the event will start at 1:00 PM EST.  

What I am hoping for is that this event will be as diverse as the city of Cleveland is, and will feature someone from the local African American trans community to represent the people who are taking the brunt of the anti-trans hate crimes.  

I hope this does not turn into another event where white faces are the predominant ones we see all over the news, the media and the Net speaking, and irritatingly once again the Black trans community people who are the ones doing the dying, their representatives, leaders and local community leadership voices are shut out, ignored and the bodies of our dead are used once again to push somebody else's rainbow agenda.

In the runup to organizing this event, I hope and pray the organizers keep the I-words inclusion and intersectionality in their vocabularies and don't ignore the Black trans community as they put together this community rally.  

The Cleveland trans community has people besides white trans men who can eloquently speak for it.. Call them and invite them to the podium to speak for their fallen transsister who can no longer do so and their community. 


That being said, hoping for a large, diverse turnout and speakers at that rally reflecting the diversity of the Cleveland TBLG community.  I also hope for a frank discussion that takes place in that space which begins to address the frustration that I hear privately from many Black transpeople in the area about the state of the LGBT community in Cleveland, Ohio.   Their anger is mounting about their marginalization in it combined with the anti-trans violence being aimed at them and needs to be heard and dealt with. 

Way To Go San Antonio!

After a contentious summer in which FOX Noise, Texas Republicans, Christobigots and the conservafool movement stuck their nose in this TBLG human rights fight in order to deny Mayor Julian Castro a victory (and because they are straight up haters), the San Antonio City Council passed on an 8-3 vote last night the revision to their non-discrimination ordinance that added gender identity and sexual orientation protections to the ordinance.

Mayor Castro is a rising star in Texas politics, and you know the GOP is 'scurred' of the prospect of him leading the inevitable blue wave that will sweep them out of power in the Lone Star State.  He supported the changes to the non-discrimination ordinance.

"This ordinance is about saying there are no second-class citizens in San Antonio," Mayor Castro told the AP. 

Damn skippy.   It also makes San Antonio the largest city in Texas to have those protections and you know the TransGriot wants the same thing to happen in Houston ASAP.

I am disappointed and pissed off that Ivy Taylor, the only African-American member of the San Antonio City Council joined with oppressors Elisa Chan and Carlton Soules in voting NO.

VOTE ON LGBT NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro - YES
District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal - YES
District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor - NO
District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran - YES
District 4 Councilman Rey Saldana - YES
District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales - YES
District 6 Councilman Ray Lopez - YES
District 7 Councilman Cris Medina - YES
District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg - YES
District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan - NO
District 10 Councilman Carlton Soules - NO


VOTE ON VETERANS NON-DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro - YES
District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal - YES
District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor - YES
District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran - YES
District 4 Councilman Rey Saldana - YES
District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales - YES
District 6 Councilman Ray Lopez - YES
District 7 Councilman Cris Medina - YES
District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg - YES
District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan - NO
District 10 Councilman Carlton Soules - NO

Congratulations San Antonio!   Looking forward to the day in Houston when all TBLG people in our city are protected from anti-BTLG discrimination and not just those who work for the city.

San Antonio City Council Considering Adding Gender Identity To Non-Discrimination Ordinance

San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas and is considering adding gender identity and sexual orientation to their anti-discrimination ordinance. 

If this human rights ordinance change is passed by the San Antonio City Council, it would amend the city codes to protect people from discrimination in housing, public accommodations and employment based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran’s status. It would also make San Antonio the largest city in the state of Texas to do so. 

It was headed to a final vote in June but was delayed until either this month or September as I suspect by the opponents on the San Antonio City Council to give the Forces of Intolerance time to organize opposition in order to protect their special right to discriminate.

They have been busy flooding the San Antonio City Council and Mayor Julian Castro (D) with negative calls at a 60-1 ratio and those of you who are on the side of fighting for TBLG human rights need to be heard ASAP and countering the faith based lies.. 

It takes six votes on San Antonio City Council to pass ordinances.  As of this moment the supporters for the changes 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.

Opposed to the ordinance changes are District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan and District 10 Councilman Carlton Soules.

So if you're keeping human rights score at home, that's five YES votes and two NO votes

There are four council members whose votes are either undeclared at this time.or who are still evaluating the changes.  Those councilmembers are District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor, District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, District 7 Councilman Cris Medina, and District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg . 

All we need is one of the four to vote YES for passage while the haters need all of them to vote NO to defeat it.  So let's get busy RESPECTFULLY trying to convince them to vote our way.

Trans discrimination exists in Texas and has deleterious effects on us.  With many of us living in Texas urban areas like San Antonio, it's past time for the cities to do what we know our GOP dominated state legislature won't in terms of protecting the human rights of their TBLG citizens.

San Antonio clergy have come out in favor of the change to the non-discrimination ordinance and are circulating this letter in support.

As faith leaders from a wide range of denominations, faith traditions and communities from across San Antonio, we dedicate our lives to fostering faith and compassion and work daily to promote justice and fairness for all God’s children. It is out of this common call to fairness and justice that we strongly encourage the San Antonio City Council to amend the city codes to protect people from discrimination in housing, public accommodations and employment based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran’s status.

The sacred writings and traditions that we follow carry the messages of love, justice and inclusion. Our faiths teach us that we should treat others as we wish to be treated. These common-sense additions to the city code promote the common good and express our fundamental commitment to basic fairness. All hardworking people in San Antonio should have the chance to earn a living and provide for their families without fear of being fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance. Everyone should have equal access to housing and public accommodations.

The time for San Antonio to extend its commitment to fairness and compassion is NOW: As religious leaders in San Antonio, we call on the City of San Antonio to do more to protect all its residents and visitors from arbitrary discrimination by ensuring that all have equal access to employment, housing, and public accommodations. By updating the city codes, the City Council will strengthen our community by fostering an atmosphere of respect and inclusivity and will send the message that San Antonio is a welcoming place to live, work, and raise a family.

In addition it's time for our trans brothers and sisters residing in San Antonio to become agents of your own liberation.  You have a golden opportunity to get an ordinance passed that protects your human rights and all you need to do is e-mail or pick up the phone and call your city councilmember and Mayor Castro.

Of course visiting their offices won't hurt either in addition to planning on being in council chambers when the vote happens.  But first things first, here's a list of the folks you need to chat with who either oppose or are non committal about this sensible change.  

Here's hoping I will have positive news to report to the rest of the state, nation and world in terms of whether or not the Alamo City values its TBLG citizens. 


TransGriot Update: There's an additional website, Support Equal Rights In San Antonio you can click on to stay abreast of what's happening in the Alamo City concerning the non discrimination ordinance. You can also follow the Twitter hashtag #ndo4sa for info as well

TBLG Orgs Open Letter: Trayvon Deserves Justice

I spoke at the Houston Trayvon Martin rally at City Hall yesterday and made the point that Black TBLG issues are Black community issues and vice versa.  I also said during my comments that the first thing that people saw about me before we even started talking about me being trans is my skin color . 

I was very happy to note that a group of LGBT orgs spearheaded by the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and that includes the Trans Person of Color Coalition (TPOCC)  as one of the signatory organizations issued an open letter expressing their support to the Martin family as they continue to push for justice for Trayvon


An Open Letter: Trayvon Deserves Justice

We cannot begin to imagine the continued pain and suffering endured by Trayvon Martin's family and friends. We stand in solidarity with them as they continue to fight for justice, civil rights and closure. And we thank everyone who has pushed and will continue to push for justice.

Trayvon Martin deserves justice and his civil rights. We support the organizations and community leaders who are urging the federal government to explore every option to ensure that justice is served for Trayvon and that his civil rights are honored and respected. But our work does not end there: we will honor Trayvon Martin by strengthening our commitment to end bias, hatred, profiling and violence across our communities.

We represent organizations with diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constituencies. Our community has been targets of bigotry, bias, profiling and violence. We have experienced the heart-breaking despair of young people targeted for who they are, who they are presumed to be, or who they love: Rashawn Brazell, Lawrence King, Ali Forney, Brandon Teena, Brandon White, Matthew Shepard, Marco McMillian, Angie Zapata, Sakia Gunn, Gwen Araujo and countless others.

Every person, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, must be able to walk the streets without fear for their safety.

Justice delayed is justice denied and in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "a right delayed is a right denied." We honor Trayvon by seeking justice for all people.

All Out
American Civil Liberties Union
Believe Out Loud
BiNet USA
Bisexual Resource Center
Center for Black Equity
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals
Equality Federation
Family Equality Council
Freedom to Work
Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network
Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSA Network)
GetEQUAL
GMHC
GLAD
GLAAD
Harvey Milk Foundation
Human Rights Campaign
Immigration Equality
Lambda Legal
Movement Advancement Project
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Minority AIDS Council
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
PFLAG National
The Trevor Project
Trans Advocacy Network
Transgender Law Center
Trans People of Color Coalition

2013 TBLG Pride Month POTUS Proclamation

TransGriot Note: President Obama's 2013 TBLG Pride Month Proclamation 

The President's Pride Month Proclamation:
LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2013 — BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

For more than two centuries, our Nation has struggled to transform the ideals of liberty and equality from founding promise into lasting reality. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans and their allies have been hard at work on the next great chapter of that history — from the patrons of The Stonewall Inn who sparked a movement to service members who can finally be honest about who they love to brave young people who come out and speak out every day.

This year, we celebrate LGBT Pride Month at a moment of great hope and progress, recognizing that more needs to be done. Support for LGBT equality is growing, led by a generation which understands that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In the past year, for the first time, voters in multiple States affirmed marriage equality for same-sex couples. State and local governments have taken important steps to provide much-needed protections for transgender Americans.

My Administration is a proud partner in the journey toward LGBT equality. We extended hate crimes protections to include attacks based on sexual orientation or gender identity and repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We lifted the HIV entry ban and ensured hospital visitation rights for LGBT patients. Together, we have investigated and addressed pervasive bullying faced by LGBT students, prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Federal housing, and extended benefits for same-sex domestic partners. Earlier this year, I signed a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the implementation of any VAWA-funded program. And because LGBT rights are human rights, my Administration is implementing the first-ever Federal strategy to advance equality for LGBT people around the world.

We have witnessed real and lasting change, but our work is not complete. I continue to support a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as well as the Respect for Marriage Act. My Administration continues to implement the Affordable Care Act, which beginning in 2014, prohibits insurers from denying coverage to consumers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which addresses the disparate impact of the HIV epidemic among certain LGBT sub-communities. We have a long way to go, but if we continue on this path together, I am confident that one day soon, from coast to coast, all of our young people will look to the future with the same sense of promise and possibility. I am confident because I have seen the talent, passion, and commitment of LGBT advocates and their allies, and I know that when voices are joined in common purpose, they cannot be stopped.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2013 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

Janette Tovar Update

The friends and family of our trans sister Janette Tovar held a candlelight vigil for her Thursday night at the Grapevine Bar in Dallas that was well attended.   People in the Dallas rainbow community are still stunned, shocked and angry about her untimely loss and how it transpired.

As for the arrangements for Ms. Tovar, there won't be a wake, viewing or funeral because Janette is being cremated.  A church service is being planned and scheduled for a later date and as soon as I have that info, I will pass that along to you.

Thanks to my friends, fellow bloggers and allies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I'll have some help keeping you apprised of the ongoing developments in terms of the murder investigation and how the case against her alleged killer Jonathan Kenney is progressing. 

I will definitely let you know if and when our fallen trans sister Janette receives justice.

Rock Purple For Spirit Day

Today is Spirit Day, in which we peeps in the US and Canada rock the color purple in support of TBLG kids and speak out against bullying. 
It was the idea of Canadian teenager Brittany Murphy, who in October 2010 suggested the observance.   GLAAD promoted it and the first Spirit Day was observed on October 20 of the year.

It got its name from the purple stripe on the TBLG rainbow flag created by Gilbert Baker in which the color purple on that flag symbolizes spirit. 

It was also a reaction to several high profile bullying related suicides of gay schoolkids in 2010 including Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi.

I also need to point out that when non-gay kids are bullied, one of the epithets that is hurled at them by their tormentors is the presumption or accusation they are part of the BTLG community.  

So to show your support for our rainbow community kids, pull those purple outfits out of the closet and wear them.  Some blogs will also be going purple for the day and people will be changing the pics on their FB and Twitter profiles purple in honor of that day as well.

So time to get in the spirit for Spirit Day!   Rock the color purple and take a stand against the bullying of our rainbow community kids.

TBLG Americans For Obama Video

This video features rainbow community peeps such as Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Billie Jean King, George Takei, Wanda Sykes, Zachary Quinto, and Chaz Bono discussing why they're supporting  President Obama and why Mitt Romney isn't the choice for them.

Another Obama Administration 'Crumb'- HUD Housing Nondiscrimination Rule To Be Enacted

The rainbow fixated on gay marriage only detractors of President Obama or busy selling out to the GOP were loud about hollering 'crumbs' every time the administration made regulatory or policy changes that positively impacted this community.

Well, here's another 'crumb' they can gripe and mumble incoherently to themselves about.   

The Federal Housing Administration announced today in a press release they have released the final text of HUD's new nondiscrimination rule that will prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in several HUD programs including Title VIII based public housing and FHA backed loans.

It was also announced during the just concluded Creating Change conference in Baltimore by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

According to HUD the new nondiscrimination rule will:

• Requires owners and operators of HUD-assisted housing, or housing whose financing is insured by HUD, to make housing available without regard to the sexual orientation or gender identity of an applicant for, or occupant of, the dwelling, whether renter- or owner-occupied.  HUD will institute this policy in its rental assistance and homeownership programs, which include the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance programs, community development programs, and public and assisted housing programs.
  
• Prohibits lenders from using sexual orientation or gender identity as a basis to determine a borrower’s eligibility for FHA-insured mortgage financing.  FHA’s current regulations provide that a mortgage lender’s determination of the adequacy of a borrower’s income “shall be made in a uniform manner without regard to” specified prohibited grounds.  The rule will add actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited grounds to ensure FHA-approved lenders do not deny or otherwise alter the terms of mortgages on the basis of irrelevant criteria.
  
• Clarifies that all otherwise eligible families, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity, will have the opportunity to participate in HUD programs. In the majority of HUD’s rental and homeownership programs the term “family” already has a broad scope, and includes a single person and families with or without children.  HUD’s rule clarifies that otherwise eligible families may not be excluded because one or more members of the family may be an LGBT individual, have an LGBT relationship, or be perceived to be such an individual or in such relationship.
   
• Prohibits owners and operators of HUD-assisted housing or housing insured by HUD from asking about an applicant or occupant’s sexual orientation and gender identity for the purpose of determining eligibility or otherwise making housing available. In response to comments on the proposed rule, HUD has clarified this final rule to state that this provision does not prohibit voluntary and anonymous reporting of sexual orientation or gender identity pursuant to state, local, or federal data collection requirements.

The rule will be published in the Federal Register and will take effect 30 days after its publication.

 

DCCCD Policy Vote Today

With the new year comes the first news about an effort to advance human rights for the rainbow community of Texas.

Up I-45 from me the Dallas County Community College District board will hold their meeting today.  On the agenda will be the expansion of DCCCD nondiscrimination policies that cover employees and two student ones to include gender identity and gender expression.

DCCCD is seeking to join San Jacinto Community College and the Houston Community College District as Lone Star State institutions that have similar gender identity and expression language in their nondiscrimination policies.
  
The proposed policy expansion will come up for a board vote at this meeting and the good folks up there in the Metroplex would like to fill the room with supportive people not only willing to speak affirmatively for it but also wear pink to indicate they are in favor of the policy change.  

If you can be there or have time in your busy lives to do so the DCCCD administration building is located at 1601 South Lamar St.   It is south of Downtown Dallas and near both South Side on Lamar and the Dallas PD HQ.  The Cedars DART Rail station on the DART Rail Red and Blue lines is a few blocks away and the DART 26 bus line runs by it with service to and from the nearby DART Rail Cedars station. 

There is a free parking lot across the street from the DCCCD headquarters building, so if you can make it please show up at the DCCCD board meeting in pink and support what we hope will be the first policy victory in the nation for 2012

Break Out The Purple-It's Spirit Day!

As Morgan's video that I posted yesterday explained, today is Spirit Day.    

It's the newly minted day created by teen Brittany McMillan in which we break out the purple clothing in order to display our solidarity with TBLG youth as we combat a bullying epidemic that is driving our younglings to take their lives in many cases.

On the rainbow community flag, the purple stripe on it represent spirit, hence the name of the day.

This October 20 day is one in which we not only wear purple to support our youth, but as we show solidarity with our younglings by breaking out everything in our closets in that color, we are also working tirelessly toward creating a world in which BTLG youth are respected, protected and valued.

By working toward that world and confronting bullying head on, we hope that once we create that world in which bullying is not seen as a rite of passage but unacceptable behavior, we will never again see situations develop in which a child feels that their only response to ending the bullying being aimed at them is to take their own life. 

That's unacceptable to me, unacceptable to the rainbow community and should be unacceptable to society as well.  

So yeah, time to break out my purple blouse and the purple pumps to go with it.