Anti-Trans Bathroom Bully Bill Filed In Kentucky

TransGriot Note:  In the interest of journalistic integrity, I served on the boards of the Fairness Campaign and its C-FAIR political PAC from 2008-2010

When I lived in Kentucky, while it was 1000 miles away from my birth state, when it came to the politics, I noticed some similarities in terms of it having some politicians in its legislature that would make Louie Gohmert look like a Mensa candidate.

What that meant is that every session, we'd have some WTF bills filed that fortunately, because of the split control of the legislature (GOP Senate, Democratic House) didn't become law because they died in committee.

I was reminded of that aspect of Kentucky politics when I heard about Kentucky State Senator CB Embry(R) filing SB 76, the 'Bathroom Bully' Bill.

It would if passed not only force trans teens to use locker rooms and bathrooms that don't correspond to the person they are now, but would allow students who encounter a person of the opposite biological sex in a restroom, locker room or shower room to recover $2,500 damages for psychological, emotional and physical harm suffered and reasonable attorney fees and costs from the school if school personnel gave permission for the student encountered to use the facility or failed to take reasonable steps to prohibit the person encountered from using the facility.

It was in response to what happened at Louisville's Atherton HS that the hatemongering Kentucky 'Family Foundation tried to stick its transphobic nose in and failed.   They are now trying to get legislatively what they failed to do at the local level in Da Ville

Chris Hartman, director of the Kentucky Fairness Campaign, said the SB 76 bill that Embry has filed is 'a solution in search of a problem' at a time when the General Assembly has many more pressing issues to address.

“It’s sort of a fruitless effort to give him an opportunity to soapbox on something,” Hartman said.  The focus, instead should be on protecting marginalized students through an anti-bullying bill with a strong suicide prevention element, he said.

“We don’t see any reason to further mandate micromanage decisions being quite capably handled by each school,” he said.

Amen Chris.  I'm tired of white male conservatives reflexively spreading bathroom panic fears aimed at marginalized groups for their own political gain and to demonize or 'other' them.

SB 76 needs to die quick, fast and in a hurry because the commonwealth of Kentucky has far more pressing items on its plate than oppressing  trans kids

Trans Woman Beaten In New York

This is another concrete example why GENDA needs to be expeditiously passed.

Was pissed off to hear via Gay City News that on October 12 a 28 year old trans woman was brutally beaten by four men in the Bushwick neighborhood around 11:20 PM EDT.

The incident took place outside of 1250 Buckwick Ave near Halsey St, and started when the transwoman while walking with a gay friend was approached by the man and asked 'what they were doing in the neighborhood'.

When they figured out the woman was trans, they began calling her a 'faggot' and beat her with a 2x4.  The gay friend escaped without injury, but the still unidentified transwoman was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the hate attack.  In addition to the NYPD having surveillance video of it along with the weapon used in the assault, a bystander captured phone video of it.

The still unidentified transwoman according to Kate Barnhart, the executive director of, New Alternatives for Homeless LGBT Youth. was a client of their organization.  Barnhart added that it is not known at this time if the victim will have permanent brain damage as a result of this hate attack.

Barnhart added, “It is outrageous that transgender people are still not safe in what is supposed to be the safest LGBT city in the world.”

They are not safe because New York State has not passed GENDA and added gender identity in the hate crimes laws, or thrown the book at the waste of DNA who killed Islan Nettles last year.

Here's hoping these wastes of DNA are swiftly captured and is served in this heinous attack.justice

TransGriot Update:  The surveillance video of the wastes of DNA in this case.

Tyra Hunter: Plus 19

We must never forget what happened to Tyra on this day. We must also diligently work to ensure that what she suffered at the hands of emergency personnel is not replicated in our locales. The message must be made crystal clear to our first responders that when they swear to serve and protect, that means ALL citizens.
TransGriot  August 7, 2007

Today is the 19th anniversary of a trans death that occurred in Washington DC on August 7, 1995 due to medical transphobia.

It occurred at the corner of 50th and C Streets in Southeast DC that would witness an even more horrific death several years later that is still yet to be solved. 

This is the day that 24 year old Tyra Hunter was a passenger in a car that was involved in an auto accident at that Southeast DC corner and suffered injuries that had she been treated properly she would have survived.

But because of DC Fire Department EMT Adrian Williams' transphobia, and a run in with another transphobic doctor after her arrival at the now closed DC General Hospital, failure to be treated at the accident scene and in the hospital led to her death.   

The thing that really incensed the Washington DC trans community, myself and everyone else in the national trans community in the wake of the tragedy was Williams received a promotion from the DC Fire Department several years later. 

The Tyra Hunter case stays with me because it happened a mere 13 months into my own transition, I still get upset when I think about it, and as long as this blog exists I'm going to continue writing about it because medical transphobia is still happening.

During our fight to pass the HERO, a transman testified that he was denied emergency care at a local hospital by a transphobic doctor.   

The Tyra Hunter incident was one of the trans human rights outrages that began to nudge me in the direction of becoming an activist and trans rights advocate.  I was determined to never again have something as egregious as this happen to one of our sisters at the hands of an EMT, doctor or other medical personnel that could result in death of that trans person.

We can't bring Tyra back, but the best way to honor her memory is to continue as a community to be vigilant and ensure that medical transphobia never takes another trans life, and scream loudly when it does.. 
  

Arrest Made In DC Metro Trans Stabbing Incident

I'd been in my Boston hotel room barely three hours Wednesday when I received word about a 15 year old transfeminine teen being stabbed in the back on a Washington Metro Green Line train before it pulled into the Fort Totten Station in NE Washington.

The teen's injuries are non life threatening (thank God) and she is recovering in a local hospital 

The waste of DNA who committed the transphobic deed, 24 year old Reginald Anthony Klaiber of Greenbelt, MD was arrested at the scene and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. 

Because of his witnessed transphobic remarks aimed at the 15 year old victim of the assault, it's also classified as a bias crime.   Klaiber is also facing potential hate crimes charges.

Good, throw the book at his transphobic azz because according to reporting by the Washington Blade's Lou Chibbaro, Jr., Klaiber has a criminal record.  D.C. Superior Court’s online records show Klaiber pleaded guilty to a July 2013 felony robbery charge and pleaded guilty to a July 2013 misdemeanor charge of threats to do bodily harm.

Will be paying attention to see if DC prosecutors aren't selling woof tickets again and actually use the hate crimes statute in this case. 
 

Belize Trans Teen Killed

Because the right wing haters are losing here in the States and in Canada, in order to prove their worth to the people funding them and get victories elsewhere, they are exporting their hate overseas to Russia, eastern Europe, Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean and Central America with deadly results to our TBLG people in those parts of the world.

Belize has been one of the Ground Zeroes for that hate campaign.  It has been invaded by US based fundamentalist evangelical hatemongers pimping that special brand of hate speech and seeking to aid the indigenous haters in that Central American nation fighting a three year battle to keep the colonial-era Section 53 of Belize's criminal code alive. 

The case was heard by Belize's Supreme Court of Judicature in May 2013 with the backdrop of death threats and violence aimed at local LGBT activists..

Section 53, “carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person or animal.” is an existing criminal statute that can lead to 10 years of imprisonment for private sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex which.the constitutionality of is currently being challenged.

Because this case is being watched closely in Anglophone Caribbean nations with similar laws, the US based religious right groups went all in on this fight.  They provided legal, financial and other assistance and advice to the Forces of Intolerance in Belize trying to keep this law on the books and in the process sowed the negative seeds to keep LGBT sex illegal in as many countries as possible.

A consequence of this is while US based LGBT rights group are fixated on marriage equality,  they are losing the overall LGBT human rights battle overseas as the right wing haters cut their losses in North America and Western Europe and shift to a strategy of denying BTLG rights passage in the rest of the world. 

They are not only finding a receptive ear to their message, but the anti-TBLG hate they are stirring up in these nations they conduct these campaigns in.in the process is resulting in increased levels of anti-trans and anti-gay violence for our rainbow brothers a sisters in these nations..

That confluence of evil had fatal consequences for 18 year old trans teen  J. Sanchez, who was stabbed to death January 12 in Belize City by two assailants who approached her from behind on bicycles a few weeks short of her 19th birthday. 

The attack was captured on video and while the police are claiming it was a robbery, the family and Belizean TBLG advocates insist it was a hate crime and point to the fact nothing was stolen from Sanchez to buttress a robbery claim.

The US State Department and UNIBAM have  weighed in with statement on this hate crime in Belize. 

“The Department of State condemns the brutal killing of transgender teenager Joseph Sanchez in Belize on January 12,” US Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki said.

“We send our condolences to Joseph’s friends and family and the entire LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community in Belize,” she said, urging Belizean authorities to swiftly investigate the killing.

“And we echo the government’s commitment to ensure that all citizens, without exception, enjoy the full protection of the law. No one should be subjected to violence because of who they are or who they love.”

Nope, but there are so-called Christians people hellbent on fomenting trouble so that is the end result. 

CeCe McDonald's Getting Out Today!

Assuming there are no complications and everything goes smoothly, today is the day that we've been waiting for ever since the news broke after Christmas that our unjustly incarcerated sister CeCe McDonald will be released from jail.

I say unjustly incarcerated because she was sentenced to 41 months in jail for defending herself against a transphobic hate attack instigated by Molly Shannon Flaherty and neo-Nazi sympathizer Jonathan Schmitz that he unfortunately died during it.

But she was the only one charged until the mounting outrage over it, protests and a Change.org petition that drew over 18,000 signatures probably led Minnesota authorities to finally arrest and charge Flaherty for her part in instigating it.  She only served 180 days, Cece has spent 19 months imprisoned for basically defending herself..  

Whiteness and white supremacy strikes again.  Gee thanks again Hennepin County DA Michael O. Freeman for reinforcing that message.

When she finally does get out, I know our first instincts as a community will be to envelop CeCe in love and wrap our collective arms around her.   We'll get our opportunity to do that later.   But in these first few days post release, give her a few days of privacy to hang out with her family, enjoy her freedom, just chill and honor whatever requests she makes of us for now..

When she's ready to do so, we'll probably see CeCe pop up at a few events of her time and choosing.

This was the note dated January 7 that the CeCe McDonald Support Committee sent out after the word broke that she was getting out today.

***

Dear CeCe McDonald supporters,

The rumors are true: CeCe is scheduled to be released from prison in January. She will wait and write a public statement about her release after she gets out of prison, because she wants to tell you all in her own words and own time. She would like to spend her first days out in privacy, with people she feels close to. Again, information about her release will be shared when CeCe feels it is the right time to do so. In the meantime, she and her support committee ask everyone to be patient.

We are excited to throw her a party soon after her release. As soon as the venue and date are confirmed, we will announce! This party is a chance for everyone who has been supporting CeCe to come out and celebrate her release with her.

Many of you are eager to send contributions of money or materials, to aid in her transition home. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for specific ‘asks’ in the future. Right now, because of the incredible support of her community here in Minneapolis and around the world, she will be safe, comfortable, and cared for when she rejoins us. Please consider sending a donation to other incarcerated people or abolition movements. (Check out the Rainbow Defense Fund).

CeCe has one more request: after her release, she’d like to make a scrapbook documenting the worldwide support she’s received. If you’ve organized an event, held a sign at a rally, or created art inspired by CeCe, please send it to mpls4cece at gmail dot com.

Thanks everyone for supporting CeCe, and for supporting her now in the way she most needs: with your patience.
~ CeCe Support Committee

***

We'll also be looking forward to the release of the documentary that Laverne Cox  and Jac Gares are working on entitled FREE CeCe! 

Finally, we can say the words CeCe is free.   And it will be nice to see what the next chapter of her life brings.

TransGriot Update:  It's official.  At approximately 8:30 AM CST,  CeCe McDonald was released from the Minnesota Correctional Facility – St. Cloud according to an official at the prison.

TBLG Rights Bill Fails In Brazil

The eyes of the world's TBLG community were turned toward Brazil yesterday as Senator Ana Rita as promised brought PLC 122 to a vote.  

It was a TBLG human rights bill that had been stalled by fundamentalist religious forces for 12 years as increasing number of trans and gay people have died in the country or faced escalating levels of horrific anti-BTLG violence.

It didn't go well.  29 senators voted against it, on 12 in favor and 2 abstained.    The defeat also erased the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity from a review of Brazil's penal code.  

PLC 122 would have prohibited discrimination or inciting violence on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation and it went down to defeat as evangelical leaders like Silas Malafaia gloated  

“You can swear, we’re hahahaha plc122 [the bill outlawing LGBT discrimination] is dead, hahahha try something else and wait a few years hahahaaha, if God laughs at the wicked, imagine me, hahahaha.”

“Our chances to add the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity into the penal code are now near impossible,” said Luiz Henrique Coletto, Vice President of the Secular Humanist League of Brazil (LiHS), in a statement to LGBTQ Nation.

“This means that we have no nationwide federal protection against discrimination of, and violence against LGBT people,” he added. “The vote was a clear demonstration of anti-LGBT prejudice in Brazil.”

The Brazilian Forces of Intolerance won this round, but TBLG activists in Brazil, despite the disappointing defeat are continuing the fight and considering other options.

They have been successful in the Brazilian court system, and will go in that direction to obtain the human rights they so desperately need.  With Brazil set to host both the upcoming World Cup this summer and the Olympics in 2016, local activists are calling upon the world to do more to financially support indigenous Brazilian LGBT rights organizations.

They are also calling upon the United States, the European Union, the UN, the OAS and other international human rights actors to pressure President Dilma Rousseff and Brazilian legislators into getting thei nation to live up to the various human rights agreements they have signed.


Said attorney Paulo Roberto, a member of GADvS (Group of Lawyers for Sexual Diversity), to LGBTQ Nation, “Brazil is in violation of international resolutions and statements where it signed a commitment to protect GLBT citizens, both at the level of the United Nations and Organization of American States.”

“Furthermore,” he added, “If this country is not safe for our own people considering anti-gay violence, how can it be safe for people coming for the world cup and the Olympics?”

Indeed.  If it's not safe for its TBLG children, sooner or later it won't be safe for you ostensibly cis and straight Brazilians either.

Michael McBride Pleads Guilty In Wallace Case

There's more good legal news for the trans community is the wake of the horrific Washington DC case in which one of our transsisters was lured to an abandoned building in the 3500 block of Stanton Rd. SE and stabbed up to 40 times back on June 21.

Michael McBride, the perpetrator and defendant in this case, acording to statements made by friends of the victim, McBride and the woman had previously known each other, but McBride only attacked her after a passerby asked him what he was doing with a ''faggy.''

McBride pleaded guilty according to a MetroWeekly report back on October 25 to a charge of aggravated assault while armed and a charge unrelated to the Wallace attack of assault with a dangerous weapon. 

McBride remains in jail without bond as he awaits sentencing.  His next DC Superior Court appearance is scheduled for January 2014.

Under the D.C. Criminal Code, McBride could be fined up to $10,000 and sentenced for up to 10 years, in addition to a term of up to life imprisonment with a mandatory prison term of five, 10 or 15 years, based on his prior criminal record, for the charge of aggravated assault while armed.  The maximum sentence for the assault with the deadly weapon charge is 10 years.

Will be anxious to see how this case plays out as well and how much time he gets for the attack on our trans sister.
.

Tavares Spencer Sentenced In Tampa

Justice has been served in Tampa, FL.

Tavares Spencer, the 16 year old teen who robbed and shot trans woman Coko McDonald back on April 9 and gleefully bragged about on social media will be spending time in the Florida penal system.

Spencer was tried as an adult and found guilty back in October of attempted first degree murder, robbery with a firearm, attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.

The trial featured testimony from Coko Williams and a failed attempt by Spencer's defense attorney to deploy the odious 'trans panic' defense. 

Our transsister Coko is not only thankfully alive to tell her story, she got the early Christmas present of seeing justice being served  

The judge in this case noted his pattern of recent criminal behavior and the testimony from Tampa PD detectives about his lack of remorse in the shooting.  He sentenced Spencer to spend the next 25 years of his young life in jail for letting his transphobia get the best of him.

No Justice For Islan, For Now

To remind everyone that sometimes we don't get justice when our haters kill us (which fuels the anti-trans violence because the perps believe they can get away with it)) we had the concrete example of the Islan Nettles case. 

20 year old Paris Wilson, who was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault in the savage fatal beating of 21 year old Nettles in Harlem that put her in a coma for several days before she died, walked out of Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday a free man for now.  The Manhattan DA's were forced to drop the charges because the case was older than 90 days and the speedy trial clock had run out

According to a report in the New York Daily News,  Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Viorst said "we would concede that speedy trial time has run with regard to the misdemeanor with which the defendant is charged and therefore the case must be dismissed," but said the probe into Nettles' tragic death remains active.

While the New York trans community and Islan's mother Delores Nettles are obviously disappointed and upset about what transpired in the courtroom yesterday, they remain resolute and hopeful that justice will be served in this case. 

And you know I'll be keep an eye on it along with the New York trans community. 

Thinking About The Girls Like Us Who Didn't Get A TDOR Memorial

I had a nice conversation with Gwendolyn Smith yesterday evening (yes, THE Gwen Smith who conceived the TDOR memorial ceremonies and the Remembering Our Dead List).

We talked about a few issues including what it is like being the iconic legendary leaders instead of the wide eyed neophytes we once were back in the 90's.


For a moment our conversation turned to the state of the Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial 15 years later.   After we had that conversation about how we're still doing these events a decade and a half later and marveled at the progress of our human rights movement, she complimented me on the 238 Names post.  

After thanking her, I made the comment about how I wish I'd mentioned something in that post about the trans women who died pre-TDOR.

So I'm going to do that right now. And yeah, there's some trigger warning worthy stuff in this post.

I'm going to talk about a few trans women who were killed and didn't get their names read at a TDOR memorial.  In some cases their murders were just as graphic, just as filled with mind-numbing rage, over the top violence and transphobic hatred.   They were also murders in which the victims left behind people who loved them unconditionally and cared about them. 

There was the 1980 murder of Georgette Hart.   She was born in Charlestown, and was called 'the most beautiful drag queen in Boston'.

After leaving a bar in the Charlestown area, she was found dead with her throat slashed. But the waste (or wastes) of DNA didn't stop there.  The perpetrator also found the time to mutilate her by cutting off her penis and stuffing it in her mouth before running over her with a car.

There's Terri Williams Moore, who was shot in the head and back by her husband Richard in Lynnville, Iowa on the way back from their honeymoon in May 1976.  She revealed during their honeymoon she'd had SRS and was trans.

I've talked on the blog about Chanelle Pickett's murder 18 years ago today on November 20,1995 in which her killer, William Palmer basically got a slap on the wrist for it.   Her twin sister Gabrielle, who she appeared with on Jenny Jones to discuss being a trans twin, was herself murdered in March 2003.

Speaking of trans twin sisters, Cynthia and Felicia Coffman of Nashville, TN. were both shot to death on July 24, 1977 by Dan Edward Jones.

Leslie Rejeanne, the south side Chicago girl and co-host of the female illusionist shows at The Baton who was one of the first African-American transpeople I saw publicly talk on television about transgender issues.  She appeared on Donahue, Oprah and countless other talk shows during the late 80's-early 90's and  was killed by a hit and run driver.


Debra Forte, the aunt of Ethan St Pierre, who for several years helped maintain the Remembering Our Dead List stats and the list. 

Debra was stabbed by Michael Thompson multiple times with six inch deep wounds in her chest along with being beaten around the head and shoulders on May 15, 1995.   How Ethan did that for all those years I still commend him for considering the circumstances.


Dianne Aubert, who was stabbed 121 times in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on February 16, 1982.

Crystal Sanchez-Reyes, who died on Christmas Day 1987 because the man who shot her six times at point blank range, Daniel Montenegro Delgado, was upset she was dancing with his brother. 

There was an unnamed transwoman bludgeoned to death in San Antonio in 1991 who body was found partially burned.

Those of you who have seen Paris Is Burning know about the death of Venus Xtravaganza Pellagatti, who was found strangled and stuffed under the bed of a New York City hotel room on December 21, 1988 before the filming of the documentary was completed.     

It's just a small sample of long list of names of people who paid the ultimate price for simply wanting to be their true selves.

And on this day when we will be reading the names and memorializing the people who died due to anti-trans violence in 2013,  I also wanted us to take a moment to think about and never forget the back in the day  girls like us who were killed and didn't get the benefit of a TDOR memorial service.

Report On The Human Rights Situation Of Afro-Brazilian Trans Women

While Brazil's trans models have been ripping the runways around the world since the 1980s, SRS is free courtesy of the Brazilian national health plans and with a trans beauty pageant that sends its winner to Thailand all expenses paid to Thailand to compete in Miss International Queen it seems on the surface to be a friendly haven for trans people.

But for those of us who have been attending the TDOR's over the last few years, it's been fairly obvious that my Brazilian trans sisters are catching hell.

If you are of Afro-Brazilian descent and trans, it's even worse as this latest TDOR on November 20 and perusing Eduarda Santos' Transfofa em Blog posts documenting what's happening there will sadly attest to. 

Global Rights.org recently released a report documenting what's happening to my Afro-Brazilian trans sisters, and it's not a pretty picture.  

An annual report by Grupo Gay de Bahia (Gay Group of Bahia) or GGB, a leading national organization in Brazil combating anti-TBLG violence against LGBTI Brazilians noted that there was a 21% increase in murders directed at BTLG Brazilians between 2011 and 2012.    

There was also a 5.6% increase between 2002 and 2010 in the number of homicides of Afro-Brazilians as they declined 24.8% amongst white Brazilians during the same period

The lack of Brazilian federal legislation to prevent violent acts based on sexual orientation or gender identity also has been a factor in fueling the anti-trans murders aimed at trans Afro-Brazilians.  

You may wish to read this sobering Global Rights.org 'Report On The Human Rights Situation Of Afro-Brazilian Trans Women' by clicking on the link.

Transpeople of Color Don't Get The Luxury of Ignoring Race And Class

Sigh.  Once again, Moni's gonna have to break it down for the wallowing in white privilege clueless. 

And this clueless youngling had the nerve to claim in the subsequent comment thread that she's 'anti-racist'.

Peep this comment posted by Jocelynn Veleta on the mixed company Facebook Transgender Alliance FB page.

It was posted on a comment from Black Transmen Resources ironically posted to promote their upcoming BTAC 2014 conference in Dallas April-May 2014.

At first I was going to be nice and not embarrass her in cyberspace until she deleted her initial comments before I had a chance to copy them, ran, called me 'stupid', said I was 'playing the victim'  and cried the usual 'white women's tears' before I got tired of her mouth and unleashed the 50 megatons of knowledge on her azz.  

im offended when ppl add race, ethnicity, or gender restrictions to anything, Trans in itself is enough of a minority i personally don't feel we need to break up anymore... hey maybe its just me; im not trying to be rude.

No, you weren't rude, you were white privileged clueless.

As I've said on multiple posts here on this blog and on countless discussion threads inside and outside the trans community for over a decade in various ways, race matters, even in the trans community..

We transpeople of color do not have the luxury of separating our race and ethnicity from our trans status. They are inextricably part of us.   And as part of the Black community, we still get whacked by the microaggressive and macroaggressive ways whiteness and white supremacy deleteriously affects us.

Your lived experience as a solitary white trans person doesn't trump (and never will) the lived experience of someone who has taken the brunt of the white supremacist attitudes since birth, much less her people's 400 year history of living in the Americas.

Jocelynn, you may not like the fact that we have Black, Latina and Asian trans groups, organizations and conventions, but they didn't come out of a vacuum.

As Kwame Ture said, 'in order to become a part of the greater society, you must first close ranks.'

People of color face anti POC hatred whether we are trans or not and being trans only magnifies that. And some of the worst manifestations of that anti-POC hatred are in our own TBLG ranks.

What we do have, if the trans community will seize that opportunity, is to lead by example in eradicating racism in its subset of society.

Our little subset of society is infected by the same isms and ills of the parent society, and just because you transitioned doesn't mean you nor transpeople of color are free of that baggage.  Race and ethnicity add to our trans status as bigotry multipliers in terms of the anti-trans hate directed at us inside and outside the TBLG community.   Black trans women have to deal with the same 'ugly black woman' meme and destruction of our images that our cis sisters have had to grapple with for four centuries.  Black trans men when they transition step into being just as hated by society as their cis Black masculine counterparts do and the transmasculine discussion being disproportionately centered on white trans men. 

And when the Teapublicans seek to block the vote of the Black community at the polls, I don't get a pass from that because I'm trans.    

Jocelynn, you aren't even close to being anti-racist if you can't openly acknowledge the point that racist attitudes permeates American society, still affects POC's in the second decade of the 21st century, can't see past your own unacknowledged white privilege and how it has shaped your thinking (as the playing the victim conservacomment demonstrates) and that racism= prejudice plus systemic power.

And before you even part your lips to ever try to bring up the word 'anti-racist' in a conversation, better hit Google and learn the word 'intersectionality'. 

I'm offended Jocelynn when you make such a knee jerk reactive clueless statement on the comment of a Black trans group promoting their upcoming Dallas trans conference open to all, you failing to see how problematic that statement of yours was, and then running when you get called on it.

And you getting your vanillacentric privileged back up, accusing me of 'attacking you' for schooling your barely out of zygote stage behind and you running from the truth isn't going to change one syllable of what I posted about race still mattering in the trans community.     

We do have the opportunity in the trans community to build a society better than the one we left behind but it's going to take honest communication about race relations in our community to do so. 

Honest communications that obviously you're not even close to being ready for or intelligently discuss.
 

Tavares Spencer Trial-Guilty!

Looks like the attempted use of the 'trans panic' defense by his defense team failed.

Tavares Spencer was found guilty in a Tampa courtroom today of all charges including attempted 1st-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, attempted 2nd-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery in the shooting of Coko McDonald.

As soon as I find out when Spencer will be sentenced and what that sentence is, I'll definitely post it to the blog.

Second Person Arrested In Vivian Diego Assault Case

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

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

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

Two down, two to go.  

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

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

Tavares Spencer Attempted Murder Trial Starts In Tampa

22 year old Coko McDonald almost ended up being another one of the sadly too long list of Black trans women whose names we'll read on November 20.

But because of quick thinking on her part she's not, and the waste of DNA who allegedly tried to kill her is on trial.

16 year old Tavares Spencer is facing attempted murder and hate crime charges after luring McDonald to a home on April 9 in the 5000 block of Winnie Street N.in the east Tampa area and shooting her. 

Spencer wanted to date Coko and after discovering she was a trans woman, became enraged about that revelation and allegedly plotted to kill her.

Just because you get pissed about finding out you are attracted to a trans woman doesn't give you or anyone else the authority to kill us.  

Off soapbox, returning to story.  

A week after the two met, Spencer lured Coko to the home on Winnie Street, pulled out a gun, and told her to get on the ground.  Police say he stole her cell phone and her purse and then shot her. Coko says the bullets hit her in the hip.


“I lost my breath with the first shot.  The second one kind of put my body in a shock,” said Coko.

McDonald played dead until Spencer walked away.  She then got up and took off running as Spencer fired another shot at her that fortunately missed.

Tampa Police Department investigators said that within an hour of the shooting, the teenager was bragging about it on text messages and using "defamatory statements" about McDonald's sexual orientation.

Spencer was in jail on an unrelated charge when he was arrested and charged as an adult for the attempted murder of McDonald along with robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.  The enhanced hate crime charge was the result of a warrant authorized search of Spencer's phone that revealed the transphobic text messages. 

Jury selection started this morning with prosecutors and Spencer's defense attorney interviewing potential jury members for this attempted murder trial.   It's also not known at this time whether Coko will appear in the courthouse to either testify during the trial against Spencer or just be there in the courtroom to watch the proceedings.

At any rate, I'll be keeping an eye on it along with the Tampa area trans community to see if justice is served in this case.

UK National Transgender Memorial Vandalized

Damn, why is it that some idiots take it upon themselves to destroy or vandalize the nice things we trans people manage to put together as a community? 

The trans community in Manchester, England and their allies are probably asking themselves that question right now.  

They coordinated the Transgender Remembrance Memorial Project spearheaded by Tony Cooper, the chair of the Sackville Park Friends Association to construct what is believed to be the world's first purpose built memorial to remember the victims of anti-trans violence. 

The Manchester community spent hundreds of hours putting together a memorial garden and brick laid path in the park to complement the nine foot tall wooden structure being carved by sculptor Shane Green. 

The dedication of the National Transgender Memorial in Manchester's Sackville Gardens happened during the UK's Sparkle Weekend trans celebration that occurred July 12-14. 

Unfortunately on or around the night of August 6 some wastes of DNA vandalized the memorial and the CCTV surveillance system that is prevalent in many UK cities as bad luck would have it didn't have cameras pointed toward that section of the gardens.  . 

The Greater Manchester Police have opened an investigation of the crime and are solicting information leading to the arrest, trial and conviction of the vandals.  

Here's hoping in the interim the damage done to this first ever memorial will quickly be repaired.

I also hope we see more communities around the world take the initiative to put together their own memorials to honor our fallen transsisters and transbrothers.

Jamaican Justice Minister Condemns Jones Killing.

Was wondering if anyone from the Jamaican government would condemn the brutal July 22 mob violence killing of Jamaican gender variant kid D. Jones.

My musings were answered according to the Jamaica Observer.  Justice Minister Senator Mark Golding has done just that and commented on the senseless killing of the 17 year old.teen.

Given our our country's history of brutality and the pluralistic nature of our society, all well-thinking Jamaicans must embrace the principle of respect for the basic human rights of all persons," Golding said.

"This principle requires tolerance towards minority groups, and non-violence in our dealings with those who manifest a lifestyle that differs from the majority of us".

"Depraved acts of violence against individuals such as Dwayne Jones have to cease. The police must spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to justice, so that any persons who may be inclined to indulge in such vile brutality will know that they cannot do so with impunity," the Justice Minister added.

I agree.  They need to find the wastes of DNA who did this and bring them to justice as soon as possible because the world is watching.