Latest Turkish Trans Murder Fueling Protests

Next to Brazil, the most dangerous place to be a trans person is in Turkey.  

It has the deleterious combination of rampant transphobia, no hate crimes or anti-trans discrimination laws on their national legal books to combat it and police in some cases indifferent to bringing the perpetrators of these killings to justice. .  

According to Transgender Europe, between January 2008 and December 2012 there were 30 murders of Turkish trans persons.  It pales in comparison to the trans bloodletting going on in Brazil but one murdered transperson is one too damned many.   

But despite being number two in terms of those reprehensible rankings, the Turkish government persists in its obstinate refusal to pass those obviously needed laws.

But with the murder of 24 year old Dora Özer, our Turkish transsisters may have finally hit their sick and tired of being sick and tired of this jacked up situation tipping point.

Özer was found brutally stabbed to death by her roommate in the apartment they shared in the town of Kudadasi.

In the wake of her senseless murder, the Turkish trans community launched a wave of coordinated protests across the nation yesterday in the cities of Adana, Ankara, Diyarbakir, Eskişehir, İstanbul and İzmir.  There was also a protest in the German capital of Berlin where there is a sizable Turkish expat community. 

During the marches our Turkish trans cousins and allies condemned the rampant transphobia in their nation that fuels the violent anti-trans hatred aimed at them, protested government inaction on the issue and demanded justice for Dora.  

Here's hoping the march was successful and it accomplishes all of its goals, including getting justice for Dora.

Kenneth Furr Appealing Conviction

While the DC and national trans community were justifiably pissed off at the light sentence former Washington DC Metro cop Kenneth Furr got for shooting at three Black trans women with his service revolver in that ugly August 2011 incident, Furr was quietly filing papers to appeal what legal punishment he did get. 

Furr filed papers in DC Superior Court back on February 11 to appeal his sentence of three years and 30 days in prison, 100 hours of community service and a $150 fine with the prison time suspended.

He has already paid he fine and is now serving three years of supervised probation.  As part of his sentence, Furr was ordered to register as a gun offender, undergo substance-abuse treatment for alcohol and anger-management therapy, and stay away from the five victims of the car shooting and the area the incident occurred, bounded by New York Avenue NW, 7th Street NW, Massachusetts Avenue NW and North Capitol Street NW.

Jason Terry of the DC Trans Coalition said in a February 20 interview with Metro Weekly ''I think this reaffirms the suspicion that Kenneth Furr remains a threat to our communities, and lacks both the remorse and self-awareness necessary for people in our communities to be able to feel they can safely go about their lives,'' Terry wrote. ''Somehow Furr and his legal team keep making him out to be the victim here, and that's just not a narrative that we can allow to stand.''

Terry also said in the February interview he hopes that if Furr's sentence somehow ends up being revisited, the appellate court will mandate ''some sort of transformational justice process, so that Officer Furr, his victims and the impacted communities can find a path forward, free from continued fear.''

Will be keeping my eye on this case, too.  But based upon how this Furr case played out and the one involving Darryl Willard, it's easy to see why the District's trans people are pessimistic that justice will be served when it comes to gun incidents with trans women as the targets. 

Cemia Dove Acoff Case Update

The last news I had in the Cemia Dove Acoff case was that her alleged killer Andrey Bridges had been arrested on May 6 and charged with her murder on May 10. 

Unfortunately the stenographers at the Cleveland Plain Dealer are still thumbing their noses at the local trans community and still disrespecting Cemia by not only using old name in the story but that old mugshot and unflattering pics every chance they get.

And naw, I wasn't the only person who thought the jacked up Plain Dealer coverage of Cemia was problematic.

My fear is that the Cleveland Plain Dealer's ongoing journalistic hate crime and disrespectful coverage is poisoning any potential jury pool for the Bridges trial and will make it harder for Cemia and her family and friends to get justice in this case. 

But back to the update. 

Bridges was charged with aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and crime against a human corpse in the death of Cemia Dove Acoff. 

Many Cleveland area advocates and Cleveland City Council member Jim Cimperman believe there should have been a hate crime charge added to the indictment and I concur with that assessment.   

Judge Hollie L. Gallagher was assigned to the case and Bridges' bond was set at $5 million and there was a scheduled May 21 pretrial hearing that as of yet I haven't found any additional information on..

I will be keeping an eye on this case until justice is served in it.

Brazil's Transwomen Are Catching Hell

Because of models Roberta Close, Felipa Torres, Lea T. and Carol Marra, actress Maria Clara Spinelli, Carnival and a healthcare system that provides trans medical treatment including free SRS operations, Brazil has the international reputation of being a trans friendly place.

But Brazil is also a Roman Catholic nation, and it appears the anti-trans hate speech and preaching from the Vatican and evangelicals has filtered down to the flock and fueled anti-trans prejudice that has deadly consequences for the Brazilian trans community.  

Those of us in the trans community who attend TDOR ceremonies have painfully noted the spike in gruesome anti-trans murders happening in Brazil over the last few years. 

When we start gathering around the world for the 2013 edition of our TDOR memorial ceremonies in November, many of the names we will be reading and lighting candles for will once again predominately be those of our Brazilian trans sisters.

Portuguese based blogger Eduarda Santos of Transfofa em Blog has been keeping track of the sickening carnage happening to our sisters in Brazil and the rest of the world.

The graphic photos in the Brazilian media that accompany many of these murders of our trans sisters are mind boggling in terms of the level of viciousness that is visited upon our sisters unfortunate enough to be targeted in an anti-trans hate murder.   

But it was one I saw on her Facebook page yesterday afternoon that made me cry and triggered this post.   It's past time that the international trans community and we transpeople who are children of the African Diaspora raise our voices in collective outrage at the murderous carnage being aimed at our trans sisters in that nation.

The photo that made me cry (TRIGGER WARNING) was one of a 13 year old trans kid who was murdered by hanging last month.  

Thirteen.  It's ridiculous.  This trans feminine child hadn't even begun to live her life before it was cruelly snuffed out by someone who thought they had the right to end it because they didn't like the fact they were trans. 

Here's hoping the waste (or wastes) of DNA who did it are brought to justice either by the Brazilian legal system or the karmic wheel, whichever comes first. 

As to what we can do to help stem the bloody tide of these anti-trans murders in Brazil, we'll have to talk to our trans brothers and sisters and their allies doing the work in that nation and respectfully ask them what they want and need their trans cousins around the world to do. 

But it's crystal clear doing nothing is not one of those options because our Brazilian trans sisters are catching hell, and it needs to stop.

TransGriot Note: last photo is of Cecilia Marahouse, who was fatally shot multiple times in Fortaleza, Brazil on January 11.
   

Suspect In Vivian Diego Beating Case Pleads Not Guilty

21 year old Nicol Shakhnazaryan, one of the alleged perps arrested June 20 in the vicious beating of Vivian Diego has plead not guilty to charges of battery with serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury in the May 31 attack.

Shakhnazaryan's attorney is incredibly claiming self defense for his client.  He asserts that Diego was the aggressor that night and attacked his client and his friends.

Yeah, right. That surveillance videotape says otherwise.  But if that tactic of convincing a jury that the videotape is lying worked to get off LA cops shown beating the crap out of Rodney King with their batons back in 1992, I can see why you'd try to run that same legal defense playbook with a white defendant from the San Fernando Valley and a Los Angeles trans Latina victim.in court especially since the Gwen Araujo Justice For Victims Act bans the use of the trans panic defense in California..

Shakhnazaryan faces eight years in jail if he is convicted and is due back in court July 16 to get his preliminary hearing date. 

The other people involved in the beating of Diego have yet to be arrested and a $25,000 reward is still being offered in the case for any information that leads to their arrest. Anyone with information about the attackers should email hollywoodcrimetips@gmail.com or call LAPD detectives at (213) 972-2967.  

We Must Do Our Part To End Anti-Trans Violence

When I left for my family reunion trip to Denver a few days ago I was discussing along with many people in the DC local and national trans community the attack aimed at Bree Wallace in which she was stabbed up to 40 times.  

Michael McBride, the perpetrator of the attack aimed at her was arrested on another unrelated charge and in DC Metro police custody.  He has been additionally charged with the attack on Ms Wallace. 

But unfortunately as Washington DC endures another sweltering summer, the trans women who live in The District have been subjected to another wave of violent attacks with the spillover effect affecting the G and L end of the community, too..

A trans woman was assaulted on the 500 block of Eastern Avenue, NE. at approximately 6:00 AM EDT on Friday by two men and was shot by one of the suspects as she attempted to run away.   According the DC metro police reports she was treated for her injury at a local hospital.

The second occurred Saturday in the 300 block of 61st Street, NE at approximately 3:30 AM  when a trans woman accepted a ride from an unknown male and was sexually assaulted inside the perpetrator's vehicle.

Less than an hour later two suspects attempted to rob a trans woman in the area of 5th and K Street, NE at approximately 4:05 AM.  She was shot and taken to a local hospital with non life threatening injuries.

I said this in my post in the wake of Bree Wallace's stabbing and it needs to be repeated. 

While there is a culture of anti-trans violence aimed at trans women in the Washington DC area that needs to be addressed, getting the word out about these attacks is a great start but it's not enough..

The DC trans community (and by extension, trans communities across this nation) are going to have to deal with the reality that as Black and Latina trans women, we like our cis sisters are walking targets for anti-female violence and sexual assault. 

The failure to consistently pass that message home to our trans younglings has resulted in far too many of our sisters being killed, sexually assaulted or injured.  

We not only need to talk about that more often,  we transwomen must begin to consistently talk about the need for hyper vigilance about our surroundings and the situations we can potentially end up in.   That needs to begin being drilled into our heads the nanosecond we begin living our lives as estrogen based lifeforms.

We need to talk about that issue in our support groups, our sistah circles and in our video and written blogs.  If nobody else wants to talk about it because it's not a happy-happy joy-joy topic, then I'm more than willing for the sake of saving people's lives to have that discussion.

As my old endocrinologist Dr. Lee Emery used to tell me over a decade ago during my checkups, you get the good and the bad with a feminine gender transition   Having to deal with being a potential target for anti-female violence is part of that bad stuff. 

Any small lapse in security awareness of your person can result in serious injury, a sexual assault or you having your name read at the next Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial ceremony. 

I believe a step toward curbing and dismantling the anti-trans violence culture in Washington DC is calling a public meeting possibly at City Hall with trans community activists, the DC Metro Police and other interested parties to repeat this message until it burns into the consciousness of transpeople in DC and elsewhere. 

If one of our community's stated goals is to make Transgender Day of Remembrance events obsolete, a significant portion of the solution to combating anti-trans violence rests on the trans community to do internal things that don't require police or governmental involvement.  

Yes, the police will play a role.  Our trans brothers can help us in that regard.  So will local organizations that serve our community.  But anti-trans violence is not just a Washington DC, Chicago, or Los Angeles problem.   It can happen anywhere and at any time.  This is an opportunity for trans feminine communities to work intersectionally not only with our trans men but our cisgender male and female allies to help combat this problem.  The work must begin now to tackle the problem before we lose more people to anti-trans violence.

Some of it is common sense stuff.   Try to make sure you're not walking alone in the early morning hours.   Be aware of your surroundings.  Don't accept rides from people you don't know.   If you're in a club situation don't leave your drink uncovered and go with a friend or group of friends.  

Each individual member of our trans feminine community must do their part in getting that message out there that we do have a personal responsibility piece to helping curb the anti-trans violence aimed at us and curbing the spike in anti-trans violence

Why The Unacceptable Levels Of Anti-Trans Violence Aimed At Us?

Danielle King touched upon the frustration and anger we all feel about Bree Wallace, another Black transwoman being viciously attacked last Friday morning in the Washington DC area and us being beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired about it.  

I'm also praying along with the DC trans community and her sisters around the world for Bree's swift recovery from her injuries.


Someone asked in the comments on my Facebook page why we African-American transwomen (along with our trans Latina sisters) are facing unacceptable levels of anti-trans violence, and I submit it's multiple factors playing into this.

*The anti-trans hate speech regurgitated by TERF's, conservative religious groups and Fox Noise.
*The meme injected into American society since slavery that a Black life isn't worth that much or as important as a white one and a trans life is even less important.
*The lack of visibility and respect for trans people of color inside and outside our community.   
*The outright media disrespect for Black trans women as exemplified by the Cleveland Plain Dealer's journalistic hate crime aimed at Cemia Acoff.
*Black trans women getting killed or having anti-trans violence aimed at them and the perps either never getting arrested for it or when they do, getting little or no jail time for it or getting acquitted.

If you don't think that DC cop Kenneth Furr getting off for discharging his service revolver at three transwomen didn't play into this or the fact that I as of yet can't hit Bing or Google and find any information about Gary Niles Montgomery's trial for killing Deoni Jones, you are sadly naive.

There's a perception that it's open season on Black transwomen in DC and beyond, and too many people and our legacy orgs have been cricket chirping silent about it.  Time for that sorry dynamic to change ASAP. 

Bottom line is that the POTUS and FLOTUS need to know about it.  The Congressional Black Caucus.   The NAACP.  The Urban League.  Our national, state and local politicians.  Every organization in Black America and our people need to be aware that Black trans women are catching hell besides TPOCC and the National Black Justice Coalition.

Why?  Because Black trans issues are Black community and Black LGBT issues.  What affects us also affects the entire African-American community and vice versa. 


And yes, Black SGL community,  let me repeat what I just said in that last sentence in terms of Black trans community issues being Black LGBT issues because some of your Black trans sisters also intersect and interact with the LGB and same gender loving end of the community.

Black LGB community, you will also need to do your part as well of being standup allies for us just as we are for you instead of elements of you trying to suck up to the Gay, Inc power structure that hates you just as much as they hate us. 

And my beautiful Black transsisters, yes I understand your concerns, but visibility is what will ultimately stop this wave of anti-trans violence directed at us, not hiding in the closet and cowering in fear.  That's what the haters want so they can deny we exist.  

It's nation time, Black trans women.  It's us being out, proud and open about our lives that will eventually stem the  tide of anti-trans violence along with us interacting with all the communities we intersect and interact with.  

We Black trans women have to come to grips with the fact we are walking targets for anti-female violence and sexual assault.  We must be hyper vigilant about our surroundings and the situations we potentially end up in.   One small lapse in that vigilance can result in us being seriously injured or having our names read at the next Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial ceremony.   

We have had three African-American trans women killed this year and all were under age 30. There is a pattern of anti-trans violence and disrespect in DC that Earline Budd alluded to that has existed since the mid 90's. That's gotta end.

What also has to end is nobody caring about a Black trans woman unless they need her in a photo to prove their organization is diverse or they want to use us as bargaining chips to pass GL rights only legislation.

I can write about what happens to African-American trans women every day, but if you aren't sharing my TransGriot posts or talking about it, the news doesn't get disseminated. To borrow a slogan from the ACT-UP era, Silence=Death     

Your votes also put those national, state and local politicians in office.  Let them and the folks in these organizations know this is an unacceptable situation and ask them what concrete steps will they be taking to help stem the tide of anti-trans violence aimed at African-American trans women.   If they try to spin their way out of it, don't accept that.

I want you 40 and under African-descended transwomen to not only enjoy your lives, but know what it's like to get to my age so you can be mentors to the next generation of trans women.

It's why I want to do my part to ensure the unacceptable levels of anti-trans violence aimed at African-American trans women in DC and elsewhere in this country ends as expeditiously as possible.
   

DC Trans Woman Stabbed 40 Times In Attack

In a continuation of a disturbing pattern of anti-trans violence aimed at trans women of color over the last several years, another Washington DC trans woman was violently attacked over the weekend.

29 year old Bree Wallace was lured to what turned out to be an abandoned house at 3038 Stanton Road SE in Southeast Washington DC at 1 AM Friday morning according to a Washington Blade story and stabbed over 40 times by a person who she was acquainted with.  

She manged to get away and run to her nearby apartment building at 2400 15th St Place SE before she collapsed in the street and was taken to Prince George's Hospital in nearby Cheverly, MD.

Washington DC Metro Police hasn't confirmed that the attacker has been arrested and charged yet, but it was listed on the filed police report in the Lou Chibbaro, Jr story as an assault with intent to kill. 

Wallace is recuperating after being treated for multiple stab wounds in her back and chest and severe lacerations on her hands.  She is well liked in the Washington DC trans community and was one of twelve trans women chosen as part of a recently conducted calendar girl contest for Casa Ruby.

DC trans activists Ruby Corado and Earline Budd knew Wallace, who a client at both their community outreach organizations.   Wallace told Corado that she was acquainted with her attacker but had declined to get involved in a romantic relationship with him and had received a text from the attacker to meet her at that Stanton Road address prior to the attack.

Budd was concerned the DC Metro Police had not issued a public announcement about the assault over the weekend to alert the media and the community that a trans person had been attacked.

Sgt. Matt Mahl of the DC Police Gay and Lesbian Unit stated in the article they were advised about the attack but weren't authorized to comment on it because the attack was still under investigation.

The attack on Wallace also caused Washington DC activist Danielle King to write this comment on her Facebook page:

I'm quite aware that in the coming days the majority within the minority, may say I lost my marbles, but WTF! My sisters, black trans woman continue to be disproportionately impacted by violence and hate crimes, while others continue to enjoy privilege. It is true that trans people as a whole have had some monumental wins lately but damn, we're talking the difference between not being harassed or imprisoned while peeing and getting stabbed, shot or murdered before even making it to the bathroom. Black Trans women - African American Trans Women - are getting slaughtered. To the powers that be - I will not let this one go! It's time I reach out to the White House!

“I just want to make sure that it gets out there, that this attack happened and how brutal it was,” Budd said in the Washington Blade interview. “And also the message needs to be sent that transgender folks need to be very, very cautious in terms of their surroundings, who they are talking to and especially in the nighttime hours.”

Bree, will be praying for your speedy recovery and hoping you, your family and the DC trans community receive justice.

I will also be keeping up with the developments in this case and posting them on TransGriot as it evolves
 

Vivian Diego Speaks

I posted recently about the vicious transphobic attack that was aimed at 22 year old Los Angeles girl like us Vivian Diego who was jumped by four wastes of DNA on May 31 while walking home after work between 2:15-2:30 AM PDT on Hollywood Boulevard near Vine Street. and the nekulturny transphobic reaction of Bossip to it..

Diego has not only gotten support from my fellow Texan Eva Longoria, the owner of the Beso restaurant where she works as a barista, the LAPD is offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of the four thugs who committed this crime.

TRIGGER WARNING for the surveillance video of the attack on Vivian..




Vivian, who spent a week in the hospital recovering from the hate attack (yeah, that's exactly what it was) , suffered a cracked cheekbone, two broken ribs and has her jaw wired shut.  

She recently spoke to the LA CBS-TV affiliate there.




Here's hoping that the video and the reward lead to the arrest by LAPD of the four wastes of DNA who committed this hate crime.

Rally For CeCe Acoff

The rally for Ce Ce Acoff in Cleveland that was organized by Zoe Lapin got moved to the steps of Cleveland 's City Hall yesterday on a gorgeous spring day with the trans flag flying from the City hall flag post.  

The rally was covered by several news stations who sadly continue to use the mug shot and other unflattering photo of Cemia and misgender her.

In addition to Zoe being one of the speakers for the rally that started at 3 PM EDT, another one was Cleveland City Council member Joe Cimperman, who has called the murder a hate crime.. 

Cemia lived a trouble life of acceptance,” said Councilmember Cimperman in a

news release on Wednesday. “While Cemia struggled, she did not deserve to die as what is likely a hate crime. Too often we lose loved ones because of fear or hate. Violence should not be tolerated against anyone regardless of race, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.”

If I find any video of the event I'll add it to the post...

Three Girls Like Us-One Year Later

35 year old Coko Williams of Detroit was one of three African-American transwomen killed during the month of April 2012 along with Paige Clay in Chicago and Brandy Martell of Oakland.

Coko's brutal April 3 slaying and subsequent disrespecting by a local media outlet set off a bloody month for African-American girls like us. 

On April 16 we got the word that 21 year old Paige Clay was found shot to death in an Chicago west side alley.  

The month closed with 37 year old Brandy Martell being shot April 29 while sitting behind the wheel of her car at 13th and Franklin Streets in downtown Oakland.

I wish I could write in this post the wastes of DNA who committed these crimes against our transsisters have been arrested, are awaiting trial or are rotting in jail for doing so.  But unfortunately, at this time I haven't been able to confirm there have been arrests in any of the three cases.

If you have information about Coko's killing, you can contact Detroit police at (313) 596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at www.1800speakup.org or by texting CSM and your tips to CRIMES (274637).

If you have information concerning the Martell case please contact the Oakland Police Department at 510-777-3333


In the meantime life has moved on.   Our tears have dried, these women have been laid to rest and all the people whose lives they touched on one level or another.have or are still grieving their loss with candelight vigils marking the one year anniversary of them being taken away from us. 

What irritates many of us in addition to them being taken away from us far too soon is what we lost.   Paige was just beginning her life at age 21, Coko and Brandy were ages 35 and 37.  All were contributing their skills and talents in their own ways toward making their Chicago, Detroit and Oakland communities better.

The other common thread in their lives besides being girls like us and dying in the same month was they were all loved by the people whose lives they touched
 
The people who killed them may be walking around free right now thinking they got away with it, but on one level or another they will face justice, be it from the legal system or the karmic kind.    

But one thing is certain.  Coko, Paige and Brandy we will never forget.   

Will My Transsisters Have The Pleasure Of Growing Old?

I hit the Big 5-0 last year and I'm four weeks from hopefully reaching another Cuatro De Mayo celebration and turning 51.  

But that knowledge that I'm cruising toward another May 4 birthday has been jolted by two murders of African-American transwomen in the span of 48 hours in Baltimore and Orlando.

29 year old Kelly Young and 30 year old Ashley Sinclair will not only never celebrate another birthday, they will never get to know what I felt when I hit age 40, much less age 50. I'm also thinking about the fact that had I not made the correct decisions one night back in 1996, I may not have made it to my 40th or 50th birthdays either and this post much less this blog wouldn't be here for you to enjoy..

The details of the Young and Sinclair murders are still being sorted out by the police departments in the cities they resided in, but we can presume that both of them being girls like us is probably a contributing factor to them being killed.   Their deaths have ripple effects not only for their families and friends, but all the people whose lives they touched.

I recall a conversation Janet Mock, Kimberley McLeod and I had during OUT on the Hill last year in which we talked about me hitting that milestone.  I was ambivalent about it until Janet reminded me it was a blessing for me to be this age and as an African descended trans woman I'd beaten the odds stacked against me to celebrate my 40th and 50th birthdays. (And if I continue to be blessed with good health, I hope to be around for my 60th.)

That was a sobering though that shook me out of my ambivalence toward hitting 50.  All of a sudden realizing as I did before that OUT on the Hill trans woman town hall that I was now an elder stateswoman that the girls like us of Janet's generation and younger were counting on for leadership, to pass down their history to them, be a mentor and most of all be role models as to how a trans woman can age gracefully and still be a fierce warrior for trans human rights.

As I write this post I'm thinking about Miss Major, Sharyn Grayson, Cheryl Courtney-Evans, and Tracie Jada O'Brien,  They are the trans elders I look up to, admire and I have the benefit of calling them when I have questions, concerns or simply wish to bask in their wisdom.  I would be thrilled to have the opportunity to do the same with Gloria Allen in Chicago.  

Speaking of opportunities, I'm angry that I'm not going to get the opportunity to meet or talk to Kelly or Ashley someday.  I'm disappointed I won't be able to do for them what the trans elders in my sistahcircle have done for me.  It's why I take time out of my life to converse with my trans younglings when they hit me up on my Facebook page to chat about whatever they wish to talk about or call me on the phone to do so..  

The trans younglings get a big kick out of talking to the legendary award winning TransGriot, but I get just as much enjoyment and knowledge out of these conversations as they do.

I wish I'd had that ability when I was their age to have approachable trans feminine role models to just ask questions of and soak up the knowledge about how to navigate the world in a Black trans feminine body and avoid the pitfalls, traps and snares that can sidetrack you to achieving that quality life you deserve.

I'm beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of the near genocidal levels of anti-trans violence that are taking away far too many under 30 transwomen of color before they've had a chance to live their lives.  We are not only losing them, but their potential contributions and talents toward building all the communities we intersect and interact with.  Our young transkids who are in elementary, middle and high schools now are also losing the people who could have one day potentially become their mentors.

But frankly, the one thing I want most for my trans younglings besides having trans human rights laws on the books and being able to live their lives relatively free of anti-trans hatred and bias is deceptively simple. 

I want to see them be able to grow up to reach my age and beyond.

Will my trans sisters be able to have the pleasure of growing old?  I sincerely hope so.

Marsha P. Johnson Case Being Reopened

Marsha P. Johnson was one of our trailblazing trans women as a Stonewall veteran, activist and a co-founder of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Sylvia Rivera.   Her body was found floating in the Hudson River near the Chelsea Piers after the 1992 Pride March. 

The NYPD controversially ruled her death as a suicide over the objections of friends and supporters who emphatically stated she was not suicidal.

It was also anecdotally reported that Marsha was harassed near the spot where her body as later found.

Anyone in the trans community could have told them there is more to the story of any transperson's death, especially in light of the fact we face horrific levels of anti-trans violence aimed at us.  When you are dealing with the death of any transwoman found under mysterious circumstances as Marsha was then, those foul play angles need to be looked at until they can definitively be ruled out   

According to the Village Voice, thanks to the efforts of trans activist Mariah Lopez, the trans daughter of the late Sylvia Rivera,  the Manhattan DA's office has assigned a person to look into the case of Marsha P. Johnson and find out what really happened to her.  

Lopez believes as Sylvia Rivera did at the time that Marsha was murdered.  Lopez is also working to gather support for getting a permanent memorial statue of Marsha placed near the Chelsea Pier.

Granted it's 20 years later, the evidence and trail has grown cold, but it's worth it to definitively know what really happened to Marsha and the sequence of events that led to her untimely death.
.

Former DC Cop Kenneth Furr Convicted In Trans Shooting Case

After a week long trial,  48 year old former Washington Metro police officer Kenneth D. Furr was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon yesterday after an ugly August 26, 2011 incident in which he jumped on the hood of a car and fired five shots at its occupants. 

He was also convicted of solicitation but acquitted of the most serious charge he faced, assault with intent to kill.  

Furr was also acquitted of the six other offenses relating to that fateful August 2011 night that began with a rejected proposition to a transwoman at a NW Washington CVS store...  

Furr has been suspended without pay from Washington Metro PD and faces up to 10 years in jail and another 90 days for the solicitation charge.  Had he been convicted of all the charges he was facing he was looking at a potential 30 years in jail..

Furr has been in jail since the incident, and Judge Russell F. Caran ordered his release to the objections of prosecutors.  The Prince Georges County resident has also been ordered to undergo drug and alcohol testing and stay out of the District unless it is to consult with attorneys.

Sentencing for Furr will take place in January 2013.

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.

Let My People Pee!

One of the things that comes up with depressing regularity in the now six years that I have been chronicling events that affect the trans community is the bathroom issue.

I am along with other trans people around the USA and the world beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of having to confront cis people's ignorance and rank bigoted stupidity when it comes to us trans peeps being able to simply go to the bathroom and handle our nature calls.

It's past time for us to be able to do so without us having to sue your azzes to do so, call you out in the media,  be harassed, risk arrest or a beatdown.

Trans community, I've said this before and it bears repeating, it's time to go to war over the 'bathroom predator' meme.   It is fueling much of the discrimination aimed at us, led to one Tennessee state rep trying to legislate the 'bathroom meme' into existence before the negative attention he received for it led to its withdrawal, and triggered a recent hate attack in New York.

It's time to eviscerate it to the point that anyone who parts their lips to say it has as much credibility as a birther and gets laughed at in the process..

And I'll say it again: let my people pee!.