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. 
 

RIP Yaz'min Shancez

Some sad news to report coming out of Florida in terms of another one of our sisters being brutally murdered.  

The burned body of 31 year old Yaz'min Shancez was found behind a dumpster off Fowler Street Thursday morning in Fort Myers, FL.  

She had been shot prior to the burning of her body.  The death has been ruled a homicide, but Fort Myers police as of yet aren't investigating it as a hate crime.

And tragically, Yaz'min died two years to the day  her 16 year old sister Cha'Riah Owens was shot and killed..

"Nobody deserves that," said Beatrice Loggins, Shancez's aunt in an interview. "Straight, gay, purple, pink, white, black. Nobody...There will never be another T, you couldn't clone her, couldn't mold her."

A vigil will be held later today starting at 7:30 PM EDT to honor the memory of Yaz'min Shancez at Centennial Park, 2000 W First St, Fort Myers, FL.       

In addition the Facebook group, there is also a fundraising page that has been set up to help the family pay for Yaz'min's burial expenses.

If you have information to help solve this crime and bring the waste or wastes of DNA who did this to justice, please call the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS or text message C-R-I-M-E-S (274637) Keyword FMPD.

Rest in Power, Yaz'min.   You are another one of our sisters who was taken away from us way too soon.

RIP Kandy Hall

I've been able to avoid doing this for six months.   But unfortunately the odds were good that one of our transsisters was going to be killed somewhere in this country before the year was out.

The first trans person murdered this year in the United States (unless I missed one somewhere) took place in Baltimore, MD on Tuesday.   

The person who was killed was 40 year old Kandy Hall.   Her body was found Tuesday in a field on Fillmore Street near a post office and school in northeast Baltimore. 

A reward is now being offered for information that leads to an arrest in Hall’s murder.

Last year 29 year old Kelly Young was found dead in east Baltimore, and unfortunately her killer has yet to be brought to justice.   

But back to discussing Kandy.  So far people have been unable to contact relatives to notify them of her death.  I'll be in contact with my Baltimore area folks who will keep me updated on any news related to this case  or any memorial services planned.

Also looking for pics of Kandy if anyone in the Baltimore area has them. 

Rest in power Kandy.   Your transfamily will not rest until justice is served in your case.  

SNaP Coalition Statement On ATL MARTA Trans Hate Attack

Solutions Not Punishment is a broad based coalition in the City of Atlanta with close to a hundred organizational and individual members.

The Coalition is anchored by the Racial Justice Action Center, La Gender and (Trans)forming and works to build the power of people targeted and profiled by the Atlanta Police Department – especially Trans* and gender non conforming people of color, current and former street level sex workers, and formerly incarcerated people.   SNaP Co works to transform the city into a vibrant, inclusive Atlanta that ensures the safety of, and holistically meets the needs of all the city’s stakeholders and residents.

They issued a statement concerning the recent arrests of Luther Thomas and Frederick Missick in the ugly May 20 MARTA anti-trans hate attacks on Janell Crosby and Tyra Woods.

Here's a taste of SNaP Coalition's statement: :

Trans people of color suffer as much harassment and abuse at the hands of the police and inside our jails as we do on the streets or on the train. It is too easy for the City of Atlanta and MARTA to say they have solved this issue by arresting and prosecuting the men who initiated this attack. But let’s be real - that actually will not make us safer. The City should model treating trans people with respect and dignity by first ending the abuse perpetrated by their own police department. The trans community needs jobs, housing, health care and to be treated with respect by the police department - the city can take leadership in these matters. - Solution NOT Punishment Coalition

The City of Atlanta should be deeply disturbed by the acts of harassment and violence endured by trans* women both at the hands of the Atlanta Police Department and by the general public on trains, buses, and on the streets. Our lives matter, trans* lives matter and we will no longer be silent or swept aside. Enough is Enough!
Solutions Not Punishment Coalition will be hosting a June 3 town call concerning his issue at the Phillip Rush Center,   It's scheduled to start at 5:30 PM EDT for those of you in the ATL area wishing to attend .

Click this link for the complete SNaP Co statement: http://bit.ly/SNaPCo2

Lorena Escalera Plus Two

Today marks the second anniversary of the death of 25 year old New York girl like us Lorena Escalera.

The model and member of the House of Xtravaganza was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment after a suspicious fire.  It was discovered during the subsequent investigation Escalera died by strangulation and suffocation suffered BEFORE the fire started at approximately 4 AM EDT on May 12, 2012.

It also didn't help that in the wake of this murder Lorena was subjected to sensationalized media disrespect by the New York Times and other Big Apple news outlets that Laverne Cox, Janet Mock and other New York City based activists vehemently criticized at the time.

“As my city's and our nation's paper of record, I would expect the New York Times to treat any subject, regardless of their path in life, with dignity.”

"In Lorena Escalera's life she was so much more than the demeaning, sexist portrait they painted of girls like us. It goes beyond a ‘choice of words.’ According to the Times' limiting, harmful portrait of Lorena, she was nothing more than a ‘curvaceous’ bombshell for men to gawk at. That is not the ‘personal’ story of any woman, and until we treat trans women like human beings - in life and death - with dignity, families and struggles, our society will never see us beyond pariahs in our communities."
-Janet Mock

As of this date Lorena's killer has yet to be brought to justice, and the House of Xtravaganza, Lorena's friends and family and all who loved her are still hoping that justice will eventually be served in this murder

I will be checking with New York trans activists and other interested parties in this case to see what is transpiring in the NYPD investigation concerning Lorena's murder, and as you can expect, if there is any news that comes to light regarding this case, I will definitely pass it on to you.

If there is a memorial service or vigil planned, I'll also pass that information to you as quickly as I receive notification of it.

Lorena, we won't rest until the person or persons who took your life are rotting in a jail cell. 

Nor will we ever forget you.  Rest in power sis.

No April African-American Trans Murders!

"So will we see a threepeat of that pattern in 2014?   I hope and pray we don't, but with the increased attention transpeople and trans issues are getting in the media, it has also fueled backlash.  Some of that backlash will be manifested in people who are mean spirited, hateful and angry enough to take their transphobia to murderous levels." 
-TransGriot, April 3, 2014, 'Will April Be A Deadly Month For African-American Transwomen This Year?'

For the last two years, April has tended to be the deadliest month for anti-trans murders aimed at African-American transwomen. 

2014 so far has been a quiet year on that trans murder front here in the States, but when the calendar page flipped to April my anxiety level went up known the pattern of the last two years.  Now that we have turned the calendar page to May, I can exhale and report an amazing occurrence.

This year was the first in two years we didn't have trans African-Americans murdered in the month of April.  So keep up the good work my transsisters.  As a birthday present to me, please continue to be vigilant and most importantly be safe so I don't have to type out stories of a transwoman being killed somewhere in this country for the month of May. 

I'll have to sort through the Remembering our Dead statistics to see how far back the trend of African-American transowmen being murdered in April goes, but it's wonderful news to note that for the first time in a while, we won't have some family planning an all to soon funeral for a loved one they lost during the month of April.  

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. 

Michael McBride Going To Jail For DC Attack

The New Year for transpeople is definitely getting started on the right foot.   CeCe is freed from unjust incarceration, and now comes word from Washington DC that the waste of DNA who brutally attacked one of our POC transsisters is about to spend time in jail for it.

Michael McBride back on October 25 had already pled guilty to a charge of aggravated assault while armed in the heinous June 21 attack in SE DC on one of our transsisters that left her hospitalized after being stabbed up to 40 times.  She suffered significant blood loss and if it hadn't been for timely medial intervention would have died as a result of it.  

On Friday January 10 the 23 year old McBride faced the judicial music in the Honorable Judge Patricia A Broderick's courtroom.   He was sentenced to ten years in jail and once he gets out, another five years of supervised release and mental health services.

Is the sentence enough?   That's debatable.  But hopfully what is does do is send the message in the Distrcit and elsewhere that it's no longer open season on trans women.   I hope it also sends the message that if you attack us, you will get extensive jail time for it and not a slap on the wrist.
    

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.
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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.

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.

NoMoreDownLow.TV Unsolved Black LGBT Murders Show

NoMoreDownLow.TV is in their third anniversary season and has up on their YouTube channel and website a show discussing the murders of out trans, bi and SGL peeps. 

It has an interview with the parents of JaParker Deoni Jones as part of it just to give you a taste of what they put together.

Happy 24th Birthday, Angie

Today would have been girl like us Angie Zapata's 24th birthday had she not been murdered by Allen Andrade five years ago on July 17, 2008. 

Andrade is rotting in a Colorado prison doing life plus 60 years after being found guilty for that crime while all the people who loved Angie are feeling her loss more keenly on her birthday.

Justice would have been Angie returning to her family, but unfortunately that's not going to happen. 

What would Angie's life be like now?   Would she be getting out of or going to college?  Would she be doing the typical things a twentysomething young woman would be doing?   Would she be dating or involved in another relationship?  Would she have a vast circle of friends and an active social life?  How would her life be evolving right now?

Sadly, those are questions we and Angie's family will never find out the answer to because of what happened on July 17, 2008.   Instead of being surrounded by her loving family and her best friends celebrating another birthday, she is amongst the trans angels we've lost far too many of.

Happy birthday, Angie.  

Do Transpeople Need A '2nd Amendment Remedy' To The Anti-Trans Violence Problem?

"It doesn't mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time, I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don't call it violence when it's self-defense, I call it intelligence."-Malcolm X

I'm pondering this quote and the gun debate in the wake of more infuriating news out of Philadelphia of another anti-trans violence incident. 

A gunman forced his way into a trans woman's third floor apartment, pistol-whipped her and shot her in the head.  She fortunately survived it and is recovering at Hahnemann University Hospital.

I stumbled across a January 2009 TransGriot post that I wrote during another wave of anti-trans violence incidents and began to examine once again the question of whether we should consider '2nd Amendment Remedies' to deal with the problem of the out of control anti-trans violence.

I live in Texas which along with 32 other states has an ALEC sponsored Stand Your Ground law I hated before the Trayvon Martin killing and I despise even more today.  My personal philosophy about guns is a mixed one.  

On one hand Malcolm X has a point in the quote I posted at the beginning of this essay.  When you are being repeatedly subjected to near genocidal levels of unprovoked violence, then it is a viable option for the people that unprovoked violence is being aimed at to intelligently consider using violence in self-defense 

Translation:  Bust a cap in 'em, but only in self defense.

But that conflicts with my personal philosophy on guns that primarily mirrors what FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock wrote in a December 2012 column in the wake of the Kasandra Perkins-Jovan Belcher murder-suicide last December. 

"Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it."

I'm quite aware that something has to be done about the unacceptable levels of anti-trans violence disproportionately affecting Latina and African-American trans women.  But I'm also not keen on additions to the over 300 plus million handguns already causing havoc on American streets.

I'm also concerned if we have an instance in which an armed trans woman found herself in a situation in which she shot and killed someone that instigated an unprovoked attack on her and then claimed the Stand Your Ground defense because of justified fear her life was in jeopardy, I submit that jacked up law would work no better for us than it did for Marissa Alexander.

Anti-trans violence is a multifaceted problem requiring a multifaceted solution.   While the gun manufacturers and their NRA shills might be happy to see more trans customers parting with their precious T-bills to buy their instruments of death in designer colors, I'm not. 

But at the same time I'm beyond sick and tired of the long lists of names we read at TDOR's around the world every November.   If the trans-haters out there know there is a possibility their desire to bash or kill a transperson may end up with them taking the long dirt nap instead of the transperson, that's a point in the favor of the trans folks packing heat in whatever color and caliber they desire. 

I'm not going to criticize trans people who believe that 2nd Amendment remedies need to be part of the discussion in terms of the measures we employ in putting a dent in and eventually ending anti-trans violence or who paraphrase the Pink Pistols slogan in that armed transpeople don't get jacked with.

But as I said at the conclusion of the 2009 post and will restate and remix here, I'd much rather see a resolution to the problem of anti-trans violence that doesn't involve busting caps in people and getting concealed carry permits.

But since the trans haters aren't going to renounce violence aimed at us anytime soon, it would be wise for us in the trans community to consider the intelligent use of violence in self defense.

J-FLAG Condemns Jones Murder

In the wake of the violent murder on Monday of gender variant teen Dwayne Jones, J-FLAG, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals And Gays released a statement dated July 23 condemning the killing. 

***

J-FLAG notes with deep concern the recent mob killing of Dwayne Jones, a teenager in St James who is gender non-conforming; the recent murder of two gay men at an anti-gay religious rally organized by a coalition of evangelical churches in Haiti; and the continued misuse of medical data by some members of the faith-based community to fuel anti-gay animus in society.

We send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the teenager who was slain as well as to our friends in Haiti. We call for a thorough investigation into the murder of the teenager in Montego Bay and hope that the family and loved ones of the slained teen will find the justice they deserve. We encourage persons in the Irwin community of St. James to support the police with any information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.

It is time that these murders, beatings, and evictions are seen and treated as an affront to democracy, peace, justice, harmony, and freedom of our society.

Jamaica cannot become the place of choice to raise families if we continue killing our children, expelling our most productive, and perpetuating a divisive atmosphere through the skewing of objective truth to suit subjective prejudices.

Read the entire statement here.

Jamaican Teen In Femme Attire Killed By Mob

Infuriatingly sad story coming out of Jamaica

Dwayne Jones, a 17 year old Jamaican teen was at a street party on July 22 in the Irwin community near Montego Bay wearing femme attire at the time and dancing with a cis male. 

Unfortunately sometime around 4:00 AM local time Jones was outed by a cis woman, held by another cis male party attendee, searched by another cis male and when it was discovered the genitalia didn't match the femme clothing Jones was wearing the teen was set upon by a mob.

The teen was chopped, stabbed and shot to death.  The body was dumped in bushes along the side of the Orange main road where it was subsequently discovered at 5:00 AM local time.

Jamaican police are stating that patrols will be increased in the area, but that doesn't help Jones, the teen who is dead now because of the rampant homophobic and transphobic ignorance of the denizens of Irwin. 

And speaking of rampant transphobic ignorance, it's starting to run wild in the comment threads and there needs to be people pushing back in them.

Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) said they have documented nine cases of TBLG people killed in Jamaica this year and have reported a 400% rise in homophobic attacks since 2009.

Jamaican churches have also gleefully increased their anti-gay rhetoric and fiercely lobbied against an effort by Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller last year to repeal the odious British colonial era buggery law fueling much of the anti-LGBT animus in the island nation.

A looming conscience vote in the wake of a review of the buggery law is also drawing the ire of fundies.

We can't overlook the role of American based fundie conservative Christian groups injecting their vile poisonous doctrine into this volatile mix of injustice.  In the Montego Bay area, an anti-gay rally was held in St. James on June 23 by Montego Bay Pastor Glendon Powell, who shills for a US based fundie conservafool church in Des Moines, IA

And Maurice Tomlinson of J-FLAG told it like it T-I-S is.  “Despite this ongoing slaughter of innocents, many Jamaicans, including attorney-at-law and senior member of the opposition political party, Ernest Smith, categorically deny that gay Jamaicans are under attack,” Tomlinson said in an LGBTQ Nation interview.

To the Jamaican flag waving transphobic haters I say this:. 

Buy a vowel and get a clue that sexual orientation and gender identity are not the same.

Neither do you have the right to kill someone because you DON'T like their outward gender presentation not matching with the genitalia between their legs.

I thought Jamaica was an independent nation. Amazing the haters are still quoting a jacked up British colonial era law with no basis in science or reality and hiding behind the Bible as their justifications for their anti-gay and anti-trans hatred with tragically violent outcomes to our trans and SGL peeps on the island who happen to be facing the brunt of it.

The Jamaican national motto is "Out of Many, One People".  The Jamaican national motto also applies to them as well. Too bad you haters have continued to shown no inclination to respect the human rights of or acknowledge that some of the people who are proud to be Jamaicans also happen to be part of the TBLG community.