Moni's Back In Austin Again!

While BTAC 2019 concluded yesterday, still couldn't go home just yet.   I hopped a Megabus from Dallas down I-35 to come to Austin for the fifth time this session.

An opportunity presented itself to go on legislative offense for a change when I was notified that HB 1513 was scheduled for a hearing in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today.

HB 1513 would add gender identity and expression to the Texas James Byrd Hate Crimes Law, and it is something that is long overdue.

It's authored by Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) with Reps Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas), Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) and Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City)  signing on as co-authors

I came to the ATX after BTAC ended because there's a 9 AM CDT press conference being held by Rep Coleman that I'm speaking at this morning.    I'll also be signing up to testify in favor of the bill when it has its scheduled hearing at 2 PM in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.

The committee is chaired by Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Ft Worth) with her Vice Chair being Rep Bill Zedler (R-Arlington)

The members of House Jurisprudence are Reps Keith Bell (R-Forney), Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas), Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), Phil King (R-Weatherford), Joe Moody (D-El Paso), Andrew Murr (R-Junction), and Rep. Leo Pacheco  (D-San Antonio)   

You may wish to call their offices and politely ask them to vote in favor of HB 1513.    I'll do my best to make the case when the hearing starts at 2 PM CDT in room E2.112 why they should do so.

That hearing will be broadcast, and you can check it out on the Texas House legislative website. 

GENDA FINALLY Passes the New York Senate!

I have been chronicling on the blog the tortured history of New York state's proposed Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) law that would give trans New Yorkers statewide rights protection and add them to the state's hate crimes law. 

Since 2008 it has overwhelmingly passed in the Democratically controlled New York General Assembly only to die in the Republican controlled NY State Senate without a committee hearing or even a floor vote..

In November, the Blue tsunami flipped eight senate seats and gave Democrats control of the NY State Senate with a solid 39-24 majority.

Now that the NY senate is firmly in Democratic hands, the GENDA bill finally began to move in that chamber instead of hitting the usual Republican legislative roadblock aided and abetted by DINO Democrats   

GENDA not only got its first committee hearing in the NY Senate, it passed out of committee and to the NY senate floor yesterday on a unanimous vote.

Today GENDA passed in the New York state senate on a 42-19 vote to send the bill to Governor Andrew Cuomo's desk for his signature to make it law.

Congrats to all my trans family in New York.  This is a day you have been waiting for since you were callously stripped out of the SONDA bill in 1993. 

And how apropos that GENDA passed on Dr King's birthday!

And today, Sylvia Rivera is smiling as the day she fought for on her deathbed has finally come to pass for trans New Yorkers.

Massachusetts Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Trans Protections Bill

You longtime TransGriot readers know I've been extremely critical about Massachusetts passing a public accommodations free trans rights bill in November 2011 that I considered problematic.

The words I used to describe its passage at the time was 'moldy civil rights bread.'

It's now five years later, and the Massachusetts State Senate finally got to trans human rights business and passed SB 735, which adds explicit public accommodations protections for trans residents of Massachusetts including parks, restaurants, hospitals and public restrooms..  

The bill passed on a lopsided 33-4 vote in the Democratically controlled Senate and now moves to the Democratically controlled  Massachusetts House.

"It is our responsibility to advance these provisions when there is clearly evidence that transgender people can and are being discriminated against,"said Senate President Stanley Rosenberg in a BuzzFeed News interview before the vote..

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) after a contentious April 13 meeting, so far has indicated after hemming and hawing for a while that he won't veto it if it hits his desk. .

KY Rep. Marzian Files Bill Requiring Spousal Permission & Doctors Visits To Get Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

Mary Lou Marzian was my state rep during the nearly nine years I was living as a Texan in Exile in Louisville, and while I was there had a chance to talk legislative shop with her and see her at other events during my time in Kentucky.

Her day job when she's not bouncing to Frankfort to look out for the interests of her constituents is as a registered nurse, and as you probably guessed she wasn't happy with the 'informed consent' bill the boys in the KY legislature overwhelmingly passed on January 28 and Gov. Matt Bevin (R) signed into law.

To register her disgust with the Commonwealth of Kentucky inserting themselves in the private health decisions of the women living in the state, Marzian on February 11 filed HB 396. a bill that would require men in the commonwealth who wanted an erectile dysfunction drug like Viagra or Cialis to get a sworn and dated letter from his spouse, make two office visits with a medical practitioner and make a sworn statement with his hand on the  swear Bible that he will only use the erectile dysfunction drugs while engaged with sexual relations with his current spouse.

In an interview, Rep Marzian said while HB 396 is tongue in cheek, the issue she is highlighting in government interference in women's health decisions

"Maybe it will wake some people up in this state to say, "Hey wait a minute, where are they going with seven abortion bills?'"

Go get 'em Rep. Marzian!