Testifying For HB 1513

Been resting after spending  ten days away from Houston for BTAC and another trip to state capitol to testify in favor of a trans positive bill.

After the 9 AM CDT press conference, I spent  the rest of the day visiting a few House and senate offices to kill time before the 2 PM scheduled start of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee meeting was scheduled to start. 

But because we're mercifully getting close to the end of this Texas legislative session, the House session didn't adjourn until 6 PM, with the committee meeting not starting until 6:30 PM

By the time I and Claire Bow, Danielle Skidmore, Ash Hall, and Leslie McMurry finally got to testify it was two hours later. 

Only one hater from Texas Values showed up, but it wasn't who I expected.   Instead of Jonathan Saenz doing his hatemongering personally, he sent a Black woman to try and fail do the job.

Sadly, the bill was left pending in committee despite our compelling testimony as to why trans Texans should be added to the Byrd hate Crimes Act.   That means if it doesn't pass out of committee and by the full House by Friday, it dies for this session. 

While I'm disappointed by that result,  Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) has made it clear he will introduce that bill when the next session takes place in 2021.

And I and my Texas trans community will be there in force when it's time to testify in favor of it

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. 

House Armed Forces Committee Hearing On Trump Trans Troop Ban Happening Soon

This is why elections matter.

When the Democrats got control of the US House, what that also meant is that when this session of the 116th Congress started, every committee got a new chairperson that is a Democratic Party member, with the Republicans sliding into the Ranking Member seat. 

It also goes without saying that Democratic majorities, like the House, .are ensconced in every committee and subcommittee.

Rep Jackie Speier (D-CA) is the new head of the House Armed Services Committee Military Personnel Subcommittee.

In the wake of the SCOTUS unjust ruling  lifting two of the three injunctions blocking implementation of the odious Trump trans military ban, a hearing of this subcommittee has been scheduled for February 27 to discuss it according to reporting by Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade.

The hearing on 'Transgender Service Policy' will feature transgender member of our armed services along with  Trump administration officials.

Set to testify on that date at 2 PM EST are Army Captain Alivia Stehlik, Army Captain Jennifer Peace, Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, Navy Corpsman and Petty Officer 3rd Class Patricia King  Navy Lt. Commander Blake Dremann and Navy Hospital Corpsman and Petty Officer 3rd Class Akira Wyatt

Peace and Dremann were some of the trans service members invited to attend the recent State of the Union message.

Jesse Ehrenfeld MD, who is now at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, is also set to testify as a combat veteran deployed to Afghanistan.

The Trump administration people invited to testify are James Stewart, who is performing the duties of the undersecretary of readiness and defense, and Vice Admiral Raquel Bono, who heads the Defense Health Agency.

Some of the Democratic legislators that sit on that subcommittee are Rep Deb Haaland (D-NM)

The hearing will take place in Room 2118 of the Rayburn House Office Building, so if you wish to go as community members to support our trans troops and live in the DC area, I hope that you can do so.

Sen. Harris Calls Out DHS Secretary Nielsen

'I am deeply concerned when we are-- just having celebrated the birth of of Dr. Martin Luther King, who spoke about the effect of racism in this country and words that are motivated by racism.  For so many reasons they are harmful.  They have led to death.  At their mildest form, which is not mild, it suggests to one group of people that they are inferior, and to another that they are superior, to their fellow man.'
-Sen Kamala Harris    

Sen. Cory Booker wasn't the only member of the Senate Judiciary committee that called out Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen about her memory lapses and ignoring that the US has a white supremacist terror problem.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)  also called out Secretary Nielsen about her concerns about the Trump misadministration racism before pivoting to taking about DHS policy.

#Kamala2020

ENDA Passes Out Of Senate Committee 15-7

The Employment and non Discrimination Act navigated a major hurdle yesterday by being successfully passed out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on a 15-7 vote.

In case you're keeping score for the 2014, 2016 and 2018 election cycles, all of the Democratic senators on the committee and three Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK) , Mark Kirk (IL) and Orrin Hatch (UT) voted YEA. 

Voting NAY (big surprise) were Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (TN), Mike Enzi (WY), Richard Burr (NC), Johnny Isakson (GA), Rand Paul (KY), Pat Roberts (KS) and Tim Scott (SC)

The ENDA bill moves now to the Senate floor, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to push for its passage in the fall.