Trans Woman Messed With At Mississippi Casino

One consequence of the false anti-trans 'bathroom predator' rhetoric the Republican Party pushed to oppose trans rights laws is it invites scrutiny on any cis or trans woman who doesn't fit the stereotypical and goalpost shifting standards for what a woman is supposed to look like.

It has also emboldened transphobes to play gender police and mess with people going to the damn bathroom

One of the things Alexus Tate loves to do is head to the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica County Mississippi and enjoy the time she frequently spends there trying her luck. 

But the trip she took to the casino the day after Thanksgiving with a friend wasn't anything but pleasant for her because transphobia smacked her in the face.

I'm also not liking the transphobic 'born a man' line in this WREG-TV article   Back to the story. 

A female casino security guard loudly demanded to see Tate's ID as she left the restroom in front of other casino patrons.   A janitor confided to Tate that the security guard had made disparaging transphobic remarks about her as she entered the restroom, saying 'Why is 'it' in there?"

Tate immediately sought out other employees to address the transphobic incident and has been in contact with Gold Strike casino management.   The casino management claimed they were investigating the matter, but haven't been in contact with Tate since December.

Tate says while the Gold Strike management has been apologetic about the incident, has offered her free plays and hotel stays, what she wants most, the firing of the transphobic security guard, hasn't happened. 
MGM Resorts, who owns the Tunica casino in question, sent this statement to WREG-TV

“Inclusion is a core value for MGM Resorts, and all security officers are trained on our company’s policy of allowing guests to utilize public restrooms based on the gender with which they identify. Unfortunately, the security officer involved in this incident did not respond appropriately. The security officer in question was immediately corrected, the policy was clarified to the guest by a supervisor at the time of the incident, and the security officer involved was disciplined accordingly. We sincerely regret this incident and have apologized to the guest. We hope for the opportunity to make up for her poor guest experience 

“This incident does not represent our values or the conduct of employees across our company. Our employees train extensively on our policies, and we will continue to reiterate and emphasize our commitment to inclusion and our focus on treating guests appropriately. Our goal, as always, is to ensure all guests feel welcome and have a safe and enjoyable experience.”

Nice sentiment.  But until that message is sent with the firing of the security guard in question that transphobia isn't tolerated, and there are consequences for those who engage in it, these will be nothing but empty words 

Arizona CVS Pharmacist Denies Trans Woman Her Hormones

Ever since these so called 'religious freedom' laws were proposed by the Republican conservafools and their evilgelical accomplices, I and other non-white Americans long ago saw through the transparent attempt to reinstitute Jim Crow style discrimination and aim it at TBLGQ people.

I saw the danger of giving people the right to refuse service based on specious religious grounds, because I believed it would be aimed at the trans community and other non-white groups the fundies didn't like.

This past weekend the news broke that back in April, Hilde Hall went to her local CVS store in her Phoenix suburb of Fountain Hills, AZ to get her hormone prescription filled.

Her excitement about that happening quickly turned to anxiety and anger when the pharmacist not only refused to fill her prescription, but committed a possible HIPAA violation by loudly outing her to other CVS employees and pharmacy customers.  In addition, the transphobic pharmacist refused to give back the written prescription so she could get it filled at another pharmacy.

Hmm, wonder what right wing church this now unemployed transphobe attends?. 

FYI, CVS has a perfect score on HRC's Corporate Equality Index, which trans advocates for several year now have said has flaws when it comes to trans rights issues.

Hall's doctor was forced to call in the prescription to another pharmacy, which was filled with no drama at a nearby Walgreens.    Hall called the CVS Customer Service twice line to complain about her unjust treatment, but her concerns weren't addressed until she filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacists and started talking to the ACLU.

CVS to their credit, has apologized to Ms. Hall for the incident, and as I alluded to earlier in this story fired the transphobic pharmacist in question.  Too bad we don't have that pharmacist's name so they can be shamed for being a reprehensible bigot. . 

Note to you medical transphobes.   If you attended or are planning to attend a medical, nursing or pharmacy school and think your right wing 'dry as dust' fundie 'faith' gives you the right to discriminate against LGBTQ people or anyone you don't like, no boo boo kitty, it doesn't.

Our LGBTQ tax dollars pay for the upkeep and maintenance of those medical, nursing or pharmacy school you matriculated at with the implied contract that once you graduate and get licensed by the state, you would serve the health needs of the general public.

The 'general public' in this case also includes transgender people.   If your transphobic or homophobic behind can't or won't serve all citizens once you get those medical or pharmacy degrees, and you are citing BS religious freedom laws as your justification, then do society a favor and don't become a doctor, nurse, psychologist or a pharmacist in the first place

Trump's, the Republican Party and the evilgelical wing attacks on trans Americans have emboldened low level bigots to feel they can exercise their oppressor gene with impunity.

These bigots are fortunately finding out that acting on their transphobia can be a job killing exercise.

It is critically important that we stand up for our humanity and human rights, and corporations stand with us and let it be known in no uncertain terms that discrimination against anyone is a fireable offense 
 

Texas Club Attendee Told To Remove The Makeup

All Bobby Rodriguez wanted to do was dance.  So the 21 year drove 40 miles to Corpus Christi from suburban Kingsville, TX to go to a club called Whiskey River to do just that

But Rodriguez only got as far of the door of the establishment at 5702 S. Staples St. in Corpus Christi when he was told by a bouncer that in order to enter the club he would have to remove his lipstick and false eyelashes due to the club's dress code.

A dress code that not only wasn't posted at the door according to Rodriguez and the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, but one bars people from entering unless they have 'gender appropriate attire'.

Gee, where have I heard those words before?

"I approached the door I handed my ID to the security at the door (and) his words were and, I quote, 'unfortunately, you cannot enter because you are wearing makeup and we have a rule here that says men need to dress like men,'"  said Rodriguez. 

Despite being upset about what he was told, Rodriguez complied by wiping his lipstick off in his car, but later complained about the discriminatory happenings on his Facebook page. 

The club's owner Angela Blohm, called Rodriguez's allegations in a Caller -Times interview a 'bunch of frivolous baloney' and denied it happened while admitting that the club has a 'gender appropriate attire' dress code. 

And as you probably guessed, people are rushing to defend and excuse the homophobic and transphobic dress code.

If Blohm thought the best way to handle this was be insulting, dismissive and deny it happened, that was the wrong response.   What she should have done was apologize to Rodriguez, not double down on the arrogant defiance.

That dismissive response has not only drawn negative commentary from people incensed about the way Rodriguez was treated, it has triggered a protest organized by Kathy Huff that is scheduled to happen this Thursday. 

The May 17 protest of Whiskey River is scheduled to run from 6-9 PM CDT.   It is drawing support from Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) and other Texas based advocacy orgs.

It also has driven home the case of why nondiscrimination laws are needed that cover gender identity and expression in every Texas city and statewide.

What Would You Do? Will Charlotte Say Yes To A Trans Woman Buying A Dress?

This was a What Would You Do trans discrimination scenario that they had run before in New Jersey, but this time they were running it in Charlotte, NC.

As we know all too well, HB 2 was passed, and the WWYD producers decided to see how the citizens o that city would react when the saw a boutique owner refusing to say yes to letting a trans woman buy a dress

This was voradcast last year, but y'all still need to see it.   We do have people who get us and support us.  Will they show up when the WWYD hidden cameras are rolling? .

Rep. Senfronia Thompson Calls Out The TX GOP Transphobic Discrimination

“White. Colored. I was living through that era…bathrooms divided us then, and it divides us now. America has long recognized that separate but equal is not equal at all.” “I can also tell you that separate restrooms for transgender kids, which is what we will be discussing for this bill, are also based on fear and not fact.”
-TX State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston)

On this May 21 date that will live in Texas political infamy as 'Discrimination Sunday', the Texas GOP decided to satisfy their inner bigotry and pass a bill (HB 2078) laws to discriminate against Texas trans kids.   They also passed another bill that would allow taxpayer funded adoption agencies to refuse to place children with TBLGQ, non-Christian or unmarried people because of religious objections

Rep. Senfronia Thompson has been in the Texas House since she was elected to represent Texas House District 141 since 1972 and is the longest serving African-American woman in the Texas Legislature.

As she did in 2005 in her 'Hellfire Flames of Bigotry' speech in which she called out the passage of the unconstitutional Texas anti-gay marriage amendment to our state constitution, 'Ms. T' was once again standing tall against injustice when she took to the Texas House floor to remind her colleagues that separate is not equal, and discrimination aimed at trans people is just as ugly as when it was done to her and other Black Texans.

Too bad the Texas GOP isn't getting that message through their pointed hoods.

And with us headed once again into a tax money squandering special oppression session,  I wanted y'all to see and hear the words of one of the people and Democrats who have had our backs during this Texas legislation oppression session.

   .

Race and Gender Discrimination Sidelines Nebraska Soccer Player And Her Team

Not happy to hear about the situation that took place in Nebraska in which a soccer team was disqualified from a tournament before they were to play in the finals of it because in the president of the Springfield Soccer Club's words, for "looking like a boy."

Meet 8 year old Milagros 'Mili' Hernandez.   Mili loves soccer, has been playing for three years and currently plays for the Azzuri Cachorros Chicas club team in Omaha, NE.  Mili is so skilled at the game that she plays with the 11 year old squad, and she and her teammates were playing in a tournament organized by the Springfield Soccer Club.

After playing three games on Friday and Saturday and advancing to the semifinals of the tournament that were to be played on Sunday, they were shocked to find out they had been shadily disqualified from the tournament.

The reprehensible chain of events started when an anonymous complaint was made by someone telling tournament officials that a boy was playing on a girls team.

Hmm, I suspect the anonymous complainer must have been a supporter of a suburban based melanin free team, but back to the story.

Mili's coach Mario Torres got a phone call early Sunday morning informing him that Mili had been listed as a boy on the roster, but instead of resolving the issue, disqualified the team.

Torres called Mili's family, and despite them bringing and presenting multiple forms of identification proving that Mili was female, the tournament director refused to reverse the incorrect decision.

Torres suspects that the twin evils of racism and gender discrimination are at play here.

"We had already paid to play.  We'd played three games.  Why was this not resolved before the semifinals?" asked Torres. "Even if this was a mistake, they did not need to humiliate her or kick the entire team off the field."

The president of the tournament hounded me all throughout the tournament.  He disqualified three of my four teams for bogus reasons. He caused a lot of problems and for that reason, we feel this had to do with race."

Torres 'club has already filed a complaint with the Nebraska State Soccer Association, and as you can expect, the bigots at the Springfield Soccer Club have no comment for the media.  The Nebraska State Soccer Association put out a statement concerning the ugly incident yesterday.

The story has gotten the attention of US women's soccer legends Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach and tennis legend Billie Jean King, who have sent messages of support to Mili via Twitter.  Hamm has invited Mili to come to one of her soccer camps.

And Mili is thankful for the support she has received.  She's also going to continue to wear her hair short.

But it still doesn't bring back the opportunity for Mimi and her team to prove on the field that they were the best team at that tournament.

My Birmingham Trans Fam Weren't Shown Any Love By TSA At Love Field

I've made the sarcastic comment more than a few times that the Transportation Security Administration's TSA initials stand for 'Transsexuals Searched (Scrutinized) Always '.

I've had my own run-ins as a frequent flyer with TSA like many trans folks have, and it gets old.

The TSA claims they are working to better train their personnel about the realities that trans travelers exist and how to treat us with the same dignity and respect you treat other airline passengers while dealing with our trans specific travel challenges.

Bu far too often, the TSA fails at that minimum level expectation of treating trans travelers with respect, and I expect it to get worse during 45's administration.

I was not happy to hear in the wake of our BTAC conference that Daroneshia Duncan, the founding executive director of the Birmingham based (TAKE)  Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable and Empowering organization and our Birmingham trans fam received less than friendly treatment at TSA's Love Field security checkpoint.

The group of seven people, six trans women and one trans man, didn't have any issues with TSA in Birmingham enroute to BTAC, but the drama started on their way back home   Three of the women had temporary ID cards issued to them by the Alabama DMV, which are legal for travel purposes because they do contain a photograph

The TSA peeps at Love Field didn't seem to know that, and harassed the TAKE group, causing them to miss their flight back home.  After sorting out the ID issues, they eventually had to go to DFW and catch a flight home on Delta and told their story on their local TV station WIAT-TV.


 
Here's hoping that we get the TSA peeps at Love Field some Trans 101 training to ensure that this travel mess doesn't happen again.

And news flash to the TSA peeps at Love Field.  Trans people exist, some of us are Black, and we do travel by air.   We deserve and expect to be treated with the same dignity and respect that you extend to other cisgender air travelers transiting your airport.

Alleged Bayou City Bigotry?

Ever since our HERO ordinance went down in flames last November no thanks to an unholy coalition of out of town right wing haters, the GOP controlled Texas Supreme Court, the Harris County and Texas Republican Party and sellout kneegrow ministers, my pissivity has increased with every story I hear about discrimination happening within the city limits that would have been prevented and people would have a local recourse to deal with had HERO been in effect.

It's bad enough when entities inside our city limits gleefully discriminate because they know if the group they targeted for it is pissed about it, the only recourse they have now post-HERO repeal is file an expensive, time consuming federal lawsuit.

It's even more egregious when the entity doing the alleged discrimination is a gay nightclub located in the Montrose gayborhood.

I do an occasional trip from time to time to visit some of our local LGBTQ bars and establishments and support people with my presence at their events.   And when I was doing my Houston Montrose bar hopping starting in 1980, I ran into situations in which I was blatantly discriminated against for being Black and trans by being denied entry into the now closed Mother's, or had racial or transphobic slurs aimed at me from people in this LGBTQ community while patronizing those clubs.
So I'm keenly aware of the undercurrent of anti-Black attitudes that sadly exist in elements of our Houston GLBTQ community

But my attitude has been since the early 2K's because my life has evolved from the bar culture to leave the bar hopping to our TBLGQ millennial generation because I personally never wanted to be the 'old girl in the club.'

That personal point out of the way,  I'm still not happy about hearing and reading disturbing anecdotal claims from my millennial siblings that the Bayou City nightclub on Grant St.is harassing and targeting Black customers of the establishment.

I'm also hearing and reading in these anecdotal reports from people that I trust and who have no reason to prevaricate to me about the situation that the alleged targeting at this particular nightclub has possibly been going on since 2010.

If it's happening, it needs to be called out and immediately fixed.  I would encourage people who feel they have been targeted for discrimination in this or ANY other situation within the Houston city limits to file complaints with the Houston Office of Inspector General or your district and at large city council members so that we have a documented paper trail to point to

You can also sign up and show up to talk about it to Mayor Turner and our city council during the open city council sessions that are held at City Hall every Tuesday starting at 1:30 PM.

This is once again another example of why we need HERO 2.0 (or whatever we decide to call it) immediately back on the Houston Code of Ordinance books, and phuck the faux faith based GOP haters if they object to that.

As I've said far too many times and in multiple posts in the ten years this blog has been in operation, anti-Black attitudes exist in LGBTQ World because we are a microcosm of the parent society we all marinated in.

We need to be as a LGBTQ community BETTER than our parent society,and when I say that, I mean that we need to be role modeling how a diverse community handles its human rights business for the benefit of the entire group.

Discrimination's time in the Houston city limits, and especially in the Houston LGBT community needs to expire, and we shouldn't have to potentially file a federal discrimination lawsuit to make that happen.

Should Have Voted For HERO

Well, as those of us who supported HERO tried to tell you peeps who fell for the GOP okey doke and lies back on November 3, the HERO ordinance was about providing a local remedy to combat Houston area discrimination for 15 categories.   It wasn't just an LGBT ordinance or about the bathrooms.

But because of your lack of human rights vision, 61% of you are now discovering too late you got played and you fell for the right-wing anti-trans scare tactics.   As the GOP and the conservafool movement celebrated that night how stupid y'all were and the sellout ministers got kicked to the curb after fulfilling their mission for the white GOP oppressors, our much needed human rights law was repealed.

We are now back to the jacked up human rights situation we had in H-town prior to HERO's passage in May 2014.

The latest person who is discovering the hard way they were hoodwinked and bamboozled by Dave Welch, Steven Hotze and sellout friends, tweeted to Mayor Parker about their problem.

Mayor Parker dropped the truth nuke about what their only expensive option is to combat the H-town discrimination they faced.

Well, I hope that when 2016 rolls around and it comes up with the new mayor and city council, you'll support HERO 2.0 passage and implementation.

Until then, the folks who were doing the H-town discriminating will gleefully continue to do so until they can't or are made to pay for their human rights crimes.

The Battle To Keep HERO-September 29

One of the reasons I'm more than pissed off about the lack of pushback in Black Houston over the lies the HERO opposition and their kneegrow sellouts are telling about our local civil rights law is because the people who are being negatively affected by the current status quo non-coverage situation are people of color.

Specifically, women of color.

56% of the HERO complaints are not only race related, but the next highest category of complaints logged by the Houston Office of the Inspector General who would be tasked with investigating them are sex discrimination at 17%.

Even the two high profile trans discrimination cases that have occurred in H-town also fit that pattern. The Izza Lopez one in 2006 and the Leyth Jamal one in 2012 not only happened inside the Houston city limits. but happened to Latina and Black trans women.

And yes, the increasingly infamous Gaslamp nightclub has also aimed their reprehensible anti-Black hatred at Black women.



This continuing cesspool of discrimination, by the way, would have had a local remedy to deal with it if HERO hadn't been screwed with by the Harris County Republican Party, the all GOP Texas Supreme Court, and out of town activists messing with Houston human rights business.

In some good HERO news, the Houston Association of Realtors board voted to support Prop 1.

“The Houston Association of Realtors sees HERO as an extension of the Code of Ethics to which licensed Realtors must adhere each day to ensure the fair and ethical treatment of all real estate consumers,” said HAR Chair Nancy Furst. “Our 31,000-member association respects and celebrates Houston’s diverse population, and we believe HERO complements the Realtor commitment to conduct business without discrimination of any kind.”

In voting to support HERO, the HAR board recognized that similar equal rights laws are on the books in more than 200 U.S. cities, including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio, and 17 states, and have not resulted in any reports of increased public safety problems. The board concluded that the anti-discrimination measure “promotes a healthy business climate throughout Houston.”

It joins other heavyweight H-town business associations in the Greater Houston Partnership, The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Hotel and Lodging Association of Greater Houston in urging YES votes to keep HERO.

Chase Gets Her Drivers License

Due to my housing drama that blew up in mid to late June and July, I missed some of these trans themed stories that occurred during that time period.

One of the stories that had a happy ending was of South Carolina trans teen Chase Culpepper.  You'll recall that Culpepper ran into a transphobic DMV employee in the Anderson. SC office that forced her to take off the makeup she was wearing for her license photo back in March 2014.  

She won a federal lawsuit that not only allowed her to take that license photo that more accurately reflects who she is, but changed DMV policy.

Culpepper also received an apology from the South Carolina DMV for the unnecessary transphobic drama they took her through.

She finally got the opportunity to take that correct license photo, and WYFF-TV news cameras were there to watch what transpired.



Happy for Chase.  It's also an example of our trans younglings showing us trans elders by example that they are not only won't back down in the face of transphobic discrimination, but will fight it tooth and nail.

Gotta love her for that.

The Fight To Keep HERO-September 12

As I keep relentlessly pointing out, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance covers 15 categories, and is a local remedy for the discrimination that our opponents are trying to claim isn't happening..

The straight up lie our opposition continues to try to tell that it is an ordinance only for TBLG Houston is ludicrous. I've pointed out (and will continue to do so until November 3 and beyond) the mind-numbing idiocy of a loud and wrong small cadre of African-American Houstonians opposing the HERO when 54% of the HERO complaints received by the Houston Office of Inspector General between May 28, 2014-January 15, 2015 are race based discrimination, and another 17% are gender discrimination based on a debunked right wing lie..

That's two of the 15 HERO categories that once again, protect Houstonians from housing, public accommodations and employment discrimination based on  sex, race, age, color, gender, familial status, national origin, veterans status, genetic information, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, religion, and sexual orientation..

This commentary from Brandon Ball, Dan Scarbrough, and Ken Piggee speaks volumes about the discrimination going on in H-ton that needs to be addressed.

We can end this unjust discriminatory activity inside the Houston city limits and provide a local remedy for addressing it by ignoring the haters fear and smear tactics and voting YES on Proposition 1 to keep HERO on November 3.

And now, let me present Brandon Ball, Dan Scarbrough, and Ken Piggee, fellow Black Houstonians who were discriminated against last night when they attempted to enter a Midtown area bar.

***

My name is Brandon Ball. I am 32 years old. I am African American. Tonight I was with my friends Dan Scarbrough (42) and Ken Piggee (43). Both are also African American. We were in the Midtown area of Houston, TX tonight and tried to go into The Gaslamp. Both Dan and Ken had on blazers. I had on a button up and slacks. When we walked up the guy at the door told us $20 each (pictured below in the long sleeve shirt). We didn't want to pay that amount so we decided to go to the next bar down, The Dogwood, which was free.

After about 30 minutes we left The Dogwood and were walking back. As we passed The Gaslamp we noticed folks walking into The Gaslamp without having to pay. Those folks who didn't have to pay were white. I brought this to Dan's attention a few minutes later and he said we should go back and just watch from across the street to see if there was some "funny business" going on.

Ken, Dan, and I went back and watched from across the street as the guys who were working the front door of The Gaslamp (pictured) allowed white people to come in one after the other. Every black person who we watched try to go in was told there was a $20 cover or that their attire was not proper. One black guy was told that he could not get in because he had on Polo Boots.

I again tried to walk in and was told there was a $20 cover. This was right after I had just seen a group of white guys walk right in.

I finally went and spoke to the cop (also pictured) who was working the door (who is a minority himself) and asked him if he was aware and comfortable with how the door guys were conducting business. His reply was basically..."I just work and do my job and those guys over there do their job." I told him he was complicit but he blew me off.

I then took pictures of the two main guys at the front door (pictured below) and both of them began to ask if I had a problem. The one in the short sleeved shirt went as far to tell me that he hoped I didn't "run up on him in the streets because it would be a problem."

Why does this matter to me? Why is this important? If I have to answer that please just move along. This post is not meant for you. This event occurred in the late night of Sept. 11th. A day in which we as a country are supposed to come together. But events like this just tells us how far apart we are.

Please share this. Please pass along. Please read this and understand what type of establishment The Gaslamp is. If you were at The Gaslamp on this night and had a similar experience please comment and share.

Don't let actions such as this continue with no recourse. If you know the guys working the door let them see this. Please let them. Remember, this is 2015.

***

What was that horse feces strewn by our not so esteemed opposition violating the Ninth Commandment about the HERO being a 'gay rights bill'?   The HERO is a civil rights bill, and it needs to be part of our Houston Code of Ordinances.  You can ensure it stays there with a YES vote on Proposition 1.

 If HERO had been in effect instead of being fought by a cadre of loud and wrong right wing ministers and GOP activists, this incident probably wouldn't have happened..

If HERO had been in effect instead of messed with by SCOTX,, Mr. Ball, Mr. Scarbrough and Mr. Piggee would have had a local mechanism to go to the Houston Office of Inspector General to file and pursue a discrimination complaint against the Gaslight Bar for a HERO public accommodation violation

But no thanks to those clueless ministers, conservative activists and the all Republican Texas Supreme Court, hatin' on the HERO, our local human rights law is not in effect for now, and bars like the Gaslight will continue to discriminate against people until there is a cost they have to pay for doing so.

TransGriot Note:  Thanks to Brandon Ball, Don Scarbrough and Ken Piggee for allowing me to share their story. 

CC15 Delegates, Let's Support Marjorie Silva While We're In Denver

When we start gathering in Denver next week for Creating Change 2015, I hope that one of the places we delegates visit and patronize is the Azucar Bakery owned by Marjorie Silva.

Remember the ridiculous 'swastika cakes' line that Houston suburban hate preacher Steve Riggle uttered during our HERO fight last year?  

It stems from a Colorado case in which a right wing leaning baker named Jack Phillips ran afoul of Colorado's anti-discrimination law for refusing to bake a weeding cake for a gay couple.  Because white privilege addled right wingers wouldn't know discrimination if it slapped them in the face like it does non-whites, TBLG people and women on an almost daily basis, they have a loud and wrong conservainterpretation of it that is not based in reality.

They seem to think their religious beliefs trump human rights law.   Um, no they don't.

And by the way Steve, Houston bakers still aren't being forced to bake swastika cakes.  But Houstonians are still having to deal with discrimination inside our city limits because HERO hasn't been implemented because of your friends baseless anti-human rights lawsuit.

Okay, back to Ms Silva's story.

In their zeal to prove a false equivalency,  right wing activist Bill Jack rolled over from Castle Rock, CO and trolled 40 year old Marjorie Silva's Denver bakery and asked her to make a Bible shaped cake, which she agreed to do. 

But when they were about to complete the order, according to Silva, Jack then handed her a piece of paper with hateful words about gays that he wanted written on the cake. He also wanted the cake to have two men holding hands and an X on top of them.

"It's just horrible. It doesn't matter if, you know, if you're Catholic, or Jewish, or Christian, if I'm gay or not gay or whatever," said Silva to KUSA-TV, adding in the interview that she has made cakes regularly for all religious occasions. "We should all be loving each other. I mean there's no reason to discriminate."

Silva said she would bake the cake, but would give him a pastry bag and icing to write the hateful anti-gay words on the cake himself.   

Jack didn't want that, claimed he'd been 'discriminated' against and subsequently filed a complaint against Azucar Bakery with the Colorado Civil Rights Division.

"There's no law that says that a cake-maker has to write obscenities in the cake just because the customer wants it," said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Colorado.

And that's the key difference in the Silva and Phillips cases.   She didn't refuse to bake the cake, she refused to write the offensive message on it.   She offered a solution for the customer to do it himself that he rejected.  That's a First Amendment free speech issue, not a public accommodations one

And I'm also not liking the racist fact the right wing christobigot chose a Latina owned bakery in Denver to attack.

Since Creating Change 2015 will be kicking off in Denver next week, why don't we show Ms.  Silva some love and support and buy any baked goods needed at the conference from her Azucar Bakery while we're in the Mile High City? 

There is also a gofundme campaign that has been started to help defray her legal expenses from this right wing trolling of her.

And for you TBLG peeps and allies in the Denver metro area, may I suggest pre and post CC15 you put Ms. Silva's bakery on your support list when you need to purchase a cake or baked goods for your future rainbow community events.

This is also a golden opportunity to show the nation and the world that we TBLG folks stand by and with our community allies when they are unjustly attacked while sticking it to the right wing christobigots at the same time.

And I can't think of a more delicious way to fight anti-LGBT hatred.

HERO Updates,Notes and News-October 14

While we wait for the January 19 court date and trial to take place, the HERO is unfortunately not being implemented until the legal issues get sorted out.

In the interim, more evidence just keeps on surfacing in Houston why HERO is needed and why it was pushed for and passed in the first place.

Interesting news broke here recently about a gay male couple tossed out of a Yellow Cab last weekend because of a PDA the homophobic cab driver didn't approve of.

He should have had a clue because he picked up Travis Player and Andres Orozco in front of FBar, a gay club on Tuam Street.

As they shared a PG kiss on their way to their Museum District area home,  Orozco told ABC 13 "The man just turns back to us and tells us that he doesn't give gay people rides. And he proceeds to tell us we're going to hell for being gay."

The homophobic cab driver then kicked the couple out of his vehicle a few blocks from their home.

Yellow Cab had this to say about the incident.

"Yellow Cab immediately investigated this allegation of discrimination, including talking to the independent contractor driver. the driver stated that he would have taken the same actions if it was a man and a woman in the taxicab. Evidently, the driver was overly sensitive to passengers kissing. Yellow Cab does not have a policy about passengers showing affection in taxicabs. in fact, we encourage kissing in our taxicabs."

Yeah right.  If it had been a heterosexual couple locking lips in his backseat, the homophobe probably would have been hi- fiving and grinning at homeboy when he dropped them off.

Because Texas doesn't have a state law banning this type of discrimination and HERO is on hold pending the court case, what the homophobic cabbie did is legal.   But it ain't morally right.

"The sad reality is that it is completely legal," said GLBT community advocate Noel Freeman.

Freeman said in the ABC 13 interview that in the last six months, he's heard 4 other similar stories: gay couples getting kicked out of Yellow Cab taxis, for being affectionate.

"There are no laws in the state of Texas that protect people from discrimination in public accommodations like cabs. So someone can be kicked out of a cab because they're gay, black, because they're a woman," Freeman said.

Even though HERO isn't being implemented yet, if you run into any discrimination inside the city limits of H-town, go to the Office of Inspector General at City Hall and file a complaint so they can have a record of it.  

These haters need to buy a vowel and get a clue that discrimination's time in Houston has expired.

And Yellow Cab, don't forget you now have LGBT friendly competition from Uber and Lyft..  If your  drivers want to keep handing business to them, I'm sure the Uber and Lyft people will definitely be happy to take those LGBT customers off your hands and drive them wherever they need to go inside the Houston city limits.

But this is another concrete reason why the HERO needs to be implemented without delay.

Gender Nonconforming Teen Sues SC DMV

You may have heard about the incident back in March in which Chase Culpepper was forced to take off the makeup he was wearing and 'look more like a boy' before officials at a South Carolina DMV office would take a driver's license photo.

16 year old Chase identifies as male and answers to male pronouns, but wears feminine or androgynous attire and makeup in his everyday life.

Chase was informed by DMV officials at the Anderson, SC office near where he lives that wearing the makeup constituted a 'prohibited disguise' and refused to take his picture for his drivers license despite his mother pointing out this is how Chase appears in his everyday life.

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday that alleges the DMV violated Chase's free speech rights in violation of state and federal constitutions.

“My clothing and makeup reflect who I am,” Chase said.  “The Department of Motor Vehicles should not have forced me to remove my makeup simply because my appearance does not match what they think a boy should look like. I just want the freedom to be who I am without the DMV telling me that I’m somehow not good enough.”

The suit was brought by Chase’s mother Teresa Culpepper on his behalf as a minor.  It asks the court to rule that denying Chase the freedom to wear his everyday makeup in his license photo constitutes sex discrimination and violates his right to free speech and expression under the United States Constitution. It also seeks a ruling under the U.S. and South Carolina Constitutions that the DMV’s photo policy is unconstitutionally vague, too broad, and lets DMV employees arbitrarily decide how a driver's license applicant should look, without regard for the rights of the people they are supposed to serve.

For you legal junkies, the suit is Teresa Culpepper v. Kevin A. Shwedo, et al, and is pending in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division

Let's hope that the TLDEF lawsuit is successful

Stopping James Crow III

Guest Post By Dawn Wilson

Happy Independence Day, and welcome to the James Crow III Era.  .

Within weeks of the SCOTUS desecration of the US Constitution with the Hobby Lobby decision we are seeing new efforts to demonize and marginalize people in this country.

If you think I'm being alarmist about this, just ponder these examples.

A new bill was introduced this week in the Tennessee State Legislature that if passed, would allow people and businesses to refuse to provide goods and services to homosexuals. The bill was filed by Republican State Sen. Brian Kelsey, who represents parts of Memphis and Germantown.

A Republican in Idaho, has proposed a bill which would protect professionals like doctors or police officers from being forced to render aid to a gay or lesbian persons.

Fourteen prominent faith leaders — including some of President Obama’s closest advisers — want the White House to create a religious exemption from his planned executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against gays and lesbians in hiring.

This week in a small Southern California town, angry crowds stopped detained migrants from entering their community.

Recently, the Southern Baptists at its convention passed a resolution on June 10 that condemned and demonized transgendered persons. After reading about this unwarranted, adversarial attack on the humanity of a marginalized minority group, I was deeply saddened and angry.

Much of that anger was driven by the fact that the people pushing this James Crow III hate are wrapping their bigotry in Scripture.   But bigotry wrapped in scripture is still bigotry, regardless of what the proponents of it claim.

Why is this happening? Fear  Fear is a control mechanism. Fear is a killer of rational thought. Fear is the prohibitor of action.

Remember what Yoda said in The Empire Strikes Back about fear. 
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Stoking fear of others for the conservative movement has been the pathway to political power, and the policies in conservative dominated Red states and elsewhere in our country sadly are echoing Yoda’s words.   
We are seeing this depressing effect now of fear on our culture and our country.  It seems the more negative the news, the more fearful and sheeplike we become.

So what can we do to combat this steady push to a James Crow III era? Here are some suggestions.

Educate yourself and be knowledgeable on the issues of the day by consulting multiple news sources. Understanding the issues will help you see what is at stake in our communities, our states and our nation. 

Volunteer, lobby, speak up and out about issues you are passionate about and affect you directly and indirectly. 

Don’t be afraid to form an opinion.  When you do, be prepared to defend it with logic and reason. 

Finally, and I can’t stress this enough, VOTE.   Voting is your political voice in our 238 year old democracy.  You not only need to exercise your right to vote, but encourage others to register and do so as well  

On Election Day 2014, take you soul to the polls, bring others to the polling place with you, and do so in every Election Day from now on until the day you depart this world.

As Barbara Jordan once said, “The stakes are too high for government to be a spectator sport.”   So stop being a spectator and get in the political game by participating in each and every election from now on until you pass away. 

Jim Crow and James Crow, Esquire were reprehensible moral failures of this country then, and James Crow III continuing in their despicable footsteps won’t be any more  respectable in the second decade of the 21^st century either..

If we do this, we will be able to stop James Crow III.  We will also put the brakes on the mad rush to a dead, bygone era of demonization and hatred of our fellow Americans that needs to stay in the past

Charlotte Trans College Student Harassed, Detained For Using The Bathroom

While I was busy focusing on a developing situation on the WSSU campus in Winston-Salem, just down the road in Charlotte more TBLG injustice has been brewing on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College.

Meet Andraya Williams.  She's a 22 year old student at Central Piedmont Community College who is handling her academic business there.  She has been transitioning since age 18 and started the medical part of it two years ago.  

On March 18 she was exiting the women's restroom and according to an article by QNotes Matt Comer ran into transphobic security officers who detained, disrespected her, informed her she was suspended and escorted her off campus.

CPCC does not have a non-discrimination policy that covers sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and Williams and her attorney Sarah Demarest of Charlotte’s LGBTQ Law Center have been trying to resolve the issue since then in the face of intransigent stonewalling by CPCC officials.

“CPCC’s decision to apprehend [Ms. Williams] in the restroom was based on their visual assessment of her gender,” said Demarest in the QNotes interview. “While CPCC is allowed to maintain sex-segregated facilities for male and female students, they decided that Ms. Williams fell outside both categories and treated her differently than other students. Furthermore, the differential treatment occurred in front of other students, highlighting to her peers that she does not conform to gender stereotypes and outing her as transgender.”

Now that this campus transphobia story is getting national and international attention, Central Piedmont Community College comes out with a statement from CPCC Public Information Officer Jeff Lowrance claiming they are trying to 'balance the rights of transgender students with the rights of the rest of the student body.'  

Since when CPCC?   Don't even try to tell that lie. You have no policies that protect the rights of trans, SGL and gender variant students and were in no hurry to enact them until your campus security got caught harassing and disrespecting an African-American trans student. 


Demarest said to QNotes that CPCC needs to review their polices and practices immediately, and I concur with that assessment.

“There are many transgender students who need to know what their rights are and need to know how it is they are supposed to navigate this issue,” said Demarest. “The way CPCC has handled this situation was inadequate and allowed [Williams] to be humiliated and feeling like she was without recourse.”

Demarest also pointed out the school violated her client’s due process rights, CPCC’s actions were unlawful and constitute a violation of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities.   Federal courts, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, she says, have held that unlawful sex discrimination extends to gender stereotyping.

The 2011 Glenn v. Brumby case found that discriminating against someone based on their gender nonconformity is sex based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause 

discriminating against someone on the basis of his or her gender non-conformity constitutes sex-based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. - See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1587416.html#sthash.RXe6VMwF.dpuf

discriminating against someone on the basis of his or her gender non-conformity constitutes sex-based discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause. - See more at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1587416.html#sthash.RXe6VMwF.dpuf

Williams and Demarest are considering filing a federal civil rights complaint and I hope they do.  I and other trans people of color are sick and tired of being jacked with for going to the bathroom..   

There is a protest being organized by CPCC students outraged over this incident in support of Andraya that will take place Friday, April 4 starting at 11 AM EDT.

We will be holding a protest in response to the treatment of our fellow CPCC student Andraya Williams, who on March 19, was harassed, detained and eventually suspended and denied due process because CPCC staff is insufficiently educated on transgender inclusion. We are protesting to show that intolerance and the violation of student rights is not something we as students believe should be part of our school's values. We welcome community members and other allies to join us to show that we stand behind Andraya Williams and all transgender students at CPCC.

It will take place on the corner of Elizabeth and Kings Streets if you wish to attend.

Will be keeping an eye on this situation as well.

SB 1062 Has Died-Brewer Vetoes Unjust Bill

I asked in a post a few days ago if Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) would do the right thing or the right wing thing in regards to SB1062. 

With pressure mounting on her from outraged people in her state, the TBLG community, business leaders and even the NFL starting to make the initial moves to take next year's Super Bowl out of the state if she signed it,  Brewer finally announced that she has vetoed the unjust SB 1062 bill.

From her press conference remarks moments ago::

Good evening, and thank you for joining me here today.

I am here to announce my decision on Senate Bill 1062.

As with every proposal that reaches my desk, I gave Senate Bill 1062 careful evaluation and deliberate consideration. I call them like I see them, despite the cheers or boos from the crowd.

I took the time necessary to make the RIGHT decision. I met or spoke with my attorneys, lawmakers and citizens supporting and opposing this legislation.

I listened . . . and asked questions.

As Governor, I have protected religious freedoms when there is a specific and present concern that exists in OUR state.

And I have the record to prove it.

My agenda is to sign into law legislation that advances Arizona.

When I addressed the Legislature earlier this year, I made my priorities for this session abundantly clear…
Among them are passing a responsible budget that continues Arizona’s economic Comeback.
2

From CEOs -- to entrepreneurs -- to business surveys -- Arizona ranks as one the best states to grow or start a business.

Additionally, our IMMEDIATE challenge is fixing a broken Child Protection system.
Instead, this is the first policy bill to cross my desk.

Senate Bill 1062 does not address a specific and present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona. I have not heard of one example in Arizona where a business owner’s religious liberty has been violated.

The bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences.

After weighing all of the arguments, I vetoed Senate Bill 1062 moments ago.

To the supporters of the legislation, I want you to know that I understand that long-held norms about marriage and family are being challenged as never before.

Our society is undergoing many dramatic changes. However, I sincerely believe that Senate Bill 1062 has the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve.

It could divide Arizona in ways we cannot even imagine and no one would ever want.

Religious liberty is a core American and Arizona value, so is non-discrimination.

Going forward, let’s turn the ugliness of the debate over Senate Bill 1062 into a renewed search for greater respect and understanding among ALL Arizonans and Americans.
.
Thank you..

And if she hadn't vetoed the bill, Arizona's ability to attract businesses would have been crippled for at least a decade.   Whatever her reasons were for making her decision, bottom line it was the right one.

You do not have the right to discriminate, and you deeply held religious belief are not to be used as a shield for you bigotry and hatred of others.

Oh Hell No, Arizona! Unjust SB 1062 Must Die!

I've had the pleasure of visiting Arizona, driving across it twice via I-10 and counting many of its wonderful residents among my friends.

But just like here in Texas, their Republican controlled legislature is constantly coming up with new ways to not only embarrass themselves but the entire state.

The next time I get blessed with the opportunity to come to Tucson or the University of Arizona, definitely swinging by Rocco's Little Chicago Pizzeria. 

But back to the post in which I'm about to go Maya Wilkes on this issue. 

The Arizona conservafools may have gone too far this time with SB 1062, an unjust  'Right To Discriminate' bill that would allow people to cite religious beliefs when they deny service to anyone. 

We know what it says, but the real target of this law is the TBLG community.

It passed on a 17-13 party line vote in the Arizona Senate and all but three Republicans in the Arizona House backed the bill that passed there by a 33-27 margin.   It has now been sent to term limited Gov. Jan Brewer (R) for her signature.

Ohio, Kansas, Mississippi, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee and Oklahoma are the other states that have tried to pass similar unjust 'Religious Right To Discriminate' legislation but Arizona so far is the only one in which it made it out of their legislature.   The efforts to do so in Idaho, Ohio and Kansas.have been stalled

Arizona is the only one that has passed this unjust bill, and they are justifiably getting called out for it.  I especially loved this eloquent denunciation of it by George Takei.  

The only thing keeping Texas from following Arizona down this Gay Crow legislative road is because (praise the Lord) our legislature only meets in odd-numbered years.  If Governor Goodhair wanted to do the same thing he'd have to call a special session to do so. 

“We see a growing hostility toward religion,” said Josh Kredit, legal counsel for the conservafool group the Center For Arizona Policy that pushed for the passage of this unjust bill.   

Well, duh.  When you and your conservative sycophants like Cathi Herrod continue to cite and use 'religion' as a shield for your old school bigotry and your unjust laws, there is going to be an equal and opposite backlash from the people those unjust policies target. 

But I guess you peeps forgot (or ignored) what Galatians 6:7-9 (KJV) says about reaping what you sow.

⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
⁹ And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

If you're sowing hatred toward BTLG people with unjust legislation and claiming you're doing so because of your 'religious beliefs', you're going to get it back.

Arizona's Republican legislators are not only getting worldwide condemnation for passing SB 1062, business leaders in the state are concerned that if Gov. Brewer signs the bill into law, it could trigger a fresh round of boycotts that could lead to the NFL pulling the 2015 Super Bowl out of the state just like they did in 1993 in the wake of then-Gov. Evan Mecham's boneheaded decision to rescind the MLK holiday. 

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council has already sent a letter to Gov. Brewer urging her to veto the bill, saying that it could affect Super Bowl XLIX and have “profound, negative” economic effects for years to come.   The conservative leaning Arizona Republic newspaper published an editorial urging her to veto SB 1062. 

There are also calls and e-mails being fielded by nervous convention planners in the state who remember the 1993 boycott and the one in the wake of the passage of SB 1070.  They have already heard the warnings that if she signs the bill, they are taking their convention business elsewhere.

And this has happened just as Arizona officials are trying to make a serious push to lure tech firms like Google out of California to the Grand Canyon State.

SB 1062 must die.  Gov. Brewer has a choice.  She can either do the right thing and by extension continue pushing the economic development of her state, or she can do the right wing thing and sign this unjust bill. 

But if Gov. Brewer makes that choice, she will not only cripple her state economically for years to come and cement its growing reputation as a bastion of hate, but give herself a permanent place in the history books among anti-human rights governors like Ross Barnett, Orville Faubus and George Wallace.

Choose wisely Gov. Brewer. 

TransGriot Update: And she did.   She announced her veto of SB 1062 on February 26