Introducing The Texas Legislative LGBTQ Caucus

While many people inside and outside the state of Texas were upset that our bid to fire Ted Cruz came agonizingly short, it was a bigger win in other areas in terms of ending the Republican rule in Texas.   

We flipped several populous Texas counties to Democratic control, including my home county of Harris County.  We flipped several Texas state court of appeals districts.   And most importantly, we flipped twelve seats in the Texas House to put in striking distance of flipping that chamber in 2020

With the 2019 session of the Texas Legislature now going into its second week, we had another moment of history happen with the founding of the first officially recognized Texas LGBTQ Caucus!

Rep Mary Gonzalez's office released an announcement  heralding the founding of the new caucus.

"Nearly one million Texans identify as part of the LGBTQ spectrum, signaling a drastic need for representation at all levels of elected office," the press release said.

The founding members of it all identity as members of our community, and they are  Rep. Mary González (D- Clint)  Rep. Celia Israel (D- Austin) , Rep. Jessica González (D- Dallas) Rep. Erin Zweiner (D - Austin) and Rep. Julie Johnson (D - Dallas).

The caucus is open to any member regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.  The goal of the Texas LGBTQ Caucus is to according to Rep Mary Gonzalez is "to advocate for proactive legislation that creates greater equity in Texas.". 

Congratulations on the founding of this new caucus.  May it grow beyond these initial members, and may you be successful in pushing for legislation that does create a better Texas for all of us.


TransGriot note: Photo of caucus by Casey Chapman-Ross

First Meeting Of The New Harris County Commissioners Court Today

We have been having a wonderful first week of the New Year because we flipped Harris County to dark blue in the 2018 midterms. 

There has practically been an investiture ceremony for our new diverse group of Democratic judges every day at the county courthouse, and I'm speaking at one of them on Thursday for Judge Bill McLeod.

At 10 AM CST this morning we'll get to gleefully watch another historic Harris County political moment as we have our first Harris County Commissioners Court meeting of 2019 with our Democratic majority in place. 

It will also be the first one in which our new County Judge Lina Hidalgo will be presiding over. 

I'm a native Houstonian, but I have never gone downtown to attend a Harris County Commissioner's Court meeting because in large part of it being a Republican controlled body and a waste of my time to do so.

Now with a diverse Democratic majority on it for the first time since I was in high school, this governing body for the third largest county by population in the United States (Harris County has 5 million residents)  has gotten my undivided attention.

Elections matter people, and because of the blue tsunami that swept through Harris County and swept GOP officeholders out with it, it's a brand new day here politically.

We have already seen evidence of that at the county courthouse, where the new judges elected in the Democratic sweep of all 59 judicial benches filed a motion yesterday to withdraw from the appeal of the bail bonds system lawsuit.   The county bail bond system was declared unconstitutional

The suit alleges the county unfairly jails those charged with misdemeanors who cannot afford bail. A federal district judge ordered Harris County to remedy the situation, but the suit has been held up in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.   All the Republican criminal court judges named in the lawsuit were swept out of office

Partisan political hack Stan Stanart was fired as county clerk by Harris County voters and replaced by Dr. Diane Trautman.   One immediate change was the ability to register to vote online on the county clerk website.   Discussions have started to implement countywide voting centers in which you are able, just as you can during the early voting period, to do so at any location on Election Day. 

One of the items on the agenda for the Harris County commissioner's court meeting is a $15 minimum wage for all county employees.

Looking forward to attending my first ever Commissioner's Court meeting.   

Sen. Booker Calls Out DHS Secretary For Silence About Trump's Racism

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) put Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen on blast during a Senate oversight committee hearing today or cosigning Trump's racist comments about Haiti and other African nations

He also called he out for her convenient bout of amnesia when question about Trump's comments.

“The commander in chief, in an Oval Office meeting, referring to people from African countries and Haitians with the most vile and vulgar language — that language festers,” Sen. Booker said. “When ignorance and bigotry is alive with power, it’s a dangerous force in our country. Your silence and your amnesia is complicity.”
He also call Nielsen out about DHS ignoring the overwhelming evidence concerning white supremacist terrorism in this country.

Is It Health and Human Services Texas Policy To Harass Trans Texans?

Was not happy to hear about the latest instance of anti- trans discrimination in my hometown and who it happened to.

Ana Andrea Molina is the executive director of the Organizacion Latina de Trans en Texas (OLTT), which works to provide services for the trans Latina population.

One of those services is setting up a trans shelter modeled after Casa Ruby in Washington DC called Casa Ana Andrea in Houston's Third Ward just south of the Texas Southern University campus.

On Tuesday she went to the Health and Human Services Texas office at 9450 Harwin Dr. in her capacity as OLTT executive director to gather information about services that her trans Latina clients could access.

While there she needed to use the restroom, and asked where it was so she could handle her business before proceeding with her information gathering business.

She was followed by an employee and the security guard in the Harwin facility, who after she entered the women's restroom decided to play potty Gestapo.  The transphobes continuously banged on the door of the women's restroom ordering her to come out and use the men's room, erroneously citing the failed SB 3 as their justification for being transphobic bigots.

Molina ignored them and didn't come out until after she'd handled her bathroom business and washed her hands.

This is also another example of the transphobic hate speech the Texas Republican Party unleashed while trying and failing twice to pass their anti-trans SB6/3 bill having real world negative impacts on the every day lives of transgender Texans.

But what the transphobes didn't know is that hey messed with someone who is well liked in the Houston advocacy community..

The next day she showed up at that facility accompanied by members of Indivisible Houston to file a complaint with the facility supervisor protesting her treatment.  

I walked in wearing a trans themed t-shirt with 'My Existence Is Resistance' written in Spanish accompanied by four cis feminine allies, and strolled into that same female bathroom with them basically daring them to treat me the same way they'd disrespectfully treated my Latina trans sister.

Someone in that office called HPD, who responded by sending three units to that Harwin location. While two of the HPD officers were polite, one was problematically aggressive, and threatened arrest of everyone if we didn't disperse.

Having gotten the complain form and sending the message we needed to send, we left peacefully .

The Harwin office is in the Texas senate district of Sen. Borris Miles (D-Houston) and Ana happens to be a constituent of his.  She is also in the House district of a longtime friend of the Texas trans community in Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), who also isn't happy about what transpired, along with Rep Gene Wu (D-Houston) and Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston).  That office is in Rep. Wu's House district, and he is also a friend of our community.  

People from our local ACLU office are also looking into what happened.

So yeah, they messed with the wrong person., and I'll keep y'all updated as to how this transphobic discrimination story plays out

UK Issues Travel Warning To NC and MS

It's getting harder every day for Gov. Pat McCrory (R) and the conservafool movement to claim that North Carolina has suffered 'no repercussions' for passing that unjust human rights monstrosity that NC NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber II calls Hate Bill 2.

Concerts are being canceled, conventions are being pulled, Cirque de Soleil has canceled all its performances in North Carolina, and corporations are canceling plans to add jobs in the Tarheel State.   Even Duke University has called for HB 2 to be repealed.

The latest blow to North Carolina is coming from across The Pond.   The UK Foreign Office has issued a travel warning for its LGBTQI British citizens traveling to North Carolina or Mississippi similar to the ones they issue for travel to Russia, Turkey or other anti-TBLG hotspots around the world.

The UK Foreign Office travel advisory to British LGBTQI citizens published today on its website reads::

The US is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country. LGBT travelers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi.

 Before traveling please read our general travel advice for the LGBT community (link above). You can find more detail on LGBT issues in the US on the website of the Human Rights Campaign.’

Gotta be embarrassing to the GOP controlled NC government when Great Britain is putting your state in the same class as other anti-democratic and repressive human rights regimes around the world.

No matter how hard you try to deflect and not take personal responsibility for this mess, you own it because you caused it.  You can also fix it by repealing Hate Bill 2.

Raffi Makes Trans History Again!

Just last August Raffi Freedman-Gurspan made history as the first out trans staffer ever to work at the White House as the Outreach & Recruitment Director in the presidential personnel office and Associate Director for Public Engagement. .

Now the 28 year old trans Latina is set to become the first trans person to be named as the White House LGBT Liaison in the 21 year history of the position. President Obama appointed her to replace Aditi Hardikar, who left the post in January to join Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

I'd met both previous occupants of the LGBT Liaison position, and met Raffi last year during the Trans WOC White House panel event I attended last March.  

Raffi will not only take on the LGBT Liaison job duties, she will continue in her role as Outreach & Recruitment Director

This appointment is a big deal.   It's fantastic to witness a trans person finally being appointed as the initial point of WH contact for LGBT groups on all issues, and continues to illustrate that President Obama has been the best president ever when it comes to not only advancing trans human rights issues, but actually entrusting us with key positions in his administration..

Congratulations Raffi!  

Tamara Adrian Sworn In

Tamara Adrian made history as the first elected trans national legislator in Venezuela, the second in the Western Hemisphere and South America, and only the fifth worldwide.

Now that she has been sworn in, it's official.   She took the oath of office on January 5 and has become a member of a very exclusive sorority of trans feminine politicians who serve in their national legislatures.

As the new rep for Caracas, while Adrian would like to pass a gender identity law, a same sex marriage one, and an anti-discrimination, she is aware that much of the reason she and many of her fellow assemblymembers were elected was to tackle the economic issues that have resulted in 160% inflation. and Venezuela's currency being worthless outside the country despite having oil reserves .

"People are poor now, and poverty has increased a lot this year, "said Adrian.  "But next year, they are going to be hungry if we don't take steps to make the economy better.  Things could come to a head in the first quarter of [2016]"

Let's hope that she and her fellow legislators are successful in tackling that problem

Change Only Comes To Government When You Participate

I fail to understand liberals who misguidedly think that change will come to our government by not participating in it. 

Gee, how did sitting on your azzes and 'punishing the Democrats' work out for you in the 2010 midterms?  That's as delusional as the right wingers who think that cutting taxes on the wealthy and laissez-faire capitalism grows the economy and lifts people out of poverty.


I can tell you simply by perusing my people's history that you'd much rather be an active participant in any of the courts and the legislative bodies at the local, state and federal levels that are writing and interpreting the laws.   That lesson should be crystal clear for everyone who considers themselves to be on the liberal progressive side of the political spectrum considering what has happened at the state and national level since those disastrous 2010 midterms.   

It's why you vote in EVERY election for the party and candidates that reflect your values and policy stances. If you don't see that reflected in that political cycle's slate of candidates or your rep in your estimation isn't doing the job you sent them to do, then run for office your damned self. 

And while I'm on the subject of running for public office your damned selves, it's past time that transpeople up our human rights game to another level.   If we're going to have trans inclusive laws and policies that treat us with respect and dignity, we transpeeps need to be on the school boards, the county commissions, the city halls, the state legislatures and in Congress helping to write and enact them, not begging to be included.


If you don't participate in the system and get a seat at the table helping to write the laws that govern you, then don't get pissed off when the laws and policies that come out of the system you refuse to participate in don't reflect your values and policy stances.


TransGriot Note: The second photo is of Kim Coco Iwamoto of Hawaii, who ran for and twice won election to the Hawaii State Board of Education in 2006 and 2010.

HUD Proposes Rules To Ensure Equal Housing Access For TBLG People

The 'crumbs' just keep on coming from the Obama Administration.

 Today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed new regulations intended to ensure that its core housing programs are open to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. 


“This is a fundamental issue of fairness,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.  “We have a responsibility to make certain that public programs are open to all Americans.  With this proposed rule, we will make clear that a person’s eligibility for federal housing programs is, and should be, based on their need and not on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

 HUD is seeking public comment on a number of proposed areas including:

• Prohibiting lenders from using sexual orientation or gender identity as a basis to determine a borrower’s eligibility for FHA-insured mortgage financing.  FHA’s current regulations provide that a mortgage lender’s determination of the adequacy of a borrower’s income “shall be made in a uniform manner without regard to” specified prohibited grounds.  The proposed rule would add actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited grounds to ensure FHA-approved lenders do not deny or otherwise alter the terms of mortgages on the basis of irrelevant criteria.
   
• Clarifying that all otherwise eligible families, regardless of marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity, have the opportunity to participate in HUD programs.  In the majority of HUD’s rental and homeownership programs the term “family” already has a broad scope, and includes a single person and families with or without children.  HUD’s proposed rule clarifies that families, otherwise eligible for HUD programs, may not be excluded because one or more members of the family may be an LGBT individual, have an LGBT relationship, or be perceived to be such an individual or in such relationship.
   
• Prohibiting owners and operators of HUD-assisted housing, or housing whose financing is insured by HUD, from inquiring about the sexual orientation or gender identity of an applicant for, or occupant of, the dwelling, whether renter- or owner-occupied.  HUD is proposing to institute this policy in its rental assistance and homeownership programs, which include the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance programs, community development programs, and public and assisted housing programs.

 In addition, HUD will also be conducting the first ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing.  Every ten years, HUD does a study of the impact of housing discrimination on the basis of race and color.

HUD undertook this important research in 1977, 1989 and 2000 and is currently undertaking this study again. It is believed that LGBT individuals and families may remain silent because in many local jurisdictions, they may have little or no legal recourse. While there are no national assessments of LGBT housing discrimination, there are state and local studies that have shown evidence of this sort of bias. For example, a 2007 report by Michigan’s Fair Housing Centers found that nearly 30 percent of same-sex couples were treated differently when attempting to buy or rent a home.

HUD currently requires its recipients of discretionary funds to comply with local and state non-discrimination laws that cover sexual orientation or gender identity.  In July, the Department issued new guidance that treats discrimination based on gender nonconformity or sex stereotyping as sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, and instructs HUD staff to inform individuals filing complaints about state and local agencies that have LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination laws.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in rental, sales and lending on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability and familial status. Approximately 20 states, and the District of Columbia, and more than 150 cities, towns and counties across the nation have additional protections that specifically prohibit such discrimination against LGBT individuals. Under guidance announced last year, HUD will, as appropriate, retain its jurisdiction over complaints filed by LGBT individuals or families but also jointly investigate or refer matters to those state, district and local governments with other legal protections.

I'm Sorry That My GOP Racism Offends You

The sheet wearing racists that inhabit the RepubliKKKan Party just can't resist their programming.

First it was a GOP official in South Carolina who compared the First Lady to a gorilla.

Now comes word of the latest outrage from Tennessee. Then again why should I be shocked. The Tennessee GOP had their hate on for the FLOTUS as well during last year's Tennessee primary and came up with the infamous 'Call Me' ad during the 2006 US senate race between John Corker and Harold Ford, Jr.

Tennessee is the home state of Chip Saltsman, who created the infamous “Barack the Magic Negro” CD and was one of the candidates for the chairmanship of the national Republican party.

Well, in the latest chapter of the GOP White Sheet Chronicles, a staffer in Tennessee state senator Diane Black's (R-Gallatin) office named Sherry Goforth e-mailed a composite picture of our country’s 44 presidents, but represents President Obama with only a set of eyes.

It gets more interesting because Sen. Diane Black happens to be the chair of the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus.

When confronted by Christian Grantham of the Nashville Is Talking blog about the e-mail, she confirmed she had sent it. Goforth also stated she had received a letter of reprimand from her superiors but will stay on the job.

When asked by Grantham if she understood the controversial nature of the photo, Goforth would only say she felt very bad about accidentally sending it to the wrong list.

Grantham gave her a second chance to address it and she repeated that she only felt bad about sending it to the wrong list of people.

Hmm, I wonder who's on the right wing, er right list?

“I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button,” Goforth told NIT. “I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.”

Rep. John DeBerry, the chairman of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, wasn't laughing at the so-called 'joke'. He said the incident reflects poorly on Tennessee and lawmakers.

“It’s unfortunate, and it’s another in a series of unfortunate incidents that have happened across this country with this president,” he said. “It sends the wrong message from the state of Tennessee, and it sends the wrong message from the House and Senate. I wish it hadn’t happened.”

But it's going to continue to happen. The GOP as the home of the Dixiecrats and the Southern Strategy, can't resist or are unwilling to resist and overcome their racist programming.

Well, it's a large part as to why the GOP only has 20% support. In the minds of many peeps GOP=Racism and they are doing little to dispel that impression.

These incidents happen with far too much regularity and speaks to the vanilla flavored privilege and ignorance that Republicans in the local, state and national level parties wallow in on a daily basis.

And note to Rusty DePass of South Carolina, hope you are aware of the fact that white gorrillas do exist.

NY State Assembly Passes GENDA

We're at the halfway point for transgender rights in New York State with the passage April 21 of GENDA by a wide margin in the Democratic controlled State Assembly.

Governor David Paterson (D) has indicated he will sign the bill if it passes the state legislature, which ends its current session on Monday, June 22.

GENDA would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression in employment, housing, public accommodations, access to credit, and other key areas. The Gender Expression Non-discrimination Act also would add gender identity and expression as protected categories in the state's human rights law.

The bill has broad public support according to a March 2008 poll by Global Strategy. 78 percent of registered New York voters favor passage of a bill to protect transgender rights.

GENDA debate according to the Gay City News only took 15 minutes before the Assembly passed it for the second year in a row. The bill now moves to the Senate where Democrats for the first time since 1965 have achieved a slim 32-30 majority. While under GOP control last year the bill died without being taken up.

The 'Conscience Of The Congress' Helps HR 1913 Pass

One of the things I get tired of hearing ad nauseum from elements of the white gay community is that tired 'Blacks are more homophobic' meme.

Compare and contrast Republican Virginia Foxx's remarks on HR 1913 vis a vis the remarks of CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) speaking on behalf of the just passed bill.



The Congressional Black Caucus is 43 members strong, with 42 congressmembers, one senator, and a former member living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Two members, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Donna Christian-Christensen (D-VI) are non voting delegates. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Al Green of Texas missed the roll call vote on HR 1913 but previously voted for Hate Crimes and ENDA

So out of the 37 members who cast votes on HR 1913 and 36 voted yes.

Artur Davis (D-AL) voted against the bill.

There's always gotta be one.

So explain to me white gay community, if we Black people are 'so homophobic', why did 36 out of 37 available CBC members vote for this legislation?

Time to bury that tired meme once and for all.

H/T Rod 2.0 Beta

Stuck On Stupid

One of the things that I have been frustrated as hell to watch over the last two decades is the GOP attack on intelligence for political reasons.

As someone who is a proud TK (teacher's kid), graduated from a gifted and talented high school and went on to college, I'm cognizant of and place high importance on education and my leaders being intelligent enough to handle the challenges of governing our country at the federal, state and local levels.

But one thing that has irritated me is this anti-intellectual strain that has been a cornerstone of the GOP rise to power over the last 20 years.

The Right Wing Noise Machine has convinced some Americans in their typical Orwellian way that being smart is bad and that being stupid qualifies you to occupy the highest office in the land. If anything, the last eight years have proven the folly of that pretzel logic.

George W. Bush brags about being a thank you lawdy C student at Yale. Sen. John McCain, who wishes to succeed him, graduated 894 out of 898 people in his 1958 Naval Academy class. Sarah Palin went to five colleges before getting her degree. Not only did she admit not knowing what the vice president does, she doesn't know much about geography, is ignorant about Supreme Court decisions, believes that dinosaurs walked the earth with humans and blames the 'liberal media' for making her look bad in her interviews.

And y'all want to know why our country and our economy is so jacked up?

That's why I'm ecstatic about having Barack Obama, a grad of Columbia, a summa cum laude graduate from Harvard Law and a constitutional law professor running for president.

I'm looking forward to seeing an Obama administration chock full of the best and brightest people our country has produced working to solve our nation's problems that have been allowed to fester and have gotten worse under GOP misleadership.

I'm looking forward to having a reality based foreign policy, reality-based information and reality based scientific research coming out of government agencies not dominated by neo-Luddites or GOP Know-Nothings.

If the last eight years have proven anything, it's that the 'there's no difference between the two parties' red herring has been thoroughly debunked. It has proven the value of having people in governmental positions based on knowledge and merit, not loyalty.

As the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. As a superpower, we should have been focusing more attention when it comes to electing a president about how smart they are, not whether we can drink a beer with them.

Frankly, instead of trashing people who run for public office, we need to go back to the old school way of defining it as the highest, most honorable calling for public service. Perhaps if we started paying more attention to peeps records instead of how telegenic they look, who ran the most negative campaign commercials or other superficial BS, then we'll get more intelligent folks to consider running for office

It's past time that we started encouraging our best and brightest people to get involved in government service. We need the 'A' students to start running thangs in the United States once again instead of people like the McPalin's of the world who are stuck on stupid.