Meagan Taylor Is Free!

Received the wonderful news that Meagan Taylor, who was visiting Iowa with a trans friend and ended up in jail after being racially profiled because of a transphobic Drury Inn employee, is now free!

“I’m ecstatic to be released,” Meagan told the Transgender Law Center. “Words cannot express the way I feel to be out. I want to thank everyone who shared my story, and let people know that I am going to seek justice for what they did profiling me as a Black transgender woman.”

She spent over a week in isolated custody in the Polk County jail in Des Moines as local activists Kaija Carter, Tony Tyler and Mira Bellwheter , national organizations and San Francisco based Rev. Megan Rohrer teamed up to free Meagan.   Pastor Rohrer, who is also transgender, raised over $4400 thanks to 133 donors to help pay her bond as the Transgender Law Center worked to get the Illinois warrant vacated.

I thank Kaija for keeping me informed as to what was happening on the ground in Des Moines.

“We are relieved and thrilled that Meagan is finally free, but know that her story is all too common,” said Flor Bermudez, Esq., Director of the Detention Project at Transgender Law Center, which helped advocate for Meagan’s release. “Black transgender women are regularly viewed as criminals in public spaces, triggering unlawful arrests. In the vast majority of cases, transgender women are jailed in facilities that do not know how to house them safely and humanely.”

Ass for what happens now, that remains to be seen.  The Drury Inn has yet to issue an apology to Taylor, and may be facing action on a possible violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

But the important part of this story is that  Meagan is free, and hope the next time she gets to take a trip it is drama free.

How A Black Trans Woman Ended Up In Jail Because Of An Iowa Transphobe

When 22 year old cosmetology student Meagan Taylor and a trans feminine girlfriend traveled to Des Moines, IA from Illinois for a visit, they were only planning to stay a few days in the city before returning home.when they checked into the Drury Inn in West De Moines.  

Unfortunately transphobic hotel staff and racist assumptions about them would combine to make this visit to Iowa a less than pleasant one.

Taylor and her friend noticed that the staff was in their words 'acting funny towards them' when they checked in.

That 'acting funny' was the transphobia the hotel staff was expressing, and several hours later it manifested itself into the police arriving at their hotel room door after being called by the staff about 'two males possibly engaged in prostitution activity.'

When the police officer arrived to begin the investigation, he found no prostitution activity occurring.   But a search of Taylor's purse led to the discovery of the spironolactone she was taking as part of her hormone regimen in an unmarked bottle, and she was arrested and charged with possession of prescription drugs without a prescription.  

She is also being head-scratchingly charged with  'malicious prosecution', which is an aggravated misdemeanor and Taylor’s bond was set at $2,000.

A subsequent check revealed that Taylor had an outstanding Illinois warrant for a probation violation stemming from a previous 2010 credit card fraud conviction that occurred when she was 17.  She had served time for it, but still owed $500 in fees.

She was taken to a Polk County jail that has no policy for housing trans prisoners, and since she was pre-op, they used a female officer to search the top half of the patdown search and a male office for the  bottom.

Because Polk County officials don't feel comfortable housing her with women, and the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) still is unclear about where trans feminine prisoners should be housed (it definitely ain't with the cis men) she's being stuck in isolation in the medical unit.   She told the Des Moines Register in an interview that if she were from Polk County, she could have paid 10 percent of her $2000 bond and been released.

But because Taylor is from out of state, she would need someone in Polk County to co-sign.  She doesn’t have a lawyer and doesn't have a court date set until August 25..

So because a transphobic Drury Inn hotel employee racially profiled two Black trans women who were minding their own damned business, Meagan Taylor is stuck in an Iowa jail at least until August 25,  or until she gets some help from the local LGBT community

TransGriot Update,  Since I wrote this post, crowdfunding has started to raise the money to not only pay for bail in Iowa, but the $500 she still owes in Illinois.  Also been advised that an attorney has stepped up to represent Meagan.

There is also a protest being organized that will take place in front of the West Des Moines, IA Drury Inn where this mess started.

Let's Blow Up Some Conservafool Marriage Talking Points

As y'all have been observing, the conservafools are in full freak out mode now that marriage equality is the law of the land after the recent affirmative 5-4 SCOTUS ruling. 

But since when did the faux faith based haters let facts and history get in the way of a good lie?

The bottom line is that marriage is basically a legal contract between two parties, not a religious sacrament, hence the need to get a marriage license from the government before you do so.

As a TransGriot public service, here's a masterful takedown of all the right wing arguments about 'traditional marriage'  by Matt Baume that you can use on your right wing relatives, the ignorati as you surf the Net or the peeps reciting FOX Noise talking points.

Enjoy.

What Next For Our TBLG Rights Movement?

The parades are over and the street sweepers have done their work to clean up the trash after they ended.   Some of our BTLG peeps said prayers of thanksgiving during Sunday services in TBLG friendly churches while others woke up to hangovers after celebratory partying well into the night in the gayborhoods during a Pride Weekend that occured as a major policy objective was achieved.

Yes, life in America was forever impacted by the landmark SCOTUS ruling that established a fundamental right to marry and allowed many of my gay and lesbian friends in states like Texas hostile to same sex marriage to do so.  It also conferred after a 12 year battle recognition of the marriages of many others who got them in other locales, but the states they resided in refused to do so.

And yes, it reinstated the ability of my trans brothers and trans sisters to get married that we`d had ever since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the plane from Denmark and have them recognized across this nation.

While the landmark SCOTUS ruling is something to celebrate, it still doesnt benefit the vast majority of people who still have to deal with the reality that in 29 states they can be fired for being gay, and 32 states for being transgender.

And as I have said more than a few times, you need money to pay for the wedding license, the wedding chapel, the wedding dress, the wedding tux, the wedding planner, the wedding rings, the wedding reception, and life after the wedding.

So what should our major TBLG policy priority be after marriage?   Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

A full court press now needs to happen to get ENDA passed nationally, and do a local civic and state by state push to enact ENDA-style laws in all 50 states.

Your bi and trans sisters and brothers need their human rights respected, protected amd codified into law.   Trans folks need ASAP the basic human rights protections you GL folks have enjoyed for decades and sometimes got by repeatedly throwing us unde the legislative bus as you did in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire just to name a few egriegious examples of it

We want as trans men and women the ability to openly serve in our country`s armed forces.  We want the near genocidal slaughter of trans women of color to end along with the end of the problematic incarceration of undocumented trans feminine women in ICE detention centers with cisgender men.

And yes, we trans people, and especially trans people of color, want to be sitting at the power tables in LGBT orgs helping formulate policy.  We need trans elected officials on large city councils, state legislatures and eventually as US senators and congressmembers.

We need to have a human rights wave building that serves to rise all LGBT boats with it, not just the community have mores.   We need to have a movemen that is also invested in being a justice for all movement and not a just-us one.

We also need to be a stand up ally to other groups and movements that supported our causes in ou time of need and not ones that use as an excuse to opt out of them `this isn`t an LGBT issue`.

The right to healthcare is an LGBT issue.   Fighting for economic fairness is an LGBT issue.  The right to vote is an LGBT issue.  Climate change is an LGBT issue.  A woman`s right to choose is an LGBT issue.   Combating racism and sexism is an LGBT issue.

We LGBT peeps need to focus on being a shining example to the rest of straight cisgender America of how to build and sustain an intersectional anti-racist movement and community.

We need to lead and show the nation and the world how to eradicate anti-Blackness, sexism, transphobia, biphobia and racism from our ranks as our contribution to building the `beloved community` that the Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr often talked about.

We also have to develop the ability to multitask.  While we focus on solidifying our gains at home, we must also be aware that US based wingers like Scott Lively are spreading their LGBT hate message overseas to where it is unfortunately finding receptive ears and causing problems for our GLBT brothers and sisters in those nations.

As you probably realized by now, it takes sustained effort to achieve policy goals. The hard part is to defend and keep them while under sustained attack by our prevaricating right wing oppressors.

This community is at a crossroads now.  It can either acknowledge that the human rights work in our BTLG ranks is not even close to being done and start working on the next phases of our movement, or it can repeat the mistakes made in Canada after they achieved marriage equality in 2003 and stopped working for policies and legislation that protected the LGBT have nots.

Which path will the American LGBT community take?   I hope it`s the former and not the latter one.

Countdown To A SCOTUS Ruling

The clock is ticking toward the end of this latest 2014-2015 term of the Supreme Court session, with the country anxiously awaiting a ruling that could open the door to marriage equality becoming the law of the land.

If that ruling does come down eithe today, Friday or on Monday, looks like the GOP establishment in Texas is prepared to go the Massive Resistance 3,0 route that Alabama has tried to keep its LGBT citizens from exercising that right to marry,

Looks like the GOP county clerks in Texas are already prepping to not be ready to issue marraige licenses to the couples who wish to have them and that list includes Stan Stanart of Harris County.

Elections matter people, so take out your frustrations about Stanart and his partisan actions along with all the other GOP oppressors at the ballot box next year.

As for which way I think it will go, I believe in this hyperpartisan SCOTUS, it will probably be a 5-4 decision.

We will also be wondering in Trans World what effect this ruling will have on our ability to get married since it was negatively affected by the push that started in 2003 for same gender marriage.

But in the interim, all eyes in LGBT America will be turned toward Washington DC.. tuned to news stations and reading their fave blogs to find out what happens when that long awaited SCOTUS opinion is released.

Silicone Pumper Padge Windslowe Sentenced

In the latest update on the Padge Windslowe pumping case, she was found back in March guilty of third degree murder for the February 2011 death of Claudia Aderotimi

The 20 year old Aderotimi flew across The Pond from London to get he derriere enhanced by the self proclaimed "Michelangelo of Butt Injections' but the pumping procedure went horribly wrong.

The silicone from the pumping injection traveled through Aderotimi's system and caused her death according to the medical examiner of a pulmonary embolism several hours later.

Windslowe has expressed remorse for Aderotimi's death and was facing 20 to 40 years in prison for the conviction. 

She was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison for it and the 42 year old Windslowe will be eligible for parole in 7 years.

Dallas Silicone Injection Death Ruled Homicide

Wykesha Reid was found dead inside a Dallas beauty salon in the 3800 Block of East Side Ave.on February 19 after visiting it for an appointment the previous day have her butt enhanced.

On Tuesday, the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office announced the 34 year old Reid died of pulmonary silicone embolization associated with cosmetic silicone injections.

43 year old Denise 'Wee Wee' Ross and 32 year old trans woman Alicia Clarke were initially charged with practicing medicine without a license in an unrelated case of a 27 year old woman who paid $200 to have injections done by Clarke and Ross on February 9 at that East Side Avenue shop.
.
The woman told Dallas police she was escorted to a back room by Clarke, told her to remove her pants and get on a massage table.   She attempted to ask questions about the procedure, including what was in the injections, but "was not given a good explanation," the documents say.

The client said Clarke and Ross sanitized her buttocks and began the injections.

The woman said she was injected with a total of seven syringes that were left in for the duration of the procedure, and that she "felt intense pain and was told to be quiet after screaming in agony." The injection holes were closed with Super Glue and cotton balls.

This woman later identified Clarke and Ross in a photo lineup.

Clarke and Ross are now facing murder charges in Reid's unfortunate death.  As this case develops, will keep you TRansGriot readers apprised of what's happening in it.

Arrest Made In NYC Trans Subway Attack

I'm happy to report that an arrest has been made in the wake of last Monday's attack on a 28 year old trans woman who was waiting for a train at the Bleecker St Station.

According to a Reuters report, NYPD arrested on Friday 32 year old homeless man Rolan Reid on the same 6 line the trans woman was attacked

Reid was acting erratically, threw a plastic Coke bottle at the woman, and subsequently shoved her off the Bleecker Street Station platform.

Reid has a history of 28 previous arrests and was spotted on a northbound 6 train and taken into custody at the Canal St. Station.  He had to be physically restrained at the station where he was booked and was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Reid has been charged with second degree attempted murder as a hate crime and with various assault charges according to Sergeant Carlos Nieves.

The 28 year old victim of the alleged attack was treated at Bellevue Hospital for her injuries and released on Monday.

Know my NYC trans family will be keeping an eye on this case as it develops.  If  they pass along any pertinent information in it, you TransGriot readers will be made aware of it as well.

Seattle Trans Woman Sues Blood Bank

Because I have an AB+ blood type, from time to time I would take part in blood drives when the need arose.

But after my 1994 transition, I could no longer donate blood because the US Food and Drug Administration uses a policy they implemented in 1983 that treats trans men and trans women as gay males having sex with other males (MSM's) and permanently bars us from donating blood.

While the FDA is considering new donation  guidelines for gay and bisexual men, they still haven't as yet come up with guidelines that would allow trans people to do so.

Well, a legal case percolating in Washington state may force the FDA to speed up their timetable for doing so.

Jasmine Kaiser attempted to give plasma in exchange for money at CSL Plasma, Inc in Kent, WA but was told because she was assigned male at birth she could not donate.   She was also told by CSL workers she'd be placed on a 'permanent deferral list' and they would inform other blood banks of this status.

Since Washington state has had a law on the books since 2006 prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity,.Kaiser filed suit against CSL with attorneys from Seattle women's rights group Legal Voice and the Keller Rohrback law firm arguing that CSL violated the Washington non discrimination law
CSL Plasma, Inc is also facing a similar lawsuit from another trans person in Minnesota.

They have yet to respond to the Kaiser suit, but according to the Advocate a spokesperson stated that CSL "operates its business in accordance with all applicable industry, state, federal, and international laws, regulations, guidelines, and guidance documents."

Will be interesting to see how this case transpires.

South Carolina Transteen Dissed By DMV Reaches Settlement

TransGriot Note:  At the time Chase was discriminated against and I wrote about it last September, Chase identified as gender nonconforming.  Now she identifies as trans.

South Carolina trans teen Chase Culpepper took and passed her driving test at a DMV location in Anderson, SC in March 2014.

Instead of allowing the now 17 year old trans feminine teen to take her picture in the makeup she wore on a regular basis, she was told by the DMV employee to 'look male' and remove her makeup because of an alleged policy that bans license photos when someone is purposefully altering his or her appearance and refused to take her photo and provide her the license she'd earned until she did so.

After several attempts, Culpepper's makeup was removed to the DMV employees satisfaction in a process that was called degrading and humiliating.

In September 2014 Culpepper filed a federal lawsuit with the help of the New York based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF).   The suit asked the court to rule that denying Chase the freedom to wear her everyday makeup in her license photo constituted sex discrimination and violated her right to free speech and expression under the United States Constitution. It also sought a ruling under the U.S. and South Carolina Constitutions that the DMV’s former photo policy was unconstitutionally vague, too broad, and allowed DMV employees to arbitrarily decide how a driver's license applicant should look, including based on unconstitutional gender stereotypes. 


Under the terms of the settlement announced today, the South Carolina DMV will (1) change its photo policy to allow license applicants to be photographed the way they appear regularly, even when their hair, makeup or clothing doesn’t match the DMV’s expectations of how a man or a woman should look; (2) implement training for DMV employees that addresses the new policy and the professional treatment of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals; (3) allow Chase to return to the DMV to get her license photograph taken wearing makeup; and (4) apologize to Chase for how she was treated at the DMV.

“I am thrilled with the outcome of my lawsuit,” said Culpepper. “My clothing and makeup reflect who I am. From day one, all I wanted was to get a driver’s license that looks like me. Now I will be able to do that. It was hurtful to be singled out for being transgender and made to feel that somehow I wasn’t good enough. With this settlement, the DMV can no longer force transgender people to look like someone they’re not. I’m so glad that I stood up for what’s right and helped make positive change for transgender and gender nonconforming people.”

“This settlement agreement sends a strong message about equal rights,” said TLDEF Staff Attorney Ethan Rice. “Transgender and gender nonconforming people are entitled to be themselves without interference from the DMV. It is not the role of the DMV or its employees to decide how men and women should look. People should be able to get a driver’s license without being subjected to sex discrimination. The policy changes and training that the DMV will implement in response to Chase’s lawsuit will help all transgender and gender nonconforming South Carolina residents in the future.”

We Had An Attempted Bathroom Assault At UHD....

And thanks to timely assistance by a UHD professor, it ended before it became far worse.   And ammosexuals, it didn't require the use of a gun to stop it.

Professor Frank Vela  heard a female student screaming after a man with a knife followed her into the restroom.  The perpetrator was tackled by Professor Vela and held down until UHD police arrived to arrest the perp and cart his azz off to jail.

And naw, Dave Wilson, Dave Welch, Debbie Riddle, Max Miller, FOX Noise 26 and 'errbody' else pimping that discredited anti-trans bathroom predator lie, the perp wasn't trans* or a man in a dress.  




The perp in question  shared your ethnic background.  His name is 35 year old Daniel Griffing, and appeared before a judge yesterday.   It wasn't his first time in the criminal justice rodeo or committing the crime of sexual assault. Griffing was convicted in 2000 of sexually assaulting a small boy and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison. 

He's being held in the Harris County Jail without bond.

This is also a textbook case of what we in Trans World and our allies have been trying to point out every time the Right Wing Noise Machine deploys the demonstrably false bathroom predator lie they use every time to attack any human rights law that attempts to cover the transgender community.

And yeah, we trans women are just as concerned about people like this running loose in H-town and elsewhere in the state and country.because far too often, trans women are the prey, just like our cis sisters are.

If a man wants to get into a women's bathroom to commit the crime of sexual assault, just like Griffing. he isn't going to waste time getting in drag to do it.

Falsely demonizing and attempting to criminalize the lives of trans people isn't the way to stop sexual assaults.  So it's past time media peeps and the rest of you folks who need to 'ejumacate' yourselves about trans lives need to buy a vowel and get a clue that people like Griffing are your perps you need to be concerned about.

Not the trans woman who is simply trying to live her life to the best of her ability, and just needs to pee in the bathroom without being harassed about it.

Saks Settles Trans Discrimination Lawsuit With Leyth Jamal

Saks, y'all need to admit you were wrong, pay the trans lady and move on.
-TransGriot, January 9, 2015

After Saks Fifth Avenue tried to disgustingly claim while defending itself from a discrimination lawsuit filed by trans woman Leyth Jamal they had a 'right to discriminate ' against trans people, tried to use their HRC Corporate Equality Index score to try to justify it, they finally settled out of court for an undisclosed amount after taking a PR and legal beating.

Jamal filed the lawsuit after she was harassed, discriminated against and fired from the Houston Galleria Saks location in December 2012 after filing an EEOC complaint.

Jamal’s lawsuit claimed that her coworkers at the store  referred to her as a man and forced her to use the men’s bathroom. A manager suggested that she make her appearance more masculine and “separate her home life from work life.”

After Saks initially tried to assert that trans people weren't covered under Title VII (yeah, we are)  and getting pushback from legal briefs filed by New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center For Lesbian Rights and the Department of Justice on that point, they relented 

Jamal's lawyers Jillian Weiss and Mitchell Katine filed a stipulation of dismissal of the case with prejudice, and announced the case had been amicably settled.

Discrimination costs you money, business people.  

And FYI to our HERO haters here in H-town, once again, here's a documented example of anti-trans discrimination occurring in our city limits, and it's why the HERO needs to be implemented without delay.

Silicone Pumper Padge Windslowe Guilty

Padge Victoria Windslowe, the self proclaimed  'Michelangelo of butt injections', was found guilty by a jury Monday of third degree murder for causing the 2011 death of London resident Claudia Aderotimi after two days of deliberation.

The 45 year old so-called “Black Madam” bragged openly during the trial about her supposed talents for black-market “body sculpting,” claiming curvy model Amber Rose was a “walking billboard” for her artistry.

“I was the best, and I don’t mean that to be cocky,” Windslowe said.

Well, her pumping days are over, and she's now facing  20 to 40 years in prison when she is sentenced in June.

Islan Nettles KIller Finally Arrested

Nearly two years after he confessed to the heinous crime, 24 year old James Dixon has finally been arrested for the murder of Islan Nettles.

Dixon was indicted for manslaughter and felony assault in relation to Nettles' death   He has entered a  not guilty plea and is being held without bond.

According to court documents, Dixon made his statements to officers at the 32nd Precinct on August. 21, 2013.

But because Paris Wilson also confessed to launching the attack on Nettles and he has a similar resemblance to Dixon, it bogged down the investigation.

"I'm overwhelmed," Delores Nettles, the victim's mother, told DNAinfo New York. "I still want to know the facts, but it's been a long time coming."

Kiara St, James said in reaction to the news, "It's long overdue to have some positive traction in this case,but I won't be happy until the full weight of the law is brought down on him and he is convicted.

And I concur with your assessment Kiara.   #BlackTransLivesMatter, and a conviction and severe punishment in this case will help send that message.  Will be keeping an eye on this case until justice is served.

Arrest Made In Deshawnda Sanchez Murder

The last moments of 21 year old Deshawnda Sanchez's all too brief life were engaged in a frantic early morning search for help in the Chesterfield Square neighborhood before she was gunned down December 3.

One break was that a neighbor's  security camera caught the perp getting out of a car, running toward the porch, and running back moments later to get in the car before it makes a high speed departure.

That video probably led to the announcement made by LA police that 30 year old Robert James Spells was arrested in connection to the Sanchez murder.

Spells, who according to an LA Times report has been convicted of various offenses, including robbery, being a felon with a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, was picked up Wednesday on a parole violation by US marshals at a relative's home.

LAPD Det. Chris Barling said Spells knew Sanchez but declined to discuss the nature of their relationship.  It is unclear whether Sanchez was targeted because of her gender identity, but it is believed to be a contributing factor in the attack.

“In this case, it is not clear-cut,” Barling said. “I think hate was used by Mr. Spells in killing Deshawnda.”

While it is unclear whether prosecutors will try to prosecute this case as a hate crime, what is clear is that Spells is not only facing a criminal count of murder in Sanchez's death, he is also expected to be charged with human trafficking over allegations he sexually assaulted an 11 year old girl and forced her into prostitution in a separate case.

We're one step closer to seeing our fallen sister receive justice in this case.

Monica Jones' Walking While Black Trans Conviction In AZ Overturned!

Have some good news to report on this day in terms of the Monica Jones 'Walking While Black Trans' case in Arizona.

You'll recall that the local activist was walking several blocks from her home on May 17, 2013 to meet some friends at a bar and was profiled by an undercover cop executing a prostitution sting.  She was arrested and convicted of violating an unjust law in Phoenix.

She subsequently appealed her conviction for Walking While Black Trans in August, and yesterday the Arizona Superior Court overturned her April 2014 conviction for manifesting intent to solicit prostitution under an unjust Phoenix law the ACLU, Ms Jones and other have argued is unconstitutional.

Of course Ms. Jones and her legal team were ecstatic  about the victorious outcome

“Today is a great day! My wrongful conviction under the Phoenix manifestation law was vacated this morning. I am so grateful to my legal team and all of my supporters across the country and world. My conviction being vacated is important but it is a small win in our larger fight for justice. There are so many trans women and cisgender women who might be charged under this law in Phoenix and similar laws across the country. There is so much more work that needs to be done so that no one will have to face what I have no matter who they are or what past convictions they have.”

Jean-Jacques Cabou, a partner at the law firm of PerkinsCoie who represented Monica in her appeal and argued her case, said: “Monica was convicted in an unconstitutional trial, under an unconstitutional law, of a crime she didn’t commit.  We are incredibly pleased that the appellate court agreed that Monica was unconstitutionally denied the presumption of innocence and that the court vacated her conviction.”    

“Like so many trans women of color, Monica Jones was profiled and targeted by police for walking down the street," said Chase Strangio, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project. "Today’s reversal of her conviction is an important validation of Monica’s brave fight to be seen and treated like a human being.”

“Monica Jones was targeted by law enforcement after her public opposition to the coercive treatment of sex workers by Project ROSE," said Dan Pochoda, senior counsel at the ACLU of Arizona.  "The demise of this Project is based on the inaccurate claim that most adult sex workers are "trafficked" is further vindication of Monica.”

This case may not be over just yet.   The State of Arizona may wish to refile the charges, so stay tuned.  But Monica won this legal round, and congrats to Ms. Jones and her legal team for standing up for her human rights and striking a blow for justice.

Jennifer Laude Case Update 3

The new year brings some updated news in the Jennifer Laude case, and the clock is ticking on it.. 

Under the Visting Forces Agreement between the US and the Philippines, the case nust be resolved within a year.   The prosecution filed murder charges against Joseph Pemberton back on December 15.

The trial proceedings have also been halted at the request of the Pemberton defense team by the Olongapo regional trial court has suspended proceedings for up to 60 days.

The Pemberton camp wants the US Justice Department to review the probable cause finding that led to the murder charge.

NCIS investigators discovered Pemberton's fingerprint on one of the condom wrappers found at the scene of the crime.. 

Pemberton before he was raken into custody aboart the USS Peleliu told a fellow marine the he had attacked Laude after discovering she was a transwoman and allegedly said to that marine: “I think I killed a he/she.”   Pemberton was subsequently transferred from the USS Peleliu docked in Subic Bay to be held in a US facility in the Philippine run Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

There's also some controversy involving the judge  handling the case, Roline Ginez-Jabalde.   Harry Roque, the Laude family attorney,  is going to file a motion seeking the removal from this case of the judge.

The reason?   Judge Ginez-Jabalde was a law school classmate of Rowena Garcia-Flores, Pemberton's attorney

Earlier in the proceedings the court rejected the Laude family’s motions for live media coverage of the hearings, and to transfer Pemberton to a regular Philippine jail.   

Stay tuned to these TransGriot pages for continued updates on the Laude trial, because like our transpinay sisters in the Philippines and transpeople around the world, I'll be watching this case to see if justice was served.

Guilty Plea In DC Metro Trans Teen Stabbing Incident

Justice was finally served in the case in which a then 15 year old trans feminine teen was stabbed on a Washington Metro train last summer.

Maryland resident Reginald Anthony Klaiber was arrested immediately after the stabbing happened by DC Metro Police on a Green Line train at the Fort Totten Station.

On Friday January 9 the now 25 year old  Klaiber pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, with a hate crime enhancement, for stabbing the trans feminine teen..

The Honorable Juliet McKenna scheduled Klaiber's sentencing for March 11, and Klaiber is facing 10-15 years in prison. Because the offense was a hate crime, the charge includes a bias enhancement.

Assault with a dangerous weapon is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, with the bias enhancement, it is punishable by up to 15 years of jail time.

We'll see what happens on March 11 in the sentencing phase, but at least the trans teen and the DC trans community can exhale and take comfort in the fact the initial stage of justice in this case has taken place.

Texas Non-Discrimination Ordinances Panel Discussion Today

If you're looking for an interesting and timely discussion concerning non-discrimination ordinances in Texas especially in light of our upcoming court fight over HERO, that will be happening on the campus of the South Texas  College of Law this afternoon at 1 PM.

It's sponsored by the Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston , South Texas College of Law AMICUS, Social Sciences & The Law Society and the ACLU Student Organization.

It will take place at the Joe M. Green Auditorium on the South Texas College of Law campus at 1301 San Jacinto St. in beautiful downtown Houston from 1:00-5:00 PM CST

The panel will feature Houston City Attorney David M. Feldman, Attorney and human rights advocate Susan L. Hays, Founding CEO of First Person Christina Canales Gorczynski,  South\Texas College of Law Professor Richard R. Carlson, and ACLU Texas Legal and Policy Director Rebecca Robertson.

Jennifer Laude Case Update 2

There have been mutiple developments in the Jennifer Laude case since my last update, so let me catch you up with what's happening. 

First up are the ongoing protests demanding that PFCf Joseph Pemberton, the accused killer of Laude be turned over to Philippine authorities to ensure justice for Jennifer. 

And yes, there is a precedent for the US military turning its personnel who have committed crimes in host nations to those nations to face justice there.   Two US sailors were handed over to Japanese authorities in 2013to be prosecuted for the robbery and rape of a woman on Okinawa.

I'm definitely down with that program because if Pemberton did the crime on Philippine soil and killed a Filipina  citizen, he needs to be tried for it on Philippine soil.  

Pemberton was formally charged on Wednesday with Laude's murder as US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “We will continue to cooperate fully with the Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation.”

Pemberton was also put on blast by the German fiance of Laude, Marc Sueselbeck.  He also put the German Embassy in Manila on blast for not processing Jennifer's visa in a timely fashion and stated in an interview that if they had done so, she'd be alive now.

Pink News is reporting that Senator Bam Aquino is now calling for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 2014 in the wake of Jennifer's murder and a rise in anti-TBLG crimes.

“We should impose heavier penalties so that these discriminatory and inhumane acts will be eradicated.”said Sen. Aquino.  He pointed out Laude's murder was not an isolated case, and that action needed to be taken to halt that rise n hate crimes.

“This number will continue to rise unless we do something about it immediately,” he added.

Under the new bill, persons found guilty would be fined from P100,000 ($2230) to P500,000 ($11,151) and could potentially face imprisonment of up to 12 years.

Stay tuned, because there are lots of interesting developments that are flowing from the senseless murder of our transpinay sister.