Kiare Newsom Update-TEP Meeting With New MPD Top Cop

I wrote about the situation in which transwoman Kiare Newson alleges she was sexually harassed and had transphobic slurs uttered at her by MPD officers during a May traffic stop on I-40. 

It happened the same day that former MPD officer Bridges McRae was sentenced for violating the civil rights of the late Duanna Johnson.

Newsom has since filed a complaint with the Memphis Police Department Internal Affairs Office and the incident was the catalyst for a June 29 meeting with new Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong and representatives from the Tennessee Equality Project and the Memphis gay & Lesbian Community Center.

In the meantime, will be watching this incident to see if the officers involved are disciplined.

Denny's Finally Lets Our Maine Trans People Pee

I wrote about the October 25, 2007 situation that occurred in an Auburn, ME Denny's restaurant in which transwoman Brianna Freeman was denied access to it by the restaurant management .   She filed a complaint in 2009 with the Maine Human Rights Commission which ruled in her favor on a 3-2 vote.

Ken Fredette, one of the Republican MHRC commisioners on the losing end of that vote successfully ran for the Maine Legislature in 2010 and authored the failed LD 1046 bill that would overturn two trans positive MHRC decisions and bar us from having the ability to sue over bathroom discrimination. 

Brianna Freeman finally got justice when Realty Resources Hospitality, the corporate owner of Denny's restaurants in the state negotiated an out of court settlement with Freeman in March and announced Monday.

It will allow bathroom access to their restaurant restrooms based on current gender presentation.  The GLAD negotiated agreement applies to all Denny's restaurants in the state of Maine and includes an undisclosed monetary settlement for Freeman.


Freeman stated the bottom line of this case is. “for me and other transgender patrons is that Denny’s has welcomed us to use the restroom that is consistent with how we live our lives.”

That means letting us transpeople pee without drama in the restroom that matches our gender presentation.  Too bad some folks are gonna have to pay some money to get that lesson through their thick heads instead of just doing the right thing.

ABC's Work It=FAIL

ABC dumped several shows at the end of the last television season and this Bosom Buddies 2K11 retread is what they replaced them with.  

Note to ABC programming execs:  You need to bring one of the shows you dumped back as soon as fracking possible.

If you were intent on getting a show with a trans theme on the air, I can think of more than a few ideas which would have been much better than this steaming pile of fail.  

This is called Work It.   Note the song from a certain self hating drag queen in the music track of this video. 




ABC, Bella Maddo would have been light years better than this video bull feces.   Any bets TransGriot readers on how long it will last?