The SD War On Trans People Continues With HB 1209

If you thought the just passed HB 1008 which is now awaiting Gov. Daugaard's signature was the only bill that my South Dakota trans cousins had to worry about, here comes another unjust bill which is a frontal assault on our humanity

HB 1209, which rolls back and prevents us from getting our birth certificates changed to reflect who we are now. just passed a SD House committee on a 4-2 party line vote.

Well, South Dakota trans community, let us know what your trans cousins around the country can do to help you beat back this latest assault on your humanity.

South Dakota Fighting Unjust Anti-Trans Bill

While Washington state and Virginia trans peeps have been able to fight off attempts to pass unjust anti-trans bills in their respective states, unfortunately the unjust HB 1008 has kept chugging through the legislative process pushed by Republicans eager to oppress, bully and demonize trans people.

But as Kara Thrace, one of my fave characters in Battlestar Galactica once said, "We do what we always do.  Fight 'em until we can't."

That's the attitude trans South Dakotans and their allies are adopting to push back against this unjust  transphobic bill as it passed the GOP controlled South Dakota House 58-10 and is winding its way through the GOP controlled South Dakota Senate toward a vote on the Senate floor after clearing the Senate education Committee on a 4-2 party line vote.

The unjust HB 1008 would demonize transgender South Dakota students and violate Title IX in doing so.   It would also put federal funding for South Dakota schools at risk just so some Republican legislative bigots can get their jollies on.

When Gov Dennis Daugaard (R) said in a press conference that he'd never met a transgender person he was aware of, activist Kendra Heathscott wrote an open letter reminding him he had.

South Dakota native and attorney Case Strangio has also penned an open letter imploring his home state to not pass anti-trans hate legislation.

Here's hoping that the governor will veto the unjust HB 1008 bill when it gets to his desk.   In the meantime what you can do for our trans brothers and sisters in South Dakota is call his office and urge him to do just that.

TransGriot Update.  The unjust HB 1008 was passed by the South Dakota Senate on a 20-15 vote.   it now goes to Gov. Daugaard for his signature.

Down Goes The Unjust Washington Anti-Trans Bill!

Breaking news out of Washington state concerning the unjust SB 6443 bill sponsored by Sen. Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) specifically filed to overturn a Human Rights Commission ruling favorable to the Washington state trans community.

It unfortunately escaped the GOP controlled Commerce and Labor Committee on a party line 4-3 vote to the full GOP controlled Washington senate.

But thanks to your calls and protests, and the work of people walking the halls in Olympia  getting the word out about the unjust nature of SB 6443, the bill failed to pass on a 25-24 vote.

Three Republican King County senators were crucial in killing SB 6443, since Democratic senator Jim Hargrove voted for the bill.

The Gender Justice League's Danni Askini tweeted this moments after the bill died:

"We did it.  WE KILLED THE BILL.  Thank all D's except Sen. Hargrove and thank Sen. Hill, Sen. Litzow & Sen. Fain -- all R's who were with us"

Congrats Washington state trans community for your legislative win!  

Unjust Virginia Anti-Trans Bill Dies

Good news to report out of Virginia concerning another Republican sponsored anti-trans bill.

HB 781, the bill filed by Del. Mark Cole (R-Spotsylvania) that would force trans students to use locker room and bathrooms based on genitalia and possibly force school officials to engage in genital checks has died in the House of Delegates yesterday on a 13-8 bipartisan vote.

Had HB 781 become law, which was unlikely considering Terry McAuliffe (D) was standing by with his veto pen, it would have compelled school districts across the state to formulate policies that required locker rooms and bathrooms to be designated for and used by students based on genitalia.

Violations would have carried a $50 civil penalty, and Del. Cole repeated the conservafool  lie talking point that the bill wasn't discriminatory, 'but was about privacy'.

Yeah, right. It's all about discrimination for you GOP types. You aren't happy unless you're oppressing somebody, and the trans community is now the community du jour you wish to oppress.  

The bill has also been filed at a time when Virginia trans student Gavin Grimm's anti-trans discrimination lawsuit against the Gloucester County School District is now being litigated in the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.  

Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, the executive director of the ACLU of Virginia urged the committee to hold off on this bill until the US circuit court has had the opportunity to rule on the pending federal lawsuit.

We'll see what happens in the G.G. vs Gloucester County School Board case later, but for now the unjust anti-trans bill is dead in Virginia.

Unjust Washington State Anti-Trans Bill Out Of Senate Committee

Some bad legislative news out of Washington state in which Senate Bill 6443 escaped the Republican controlled Commerce and Labor Committee on a party line 4-3 vote at a hearing in Olympia in front of an overflow crowd estimated at 300 people...

The unjust bill was sponsored by Senator Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) specifically to overturn a rule that allows trans people in Washington state to use gender segregated locker rooms and bathrooms in public buildings that correspond with their gender presentation.   Trans people have had their human rights covered in the state since 2006, and the December 26 ruling by the state's Human Rights Commission was simply a clarification of that anti-discrimination law.

But now that it's GOP policy to transphobically attack by legislative means the human rights of trans people, you could smell this legislative caca coming.

While this unjust bill may pass in the Republican controlled Senate, it is DOA when it arrives in the Democratically controlled House.   House Bill 2589, its companion bill and HB 2782, another transphobic bill that was filed to also attack the Human Rights Commission ruling, is bottled up in the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) and she has made it clear that neither unjust bill will get a hearing in her committee.

Even if by some miracle either did get out of committee and pass the House, Governor Jay Inslee (D) is waiting with his pen to veto it.

Don't panic yet Washington trans community. The haters won a battle.  They haven't won the war, and as long as y'all stay vigilant and handle your legislative business in Olympia they won't.

You may wish to get busy writing and calling your state senators and urging them to oppose Senate Bill 6443 and calling or e-mailing your House reps to urge them to do the same and kill House Bill 2782.

You may also wish to call or write Rep Jinkins, Sen Bob Hasegawa (D-Seattle), Sen. Steve Conway (D-Tacoma) and Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Kent) and thank them for standing up for your human rights.

And FYI, trans Washington, when these human rights heroes and sheroes run for reelection, kick them some T-bills and do whatever it takes to ensure they stay in Olympia defending your rights.

You also need to give Danni Askini of the Gender Justice League some love for also standing up to fight for the human rights of trans Washingtonians.

Then once the session is over y'all need to punish the haters and support your friends at the ballot box.

Indiana GOP Senator Files Unjust Anti-Trans SB 35

While y'all were checking out what gifts were left for you under your Christmas trees and in your stockings, Indiana trans folks were given a lump of legislative coal from the GOP.

Indiana Republicans, mad because they were forced to back down from implementing the discriminatory RFRA they passed  because of the national backlash that cost them business, failed to learn their lesson from that debacle and have now set their sights on attacking the Indiana trans community.  

Senator Jim Tomes (R-Wadesville) has decided to unleash his inner trans oppressor and file a bill that would criminalize being a trans person in the state of Indiana.

SB 35 if passed and signed into law by Governor Mike Pence (R) would take effect on June 1, 2016 and make using the bathrooms, locker rooms that don't correspond to your genitalia a Class A misdemeanor, send you to jail for up to a year and fine you up to $5,000.

Exceptions would be made for parents of children under age 8, first responders, janitors and people rendering first aid and insist that public and charter schools adhere to its unjust provisions even though schoolchildren would not face criminal charges..   

This bill is a mess because it confuses sex and gender identity and throw chromosomes in the mix by using the  XX= female, XY = male as part of the bill's definition of 'biological gender'.

Umm Senator Trans Oppressor, Google a condition called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome in which people with XY chromosomes not only develop female bodies but female genitalia.  There are also other combinations of chromosomes for humans besides XX and XY.

And if you're intersex, which locker room, shower facility or public potty do you use in Indiana?

And explain to me Sen. Tomes, who is going to pay for the expensive lab tests to determine someone's chromosomal makeup?  

You damned sure can't determine someone's chromosomes just by looking at them.

Tomes disingenuously tried to claim he's not singling out trans people for attack, but that's exactly what the unjust SB 35 bill does.

This unjust anti-trans bill is now in the Senate Committee on Public Policy, and if passed will put Indiana on a collision course with the US Department of Justice.   The DOJ recently said in July that trans students not being allowed to use the facilities that corresponds with their gender identity is a for of sex discrimination.

Indiana sadly is trying to establish itself as the Crossroads of Transphobic Bigotry, and criminalize trans lives.  The unjust SB 35 bill needs to die.

2015 Texas Legislature Anti-Trans Bills Die!

It's midnight, and a critical moment in the 2015 Texas Legislative session has just passed.

Any bills that were proposed in this legislative session had to be clear of the House or Senate chamber in which they were filed by midnight CDT or they died.

As many of you know the Republican majority had an ambitious anti-LGBT agenda in which 20 bills were filed.   Four of them were anti-trans ones that if passed, would have criminalized being trans in the Lone Star State and encouraged monetized bullying of Texas trans kids.

But with the passage of that midnight deadline, Rep Gilbert Pena's (R-Pasadena) anti-trans bathroom bounty bills aimed at our kids HB 2801 and 2802, and Debbie Does Discrimination Riddle's (R-Tomball) HB 1747 and HB 1748 are dead for this session!

However, it also means that good bills also die if they haven't cleared the House or Senate, like Rep. Garnet Coleman's (D-Houston) HB 2058 that would have streamlined the name change process for trans Texans.

We trans Texans and our allies can breathe a little easier in the Lone Star State that the bad anti-trans bills have died, but we can't exhale until June 1

Until then, we must be vigilant.  The session isn't done until June 1, and the legislators seeking to oppress TBLG Texans never sleep. 

These legislative oppressors will be looking for opportunities to tack those dead bills onto another piece of legislation further along in the legislative process.

And yes, just as we have had all throughout this , and we have people, organizations and fair minded legislators standing by on both sides of the aisle waiting to alert us and spring into action to kill it when they do. 

And if these anti-trans bills come back to life, as soon as I know, you will know.  But the clock and the days are inexorably ticking toward the June 1 sine die.

Unjust Florida HB 583 Is Dead!

While I was at BTAC, the Florida legislative session ended.   What that means is that is filed bills didn't pass either chamber and make it to the governor's desk to become law, they are dead for this session.

I'm doing the happy dance because the end of Florida's legislative session means the unjust HB 583 filed by transphobic GOP legislator Frank Artiles (R-Miami) is dead for 2015!

The unjust bill that sought to  criminalize trans people's lives and its senate counterpart didn't clear either chamber before the end of the Florida legislative session on April 30.   I and the trans people planning to visit Florida in the near or distant future are thankful we don't have to worry about a nouveau Jim Crow law forcing us to show our papers to pee or risk jail time to do so.

It's probably a huge relief to the just moved to Florida Southern Comfort Conference and its board, who were strangely silent as the human rights of transpeople in the Sunshine State were under attack by an unjust anti-trans bill that could have done fatal damage to SCC.

I'm happy for my trans homies and homettes living in Florida that Artiles' attempt to legislate transphobia failed. 

And yeah, Frank Artiles, you can peddle that 'this was a public safety issue' lie all you wish on FOX Noise, but let's be real, you are a vanillacentric privileged trans oppressor who gleefully filed this bill to attack and dehumanize trans Floridians because you were pissed Miami-Dade was doing the right thing for its trans citizens and protecting them from people who wish to discriminate against them like you.

And I hope the trans community and their allies punish you at the polls for being a trans oppressor.

Great job Florida trans community being agents of your own trans liberation and doing what it took to kill that unjust bill along with your allies.
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Nevada Unjust Anti-Trans Bill Dies!

AB 375 the GOP dominated Nevada legislature's attempt to attack trans kids failed Monday night on a mainly party line vote.

Five Republicans, Pat Hickey, Derek Armstrong, Glenn Trowbridge, Robin Titus and Melissa Woodbury voted with the all the Nevada Assembly Democrats to kill the unjust bill on a 22-20 vote.

The transphobic measure, sponsored by Assemblyman Ira Hansen (R)  would have required students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that corresponded to their genitalia, as well as require schools to provide separate facilities for transgender and intersex students.

Opponents said the bill would lead to additional bullying and targeting of trans students in Nevada schools.

"This bill flies in the face of everything this Legislature should stand for, and it harkens back to a time when telling people they were different was accepted," Democratic Assemblywoman Heidi Swank said.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) spokeswoman Mari St. Martin said earlier that the governor was closely monitoring the bill and had strong concerns with legislation that "targets students based on their gender expression, or potentially sanctions discrimination."

Tuesday was the deadline for bills to pass out of their house of origin, so that means AB 375 is dead for this session.  

But as you know, vanillacentric privileged GOP oppressor never give up when it comes to exercising their oppressor gene, and he wishes to try to make this issue a ballot initiative or tlke it to the local level.

So great work Nevada trans community and allies.   Celebrate your win, and prepare for the next round.

Unjust TX HB 2801 Bill Must Die

Yesterday the Texas Transkid Bounty Bill, HB 2801 was scheduled to receive a hearing in the State Affairs Committee.  

It was one of the bills I lobbied against Monday, and Jessica Farrar, my state rep is on state affairs.  They have already seen my smiling face in their ATX office, and will hear from me again soon.

Pena's other legislative travesty attacking transkids in HB 2802 and Debbie Does Discrimination Riddle's unjust bills criminalizing being trans in Texas (HB 1747 and HB1748) have also been assigned to State Affairs but as of this writing don't have a hearing date set.

But back to the more important ones criminalizing and putting a bounty on trans kids in HB 2801

We are already facing the unacceptable situation of 85% of Texas trans* students being harassed in schools.   46% of Texas transgender students have experienced physical assault.  9% have experienced sexual assault.   11% of Texas trans students drop out because of these issues.

And Rep. Gilbert Pena (R-Pasadena) has proposed two bills that don't solve these problems, but exacerbate them? 

This unjust HB 2801 bill is also in violation of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in schools, and transpeople are covered in Title IX. 

This unjust bill will also cost cash-strapped Texas school districts thousands of dollars.

Rep  Pena came before the committee yesterday in a hearing room packed with transpeople, parents of trans kids and other supporters and asked the State Affairs Committee not to hear it yesterday because he is rewriting the bill. 

The State Affairs committee hearing on HB 2801 has been until next week, so that gives us time to build the pressure to kill it.  We do have allies on that committee who don't like those unjust bills either.  

So it's time to do something to help our trans kids.  If you want to help them, pick up your smartphone and call the members of the State Affairs Committee and let them know you oppose this bill.   If you are a constituent of these state affairs committee members, even better because you have heightened clout and influence in this situation.   Same goes if you are a mother, mother of a trans child, teacher, or school administrator..

These bills attacking our trans kids in a school setting and offering bounties targeting them are not only unjust, but do nothing to help Texas create a climate conducive to learning.   Texas teachers and school administrators should not be put in the position of policing gender identity.

Transphobia Rep Pena, is not good for business.   Those unjust bills will have a deleterious effect on attracting corporations and talented people to the Lone Star State.    

Don't need trans hate in the Lone Star State!

The Lege and Rep. Pena need to expeditiously find out what happens when you mess with Texas transkids.  Call, write and e-mail them.

And yes HB 2801 needs to die.

Unjust Florida Anti-Trans Bill Clears Subcommittee

Republican trans oppressor Rep Frank Artiles unjust HB 583 had a House Civil Justice Subcommittee hearing last Wednesday which brought people pro and con to Tallahassee to comment on it.

After more than an hour of emotional testimony from both sides of the issue, the subcommittee voted 9-4 along party lines  (Republicans FOR oppression, Democrats AGAINST it) to advance the unjust bill based on Rep Artiles transphobia and being pissed off Miami-Dade passed a human rights ordinance that allows trans people to use the facilities that correspond with their sincerely held external gender presentation

The unjust bill need to pass through two more committees before it heads to the GOP controlled Florida House floor for a vote.

Florida trans peeps, hope you're keeping political score and are paying attention to which party stood up for your human rights and which one is gleefully working to take them away.

Cindy Sullivan said during her testimony to the committee “You all just don’t get it. I’m so scared of all of you. You can put me in jail for being me. This bill is government intrusion at its worst,” Sullivan said. “I’m not a protected class. I’m a throw away piece of trash in this country of freedom and liberty.”
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After the negative vote, trans people in the room and their supporters shouted "Trans Lives Matter!"

And I'm interested in knowing what the Southern Comfort Conference thinks about this revolting development, especially in light of the fact they just moved their convention from the ATL to Fort Lauderdale for the next three years.

Unfortunately, the unjust Artiles bill is one step closer to becoming law and legalizing anti-trans discrimination in Florida.

Florida Rally To Fight Unjust HB 583 Tomorrow

The anti-trans hate is flowing in Teapublican ranks as they gleefully pimp unjust bills aimed at oppressing trans people in Texas, Kentucky and Florida.

HB 583 is the unjust bill seeking to make Florida transpeople criminals for simply peeing in the bathroom.

On Tuesday, March 3rd, Trans Lives Matter Tallahassee and allied forces will gather on the steps of the old Florida Capitol around 2 PM EST to speak out against the new HB 583 introduced by Rep. Artilles.

The house bill introduced by Rep. Frank Artilles would criminalize Trans folk from using the bathroom and other public facilities that match their gender identity. It would charge them with a $1,000 fine, up to one year in jail, and even lawsuits for not using the bathroom that matches their birth assigned gender. It would severely endanger the very safety of Trans folk all over Florida on a day to day basis.

We call for this Transphobic HB 583 introduced by Rep. Frank Artiles to be immediately stopped. We want an end to legislation that endangers the livelihood of trans people. We call for an expansion of gender neutral bathroom across the state and want to see the legislation that protects Transgender folk from hate crimes.

This speakout will be hosted by Trans Lives Matter Tallahassee, The Dream Defenders, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), The Center for Participant Education (CPE) and The E-Word.

***

For more information, contact:

Trans Lives Matter Tallahassee

Lead Organizer, Shivaani Ehsaan

Phone : 508-615-8066

Trans Lives Matter Tallahassee

Lead Organizer , Naomi Bradley

Phone: 727-271-2557

Kentucky Senate Votes 27-9 To Oppress Trans People

As expected, the GOP controlled Kentucky Senate did the bidding of the Kentucky Family Foundation and passed the unjust SB 76 bill by a 27-9 vote.

The bill originally failed to advance out of the Senate Education Committee last Thursday, but was stealthily brought back up on Monday in a surprise meeting and voted out by an 8-1 margin.

The unjust bill then went before the full Kentucky Senate with three Republican senators Jared Carpenter of Berea, John Schickel of Union and Julie Raque Adams of Louisville being drum majors and a drum majorette for justice and voting against the bill.

Six  Democrats, Julian Carroll of Frankfort, Perry Clark of Louisville, Denise Harper Angel of Louisville, Morgan McGarvey of Louisville, Gerald Neal of Louisville and Reginald Thomas of Lexington also voted against the bill.

So Kentucky trans peeps, these are the Senate peeps you thank for standing up for your human rights.

Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, said in a statement the "Bathroom Bully Bill" as they call SB 76, lacks legal muster and will increase bullying in schools.

"What an embarrassment the Kentucky Senate has made of our commonwealth," Hartman said

But I need to remind you TransGriot readers the Kentucky General Assembly has split legislative control, with the Democrats holding the Kentucky House (thank God) by a 54-46 margin.

And with only ten days left in this legislative session, House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, indicated that the unjust measure won't win House approval.

"The Democratic-led House can better spend the remainder of the legislative session working on other bills," Stumbo said.

Translation:  SB 76 is about to get parked in a House Committee where it won't see the light of day, much less the House floor.   And in case you're wondering Kentucky's governor is Steve Beshear (D)

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/02/27/3717535/kentucky-senate-approves-bill.html#storylink=cpy

But I don't think my trans friends and our allies back in the Bluegrass State will exhale until the 2015 session is over.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/02/27/3717535/kentucky-senate-approves-bill.html#storylink=cpy

KY Republicans Shadily Pass Unjust Anti-Trans SB 76 Out Of Committee

Don't pop that champagne cork in the Bluegrass state concerning the unjust Bathroom Bounty Bill's demise just yet. 

Never underestimate the GOP's desire to hate on groups they don't like.

The Teapublican haters in the Senate Education Committee regrouped, waited until Sen. Gerald Neal (D-Louisville) and Sen. Julie Raque Adams (R-Louisville) were not in Frankfort, then called a snap meeting of the committee Monday night to revisit the issue.

And this time they also made sure they had the transphobes speaking in front of the committee

"I know of several girls at my school who are uncomfortable with my school's policy but are afraid to speak out about it because they know the school's not on their side and they're afraid of judgment by their peers," Christina Kelty told reporters. "I thought those girls needed a voice."

Umm hmm.  Being a transphobe and an oppression enabler should ALWAYS make you uncomfortable, Christina

The bill shadily passed out of committee 8-1 with the lone NO vote belonging to Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, who is the other African-American senator on the committee.

He also said this reminded him of an era when white students were uncomfortable using the restroom with Black students

The unjust bill now advances to the floor of the Teapublican controlled Kentucky senate (26-12 GOP edge), where we'll see if they waste valuable time in this legislative session debating it instead of passing a state budget.

But alas, it seems as though the 21st century Republican Party always has time to pass unjust laws that enable bigotry and oppression instead of govern..

Unjust HB 1748 Bathroom Bill Filed In Texas

Figured it wouldn't take long before our right wing idiots decided to not be left out of the hate on transpeople party.

It's also another example of what I continue to say in terms of the most dangerous bigot is the one with the power to write legislation.

Teapublican Rep. Debbie Riddle has just filed HB 1748, an odious bill that if it becomes law,  would make it a class-A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum $4,000 fine for transgender people to use "a locker room, shower facility, or toilet facility designated for use by persons of a gender that is not the same gender as the individual’s gender."

Damn Debbie, don't we have better things to spend our valuable Lone Start State legislative time on besides obsessing over what bathroom trans people use?

Really makes me wonder why you white conservatives continue to express this deep seated need to oppress people.

Riddle's HB 1748 would also make it a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine for a building manager to "repeatedly allow" a transgender person to use such a facility according to their gender identity.

What's even more interesting is how this scientifically illiterate bill defines gender:



Hey Debbie, would love to see you lead by example and volunteer to do a chromosome test.  I and every other Texas trans person would laugh our asses off if you came up anything but XX.

This caca is why my hatred of Republicans grows the older I get and with every legislative session they propose bills that repress everyone else except white conservative males. 

I also get pissed off when some liberal progressive person stupidly says in my presence that voting is a waste of time.   Sitting out elections is why this scientifically challenged person is in the Texas Legislature now.

Looks like a trip to Austin is coming soon.  And Texas transpeeps, time for us to saddle up and become agents of our own liberation and fight this crappy (pun intended) bill.

But it also evidence that the trans human rights movement is winning if the best that conservative opponents can do is go back to recycled for the new millennium Jim Crow tactics and attempt to criminalize the bathrooms once again.

Down Goes The Unjust SB 76 Anti-Trans Bill In Committee!

Received some wonderful and surprising news earlier today from my old Kentucky stomping grounds that had me happy dancing in my place after I heard it.

It's also a major reason why if you're able to do so, LGBT peeps need to be staying in red states to fight the hate and not running to some so-called coastal LGBT oasis that seems to have green human rights grass that at closer inspection is Astroturfed.

SB 76, the Bathroom Bounty Bill that Sen. CM Embry (R) filed at the behest of long time Kentucky homobigot Kent Ostrander of the Kentucky Family Foundation, died in spectacular bipartisan fashion in the GOP dominated Senate Education Committee.

If  Embry's unjust SB 76 had passed and been signed into law (doubtful with a Democratic House and Democratic governor), it would have mandated that Kentucky schools provide separate, private areas designated for use by students based on their genitalia where students could be in a "state of undress." The bill proposed allowing students to sue their school for up to $2,500 each time they saw a student who appeared to have a non-matching gender presentation in a facility "designated for use by the cisgender biological sex of the aggrieved student.”

Embry tried to make this unjust legislative pig more palatable before the hearing by offering an amendment to strip out the bounty language.   But the 'Bathroom Bounty Bill' as it was dubbed by opponents, was fought by the Fairness Campaign and other interested parties who braved the frigid below freezing temps to make the trek to Frankfort for the hearing that started at noon EST.

People testifying against the bill included Atherton HS principal Tom Aberli and trans teen Henry Brousseau .  He told the Huffington Post in an interview he was harassed in restrooms until he was allowed to use the men's room.  Once that happened, there have been no issues.

“A lot of folks think that having a separate and private restroom for trans kids is the way to go,” said Brousseau during his Senate committee testimony, “While that might work for some, when somebody tells us that we’re so different that the only way to accommodate us is to create a special restroom, the message is clear that we don’t belong. But the thing is, right now schools get to make their own decisions about what’s best to accommodate trans kids, and every school may decide differently. The problem with this bill is it would take away that right for schools to decide.”



Aberli said in his senate testimony that he and others at Atherton were forced to educate themselves about an issue they previously knew little about, and that the state should not take away their authority to do what they think is right.



“What I quickly found was that this is an issue of respecting people for who they are,” said Aberli. “I’m going to boil it down: This is a civil rights issue.”

The unjust bill died a painful death (at least in the opinion of the KY Family Foundation) in the Republican controlled committee, falling one vote short of being passed out of it. 

Six Republican members voted for it, while Sen Julie Raque Adams (R-Louisville) voted NO with the two African-American Democratic senators Neal and Thomas with no explanation for her vote.

Senator Johnny Ray Turner's (D-Prestonburg) decision to abstain left the unjust bill one vote short of passage to the full Republican controlled Kentucky Senate, where they have a 26-12 edge.

Bills need seven votes to be passed out of committee.

So proud of my former senator, Gerald Neal (D-Louisville), who voted against the bill, telling Brousseau: “Unfortunately, your situation is still subject to the fear, ignorance and loathing that results there from something that some individuals see as different from what they understand and what they embrace.”

That's our point, America.  We're tired of you haters trying to pick on trans people for right wing political game and to satisfy your oppression gene.  Let us trans people pee ,have human rights coverage and leave us the hell alone to live our lives..

And stop obsessing over what fracking bathroom we use when we need to handle a basic biological function.

Florida Republican Introduces Unjust Anti-Trans Bill

For those of you who thought that Moni was selling you woof tickets when she and others warned you that the Teapublicans and the conservafool movement were going to shift their money and anti-LGBT industry apparatus into attacking us and we'd better be ready for it, here's your wake up call coming from Florida.

Rep. Frank Artiles from the Miami area has introduced a draconian bill (HB 583) that attempts to pimp the long discredited bathroom predator myth and would require all transpeople, pre, non and post op to use only facilities that match their assigned sex at birth, not the ones that match their gender presentation.

What ALEC asshole came up with this this anti-trans caca?   

Artiles’ HB 583 bill would hold trans people who use facilities that match their gender expression liable for civil penalties and provides an avenue for civil action against operators of public accommodations who follow trans-inclusive policies.

Even more ominous is the legislation would override non-discrimination ordinances in Florida cities that have extended public accommodations protections to transgender people.

In other words, the unjust Artiles bill would if made law, legalize anti-trans discrimination in Florida.

Okay Florida trans peeps of all flavors, damned sure time to become agents of your own liberation.   This is a straight up attack on our human rights.

Time to start fighting back by signing your John and Jane Hancocks to this petition condemning HB 583.

And it's probably time to unleash pee-in protests in cities across Florida, Tallahassee and Rep Artiles' offices.

What have I been saying for a while?  The most dangerous transphobic bigot is the one with the power to write legislation. 

Well, here's Exhibit A of that. And it's dehumanizing crap like this  that feeds into the anti-trans animus that disproportionately results in dead Latina and Black trans women.

The unjust HB 583 bill must die.

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.
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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.
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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