Another Trans Legal Victory-Wisconsin Anti-Trans Law Struck Down

Back in 2005 the Wisconsin legislature passed a draconian law nastily called the 'Inmate Sex-Change Prevention Act' that barred prison doctors from providing necessary transgender medical care such as hormone replacement therapy or sex reassignment surgery while in state custody.

The ACLU and Lambda Legal jointly filed a case in 2006 on behalf of several transgender inmates entitled Fields v Smith  who were experiencing severe physical and psychological harm after the medical treatment they had been receiving under prison doctors’ care was abruptly cut off due to the new draconian law.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin then struck down the law as unconstitutional based on both the Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment) and on the Equal Protection Clause after a four day trial.   The state of Wisconsin appealed the ruling in 2010 and in August of last year, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the previous Lambda Legal court win, stating: “Refusing to provide effective treatment for a serious medical condition serves no valid penological purpose and amounts to torture."

Of course, the state of Wisconsin tried one last ditch legal maneuver to overturn the two losses by appealing to the US Supreme Court, who refused to hear the case.

The Fields v. Smith win is not the only recent significant victory for transgender people who are in the hands of the government for medical care. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) changed its policy for treatment of transgender individuals in federal prisons nationwide as part of a settlement in the Adams v. Federal Bureau of Prisons et al. case filed by National Center for Lesbian Rights and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.

The new BOP policy allows federal prisoners access to an evaluation by a doctor and treatment in accordance with the internationally accepted Standards of Care issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Like Fields, this Adams v. Federal Bureau of Prisons et al case is groundbreaking because it established a new federal standard for transgender prisoners.   It's also a standard that hopefully states across the country will look to for guidance as they formulate their own policies in regards to trans prisoners.

So yeah, I can hear some of you non-incarcerated trans people saying what;' the big deal about trans prisoners getting a legal win.   Well, just because you're incarcerated doesn't mean you lose all your rights under the United States constitution.  These wins also help the entire trans community get human rights coverage as well.

So thanks Lambda Legal not only for the work you put in toward in getting this legal win and getting this draconian Wisconsin law struck down, but for showing by example how to be a real trans ally..

Moni's Montrose Night Out

After watching Kentucky's women b-ballers make it to the Elite Eight over Gonzaga I was basketballed out and decided the latest episode of GCB could wait until I saw it on demand. 

I decided to get dressed and see for myself how much Montrose nightlife had changed since I left in 2001

I decided to hit one of my old haunts that was still around but under new ownership in a show bar called TC's.   It's the same bar that one of our local right wing conservafools had his infamous hit and run accident outside of.   Since parking was at a premium, I also decided to METRO it to Montrose since I'd put on a little weight and needed the exercise.

I get to TC's after taking a wrong turn and walking three blocks in the wrong direction before running into one of the local working girls and being pointed in the correct direction.   I noted that some things had changed about it like the outdoor patio and smoking area,  the video jukebox on the wall, the lighting, and the freeze your butt off AC (always a good feature for a Houston club).    I also ran into Ashley Houston, who was performing last night and one of her drag daughters .   

I ran into a white CD sitting at a table by herself in the corner by the stage whose first question to me after meeting me was 'Are you performing tonight?"    I told person the only time I'm standing on a stage is in front of a collegiate or professional audience with a Power Point presentation.    After chatting with her for a few minutes, i had a brother buy yours truly a drink (amaretto sour) and grabbed a table in the center of the bar that allowed me to watch the show and what was going on outside. 


There was one slim Black trans woman hanging out in the patio area who eventually jumped into a car with two white males in a gold pop top late model Mercedes.   A young Latina trans woman approached me moments after entering the club, asked if she knew me, then bounced outside to talk to friends as the too long show tune laden overture for the drag show was playing in the background.

A young petite Black transwoman named Shinaya came in talking to someone on her cell phone, hugged Ashley and her drag daughter and then came over to my table and introduced herself.  We talked briefly before she bounced outside to talk to a friend who had just arrived.

I watched a few numbers in the show, tipped Ashley and being bored out of my mind I decided to go home.   I cut through the cluster of bars and through the well lit parking lot behind South Beach enroute to my stop on Westheimer Rd.   As I did so I passed a Black gay guy and his white boyfriend who obviously by the sour looks on their faces have issues with transpeople.  The Black gay guy ASSumed I was walking the streets and loudly said so I could hear it  "Don't they have a job?"

I flipped him the finger and said "I most certainly do, you sellout" as I kept walking toward my METRO stop.

Hey, don't start none with Moni, won't be none.   

My pissivity over that crap didn't last long.  I stopped and had a nice conversation a few moments later with a young woman who was letting her chihuahuas out of her apartment to walk around a bit before I excused myself to catch my downtown bound bus I knew was coming in ten minutes.

As I boarded my bus headed eastward down Westheimer and eventually to downtown, I came to one conclusion about my first night hanging out there since I moved back home.  

Next time that I decide to go to Montrose, I'm making sure I have a few friends with me.

Taking A March Madness Weekend Break

Need to recharge the creative batteries, and what better way to do so than to chill out and watch some NCAA b-ball tournament action?

Will be back to posting as usual on Monday.

Shut Up Fool Awards- Elite Eight Edition

The NCAA men's and women's tournaments whittle down from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite Eight as they determine what four schools will eventually head to New Orleans and Denver to play for the NCAA men's and women's b-ball championships.  

And yes, Brittney Griner became the second woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game.

So how are your brackets holding up?  Already lost one of my Final Four teams on the mens bracket but the other three are still alive for now.   On the women's bracket  all four are still around.

So let's get to our usual Friday business of calling out the fool, fools or groups of fools who exhibited championship level stupidity this week worthy of receiving the Shut Up Fool award.


Group awards for Fox Noise, the Republican Party, the Tea Party and every male Republican legislator trying to defend the GOP War on Women.  Individual nominees are Rep Eric Cantor (R-VA), Rep Joe Walsh (R-IL) Rep Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

But this week's Shut Up Fool award goes to Geraldo Rivera for parting his lips to say that the hoodie was just as responsible for the murder of Trayvon Martin as George Zimmerman.

…when you see a black or Latino youngster, particularly on the street, you walk to the other side of the street. You try to avoid that confrontation. Trayvon Martin, you know God bless him, he was an innocent kid, a wonderful kid, a box of Skittles in his hands. He didn’t deserve to die. But I’ll bet you money, if he didn’t have that hoodie on, that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn’t have responded in that violent and aggressive way.

Geraldo, you've been hanging around your Fox Noise friends for far too long.   Racism and racial profiling was responsible for Trayvon's murder, not the clothing he was wearing.  Oh by the way, white kids wear hoodies too and sometimes they even commit crimes while wearing them as well.

Geraldo Rivera, shut up fool!