Don't Vote For Kesha Rogers In This Runoff Election Either

Early voting started yesterday for the primary runoff elections in Texas yesterday.   While most of the media will be focused on GOP side and the nasty battles between Lt Governor David Dewhurst and Sen. Dan Patrick and the Paxton-Branch race for the Republican Attorney General nomination, we Dems also have an important choice to make.

And it's a no-brainer.

David Alameel is in the runoff for the Democratic nomination for US Senate to square off against Sen John Cornyn.  Unfortunately, so is LaRouchite Kesha Rogers.   Once again Texas Democrats, in that US Senate race, DON'T vote for Kesha Rogers. 

You have until Friday from 7 AM-7 PM to vote in the early voting phase.   If you voted in the March primary, you will not be able to crossover vote.  If you didn't, then you will be able to choose which party's runoff election you will participate in.

So handle you electoral business during the early voting phase while you have multiple locations to choose from.  On May 27 you will be restricted to the location designated for your precinct.

And yeah, the odious Texas voter suppression law will be in effect.

But go handle your electoral business.  It's the first step in having a Texas with nice things in it.

Matt Kailey 1955-2014

Was stunned to hear the news that one of my fellow bloggers and trans human rights activists in Matt Kailey passed away Saturday night-early Sunday morning of heart failure.

From Matt's sister: 

"I wanted to let you know that Matt Kailey, my brother, has passed away. He died of heart failure in his sleep Saturday night/early Sunday morning. His untimely and unexpected passing has been a shock. With the help of family and friends, I am currently working on processing this tragedy and making arrangements. I will post more information at a later time. Thank you for being Matt's friends."


Matt transitioned in 1997, and his Tranifesto blog was one of the destinations that people went to for information, advice and to get knowledge on the trans journey from the transmasculine point of view.

The Denver, CO based Kailey was the author of Just Add Hormones: An Insider's Guide to The Transsexual Experience (Beacon Press), a Lambda Literary Award finalist and Rocky Mountain News local bestseller, and Teeny Weenies and Other Short Subjects , a collection of humorous and heartfelt essays about his life before and after transition. In addition, his work has appeared in numerous publications, from anthologies to professional journals. Matt was also a media personality who appeared on local and national radio and television, in local and national print publications, and in five documentary films.

Mat Kailey will be missed in our trans human rights ranks and in our community.  Final arrangements are pending, and as soon as I'm aware of them the news will be posted to this blog. 

Rest in power and peace Matt. 

HERO Update, Notes and News

As many of you following our quest to pass the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance are aware of, City Council voted on Wednesday to delay the vote until May 28. 

We aren't happy in H-town about having to wait another two weeks for the inevitable passage of the HERO and giving the Forces of Intolerance hatemongers like Grace KKKommunity Church and the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity more time to whip up anti-TBLG animus in their next two Sunday services.

But the silver lining is it gives us time to get better organized as well.   Yesterday the leadership team working to pass the HERO held a two and half hour strategy meeting in which I'm sworn to secrecy on some of the tactics we will roll out over this final push to passage.  What I can tell you is that it happened, and to stay tuned to these TransGriot pages for the latest information and action alerts as I get them.

We also had some of our allies in the crowd infiltrate Riggle World checking out yesterday's 'Hate on LGBT Peeps in the name of Conservajesus' Rally.

In case you're wondering who Steve and Becky Riggle are in addition to being last week's Shut Up Fool Award winners, she's the woman who showed up at last Tuesday's public comment hearing asserting that she and her fellow modern day Pharisees and Sadducees had the special right to discriminate against Jews and the LGBT community.   Her husband who followed a few speakers later dug an even deeper hole trying to defend his wife's logic defying comments.

They also bussed in people from the Houston exurbs of Tomball and the Woodlands for their hate rally they held at City Hall opposing the HERO.

Interesting to note many of the rally haters were people who claim they don't want to live in Houston, but yet want to stick their unwanted noses in H-town human rights 'bidness'. 

And I'm really disgusted with the Black pastors who are selling out our community to pal around with the longtime purveyors of oppression in Dave Welch and Dave Wilson.   

Final tally of the number of pro-HERO vs anti-HERO speakers at last Tuesday's HERO hearing in case you're keeping score was 120 people for, 40 against.   The total for the two previous hearings was 127 pro-HERO, 38 anti-HERO.    Grand total so far is 247 people speaking for HERO passage, 78 against with an overwhelming majority of the anti HERO speakers being ministers. 

City Council is off this week, which is why the opponents were fighting so hard to delay the vote.   The next meeting on May 28 will be a combined public comment session followed by a vote.  It is shaping up to be a historic marathon session that we will endure.

We will also emerge victorious from because passing the HERO is the moral and correct thing to do.   If Dallas, Austin, El Paso and New Orleans can pass a human rights ordinance along with small cities like Shreveport, LA. and Boise, ID. then I know the city of Houston can do so.  
     

Timmy's Turns 50

I have many Canadian readers of this blog, and could let this anniversary pass without mentioning it.

If you have traveled to Canada, you have seen, passed by or even stopped by a Canadian institution older than the maple leaf flag and beloved by Canadians everywhere.

It's Timmy's, AKA Tim Horton's, the quick service institution that expat Canadians in the States wax poetic about.    Tim Horton's is such a iconic part of Canadian life that a few years ago a Timmy's truck was sent to Afghanistan to serve its legendary coffee to Canadian Armed Forces personnel stationed there. 

No federal Canadian election cycle is complete unless you see the leaders of the major parties in the Great White North working the crowd at a Tim Horton's location of their choosing in various parts of the country or working behind the counter. 

And the love of a Canadian and Timmy's starts at birth. I still laugh about a 2011 conversation I had with Renee's son Mayhem in which he innocently asked me how do I survive in this world without Timmy's. 

I have a Tim Horton's coffee mug courtesy of Rafael McDonnell, who got it for me after his last Canadian vacation complete with tea and hot chocolate I have long since destroyed.  

Tim Horton's was founded on May 17, 1964 in Hamilton, ON by its namesake, former Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player Tim Horton and former police Ron Joyce as a quick service donut and coffee shop.   The concept took off to the point in which Joyce was made a full partner in 1967 and they were setting up franchises in southern Ontario.   Horton was killed in a car accident in 1974, but Tim Horton's grew to be a food service juggernaut that clocks $3 billion a year in sales and has 4304 worldwide restaurant locations as of June 30, 2013. 

3468 of those Timmy's locations are in Canada, 807 in the United States, and 29 locations are in the Gulf Cooperation Council states.  There are plans to open an additional 300 new U.S. locations by 2018 in various American cities including St. Louis, Youngstown, OH, Fort Wayne, IN and more in North Dakota.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Tim Horton's set up a replica of the original store in Yonge and Dundas Square and sent it back to the 60's, the decade of its birth.   There were people dressed in 60's clothing, cars from that era and a replica of the first store passing out Timmy's products and several of Horton's teammates on that Maple Leaf squad.

And yep, looking forward to the day I can buy my own Tim Horton's hot chocolate to take back to Baja Alberta.  FYI, if you're wondering where is Baja Alberta, it's what Renee calls Texas.   She still calls Alberta 'that wretched province'.

Happy anniversary Timmy's!   May you continue to grow, prosper and put some locations in Texas someday..

Enforcing The Gender Binary Is Killing Our Kids, Too

In 2010 when I wrote this post about the murder of 3 year old Ronnie Paris by his father because he in his words 'didn't want his son to grow up as a sissy or soft'., I said at the time it was hypermasculinity that was killing our kids. 

Looks like I'm going to have to expand my thinking about that point in the wake of the murder of Britney Cosby and her partner allegedly by her own father.

Enforcing the gender binary is killing our kids.  

Whether it was Larry Cosby's disapproval of his daughter's relationship that drove him to murder her and her partner, or Jessica Dotro getting 25 years to life for killing her 4 year old son because she thought he would be gay, it's happening far too often.  

If they are not being killed by their misguided parents, they are taking their lives by their own hands as they try to navigate a world hostile to them.   Sometimes those kids get so disheartened by the attempt to do so they feel they have no other option than to end their lives.

And that needs to end as well.  .  

So yes, it's past time to have a serious discussion about the gender binary and the deleterious effects of it on  our kids.  

Mayor Parker Is Helping Us Out, Not Selling Us Out

I need to address a loud and wrong conclusion jump that has been coming from certain quarters of the trans community over the last few days that is seriously annoying me and those of us fighting to pass the HERO despite the resistance of the Houston Division of the Forces of Faith-Based Intolerance.

There has been a meme developing not helped by erroneous reporting coming from some parts of the blogosphere not based in Houston that Mayor Annise Parker 'threw the trans community under the bus' when Section 17-51 (b) of the proposed Houston Equal Rights Act was targeted for removal. 

Umm, no.  Not even close.  Mayor Parker owes her first election in 1997 as an at-large council member to a dedicated cadre of trans people who busted their behinds, canvassed, block walked and donated hard earned T-bills to that first and subsequent council, controller and mayoral campaigns.   We know her from her Houston GLBT Caucus days when she led the organization.  She has supported and gone to the trans community Unity Dinners over the years and was given an Apogee Award at the 1998 Houston TG Unity Banquet for her leadership as a city council member on the 1998 non-discrimination ordinance.

And we have proudly voted for her.

Is our community finally getting comfortable with the final letter in GLBT? I hope so. But I know some of us still have a long way to go toward real understanding and acceptance. I still recall being advised by some people in those early campaigns to keep the transgenders out of sight! I can only hope that the year of films like Transamerica will mark a turning point for the transgender community
--Annise Parker, OutSmart magazine, November 1, 2009

One of the things she did as mayor was sign an executive order that added gender identity to Mayor Lee Brown's executive order that barred discrimination in city employment based on sexual orientation.  When the Tyjanae Moore bathroom gender policing situation popped up in 2010 along with the harassment of a trans staffer working for Councilmember Jolanda Jones, at Councilmember Jones' behest Mayor Parker signed an executive order clarifying that transpeople in city owned buildings can use the facility that matches current gender presentation and barred discrimination against us in city employment.

So back to focusing on what's happening now in H-town.  The local trans community asked for Section 17-51 (b) to be pulled from the proposed ordinance.   I've written and testified it needed to go.  Lou, Dee Dee, and other Houston trans leaders have also been unanimous in our dislike of it.  

What we're pissed off about inside Beltway 8 is you peeps blasting Mayor Parker based on Frontiers LA writing a story and only posting a snippet of Section 17-51 (b) prior to their conclusion jump.  Neither did any of you outside of Houston critics know at the time because you weren't privy to it, we were working with council to get amendments done to clean up that problematic language in a way that would be satisfying to our community.

FYI, here's the full text of Section 17-51 (b)

(b) It shall be unlawful for any place of public accommodation or any employee or agent thereof to deny any person entry to any restroom, shower room, or similar facility if that facility is consistent with and appropriate to that person’s expression of gender identity. It shall be a defense to prosecution for discrimination on the basis of gender identity under this article, however, if the defendant had a good faith belief that the gender or gender identity of the person discriminated against was not consistent with the gender designation of the facility. For purposes of this section, a defendant has a good faith belief if the manner in which the person represented or expressed gender to others (e.g. behavior, clothing, hairstyles, activities, voice or mannerisms) is not consistent with the gender designation of the facility the person attempted to access. Nothing in this section shall require construction of a new bathroom, shower room, or similar facility.

The problematic section I underlined and put in bold print is why the Houston transgender community and our allies after consulting with us asked to have it pulled.   Leaving that as is would have allowed transphobes to engage in gender policing and we would have no recourse to it.

So did you stop to think before you knee-jerk conclusion jumped to ask me or any other transperson in Houston working to pass the HERO what was going on?  Did you peeps outside Loop 610 honestly think after I wrote this post that I or any other Houston trans leaders would support ANY HERO that didn't FIX the problems that ail the Houston trans community?

We're in what is going to be a long battle to get this passed.  There are times when we won't be able to tell you peeps outside the Houston city limits everything we're working on so that our opponents can't counterprogram it.   There are simply times when radio silence is necessary to get human rights stuff passed.

So the next time you have questions about what is going on in this HERO battle, ask us Houston peeps first okay? 

Mayor Parker is helping us out, not selling us out.

Houston Black Pastors, Sick Of You Denying Our Humanity

One of the things that has really been disheartening to me and other African-American trans Houstonians in this fight to pass the HERO is seeing people that share our ethnic background and our common history engaging in demonizing us, erasing our humanity and our Blackness at the behest of their white fundamentalist controllers.

Leading the charge to demonize and erase the Houston African-American trans community is a cadre of Black ministers led by Rev. Max Miller, president of the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity.

His was the voice on the robocall that invaded mine and my mother's lives on the afternoon of May 10 and called me and other trans people sexual predators.  He and his like minded acolytes have been misquoting scripture and ignorantly bearing false witness against me and the Houston trans community, and I and other Black trans Houstonians are beyond sick and tired of being sick and tired of it.

Our eloquent Houston sister in the human rights struggle Barbara Jordan once stated, "One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves." 

That willingness to accept transpeople has definitely not been evident by their misguided side in this battle to pass the HERO.   

Note I said accept, not tolerate.   It has especially been hurtful and at times depressing to see leaders and institutions from my community I once had much respect for engage in 'fear and smear' attacks designed to demonize me and my trans community.

They are based on falsehoods, lies and the easily debunked bathroom predator meme that was once used to justify Jim Crow segregation.  It's past time you started talking to actual trans people in the African-American community about what our lives are really like instead of Dave Welch, Dave Wilson and the other white conservafool ministers you're trying to curry favor with.  

Rev. Miller, you and your cadre of minsters aren't the only African-American Houstonians being discriminated against, and it's past time you stopped telling that bald faced lie.   Here are the numbers from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey based on Texas respondents:

• Workplace Discrimination -Rates of discrimination were alarming in Texas, indicating widespread discrimination based on gender identity/expression:
  • 79% reported experiencing harassment or mistreatment on the job
  • 26% lost a job
  • 22% were denied a promotion
  • 45% were not hired

• Harassment and Discrimination at School-Those who expressed a transgender identity or gender non-conformity while in grades K-12 reported alarming rates of harassment (85%), physical assault (46%) and sexual violence (9%)
• Harassment was so severe that it led 11% to leave a school in K-12 settings or leave higher education
• Economic Insecurity - Likely due to employment discrimination and discrimination in school, survey respondents experienced poverty and unemployment at higher rates than the general population:
  • 10% of respondents had a household income of $10,000 or less, compared to 4% of the general population, which is more than twice the rate of poverty
  • 10% were unemployed compared to 7% in the nation at the time of the survey

• Housing Discrimination and Instability - Survey respondents experienced blatant housing discrimination, as well as housing instability, much of which appears to stem from the challenges they face in employment.
  • 8% were evicted
  • 15% were denied a home/apartment
  • 17% had become homeless because of their gender identity/expression
  • 22% had to find temporary space to stay/sleep
  • 50% had to move back in with family or friends
  • 39% reported owning their home compared to 67% of the general U.S. population

• Harassment and Discrimination in Accommodations and Services-47% were verbally harassed or disrespected in a place of public accommodation or service,including hotels, restaurants, buses, airports and government agencies.
  • 23% were denied equal treatment by a government agency or official
  • 16% were denied equal treatment or harassed by judges or court officials.
  • 23% of those who have interacted with police reported harassment by officers
  • 41% reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance

Health Care Discrimination and Health Outcomes-16% were refused medical care due to their gender identity/expression

• 1.9% were HIV positive, compared to the general population rate of 0.6%
• 19% postponed needed medical care, when they were sick or injured, due to discrimination
• Only 43% of the respondents had employer-based health insurance, compared to 59% of the general U.S. population at the time of the survey.
• 41% reported attempting suicide at some point in their life, 26 times the rate of the general population of 1.6%

We have told our stories.  We have patiently testified in front of council the anti-trans discrimination exists in H-town while enduring anti-LGBT animus you whipped up amongst your flocks.

And you are STILL on the wrong side of history.

It's sad to note that you and your cadre of ministers have been our best examples as to why gender identity needs to be part of the HERO. 

Guess you transphobic pastors forgot what civil rights legend Julian Bond said when he stated, “The humanity of all Americans is diminished when any group is denied rights granted to others.”

And it is disheartening to witness how fast you have stepped up to do Dave Welch and Dave Wilson's dirty work for them and be the figureheads for the continued oppression of the Houston LGBT community.  

You and your misguided friends are hypocritically siding with the same conservative oppressors that oppose the African-American community on human rights issues of importance to us such as voting rights and workplace fairness, and it's a disgusting spectacle to witness.  I'm praying that the transphobic hate speech you've already engaged in doesn't lead to a surge of anti-trans violence here in H-town.

I'm also tired of you and your misguided friends waving the Bible around as a shield for your transphobic bigotry.  The Bible is not the Code of Ordinances for the City of Houston, the Texas Constitution or the US Constitution, and 901 Bagby Street is not a church sanctuary.   Your faith, transphobia and beliefs do not trump my sincerely held beliefs, human rights or the human rights of my fellow transpeople who live in the 628 square miles of Texas territory we are all proud to call home. 

Contrary to the bovine feces the Right Wing Noise Machine has been feeding you, Black trans Houstonians are sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, parents, loyal friends and allies to those worthy of our support.  I nor any African-American trans person gave up our Black card when we transitioned, and how dare you even attempt to erase us from the Black community or deny we are a part of it.

I'm not just doing activism on behalf of the TBLG community.  I'm passionate about many issues that impact me and the Houston African-American community as an unapologetic African-American trans person.  I spoke at a Trayvon Martin rally in front of City Hall last summer.  I've been taking part in the community battle to protest HISD school closures in our neighborhoods.   Dee Dee Watters has given out toys to kids in the Third Ward area at Christmas time for years.  Other Black trans Houstonians are toiling away and involved in our churches and other organizations that improve the lives for all who call this city home.. 

Black trans community issues are Black community issues and it's past time you cisgender African-American peeps get that message.  Read my lips and this post:  We African-American transpeople are not going to put up with for one more nanosecond our humanity being denigrated and disrespected by you based on loud and wrong religious beliefs and your ignorance about transsexuality.   If Vice President Joe Biden and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay are clear that trans rights are a human rights issue, what's your chocolate covered malfunction in not getting that easy to grasp reality?  

I'm a proud African-American trans Houstonian with deep familial ties to this city.  I want a Houston better than its promise. I want to see it grow, prosper and have human rights coverage for all Houstonians.  

All Houstonians also includes my trans, SGL and bi brothers and sisters. 

I want African-American trans people to feel they have a stake in that happening as well.    But we have a hard time feeling that way when we see the constant attacks on our humanity, and even worse note those attacks are coming out of the mouths of people who share our ethnic background.

And you need in the name of Jesus to cease and desist with that. 
 

Tona's Historic Concert

This is the Weill Recital Hall at New York City's  Carnegie Hall, where on June 25 Tona Brown will make trans history when she steps onto the stage to fulfill her dream of playing there.

I'm sure when she does it will be an emotional and powerful moment no only for her, but all of us.

She's put in the practice for it.  She's raised the funds thanks to many of you to help pay the deposit on that space to lock in that June 25 date. 

The concert is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM EDT and falls during New York City's Pride Week.

The show is entitled 'From Stonewall to Carnegie Hall' and will feature works of African-American composers.   It will also discuss the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion and the positive effects the transgender community have had on the TBLG human rights movement.

In addition to Tona headlining the show, it will feature Tammy Peay hosting it and Nathan James.

So when the tickets start going on sale May 25, better move fast on them because this historic event is sure to sell out quickly because there aren't a lot of seats in this elegant recital hall. 
 

Houston MLK Plaza And Statue Unveiling Next Week

This time next week there will be a party going on at MacGregor Park.

The memorial plaza and statue of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that was supposed to be dedicated across from the soon to be opened METRORail Purple Line MacGregor Park-MLK Station back in April . 

The statue was damaged just as it was about to be shipped to Houston for the initial unveiling, and the Black Heritage Society was forced to delay the event as the 8 foot tall statue was repaired.

Well, the repairs have been completed, the statue has arrived in Houston without further mishap and a May 24 date has been set by the BHS for its unveiling. 

The rescheduled events sponsored by the Black Heritage Society include a Victory Parade that kicks off at 9 AM, the statue and plaza dedication from 11 AM-1 PM followed by a Cultural Heritage Festival in MacGregor Park that begins at 1 PM  

When that happens Houston would join Atlanta and Washington D.C. as cities which have statues and memorial plazas dedicated to the memory of Dr. King.

Looking forward to checking out that event, and hope we have the nice weather it deserves for an event that has been 35 years in the making..
  

UN High Commisioner Message To 5th European Transgender Council Meeting

While me and my BTAC trans family were gathering in Dallas for our event, our trans cousins in Europe were gathering in Budapest, Hungary from May 1-4 for the 5th TGEU European Transgender Council meeting.

The theme for the gathering that drew 200 delegates from multiple European nations was Trans* Safe and Equal.  The delegates assembled in Budapest did what any sizable gathering of trans folks does when we are in a space together.  We discuss, strategize and network about ways to improve the safety, quality of life and advance equality for trans people.

The delegates at the meeting got to view this taped keynote message from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in which the major point of it is one we marginalized people know all too well in terms of the twin terrors of prejudice and ignorance that drive anti-trans discrimination aimed at us.

UN High Commissioner Pillay's message, the first during her tenure that specifically focused it on the human rights issues that transgender people face, emphatically made it clear that the UN sees trans rights as human rights and the United Nations is on our side. .  . 

Happy IDAHOT 2014

Today is the 9th annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.   It has become one of the largest international solidarity events since its conception by Frenchman Louis-Georges Tin.

He acted as the IDAHOT Committee Chairperson until his resignation in September 2013 and was succeeded by internationally renowned Venezuelan trans* rights activist, lawyer and law professor Tamara Adrian.

IDAHOT was created to raise awareness of violence, discrimination, and repression of LGBT communities around the globe, provide an opportunity to take action and engage in dialogue with the media, policymakers, public opinion influencers, and wider civil society.

There are 120 countries in which some type of IDAHOT event is taking place today, and in addition to Vice President Joe Biden tweeting about the #IDAHOT, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have also released statements in support of it. 

Here is President Obama's statement, released yesterday.

Tomorrow, as we commemorate the 10th annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, we recommit ourselves to the fundamental belief that all people should be treated equally, that they should have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, and that no one should face violence or discrimination -- no matter who they are or whom they love
.
This year, the United States celebrates the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.  In doing so, we reflect on lessons learned from our own civil rights struggles and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the human rights of all people are universally protected.

At a time when, tragically, we are seeing increased efforts to criminalize or oppress LGBT persons, we call on partners everywhere to join us in defending the equal rights of our LGBT brothers and sisters, and in ensuring they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a statement late on Thursday, May 15, affirming his support for the global commemorations. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, followed his statement, with her own IDAHOT op-ed, released Friday, May 16. UNDP, UNAIDS and other UN agencies have also released statements in support of the Day. - See more at: http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/buzz-worthy/may17-2014-welcome/#sthash.puX1djni.dpuf

UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and UN High Commissioner For Human Rights Navi Pillay have also released statements and op-ed columns in support of IDAHOT.

Here in Houston, IDAHOT falls as the TBLG community here is involved in a pitched battle against the local Forces of Intolerance to pass a Houston Equal Rights Ordinance that includes sexual orientation and gender identity protections.

In a few hours I head to the Montrose Center to take part in an all day New Organizing Institute event starting at 9 AM and running until 4 PM entitled 'Public Narrative Training For Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming Gulf Coast Organizers'. 

Do you identify as trans* or gender non-conforming? Then this workshop is for you! Join us as we pull together some of the best organizers from throughout the Gulf Coast region to share stories, skills, and strategize!   Gain the confidence to tell your story of self, now and community.

Happy IDAHOT people!

Very Happy Birthday Mayor Parker!

Today is Houston Mayor Annise D. Parker's birthday!   She was born on this date in H-town in 1956 and is serving her third and final term as the second female mayor of my beloved hometown.

And the fact she's on Team Taurus is a bonus.

We were hoping we'd get the HERO as her early birthday present, but better late than never.   No matter how much screaming the haters do it's still gonna happen.   Human rights will come to our city.

Thanks for all you do Mayor Parker to make our hometown a better place, and may you have many more blessings filled birthdays in the future.

And may those future birthdays come with a lot less drama than the runup to this one had..

Shut Up Fool Awards-60th Anniversary of Brown v Board SCOTUS Case Edition

Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the unanimous May 17, 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case that outlawed racial segregation in our nation's schools.

The case was argued by an NAACP legal team that included future SCOTUS justice Thurgood Marshall,   Brown overturned the doctrine of "separate but equal," that had unfortunately been been established by the Supreme Court in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case that gave constitutional legal cover to Jim Crow discrimination. 

Brown was one of the legal body blows that eventually took Jim Crow segregation down and set the stage for a sea change in American politics that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act ten years later and the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

So now that I've dropped some history on you, let's move on to our usual Friday business of finding people guilty of being fools who exhibit mind numbing stupidity, jaw dropping hypocrisy and just make you say WTF at times.

Honorable mention number one is Amy Kushnir, the Dallas anti-gay TV host of The Broadcast who stormed off the set when she and co-host Courtney Kerr got into a heated discussion about Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend, and say it was wrong, but had no problem doing a segment with the Chippendale's strippers on that same morning show.  

Can you say hypocrite TransGriot boys and girls?    Thought you could.

Honorable mention number two to Gordon Klingenschmitt for his transphobic conservarant over the  Maines case and said the transfeminine teen girl should “man up” or face a spanking and an exorcism to rid her body of demons.

I have a suggestion for you.  How about you 'man up' and stop being a disgusting human being?

Honorable mention number three is a group award for all the kneegrow pastors in Michigan  who joined their conservafool oppressors in filing a brief against the ruling legalizing gay marriage in that state.   

Shaking my head that you fools are palling around with the same people who supported the Republican controlled state government's efforts to block our right to vote.  

Where's the D.R.O.P. Squad when you need them?. 

Honorable mention number four is soon to be ex-owner of the LA Clippers Donald Sterling for continuing to hate on Magic Johnson, trying to claim that he's not racist despite the fact he's had the largest housing discrimination judgment in LA history dropped on him, and umm, give me a moment to think about something else to add here.  


This week's Shut Up Fool winners are the tag team of Pastors Becky and Steve Riggle.   They run the Grace KKKomunity Church down I-45 in far southeast Houston and are emblematic of the hateful, ignorant crap we're having to deal with to get the HERO passed.  

Becky laughably tried to claim she and her faith based homophobes and transphobes had a special right to discriminate against gays and Jews during Tuesday's HERO hearing that had many of us in the audience cracking up with laughter.  

Steve gamely tried to defend his wife's dishonor a few speakers and was shredded by Councilmember Ellen Cohen 

You and your hate ministers are making the case for us why the HERO is needed in Houston.

Have several seats, a nice tall glass of STHU and some remedial classes in civics and American history not taught by Glenn Beck.   And oh yeah, you need Jesus.   Not that conservafool version y'all pimp at your megachurch.   

One other thing...Shut up fools!

Another Reason Why We Need A HERO In Houston

This is an example of some of the jaw dropping ignorance I and our HERO passage team have had to deal with and endure over the last several weeks.  

Here's video of one of the faith-based hate ministers, Pastor Becky Riggle trying to argue that she and KKKristians like her have a right to discriminate against gays and Jews.

Her ignorance was so mind boggling I initially forgot to write her name down.   Her hubby Steve, who is the senior pastor of Grace Community Church tried and failed just as miserably to defend the indefensible.

 

Last Day Of Gender Proud Indiegogo Campaign

I did want to take some time to highlight today is the last day to donate to the indiegogo campaign to help raise funds for Gender Proud, the international organization model and girl like us Geena Rocero founded.

Gender Proud's mission is to pass laws that make it easier for trans people in our various nations to change documentation and gender markers to match their gender presentation 

This inaugural Gender Proud campaign's goal is to raise $15,000 in order to cover expenses for legal aid, transportation, and stipends for front line activists doing the work and they have already raised as of this writing $13,875.     Gender Proud is just $1,125 short of its goal, so if you can drop $1, $5, $10, $20 or more if you can, it will help the org get closer to reaching it on the last day of this campaign.

Here's the link to Gender Proud's website to do that 

TransGriot Update:  Gender Proud reached its fundraising goal and surpassed it, raising $16,025 as of 1 AM CDT on May 17.    Congratulations!


 

Happy Birthday Wendy Davis!

Today is the 51st birthday for who I hope will become in six months the next governor of the Lone Star State in Texas state Senator Wendy Davis.

She was born on this date in 1963 in Warwick, R.I but got to the Lone Star State at age 11 when her family moved to Fort Worth.

Can't wait until early voting happens in October so I can proudly cast my ballot for her. and 'errbody' else with a 'D' behind their names.  

But we still have a few months and a lot of campaign left before we can get the casting ballots part of the 2014 political cycle, so you might wish to send some campaign donation cash to her as a birthday gift.

Happy Birthday Sen. Davis!   Hope to see you on the steps of the state capitol in January giving your inaguration speech..

Houston Trans Community, If You Want Your Human Rights, Time To Fight!

As some of you in H-town and elsewhere are more than aware of, we are in a battle with the Forces of Intolerance to pass the HERO and get long delayed and denied human rights coverage to the LGBT community.   We all are quite aware of the fact that trans rights are human rights, and by expanding human rights for us, you expand them for everyone in the city of Houston.

This HERO vote should be a no-brainer vote for City Council, but our opponents went there and deployed anti-trans hate in their strategy to defeat this ordinance.  The nanosecond they started flinging lies about the trans community in this Houston human rights debate they gave up any claim to it.

While they are attacking our dignity, the point remains that we have the moral high ground on this issue, not the faith-based haters.  Our human rights cause is a just one, and it is incumbent upon the Houston trans community to take the lead role in fighting the haters and get this HERO passed.


Lou, Jenifer, Dee Dee, Amelia, Tye, Brenda, Cristan, myself and others have stepped up to unflinchingly lead this effort to ensure our diverse trans community's voices are heard, but we need other trans voices in the mix.

We definitely need more H-town transpeople of color telling their stories.  We want to ensure the narrative about trans people is not exclusively defined by our opponents, and frankly it is our responsibility to defend ourselves and rebut the people who are demonizing us.


While we deeply appreciate the help from our allies inside and outside the trans community, the reality is the best people positioned to push back against the anti-trans lies, speak about being trans Houstonians and discuss the discrimination and other issues we face are us 

The time is now for you to be the trans men and women you say you are..  The last time we had this opportunity in Houston was back in 1984 and the passed sexual orientation only law was rolled back.  It has taken 30 years for this opportunity to return to our beloved city and we must win this time.  

Our just human rights fight must not only be for ourselves, but present and future trans kids.    

Yes, I know some of you are 'scurred' to reveal your trans status.  You fear losing your jobs, having anti-trans violence and slurs hurled at you or being assaulted.   But aren't your human rights, dignity and humanity worth fighting for?  

The bottom line trans community, is that if you want human rights coverage here in Houston,  you are going to have to take a risk, exerts some sweat equity and fight like hell in order to get the reward of living in a Houston that protects all of its citizens.

How much of a risk you're willing to take is on you.  But one thing is certain, you as the trans adults are going to need to be the ones fearlessly standing up for your human rights, not cowering in the shadows hoping 'somebody else' does the fighting for you.

As Nelson Mandela once eloquently stated, 'Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.'  

While our dignity and humanity has been under fierce assault, we are still standing tall and proud, and the faith-based haters will lose.

But we have to do our part, Houston trans community.   If you want your human rights and value them, it's time to stand up and fearlessly fight for them.  

Louisville High School Has Trans Drama

Back when I lived in Louisville as a Texan in exile, one of the fights I was involved in was a 2007 battle with the JCPS school board to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the JCPS nondiscrimination school board policies for students and employees.

To my dismay gender identity was stripped out of it in committee.   After some contentious public hearings the gender identity free policy passed on a 4-3 vote. 

I warned at the time the issue of transpeople in JCPS was not going to go away and it was better to be proactive about it than reactive.   JCPS superintendent Sheldon Berman claimed during the committee hearing in which gender identity was stripped out of the proposed additions to the JCPS non discrimination policy, that gender identity issues were 'too new' despite the presence of moi and a newly out trans teacher present to suggest otherwise..   

Now that lack of forward vision by the JCPS board is popping up seven years later.

A freshman Atherton High School trans feminine student recently asked AHS Principal Thomas Aberli for permission to use the girls facilities.   He granted permission for the trans student to do so, and seven cis feminine students immediately complained along with their parents at the Highlands area school.

Atherton was named to US News and World Reports list of Best High Schools in the US in 2013 and is the only public HS in Louisville with an International Baccalaureate program.

This has now blown up into a kerfluffle that will involve the Atherton Site Based Decision Making Committee with a meeting being held later today at 2:45 PM EDT to discuss adding gender identity to the school's non discrimination policy.  

It also makes crystal clear just how shortsighted the 2007 JCPS board decision to not address gender identity and be proactive in creating policies to cover thedistrict's trans students and JCPS employees was. 

"I have a responsibility to ensure that all of our students and staff are treated fairly and justly," Aberli said in a recent interview with the Louisville Courier-Journal. "At the same time, I also have a responsibility to educate our community on an issue that many are not familiar with and inform them about the rights of transgender individuals."

Chris Hartman, the director of Louisville's Fairness Campaign, said allowing a transgender student access to gender-specific restrooms is important not only for basic civil rights, but also for the safety of the trans student.

“A great deal of violence and sexual assault against transgender people, in general, and transgender youth occurs in restrooms,” he said.  “When we are talking about restroom accommodations being important it is about safety of all students and in particular the trans students.”

Dawn Wilson, member of the Metro Louisville Human Relations Committee had this to say in a statement. "As Education Chair of the Metro Louisville Human Relations Commission, I find it important that we show support for the students and the school; while urging the school board to adopt all aspects of the Metro anti-discrimination ordinances as a system wide policy rather than have school based decisions. This is the path we must tread."

Atherton High School's motto is Scholarship, Service and Self Respect.   Hope they, the AHS community and other interested parties keep that motto in mind when they conduct the SBDMC meeting later today.

TransGriot Update:  The meeting had several hundred people in attendance pro and con, and the policy passed.  

The Truth About The Houston HERO Haters

Pretty much sums up the attitudes of the opponents on the other side and a nauseating talking point we have heard repeatedly cited over the last three hearings.

HERO Vote Delayed Until May 28

After a late Tuesday night at 901 Bagby St. went back to City Hall Wednesday morning at 9:00 AM to watch what I hoped would be history being made with the passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

Instead, it was history delayed.

Houston City Council after some discussion on another civic matter dove in an hour later into much of what many of us were there for in finding out the fate of the HERO.   

There were amendments on the table from Councilmembers Gonzales, Gallegos, Davis and Pennington.

But the ones that concerned the community the most were one addressing the reducing the number of employees in a small business affected from 50 to 15, and the one the Houston trans community requested striking the problematic language in Section 17-51 (b) from the HERO.

It passed by an overwhelming 13-4 margin the Gallegos amendment that reduces the number of employees a business has to have to be affected by the HERO from 50 to 15 over the next three years.

It will be 50 in the first year,. 25 in year two and 15 in year three and subsequent years.

Councilmember Oliver Pennington introduced six amendments designed to gut the HERO.  Four of them he withdrew, but the two that remained would have hampered enforcement of the HERO and were both soundly defeated by 17-2 margins.

Then came the moment we were waiting for with the HERO itself.   After discussion about the Section 17-51 (b), the controversial bathroom provision that Lou Weaver, Dee Dee Watters, I and other trans people and allies have argued needed to be pulled from the HERO, and has been the focus of the anti-HERO's 'fear and smear' efforts, was not done in this session.

Citing the need to have more time and 'bring more stakeholders to the discussions', City Council voted 12-5 to delay the HERO vote until May 28.

Translation: It  means TBLG Houstonians have to deal with another 2 weeks of not having their human rights respected and protected in this city we love and care about.   It means the anti-HERO ministers and their flocks get to fling another two weeks of 'fear and smear' tactics aimed squarely at the trans community they can deploy that were decried in the Houston Chronicle editorial urging passage of the HERO.

It's part of the legislative sausage making that comes with creating laws, but it's still frustrating to a Houston GLBT community that has waited 30 years to have the same human rights that everyone else takes for granted.  It's also aggravating to a Houston transgender community that has been vilified and feels beat up by the loud and scientifically illiterate faith based hate speech coming from our opponents.
 
It means that the next Houston City Council meeting on the HERO will be a combined one on May 28.  That one will be a marathon public comment session followed by a vote.

And yep, I'll definitely be there and ready for a long, contentious day at City Hall

As I said in a local interview,  "I'm a proud Houstonian. I'm sick and tired of our city being the only one out of the major metropolitan areas in this country that does not protect its LGBT citizens."

While I have to deal with the finite disappointment of the HERO not passing today, I still have infinite hope it WILL become a reality on May 28.