Shut Up Fool Awards-Let's Get Ready To Early Vote In TX Edition

October 20 is rapidly approaching, and as soon as the early voting polling place near me opens I'll be there ready to cast my ballot in this crucial midterm election.

Oh yeah, still pissed off I missed the 2013 Houston mayoral election because it took me a ridiculous nine months to get my Texas driver's license due to the voter suppression law and other BS.

You know what they say about revenge, and the nanosecond I get to the eSlate machine at my fave early voting polling  I''ll be exacting mine on everything that has an R behind its name from the top to the bottom of the ballot.

Since it's Friday, as visions of straight ticket voting are dancing in my head, let us handle our usual TransGriot 'bidness' of calling out all the fools that revealed themselves this week.

Honorable mention number one is Stacey Dash for cooning it up on FOX Noise and reciting the latest spin on the tired conservanegro Democrat Plantation line.by claiming the Democratic Party has a plantation mentality.

Oh really Stacey?  And you are Exhibit A of the plantation mentality of the GOP, FOX Noise and the conservafool movement by willingly sell out to parrot the same racist talking points as other FOX Fembots, except you don't have blonde hair.  

Honorable mention number two is NH state Rep. Steve Vallancourt (R) for proving the GOP War on Women is alive along with the frat boy mentality in conservafool ranks.   Vallancourt injected misogyny into the US House race there by claiming in a blog post last week the incumbent, Rep, Ann Kuster (D) would lose because she is 'ugly as sin' and 'drag queens look better than her'.

Have you looked in the mirror lately, Steve?    

Honorable mention number three goes to TX Attorney Gen. Greg Abbott.   After he and the conservafool media whined for days about the devastating ad Wendy Davis unleashed on him with an empty wheelchair in it calling him out on his hypocrisy, One of Greg's aides stuck his foot in his mouth and dissed a  disabled person speaking at a Davis rally by referring to him as a 'prop' .

He also gets called out for claiming the gay marriage ban reduces out-of wedlock births.

Did that tree falling on you damage some brain cells, too? 

Keep it up Greg, and I will get my wish of seeing Wendy Davis inaugurated as my next governor.

Honorable mention number four is NC senate nominee Thom Tillis (R) who equated welfare with reparations.  Naw fool, not even close.   A $150,000 check hitting my mailbox for my ancestors 246 years of unpaid labor and the brutality visited upon them is reparations.

Honorable mention number fiver is a group award to all the conservafools coming up with bizarro world conspiracy theories in the wake of Ebola getting a toehold here in the US.

Peep Morgan Brittany's howler.   And is it me, or does it seem that all the washed up conservative leaning actresses get pundit contracts at FOX noise lately?

Honorable mention number six is the junior senator from Alberta,  Ted Cruz, who is trying to repeat as SUF of the Year and stuck his nose in the subpoena kerfluffle the Pastors Council is trying to stir up.

Mayor Parker should be ashamed of issuing subpeonas to those human rights oppressing christopimps?  Naw Ted, you should be ashamed of opening your mouth and having something stupid frequently come out of it.

Honorable mention number seven is John Grisham, who made the problematic comment in a recent interview that men who watch child pornr are not all pedophiles.

This week's Sgut Up Fool Winner is Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX).    As part of the GOP efforts to 'scurr' their voters into heading to the polls November 4,, they are trying to politicize the Ebola outbreak

Gohmert Pyle opened his mouth and let something stupid fly out of it once again when he said on Glenn Beck's radio show that the Dallas nurses infected by Ebola were part of the Democrats 'War on Women'

FYI Louie, the only War on Women going on is the ongoing one your white male dominated party is conducting.

Will somebody in the Tyler area with some common sens and light years more intelligence please run in his congressional district and spare our state the embarrassment of having this fool in our congressional delegation?

Rep Louie Gohmert, take it from here Mr. T...

Jennifer Laude Update

In the latest news concerning the murder of our transpinay sister Jennifer Laude, the US marine suspected of killing her is still in custody on the USS Peleliu as the calls get increasingly louder for  calls for Joseph Pemberton to be handed over to Philippine authorities for his crime.

The Peleliu and 3000 US Marines and sailors had been in the Philippines to conduct joint exercises with the Philippine armed forces.   While the rest of the US naval ships participating in the joint exercises were allowed to leave Subic Bay, the Peleliu is still in port pending the investigation of the Laude murder.

In Manila protests occurred in front of the US Embassy there as the demands that PFC Pemberton be handed over to Philippine authorities grow louder.

And I agree.  He committed the crime on Philippine soil, so he needs to face justice in the Philippines for it    We'll have to stay tuned to see if he does.

OutSmart 2014 Gayest and Greatest Awards Party

You know for me to miss Scandal, this had to be pretty darned important.

I  mentioned in a previous post that I had been honored with two 2014 OutSmart Readers Choice Award wins for Favorite Blogger (Female) and Favorite  Tweeter (Female).  

I was also a finalist along with Kristen Capps for the Most Prominent LGBT Female Activist award that was won by Christina Gorczynski

Tonight at FBar was the event in which all the awards winners and finalists picked them up.  Since I was in need of a night considering the drama I've been through lately to put my nice clothes and other face on, I happily headed in that direction for the event that started at 7 PM .

Didn't take me long after arriving at the venue before I started running into my Houston activist community peeps congratulating me for the multiple wins. 

It was nice to have the acknowledgment was  of the community of the hard work I put into creating an informative blog and the activism I do to advance our human rights cause.

But for me, I'm motivated to do what I do for the next generation.   I want to make sure that the next generation of trans and SGL kids now growing up aren't having to fight tooth and nail just for basic human rights coverage.


It was also nice to see Mayor Annise Parker and First Lady Kathy Hubbard there along with Councilmember Robert Gallegos.

And it also great seeing Brandon Mack, Augie Augustine, Ashton Woods, Jacques Bourgeois, Brad Pritchett, Noel Freeman, Bryan Hlavinka, JD Doyle, and Kristen Capps.

It was also cool talking to many new peeps I met tonight about a wide variety of issues as the night wore on.

Once again, megathanks for all the OutSmart readers who voted for me in all three categories.  I'm honored and humbled by it.
 
Will be interesting to see how these Readers Choice awards shake out in 2015

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Week 7

Getting closer to the midway point of what has been not only a competitive NFL season, but a tight competition for the 2014 season prognostication championship between myself, Eli and Mike.

Once again I had a good week, but not good enough. My esteemed competition had double digit wins with Mike taking Week 6.

So yeah, gotta step it up now that I no longer have the lead.   NFL Week 7 is upon us with another 15 games to select from,   Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are on their bye week.

So let's get busy and see if I can do better than last week.

My picks will be in underlined bold print, when Mike and Eli's are available I'll link to them.

Week 6 Results

TransGriot.    9-5-1
Eli                  10-4-1
Mike              11-3-1

2014 NFL Season Record

TransGriot     58-32-1
Eli                  57-33-1
Mike              59-31-1


NFL Week 7

Thursday Night Game
New England over NY Jets

Sunday Early Games
Baltimore over Atlanta
Washington over Tennessee
Seattle over St Louis
Cleveland over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
Buffalo over Minnesota
Chicago over Miami
Detroit over New Orleans
Green Bay over Carolina

Sunday Afternoon Games
San Diego over Kansas City
Arizona over Oakland
Dallas over NY Giants

Sunday Night Game
Denver over San Francisco

Monday Night Game
Houston over Pittsburgh

Trans Woman In Memphis Brutally Attacked

Here we frakking go again with yours truly having to report another instance of a trans woman of color being attacked

This time it happened in Memphis to Alexia Dupree Taylor, and as usual the police are issuing the standard 'It isn't a hate crime' line we're sick of hearing.

How does someone get stabbed and hit with a brick if it's 'just a robbery'?   Wake up and smell the transphobic violence in this attack.

The homeless Taylor was found on the ground Wednesday bleeding with head injuries behind a Midtown Memphis church at 69 North Cleveland St. according to a news report.

Taylor told Memphis police she was behind a building, a block away from the church, when someone dragged her down stairs and robbed her. After stealing a purse, the robber stabbed Taylor and hit her in the head with a brick.  She was taken by medical personnel to Regional Medical Center wher is was later upgraded to critical condition.  

Her friend James Houston said something in the article that I concur with: "I really believe that if she would have been in a place where she could call home, she would not [have been attacked],"

Here's hoping that Alexia not only recovers quickly and finds a home, but she receives justice when the waste of DNA who did this to her is captured.

The Litmus Test

TransGriot guest post by Dawn Wilson

This election is a litmus test . A simple test of intelligence . What is a litmus test you ask? In the political sense it is a test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision . So your choices for this test are so simple a kindergartner has the cognitive ability to handle the following question.

The question is what do you value?
If you value Education, you vote.
If you value Civil Rights, you vote.
If you value Health Care, you vote.
If you value the 2nd Amendment, you vote.
If you value Freedom of Religion, you vote.
If you value your community whatever that may entail,  you vote.

Voting is your voice.  Without it, that voice is minimized.

Some candidates are not ideal. Some are evil. But to refuse to engage in a process that can fuel change is imbecilic at best and detrimental and destructive at worst. Some people will vote against their interests and what they value and be shocked with the outcome, while others will vote their values and may not pleased with the outcome .

In either case they have a voice, a strong one and more versed one . Remember Ferguson? In the most recent elections, turnout was just 12% and sadly we see the result. Because people stayed at home and did not vote what they valued, the people who were elected to care for the community, the people who hired the police who act in such a horrible manner, failed . 

And those who failed to vote were the catalyst .

Now new voter registration numbers suggest that the Michael Brown shooting has kindled a new sense of civic engagement among many Ferguson, MO residents.  More than 3,000 people in the Missouri city of 21,000 have registered to vote. That represents a increase of more than 25 percent in voter registration in just two months. Total voters registered in Ferguson are now 14,428 as of mid-day Thursday, and still rising, according to the St. Louis County Board of Elections.

So voting doesn't matter?  Local, state and national elections are a joke? The events over the last few months should dispel that notion. Out of 31 democratic countries, the United States has the lowest voter turnout numbers. Racism, economics, and Voter ID laws all affect voting, but even with these obstacles voting is our best chance to change the future.

Even the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr was quite aware of the power of voting as a catalyst for
change.

"One of the most basic weapons in the fight for social justice will be the cumulative political power of the Negro. I can foresee the Negro vote becoming consistently the decisive vote in national elections.'"

So here is your test – A. Vote for what you value   B. Vote against your interest C. Don't Vote and be silenced . Test day is November 4th . Good luck.

It's Spirit Day 2014!

Today is Spirit Day, the annual day since 2010 in which we wear purple to denote support of TBLG kids who are being bullied for who they are. 

It sprang from an idea advance by Canadian teen Brittany McMillan in the wake of a wave of LGBT suicides in 2010 that in large part were triggered by bullying, with the big media attention name in that wave of suicides being Rutgers student Tyler Clementi.

The reason we wear purple is because of the purple stripe on the Gilbert Baker created  rainbow flag, in which the purple stripe on it represents spirit.

The first Spirit Day was celebrated on October, 20, 2010 but has now been moved to one thta is celebrated every October 16.

And since I was one of those kids back in the day who was on the receiving end of bullyingin elementary school , it's a day and a cause that resonates with me.

So join me in finding a nice purple outfit to wear today and catching the spirit of Spirit Day.  

It's past time to end bullying not only of our LGBT kids, but the scourge of bullying period.

Trans Person Elected To Office In Peru!

History was made on October 5 as the first out trans person was elected to public office in Peru.

Lucia Revilla Urcila (left in photo) was elected by the voters to a seat on the local council in La Esperanza in the province of Trujillo in northwestern Peru.


This electoral breakthrough in that nation came mere weeks after a groundbreaking September 5 LGBT conference of 300 Latin American and Caribbean LGBT advocates was held in Lima with the goal of increasing LGBT political participation in their various nations.

One of the co-organizers of that conference was the Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute along with the US Agency For International Development.

“I will execute my office with great humility and tenacity,” Revilla told the Washington Blade on Thursday. - See more at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2014/10/10/peruvian-voters-elect-countrys-first-trans-council-member/#sthash.DNPI1XWc.dpuf

This is also wonderful news after several trans people in various nations across the South American continent in 2012 and 2013 fell short in their attempts to get elected to their respective national legislatures in Colombia,  Ecuador, and Chile.

The 43 year old Revilla told the Washington Blade in a recent interview, "I will execute her office with great humility and tenacity."

"I am going to promote equality and say no to discrimination" she said to the Blade.  "We want everyone to have equal access, to succeed and achieve their goals. When there is no discrimination, there is pacification. Infrastructure and modernity is important, but promoting values and having concern for the people matters even more."

Revilla's win was hailed by Peruvian LGBT activists as a watershed moment for their country and their movement.

"We as a community feel proud for the significant achievement of our colleague," said Lima-based trans advocate Maricielo Pena Hernandez. "The labor we had undertaken years earlier for the fight for respect of our rights have seen their fruits come to bare, showing the bad perception that society has toward us is going to change."

It remains to be seen if this is the small step that results in giant leaps of progress for not only Peruvian trans people, but their national TBLG human rights movement.

But it definitely is an accomplishment to be celebrated.

“I am going to promote equality and I will say no to discrimination,” she said. “We want everyone to have equal access, to succeed and to achieve their goals. When there is no discrimination, there is pacification. Infrastructure and modernity is important, but promoting values and showing concern for the people matters even more.” - See more at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2014/10/10/peruvian-voters-elect-countrys-first-trans-council-member/#sthash.DNPI1XWc.dpu

Laverne's Reminder For You To Go Purple For Tomorrow's Spirit Day

Laverne took a break from filming Season 3 of Orange Is The New Black to remind you peeps about tomorrow's Spirit Day

So what is Spirit Day?   On October 16 we take time to wear purple to show solidarity with LGBT youth and take a united stand against bullying.   It was a proposed idea by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan which was celebrated for the first time on October 20, 2010

Spirit Day takes its name from the purple stripe of the Gilbert Baker created rainbow flag, which represents spirit, hence the name for the day..

The day was a response to a 2010 outbreak of bullying related suicides of gay student, including Rutgers student Tyler Clementi

And yep, it has it's own #spiritday  hashtag

So here's Laverne's video, and break out those purple outfits tomorrow.

Aniya Parker Case Update

In the latest news concerning the Aniya Parker murder in Los Angeles, a $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the three men who are believed to have committed it.

As the search for her killers continues, family and friends have launched a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Parker’s funeral expenses, describing her as a woman with “a heart of gold.”

The reward was announced during an emotional October 10 press conference. While the LAPD continues to investigate the case as a 'robbery gone wrong', the LA LGBT community continues to insist it was a hate crime.

Aniya Parker's distraught family members just want to know why she was killed.

“I don’t understand how you young people could do such a mean and cruel thing,” said Adrian Parker. “We just want to know why. We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. … Our family is in deep emotional stress.”

As usual TransGriot readers, will keep you posted on the updates and developments in this case as I receive them.

An Ugly NH GOP Blog Post

More evidence that the Republican War On Women is alive and well comes from New Hampshire.

Seems as though New Hampshire state legislator Steve Vallancourt decided to write a misogynist post for the NH Insider blog that disparaged Congresswoman Ann Kuster (D)  as 'ugly as sin' and took it another reprehensible step forward by stating that drag queens were more attractive.

'Annie Kuster looks more like a drag queen than most men in drag.'

If Vallancourt's name sounds vaguely familiar to you, back in 2012 he had to apologize for yelling "Sieg Heil!" and doing a Nazi salute on the NH house floor after debate was stopped by the Republican Speaker of the House on a voter Suppression ID bill.

Vallancourt's post was intended to support the US House candidacy of New Hampshire state rep Marilinda Garcia, bur she quickly put out a statement yesterday distancing herself from the ugly blog remarks.

"State Rep. Vaillancourt’s recent comments about Rep. Ann Kuster are sexist and have absolutely no place in political discourse. Both Rep. Kuster and I have experienced this unfortunate reality of being a woman in politics. I hope that as time moves forward and more female candidates run for political office around the country, people will focus on the content of our ideas rather than what we wear and how we look."

And I know this conservafool isn't trying to go there and talk about how people look when he ain't all that himself.  But then again it's a concrete example of the misogyny running rampant in the Republican Party and the conservative movement boys club in general.

It'll be up to the residents of New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District to decide which woman  will represent them.   I suspect their November 4 decision on who will be their congressmember will be based more on qualifications and what they can do for the district

And speaking of what you can do for your district Steve Vallancourt, how about you have several seats and a nice tall mug of shut the hell up?.

HERO Updates,Notes and News-October 14

While we wait for the January 19 court date and trial to take place, the HERO is unfortunately not being implemented until the legal issues get sorted out.

In the interim, more evidence just keeps on surfacing in Houston why HERO is needed and why it was pushed for and passed in the first place.

Interesting news broke here recently about a gay male couple tossed out of a Yellow Cab last weekend because of a PDA the homophobic cab driver didn't approve of.

He should have had a clue because he picked up Travis Player and Andres Orozco in front of FBar, a gay club on Tuam Street.

As they shared a PG kiss on their way to their Museum District area home,  Orozco told ABC 13 "The man just turns back to us and tells us that he doesn't give gay people rides. And he proceeds to tell us we're going to hell for being gay."

The homophobic cab driver then kicked the couple out of his vehicle a few blocks from their home.

Yellow Cab had this to say about the incident.

"Yellow Cab immediately investigated this allegation of discrimination, including talking to the independent contractor driver. the driver stated that he would have taken the same actions if it was a man and a woman in the taxicab. Evidently, the driver was overly sensitive to passengers kissing. Yellow Cab does not have a policy about passengers showing affection in taxicabs. in fact, we encourage kissing in our taxicabs."

Yeah right.  If it had been a heterosexual couple locking lips in his backseat, the homophobe probably would have been hi- fiving and grinning at homeboy when he dropped them off.

Because Texas doesn't have a state law banning this type of discrimination and HERO is on hold pending the court case, what the homophobic cabbie did is legal.   But it ain't morally right.

"The sad reality is that it is completely legal," said GLBT community advocate Noel Freeman.

Freeman said in the ABC 13 interview that in the last six months, he's heard 4 other similar stories: gay couples getting kicked out of Yellow Cab taxis, for being affectionate.

"There are no laws in the state of Texas that protect people from discrimination in public accommodations like cabs. So someone can be kicked out of a cab because they're gay, black, because they're a woman," Freeman said.

Even though HERO isn't being implemented yet, if you run into any discrimination inside the city limits of H-town, go to the Office of Inspector General at City Hall and file a complaint so they can have a record of it.  

These haters need to buy a vowel and get a clue that discrimination's time in Houston has expired.

And Yellow Cab, don't forget you now have LGBT friendly competition from Uber and Lyft..  If your  drivers want to keep handing business to them, I'm sure the Uber and Lyft people will definitely be happy to take those LGBT customers off your hands and drive them wherever they need to go inside the Houston city limits.

But this is another concrete reason why the HERO needs to be implemented without delay.

Trans Woman Beaten In New York

This is another concrete example why GENDA needs to be expeditiously passed.

Was pissed off to hear via Gay City News that on October 12 a 28 year old trans woman was brutally beaten by four men in the Bushwick neighborhood around 11:20 PM EDT.

The incident took place outside of 1250 Buckwick Ave near Halsey St, and started when the transwoman while walking with a gay friend was approached by the man and asked 'what they were doing in the neighborhood'.

When they figured out the woman was trans, they began calling her a 'faggot' and beat her with a 2x4.  The gay friend escaped without injury, but the still unidentified transwoman was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the hate attack.  In addition to the NYPD having surveillance video of it along with the weapon used in the assault, a bystander captured phone video of it.

The still unidentified transwoman according to Kate Barnhart, the executive director of, New Alternatives for Homeless LGBT Youth. was a client of their organization.  Barnhart added that it is not known at this time if the victim will have permanent brain damage as a result of this hate attack.

Barnhart added, “It is outrageous that transgender people are still not safe in what is supposed to be the safest LGBT city in the world.”

They are not safe because New York State has not passed GENDA and added gender identity in the hate crimes laws, or thrown the book at the waste of DNA who killed Islan Nettles last year.

Here's hoping these wastes of DNA are swiftly captured and is served in this heinous attack.justice

TransGriot Update:  The surveillance video of the wastes of DNA in this case.

Jazz Named To 2014 Time Magazine 25 Most Influential Teens List

In a year in which a teen has won a Nobel Peace Prize, and is garnering attention as an emerging leader in the Hong Kong democracy protests, why am I not surprised when I see this young woman's name on any list of outstanding or influential people?

I had the pleasure of finally meeting Jazz this summer, and I am exceedingly proud of her.

Between all of her other projects, promoting her bestselling I Am Jazz children's book and her award winning advocacy for the trans community, she's already accomplished at age 14 what it takes many people most o their lives to do.

She can add being named to the 2014 Time Magazine's 25 Most Influential Teens List to that ever lengthening list of accomplishments.

And I'm not surprised she's on this list along with Malala Yousafzai, Malia and Sasha Obama, Mo'ne Davis, Joshua Wong and other accomplished teens.  

May wish to scroll down to the bottom of the page and show her some love in the poll that's on the bottom of the article as well.

Congratulations Jazz on another major accomplishment!.

Transpinay Killed In Philippines

The murderously rough week internationally for trans women continues with word that a US Marine has been detained and being investigated for the murder of a transpinay.

26 year old J (not using the male name) Laude was found by a Celzone Lodge employee after midnight Saturday night strangled with her head slumped in the toilet at the hotel in Olongapo City.

M. Gelviro, a 22 year old transpinay friend of Laude, stated in an interview the pair met the Marine at a local bar at 10:55 PM, and accompanied her and the Marine to the hotel.   Laude asked the friend to leave because she feared they would be outed as transpinays.

The suspect was described as a white male age 25-30, standing between 5'8"-5'10" in height with a marine style haircut.

The US Embassy in the Philippines said in a broadcast statement, “We are aware of the situation and express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. We are also aware that there are allegations that a foreigner, including possibly a US national, was involved in the incident. We are currently looking into these allegations and working closely with the PNP (Philippine National Police) to take all necessary steps to help identify the suspects,” it said.

The unnamed Marine in question is assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines from Camp Lejeune, North  Carolina.  He is  being held on board the USS Peleliu pending an investigation by NCIS.  

The amphibious landing warship arrived as part of a US troop presence for the PHIBLEX 15 military exercises in conjunction with the Philippine military, and the Peleliu has been at  Subic Bay for a port call. 

Condolences to the family of Ms. Laude, and here''s hoping that Philippine authorities and NCIS quickly sort out what happened in this case and that justice is expeditiously served.

TransGriot Update:  It has come to my attention that the name of the victim in this case is Jennifer Laude Sueselbeck.    The Marine being detained on the USS Peleliu is PFC Joseph Pemberton

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving 2014, Eh!

Today is Thanksgiving day north of the border.   All my readers across Canada are taking time out of their lives to count their blessings and get their grub on.

Definitely need to give my Canadian homegirl Renee and her family a shoutout.

After spending over a decade in Niagara Falls, they recently moved to St. Catharines and will be spending their first Thanksgiving having dinner in their new home.

Congratulations on the move.  May this be the first of many happy Thanksgiving dinners and family memories in your new domicile.

While we have yet to see passage of C-279, the Trans Rights Law that has been stalled in the Conservative dominated Senate, it has passed Second Reading stage and is now in committee.   Here's hoping my Canadian trans cousins see their home and native land recognize their human rights.

To my Canadian trans peeps, I hope you have the additional blessing of breaking bread and sharing your Thanksgiving meal with your blood family.  If that's not possible, I hope and pray it's with your chosen family or supportive friends who have opened their doors and their dinner table to you.

And if you are in the position to open your home to a fellow transperson who may not for whatever reason be able to go home to their family, I hope you are able to share your Thanksgiving Day with them.

And to all my Canadian readers, may the food that nourishes your bodies be accompanied by abundant love and smiles.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Bamby And Dawn!

October 12 happens to be the shared birthday of two people in the trans community I have mad love and respect for as leaders and role models in our community.

You long time TransGriot readers know that my former Louisville roomie, Dawn Wilson's birthday is today.  While I kiddingly use the old nickname of Darth Vader in my posts for her because she is an avid fencer and takes no prisoners on the strip, there's no joking about her role in shaping much of the history of the modern trans rights movement.  

She participated in the first national transgender lobby day in Washington in 1994 and was the first African-American transperson to win the IFGE Trinity Award in 2000.  She played a major role in the passage of the Louisville and Lexington Fairness ordinances and the defense of the Louisville one in 2004.

Wilson was the first chair of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition after its 1999 founding, has been the chair of C-FAIR, the political action committee of the Louisville based Fairness Campaign, and is currently a Metro Louisville Human Rights Commissioner.

The other person who shares this October 12 birthdate with her is Bamby Salcedo

Los Angeles based Bamby's accomplishments in this community are just as distinguished and lengthy. 

She is the founding president of the TransLatina Coalition, an organization of national trans Latina leaders founded in 2009.  She is the founding publisher of the digital XQsi Magazine, is a longtime HIV-AIDS activist in the LA area,, has been the subject of a documentary entitled Transvisible: The Bamby Salcedo Story, is a board member of Unid@s LGBT, and has also worked with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on health care services for trans people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Salcedo has garnered a long list of awards for her advocacy work on behalf of the trans community including most recently the National LGBTQ Task Force's Susan J. Hyde Award For Longevity in the Movement and Lambda Legal's Liberty Award

Happy birthday to two outstanding leaders in our community.   I'm proud to call both of you my colleagues and more importantly, my friends.   

May you continue to be sterling examples of the leadership that is necessary to lead our community forward, and you receive the blessing of celebrating many more birthdays to come.

Arrest Made In Zoraida Reyes Murder

There is finally some great news to report concerning the case of our fallen trans sister Zoraida Reyes.   The 28 year old activist was one of four trans women of color killed across the nation during a deadly month of anti-trans violence that broke out in June.

Reyes' body was found dumped near an Anaheim, CA Dairy Queen back on June 12.  The speculation was that she was killed in another location and the body was bought there.

Anaheim Police on October 8 arrested 38 year old Randy Lee Parkerson and charged him with Reyes' murder.   He is accused of meeting Reyes on June 10, choking her to death, and driving around with her body in the trunk of his car for a day before dumping it, according to the charging documents.  

Parkerson is charged with one count of murder.  He is being held on $1 million bail at the Anaheim PD Temporary Detention Facility.  

The case according to an APD spokeperson still is not being investigated as a hate crime.

"The motive is still unclear" said Lt Bob Dunn in an LA Times interview. “There is nothing to suggest that Zoraida was specifically targeted.

As Parkerson undergoes questioning in this ongoing investigation, that is one of the questions that is crying out for an answer.

We are another step closer to getting justice for Zoraida, her family, and all the people who loved  her.

Nartional Coming Out Day 2014- It's STILL Different And Challenging For Trans People

"If you're trans*, it's even scarier and a much different dynamic from our LGB brothers and sisters because a gender transition is not easy.  After the initial coming out date, unlike our cis LGB brothers and sisters, we have to pay cash out of pocket, get trans specific medical care and counseling, and morph our bodies to be our kind of person we wish to project to the world. "  -TransGriot October 11, 2013,"National Coming Out Day 2013-It's STILL Different For A Trans Person


Today is National Coming Out Day!  While some peeps celebrated it with events yesterday because the date has fallen on a weekend, today is the official day.

National Coming Out Day is still and always will be fundamentally different for a trans person to do so than someone in the LGB community. We not only have to pay for the privilege of being ourselves, we have to have the assistance of medical science to morph our bodies to present as the people we are.

If you chose this date to come out and live your trans, bi, or SGL lives, congratulations for taking your first bold steps toward being your true selves.  

And yes, know that there are differences in the coming out experience, and it is affected by race and class just like everything else in American society is.

For my newly out transfolks, while I congratulate you for doing so, on this National Coming Out Day I do need to take some time to drop some real talk on you. 

You are coming out at a fascinating time in modern trans history.   While it is undeniably the best of times in terms of the unprecedented visibility and coverage for transgender issues, and especially seeing trans people of color represented, at the same time we've gotten the undivided attention of the Religious Right.

They have lost their War Against Same-Sex Marriage, and need a new cause to rally the hate troops around.   Since trans rights are quickly being recognized as a human rights issue, they are  joining our longtime disco-era enemies the TERF's in hating on transpeople.

We've had a rough week in terms of the trans women we have lost in Los Angeles, Brisbane, Australia, and Brazil with the Transgender Day of Remembrance just a few short weeks away. 

We are the only peeps in the TBLG rainbow community who have to pay for the privilege of being ourselves.

When I say pay for the privilege of being ourselves, of course I'm alluding to the medical and body morphing aspect of the transition.   That's the easy part.   But it is not the end all and be all of a gender transition.  If you wish to have as a trans feminine person SRS, go for it, but remember that gender is between your ears, not your legs.  

The tougher part of a transition is the ongoing part of you evolving to be the best person you can be while trying to grasp the nuances of living in the world as the man or woman you always were and now get to be full time. 

And you're trying to do so while being hated on by a way too long list of haters inside and outside the TBLG community ranks.

But the interesting note to all of this is that once you do finally start down the transition highway, you'll wonder to yourself as you get comfortable in your skin and your desired gender role why you didn't do this sooner.

You'll meet some amazing and loving people in this community to replace the people that kicked you to the curb or distanced themselves from you after you began your transition.  Your family expands to the point where you will have brothers and sisters across the country and the world. 

And you are part of a group of remarkable human beings who have a proud history, are part of the diverse mosaic of human life, and are fighting every day to just live their lives without drama and to the best of their ability.


Yes, coming out as and being trans is challenging.   But it is oh so rewarding when you do so as well.   

Welcome to the trans family.

Malala Wins The Nobel Peace Prize!

Exactly two years and one day removed from the horrific day Taliban terrorists boarded her school bus and tried her to kill her for being an outspoken advocate for the education of girls in her homeland, it was announced by the Nobel Committee that 17 year old Malala Yousafzai has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

She becomes the youngest winner ever of this award and shares it with 60 year old Indian activist Kalaish Satyarthi, who like Yousafzai, has devoted his life to ensuring that women and young children have access to education.

Satyarthi was an engineer who in 1980 left his career to campaign against child labor.

The Nobel Committee got it right this time, and I couldn't be happier to see this young human rights warrior get this well deserved award.

Both she and Satyarthi will be in Oslo on December 10 to receive their awards.