The trailer for Happy Birthday, Marsha has been released.
It's a short film written and produced by Reina Gossett and Sasha Wortzel that tells the story of Marsha P. Johnson shortly before the 1969 Stonewall Riots and stars Mya Taylor in the title role.
The production team for this film is seeking to raise $30,000 so they can finish post production of this movie and get it on the silver screen where it deserves to be.
But I'll let them speak for themselves:
Last summer, we raised funds to shoot the film via Kickstarter (thanks to many of you) plus grants from Trans Justice Funding Project, Gil Foundation, Astraea Global Arts Fund, and many many individual donations. Since then the scope of the film has changed dramatically. Rather than making a traditional documentary, we shot a narrative, scripted film starring Oscar hopeful Mya Taylor as Marsha P. Johnson.
NOW we are raising the finishing funds needed to complete our film, so we can begin screening it for you! Raising this money will keep us on track to showing this film in early 2016! The funds raised will go directly towards:
Editing - paying our amazing editor who cut the picture
Motion Graphics and Titles - getting all our text and graphics designed
Score- paying for the film's incredible original music
Sound design - creating the feel of 1969 NYC through sounds
Sound Mix - getting the sound ready for theatres and your home speakers
Color Correction - capturing the gorgeous colors and textures of 1969
Festival submissions - paying submission fees ($20-$80) which add up fast
The world needs to see it, and I hope you'll consider contributing whatever you can so that the production team hits their fundraising goal. Of course, if they exceed it, that's all good, too.
It's too late for it to help us here in Houston, but what I have been saying for a while is that the bathroom meme needs to be made into such a joke and radioactive to conservafools they won't dare throw it .
Here's Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson giving the HERO loss the wicked comedic treatment it deserves.
We owe it to the people we have lost this year to ensure this Congressional Violence Against Trans People Forum is the start of formulating federal government level policy solutions that fix the anti-trans violence problem negatively impacting Trans America.-TransGriot, November 14, 2015
In an hour a historic forum held by the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus to discuss violence against trans people. Hopefully the two hour forum will be the catalyst for legislative action that helps fix the problems we face.
Earlier this morning inside I-495 there was a 10:30 AM EST press conference held by the LGBT Equality Caucus to announce the formation of a Transgender Equality Task Force.
The forum will run from 2-4 PM EST, with the first hour of the forum featuring a panel on the causes and impacts of anti-trans violence chaired by Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA).
It will feature testimony from panelists La La Zannell from the Anti Violence Project and DC based advocate and blogger Joanna Cifredo who were both survivors of violence.
The second hour will focus on policy and how to end bias motivated violence against trans people chaired by Rep, Jared Polis (D-CO). It will feature testimony from Kylar Broadus, the executive director of the Trans Persons of Color Coalition, Sharon Lettman-Hicks of the National Black Justice Coalition and Chad Griffin of HRC
Hoping that the forum will be livestreamed like the press conference was this morning, and as soon as the video is posted, I'll post it to TransGriot.
Dear Houston Black Community,
It has been two weeks since many of you stupidly let the Texas and Harris County Republican Party, Dave Welch, Jared Woodfill, Steven Hotze in collusion with sellout ministers hoodwink and bamboozle you into voting against a human rights law that protected you.
How's that working out for you?
And yeah, as a proud native Houstonian who grew up in South Park, loves this city and who is an unapologetically Black trans woman who has no problem owning her power, I'm still majorly pissed off about what transpired November 3.
The embarrassment is strictly on those of you who were part of the 160,286 people who got played, but the negative consequences of that misguided vote will be felt by all 2.2 million of us who reside in the city limits of the 600 square miles of Texas soil we call Houston.
Whatever excuse you came up with to justify your NO vote doesn't take away the fact that I have to deal with the realization that many of you voted that way because you ignorantly fear or hate me and other trans Houstonians enough to take away your own civil rights.
The bottom line is that me and my fellow trans Houstonians were peeing and pooping in Houston public restrooms without incident for the last five decades prior to November 3, and we will continue to do so afterward.
It's also painfully obvious that some ongoing Trans 101 'ejumacation' needs to happen.
We Black trans people exist, and we will not go back into the closet or go into hiding because you don't want to deal with the fact you are less than enlightened when it comes to the transgender community, and that lack of knowledge was exploited by the same right wing conservative oppressors who have hated Black people forever.
We trans peeps are Black people first before the trans stuff even enters the human rights equation and my 6 foot 2 body is a walking study in intersectionality. But the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance never was about bathrooms. It was about creating a human rights non-discrimination ordinance with a local enforcement mechanism that we don't have now. Thanks to some of you peeps failure to use Google to look up other sources of information about the HERO besides negative ads on KCOH and Majic 102, are embarrassingly without again
Let's bring this back to talking about the community whose humanity has been under attack since last April. At least 1-5% of the folks who live here are estimated to ID as transgender, and I hope that the 2020 US Census will include a transgender identifier category so we can get more precise numbers.
We Black trans people are your brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and neighbors.
And we vote.
We Black trans people are an intertwined kente cloth part of the Black community, and that symbiotic relationship ain't changing. What ails Black Houston also hurts Black Trans Houston and vice versa.
If you think I'm sellin' woof tickets about that last point, it was a Black trans woman named Leyth Jamal who Saks Fifth Avenue in the Galleria discriminated against in 2012
If we are facing 26% employment discrimination, that hurts not only Black trans people, but the Black community as a whole if we can't get legitimate jobs and have to go to the underground economy to earn a living. If Black trans kids are being bullied to the point of dropping out and don't continue to get as much education as they can, that hurts the Houston Black community as a whole.
What else hurts is seeing ministers that look like us oppressing us, mouthing the same dehumanizing anti-trans lies as white conservatives for over a year and fomenting hatred in Black Houston toward us. That is not only problematic, it is greasing the skids for hate crimes to be perpetrated against us.
If we have two HBCU's in the Houston area in Texas Southern and Prairie View that don't have non-discrimination policies that cover gender identity or policies in place that help make trans students feel safe and welcomed on their campuses, they will go to the PWI and HBCU colleges and universities that do.
I own my power. Post- HERO I will redouble my efforts toward encouraging my Black trans brothers and sisters to own theirs and exercise it in conjunction with our allies. You will have to deal with us becoming more active and visible in the Black community in the wake of this loss because it's painfully clear to me that needs to happen.
You don't like that, too bad, you brought it upon yourselves.
While this education is going on, new rule is in effect: You will not be allowed to uncritically demonize or dehumanize us. You will give us the same respect that you demand for yourselves and if you can't or won't meet that basic condition of engagement, you will be called out.
We have far more problems in Black Houston that we can solve by working together. Demonizing the trans community won't do squat for that, so chill with that anti-trans drama so we can get busy building the progressive Houston we all want, need and deserve.
I and other Black trans Houstonians, despite attempts to erase us from the Black community, exist and aren't going away. Deal with it.
I'll have some not so nice comments about it later, but here is what Ashton had to say on his blog about our Sodomite governor.
You have every right as an American citizen to urge the President "to halt" his "plans to allow Syrians to be resettled anywhere in the United States."What you do not have a right to do, is directly refuse Refugees because of your unfounded fear that "American humanitarian compassion could be exploited to expose Americans to similar deadly danger."
Let me remind you that arefugee is a person who is outside their home country because they have suffered (or feared) persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion; because they are a member of a persecuted social category of persons; or because they are fleeing a war. It is clear that what all you and the 25 other governors are doing is pushing Ethnocentrism, Racism,White privilege, Xenophobia &a host of other irrational forms of discrimination.
And FYI, I called Gov Abbott a Sodomite because contrary to loud and wrong right wing opinion, Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah were destroyed for lack of hospitality. not homosexuality.
With the official November 20 TDOR day rapidly approaching this Friday and events being held around the country and the world to remember the people we have lost to anti-trans violence, we in Trans World have begun to use the days in the runup to TDOR, now that we have the media's attention. as an opportunity to educate and inform people about the issues that affect trans people besides the horrific levels of violence predominately affecting young non-white trans women.
Whether the projects come from advocacy organizations like GLAAD and their trans microaggressions photo project they launched today, or trans oriented grassroots projects, videos. interviews and panel discussions around the country that won't get much media attention, these are just some of the things done during Trans Awareness Week.
In Washington DC last Friday night the DC Trans Coalition released their survey four years in the making entitled Access Denied: Washington DC Trans Needs Assessment Report they released that paints a grim picture for trans people residing in our nation's capital. Tomorrow in Washington DC a congressional Violence Against Trans People forum sponsored by the House Equality Caucus is slated to take place.
On the West Coast that same night at the just concluded San Francisco Trans Film Festival, the MAJOR! documentary was shown for the first time to a sellout crowd at the Castro Theatre.
I'm taking part in two TDOR events this week in Houston. One will be a Wednesday TDOR organized by Dee Dee Watters and sponsored by the radically inclusive Progressive Open Door Christian Center It will take place on the TSU campus at St. Luke The Evangelist Church. Address is 3530 Wheeler St.
Thursday evening from 5:30-7 PM at HCC-Southeast, I and Lou Weaver will be along with Dr. Ilija Immanuel Gallego taking part in another TDOR event sponsored by the Black Student Association, Women and Gender Studies Program, Counseling Center, and Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
It will take place at the Angela Morales Building - Lecture Hall, and the address is 6815 Rustic Street
These local examples are just some of the ways around the country and the world that Trans Awareness Week has become the trans community's moment to discuss our lives, take a hard introspective look at ourselves with initiatives like the Elizabeth Rivera created #StopTheShade campaign, hold trans themed events and talk about the issues that affect our lives.
It also gives us an opportunity to examine ways we can educate people about us trans peeps, build better coalitions to advance trans human rights here and around the globe. and most importantly, drive home the point that trans people's lives and our humanity matters.
Another day, another interview for yours truly in the wake of this HERO loss.
Been invited to come back to a familiar place for me, the broadcast studios of our local Pacifica radio affiliate KPFT-FM.
I was invited to be a guest on Queer Voices tonight at 8 PM CST for an interview to talk about the HERO campaign, local issues post-HERO and whatever other subjects we can fit in in the short time allotted for this segment.
Dee Dee Watters is also on this show to talk about the Wednesday TDOR event she's hosting.
They do live stream the show, and it will start at 8 PM CST for those of you not in the Houston area but would like to hear it. For those of you in the 100,000 watt broadcast radius of KPFT-FM, may wish to tune your local FM dial to 90.1 to hear it.
Many of you comic book fans are aware that the rebooted DC Comics Batgirl series has a reality based trans character in the person of Alysia Yeoh, the bi community activist and onetime roommate of Barbara Gordon.
She revealed to Barbara in issue #19 she was a girl like us at the same moment Barbara told her much of her personal background including the fact she was Batgirl to her roommate from Singapore.
She has been a recurring character since then
The marriage story arc for Alysia started with issue #42 in the rebooted series in which she announced to Barbara that she was engaged to Jo, who she started dating last year and Barbara would be her maid of honor.
We're now up to issue #45 in this story arc which is available at your fave comic book retailer, and another milestone as Alysia finally walks down the aisle with Jo as Barbara efficiently executes her duties as maid of honor.
This is just another example of our media being ahead of and driving the social acceptance curve. It's also important because popular culture can drive acceptance of marginalized groups.
It will be interesting to see what happens going forward not only for the happy couple, but for their maid of honor Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl,
Just in time for the TDOR and Trans Awareness Week is the inaugural Houston edition of Gender Reel that will take place at three locations from November 20-22.
Gender Reel is a coast to coast film and performance art festival founded in Philadelphia in 2011 by its executive director Joe Ippolito. It is now in its fifth year as a showcase for films featuring trans, intersex and genderqueer identities .
One of the Houston Gender Reel co-organizers Koomah, has been in contact with Ippolito for several years about bring it to Houston and with the help of co-organizers Stephanie Saint Sanchez and Jay Mays and funding from The Idea Fund and the Houston Arts Foundation, the Houston Gender Reel stop is now a reality.
On Friday, November 20 the Gender Reel action will take place at the Rice Media Center at 6100 Main Street. Saturday the Gender Reel venue shifts to the Frenetic Theatre at 5102 Navigation Blvd. and on Sunday November 22 it shifts to the Montrose Center at 401 Branard St.
The Gender Reel Houston action kicks off at 6 PM Friday at the Rice Media Center with an opening reception and screening of Kate Bornstein is a Queer & Pleasant Danger.
On Saturday November 21 is the Southern Showcase at the Frenetic Theatre at 9 PM that features Southern visual and performance artists followed by Tangerine.
On Sunday from 4-6 PM is Family Friendly Matinee and the Closing Reception
All events are open to the public and on a pay what you wish scale from $0-$20, with proceeds going to support the artists and trans and queer youth.
I am not a fan of formerly unbeaten UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey because I've been more than a little pissed off about the transphobic comments she has repeatedly leveled at Fallon Fox.
And yes, you're reading that first sentence correctly. Former UFC champion.
In Melbourne, Australia in front of a record crowd of 70,000 people as the main event for UFC 193, there was a shock the world WMMA upset Down Under as the 12-1 underdog Holm surprised and dominated the fight with the former champ from start to finish before she knocked out Rousey at 59 seconds in the second round.
No microwaved fight for Rousey in this one. And if you see me walking around town with a huge grin on my face, now you know why.
Rousey suffers her first loss after 12 wins while the 34 year old Holm not only grabs the UFC bantamweight title belt away from her, but stays unbeaten at 10-0.
I was thrilled to hear according to the Washington Post that the House Equality Caucus will hold on Tuesday a violence against trans people forum in the run up to the November 20 Transgender Day of Remembrance.
The House Equality Caucus was founded in June 2008 by Rep. Barney Frank and Rep. (now Sen.) Tammy Baldwin along with Members of Congress who are strongly committed to achieving the full enjoyment of human rights for TBLG people in the US and abroad.
Today, the Caucus is co-chaired by the six openly LGBT Members of Congress Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO); Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI); Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY); Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI); Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA).
The Violence Against Trans People Forum is timely not only in the face of the looming TDOR date but us having 21 predominately Black and Latina trans people being killed in the US.
I hope that the House Equality Caucus will consider that fact, make this historic forum ethnically diverse and don't repeat the mistake made in 2008, I am concerned that the upcoming forum will end up being a monoracial one despite the fact the people taking the brunt of the anti-trans violence casualties are trans people of color.
I'm also worried that geographic diversity of the forum participants will be overlooked because of our nation's capital being easier to reach for people in the northeast US and East Coast and the people already living inside I-495 than the rest of us in 'flyover country'.
While I love you peeps doing the trans human rights work on the coasts and in DC, our federal lawmakers really need to hear input from trans people who live in the South, Midwest and Rocky Mountain states as well. It is in these areas where we are still fighting tooth and nail transphobic state legislators and officials to get the laws and policies in place that you peeps on the coasts and cities like Chicago have enjoyed for decades.
We owe it to the people we have lost this year to ensure this Congressional Violence Against Trans Women Forum is the start of formulating federal government level policy solutions that fix the anti-trans violence problem negatively impacting Trans America.
I've been talking about this for several years, and now tonight it's finally going to happen.
For those of you in the Bay Area, you will get the pleasure of seeing the MAJOR! documentary by Annalise Ophelian and StormMiguel Florez finally light up the silver screen. That will happen tonight at the Castro Theater at 7:30 PM PST as part of the San Francisco Trans Film Fest
Sad I can't be there for it, but hope this screening is a MAJOR! success. (pun intended)
Speaking of lighting things up, it's Friday, and time for me to handle my usual weekly business of calling out the fool, fools or groups of fools that just need it.
It's this week's edition of the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards!
Honorable mention number on is HERO hater Dave Welch, who parted his lips to say that trans people can be 'cured' through 'Biblical counseling'.
Oh, is that what you're calling reparative therapy these days? How about curing yourself of that deep seated transphobia you obviously have a problem with
Honorable mention number two is Carlos Maza, whose problematic WTF moment was trying to blame Beyonce for the Prop 1 loss and claim she had 'ignored the LGBT community'.
Really? If you had talked to or listened to some peeps in Black LGBT Houston, you may have had a more successful result for your campaign,
How about you give the same advice to your client Kim Davis first? Besides dumbazz, she leaves office on January 1.
Honorable mention number four is Tennessee state Rep Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport) who proves what I have said numerous times that the most dangerous bigot is the one that has the power to write legislation.
Honorable mention number five is Jared Woodfill, who hoodwinked and bamboozled people into voting against HERO by using bathroom hysteria, but is defending a man who admitted to taking photos of women changing in a bathroom without their knowledge.
They sure do love defending perverts don't they? Especially when the perverts are white male conservative Republicans like Jason Duggar and Jared Fogle.
Honorable mention number six is Donald Trump, for all the stupid stuff he said this week.
This week's Shut Up Fool Award winner is Ben Carson, for a string of ignorant, bigoted and logic defying comments that keeps him in the running for 2015 Shut Up Fool Of The Year
Separate bathrooms for trans people? Really, kneegrow? You are that desperate for GOP votes you conveniently forgot the last time this country had segregated bathrooms they were aimed at our people, and the same rhetoric to justify them was coming out of the mouths of Confederate flag waving segregationists?
Naw Uncle Ruckus, er Uncle Ben, me and my trans brothers and trans sisters will continue to poop and pee in the potty corresponding to our outward gender presentation. Too bad if you and the conservafools you are cooning it up for don't like that.
I have pointed out that across progressive Houston there are conversations happening in the wake of the Prop 1 HERO loss in various communities trying to dissect what went wrong, what are the problems in our Houston liberal progressive coalition, and what do we need to do immediately and in the long term to fix it so we're ready and on the same collective page for the next Houston human rights fight.
Tomorrow afternoon from 4-7 PM CST another one of those conversations takes place geared toward the African-American trans, bi and SGL community.
The conversation about what's next is extremely important. The fact that the highest percentage of discrimination is perpetrated based on race is a huge concern... Houston, we have a problem! Join us as we have this conversation and layout plans for what's next. Please bring something to take notes. And a open mind!!! See you this Saturday
It most certainly is a problem when much of the Houston Black community got hoodwinked and bamboozled by white Republican activists and sellout kneegrow ministers into voting against their own human rights based on a transphobic lie. Some of the people who have bought that transphobic lie they were selling are in our own chocolate LGBT ranks.
And yeah, that's a problem when I have SGL peeps who are as transphobic as the Hotzes of the world, and that crap needs to end.
We're going to discuss that and other issues at the Montrose Center starting at 4 PM. If you wish to talk about that, have your face in the place, Address is 401 Branard St.
I know I will and will have plenty to say about this failed HERO fight along with invited speakers Brandon Mack, Ashton Woods and Fran Watson and hope you will be there as well.
TransGriot Update: Went well with 20 people in attendance. It's a nice start, and this won't be the only conversation we will have concerning what we do in Black LGBT World going forward
The Can We Talk 4 Real podcast appearance was scheduled for November 4 before we knew what was going to happen to the HERO.
Timing was great for me because I got to vent about what happened a mere 24 hours after the vote..
The podcast has now been posted to the site, and for those of you that missed the original November 4 podcast can now click on the link to listen to it.
Next Friday will be the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It started with a 1999 candlelight vigil in San Francisco organized by Gwen Smith to call attention to the still unsolved murder of Boston's Rita Hester that occurred on November 28, 1998 and the unacceptable media misgendering that happened in the wake of it. What infuriated transpeople at the time was that much of that media misgendering happened in a gay owned newspaper.
We were also beginning to forget the names and details of many of the trans people who had been murdered pre-TDOR, and the Remembering Our Dead web project was started to preserve that history and ensure we didn't allow the memories of the dead to fade.
The 2015 TDOR list of names of our fallen sisters has been compiled with sadly 22 of them from the United States. Sadly Brazil once again leads the pack in being the deadliest place on Earth to be a trans person. The youngest person on this 2015 TDOR list of names is just 13 years old.
Ever since that initial TDOR event, it has spread around the United States and the world to become a memorial event in which we pay homage to and remember the trans persons killed from November 21 of the previous year to November 20.
Once again, it's time for us to remember those who we have lost, and resolve to do whatever we can to increase understanding and acceptance of trans people in society to the point that the TDOR is no longer necessary.
But we are a long way from making that ultimate goal happen.
We're now in the second half of the 2015 NFL season as the race for playoff spots starts to take shape. Believe it or not, thanks to the putrid state of the AFC South this year, the Texans are still a half game out of first place despite a 3-5 record.
If it weren't for Denver's 4th quarter meltdown versus Indianapolis to drop them from the ranks of the unbeaten teams, the Texans would be in first place going into their Monday night game against the undefeated Bengals.
While New England is not a surprise survivor in the ranks of the NFL unbeatens, the Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers are. With the Panthers win over Green Bay Sunday in Charlotte, they are the lone NFC unbeaten squad and have seized control of the NFC South, the race for the NFC's number one seed and home field throughout the NFC playoff bracket.
But there is still a lot of football left to play.
Speaking of races, the race for the 2015 TransGriot NFL Prognostication title just got a little tighter after defending champ Mike stumbled to a 6-7 record as 2013 champ Eli had another solid week thanks to him correctly picking both of his Week 9 upset specials to win this week..
Eli has a little momentum after winning two straight weeks, but can he keep it up?
It's now Week 10. Only seven weeks left in the regular season. Teams on byes this week are the Falcons, Colts, Chargers and 49ers, so that means only 14 games to pick this week.
Week 9 Results2015 Season Record. TransGriot 7-6 TransGriot 85-47 Mike 6-7 Mike 87-45 Eli 9-4 Eli 82-50
NFL Week 10 (Home Team In CAPS)
Thursday Night JETS over Bills
Sunday Noon RAVENS over Jaguars STEELERS over Browns RAMS over Bears Panthers over TITANS PACKERS over Lions Cowboys over BUCCANEERS EAGLES over Dolphins Saints over WASHINGTON
Sunday Afternoon Vikings over RAIDERS BRONCOS over Chiefs Patriots over GIANTS
I'm going to be speaking at back to back Transgender Day Of Remembrance events here in Houston on November 18 and 19. One will be the TDOR event Dee Dee Watters is organizing for Progressive Open Door Christian Center. The next day I'm the keynote speaker for a TDOR event that will take place on the HCC-Southeast campus.
I'll pass along the details for both events as I get them.
While pulling up some TDOR research material in preparation for compiling that HCC keynote speech and my commentary for the PODCC TDOR, I noted that November 20 will be the 20th anniversary of the murder of 23 year old Chanelle Pickett at the hands of William Palmer in Boston.
Palmer basically got time served for killing Chanelle, a travesty of justice that royally pissed me and many trans people and advocates at the time off.
Because Chanelle's murder happened a year into my own transition, like Tyra Hunter she is constantly in my thoughts because both of them were not only Black girls like me, they were both so young when it happened. Like Tyra, I wonder how Chanelle's life would have turned out if she were still alive along with her identical twin sister Gabrielle and walking this planet as a 43 year old trans woman.
Ironic that the November 20 date she was taken away from us is one in which trans people and our allies around the world have set as the day to remember the trans people who were murdered in that particular year. While the US has contributed 22 names to that depressing list, transphobic hatred has contributed to the murder of trans women around the world with the youngest being just 13 years old.
And the Remembering Our Dead list is getting longer, not shorter.
Rest in power Chanelle. We will not only not allow the memories of your too brief life to fade, we'll do everything possible to make life better for all trans people.
As you longtime TransGriot readers know, last year I had the personal pleasure of ripping Dave Welch a new anus during a HERO debate on Houston Media Source TV.
Now King Hater, basking in the afterglow of leading the push to get human rights coverage stripped for 2.2 million people, now wants to part his lips to say that trans people can be cured through 'Biblical counseling'?
Is that what you faux faith based azzholes are calling reparative therapy these days? If it didn't work on gay people, what the hell makes you think it is going to work on transgender people
And as for your Saturday Houston Chronicle comment in the wake of the TNA rally that the Christian God is disrespected by wanting a body other than the one he created for them.’ He then continued down that transphobic road by stating that transgender people ‘should seek Biblical therapy to settle their confusion’.
Dave, Dave Dave. I am a Christian who doesn't believe in your racist, right-wing interpretation of God. I also believe that God created transgender people especially since we reside everywhere on this planet, and our human rights and humanity need to be respected and protected.
God also gave doctors and surgeons the ability to help people become the persons they need to be,
What we do with our bodies to make us happy falls in 'none of your damned business' territory, and we in the Houston trans community are more than fed up with you, your sellout kneegrow ministers and your GOP friends demonizing us and our humanity for Republican political advantage.
Transphobic bigotry wrapped in scripture is still transphobic bigotry.
You have gotten your azz handed to you by Cristan Williams, me and most recently Nikki Araguz Loyd, and we aren't putting up with your transphobic bigotry and attacks on our humanity.
Trans people aren't the problem Dave. You being a human rights oppressor, and your friends misusing the Bible to push your bigoted reactionary political agenda is.
I suggest you take your own advice and seek some professional counseling for that deep seated transphobia you have been demonstrating since 2010.
It's been a week post-HERO loss, and far from wallowing in despair over a temporary defeat, the Houston activist community is taking the time to ask itself in this post-mortem period some hard questions about when went wrong, and what we need to do to clean the mess up so it doesn't happen again.
Last night I was honored to be invited to take part in a discussion at the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats meeting along with Brandon Mack and Texas state Reps. Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez to talk about what needed to be done post-HERO.
It was a lively discussion in a packed room at Little Big's moderated by HSYD president James Lee, which even got the attention of ABC13, but after interviewing James, bounced before the community conversation happened.
Brandon pointed out one thing that must happen is for the predominately white LG leadership in Houston must not only share power and reach out to non-white Houston, but stop ignoring Black LGBT people when we tell you stuff that you don't want to hear.
I echoed the same points from a trans perspective, and Reps. Walle and Hernandez pointed out it is imperative that young voters get active, involved and most importantly, show up at the polls to vote
Today is Veteran's Day, the day in which we celebrate and honor our military veterans who either served or are currently serving in our military. Some of those folks are trans people who as Carla Lewis' shirt says, fought for your right to hate us.
Those trans folks who fought for your freedom and right to hate us served in war and in peacetime. Many of them honed their leadership skills while serving in the armed forces, and we as a community have benefited from people like Monica Helms, Christine Jorgensen, Phyllis Frye, Autumn Sandeen stepping up to provide leadership when we trans people sorely needed it.
It is estimated there are 15,000 trans people currently serving in our military around the globe, and the wonderful thing I can report on Veterans Day 2015 is that in a few months they will be able to do so openly. It also means that at the moment open trans military service becomes a reality, trans people who wish to serve for whatever reason will be able to enlist in the service of their choice.
We have some amazing people serving our country right now like Sgt. Shane Ortega, Laila Villanueva and her fiance Logan Ireland, Rae Nelson, Jacob Eleazer and countless others who are serving with distinction in their various service branches while living as their true selves.
Happy Veterans Day Trans Vets! Thank you for your service. Thank you for also representing girls and guys like us in our armed forces, and deeply appreciate your trailblazing efforts that will make it easier one day for the trans kids who wish to follow in your footsteps and serve our country to do the same.
