Rest In Power Babs Siperstein

Was saddened to hear from Marisa Richmond that one of our trans elders and pioneer leaders in Barbra Casbar 'Babs' Siperstein passed away last night in New Brunswick, New Jersey at age 76  just days after the Babs Siperstein Law went into effect on Friday.

The Babs Siperstein Law allows trans New Jersey residents to change the gender marker on their birth certificates without needing to have genital surgery to do so.   It also adds the option to have an 'X' marker for gender non conforming people.

And yes, this one is personal because I knew her.  When she joined the transcestors, she was surrounded by family, friends, and her longtime partner Dorothy

She was an Army vet who transitioned in 2000, and I last saw Babs in person at the 2016 LGBT Pride Reception at the White House .  During that time we spent together she thanked me for doing my part to lead this community.   |I thanked her for being a role model and leader for my generation of trans people, her work in the Democratic Party, and helping to pass the trans inclusive laws they enjoy in New Jersey.

She was a leader and trailblazer in our community for nearly 20 years.   She founded the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of New Jersey in 2000.   She was one of the founding members of Garden State Equality in 2004

She had been involved in Democratic Party politics in New Jersey for a long time.   In addition to being a delegate at the last four Democratic national conventions, she became the first out transperson to serve on the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2017  She was part of the DNC's Executive Committee from 2011-2017, and was a Hillary Clinton superdelegate in the 2016 presidential election cycle,

She was a supporter of Sen. Cory Booker, who called her before she died.   During out DC conversation she also dropped some insider knowledge on me concerning one of his votes he's getting excoriated about by the far left.

Sen. Booker  wrote this comment about her last year.

"Babs is a leader, a trailblazer, and a role model for an entire generation of New Jerseyans. If you don’t know her, you probably know someone touched in some way by her tireless activism. It’s an honor to know her, to work with her, and to call her my friend. Here’s to many more years of activism to come and to a legacy that has changed the lives of so many.”

Rest in power and peace, Babs.   You've earned it. 

Houston Lift Every Voice Trans Townhall Next Sunday

The recent shooting of Pinky, combined with another attempt by the Republican led Texas legislature to enshrine transphobic discrimination in our laws, and no movement on enacting a HERO 2.0, has Houston area trans people questioning what are the next steps we need to see happen as a community.

Thanks to Dee Dee Watters,  a tow hall meeting is being organize that will take place at the Montrose Center on February 10.

That town hall will take place from 2-5 PM at the Montrose Center in Room 107, and it is on that date we will discuss many of the issues that impact our community.

This is an opportunity for those of you who aren't in our community to learn firsthand some of the issues that affect Trans Houston. 

If you need further information about the event, you can reach out to Dee Dee
at deedeewenterprises@gmail.com or give her a call 832-335-4416

Hope to see you there.

Happy Black History Month 2019

Black History Month may only happen in the shortest month of our calendar, but for me, every month is Black History Month.   Our greatness as a people is not limited to just these 28 days of the year.

It also didn't stop with the Civil Rights Movement.

Over the last month I have been gleefully celebrating with our 17 new African American women judges here in my home county as they take their judicial benches and go through their investiture ceremonies.

During Sunday's upcoming Super Bowl in the ATL between the Cheatriots Patriots and the Rams, the Rams cheerleading squad will make history as the first male cheerleaders in Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies  take the a Super Bowl sideline.

The New Orleans Saints, the Rams' NFC championship game opponent,  also had a male cheerleader as part of their squad in Jesse Hernandez

To drive home the point once again that Black trans people are Black people, we are doing our part to blaze new trails ourselves.   Back in December Breanna Sinclaire made her debut with the San Francisco Opera .  Sinclaire also happens to be the first trans woman to sing the national anthem at a professional sports event, doing so for both the Oakland A's in 2015 and the San Francisco Giants last year. 

Also proud of Raquel Willis making history by becoming in December the first trans executive editor at OUT Magazine. 

Black trans men are also blazing trails.   Filmmaker and tech entrepreneur Dr Kortney Ryan Ziegler became the first trans masculine person named to EBONY magazine's Power 100 List

And yes, myself and Alvin McEwen are poised to make a little history ourselves.  If either of our names are called during the GLAAD Media Awards, it would be the first time that any blog has won the Outstanding Blog category multiple times since it began in 2011. 

I'm also happy to see as this month starts Senator Kamala Harris pick up the torch that Shirley Chisholm left behind and embark on her hopefully successful campaign to become the first woman and second Black president of the United States. 

We'll have to wait until 2020 to see how that plays out for her. 

Happy Black History Month 2019!

What Are Houston Black Trans Leaders Doing? Plenty

I understand there's some grousing going on with some peeps in the Houston Black trans community claiming that 'our leaders aren't doing anything' when it comes to the Pinky shooting.

That couldn't be further from the truth.   I actually heard about the shooting on Thursday while watching the 6 PM news.   Didn't find out the woman in question ABC13 was reporting on was trans until the Chronicle's initial transphobic spin on the report was published and it was relayed to me late Friday evening.

This post went up on TransGriot  in response to the problematic transphobic article and to alert the community (and the nation) as to what the facts were at the time I wrote it.   There were some erroneous comments we had to immediately correct that Pinky had been killed.

That initial TransGriot post has not only gone viral (and has over 10,000 hits as I write this), it was linked to by the Dallas Voice and OutSmart magazine where I write a monthly column.

While I ended up in front of a FOX 26 TV camera last night with Houston GLBT Caucus president Mike Webb on the Isiah Factor Uncensored,  it doesn't mean that nothing is happening or that those of us who are considered leaders in this Houston trans community are just twiddling our thumbs.

I'm coordinating with our media contacts.   Both of our HPD LGBT liaisons were in Detroit attending Creating Change when Pinky was shot on Thursday.  I just caught up with one of them on Tuesday afternoon.   They are waiting to talk to Pinky, who was unconscious until Sunday, to determine next steps in this case and to hear from her what happened.  The detective in the case is also waiting to talk to her as well.

Atlantis Narcisse, Dee Dee Watters, Diamond Stylz and Jessica Zyrie are also working behind the scenes in our different lanes to find out what happened    We had allies in TENT ED Emmett Schelling and Eric Edward Schell calling the Houston Chronicle to address the transphobic coverage.

Our colleagues at BLM-Houston are standing by.  Ana Andrea Molina and the trans Latinx community are ready to help along with our Latinx community allies.  Equality Texas is wanting to know what they can do to help.

So are our trans brothers and trans GNC siblings. People around the country are asking me and other Houston leaders what can they do to help Pinky.

But next steps for how we proceed are on hold until we can talk to Pinky.   Remember that she was shot three times at point blank range and is STILL sore from it.   One of the bullets hit close to her throat so she couldn't talk.

We want to give her a little space and time to recover a bit physically and emotionally.

HPD also wants this fool off the streets as quickly as possible.  Anyone who would indiscriminately fire a gun at someone at a crowded gas station is a menace to society that needs to sent to the nearest TDC corrections facility.   Our HPD liaisons EJ Joseph and Alexa Magnan along with the detectives on this case want to solve it as well.

You can help make that happen by relaying any information you have on this case to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477) 

Sometimes activist work is tedious, multilayered and needs to happen behind the scenes, not in front of the unblinking eye of a camera.   If people in Houston Black Trans World were wanting us to head to City Hall and go off on Mayor Turner, the council, and HPD's command staff, not gonna happen. 

There are a lot of questions in this case we needed answers to before we take our next steps. 

One step we are planning is a Black trans town hall, with date and location to be determined

The thing that we can be most grateful for is that Pinky survived this horrific attack.   Next thing we all want is to get that waste of DNA who shot her off the streets and in jail as expeditiously as possible.  We want justice for Pinky. 

But there's a lot of work that needs to happen until those goals are accomplished.   

TransGriot Nominated Again For A GLAAD Media Award!

After finally winning the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Blog on my third nomination last year, I was not expecting to be nominated when the 2019 nominations were rolled out.

I was surprised and pleased once again to find out that I have once again been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Blog category

It's the third consecutive year I have received a nomination in this category, and is my fourth nomination overall in the Outstanding Blog category (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019).  It also puts me in the mix of making a little history should I be fortunate enough to win it again.

Ever since the GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Blog category started in 2011, we have never had a repeat winner of the Outstanding Blog award.   There was no Outstanding Blog award given in 2016 because a misguided attempt was made to end the category, and we bloggers fought like hell to get it back.

I did receive a Special Recognition award in 2016 during the GLAAD Gala San Francisco.  That was also my tenth anniversary year.

Alvin McEwen's Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters (2017) and I are in position to make that history should either of our names be called.

As always, we have some tough competition in this category.   Mark S. King's My Fabulous Disease,  Sue Kerr and Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, and Gays With Kids are the 2019 finalists in this category.   

Will I get to add another one to my trophy shelf?   Won't find out until awards night.   The LA ceremony is happening at the Beverly Hilton on March 28, and the one in New York is on my May 4 birthday at the New York Hilton Midtown.

You can check out the rest of the 2019 GLAAD Media Award nominees here.

2019 Houston Pride Grand Marshal Nominee Finalists Named

Houston Pride revealed on Thursday night this year's class of 2019 Grand Marshal nominees at an event held at Guava Lamp that also revealed the theme for this year's parade.

The theme is 'Summer of 69', to reflect the fact this is the 50th anniversary year of the Stonewall rebellion that kicked off the modern TBLGQ rights movement.

Houston Pride Grand Marshal nominees are comprised of people who have made significant achievements and contributions to our local LGBTQ community. 

According to Lo Roberts (yep, we're related), the president of Houston Pride, 2019 was the best year ever for Grand Marshal nominations

This year's Houston Pride Grand Marshal nominees are:

Male identifying finalists:
Eric Edward Schell
Jason Black
Harrison Guy

Female identifying finalists:
Shannon Baldwin
Janie Lopez
Iris Rodriguez

Non-Binary finalists:
Becca Keo-Meier
Julien Gomez
Mike Webb

LGBTQ-Ally finalists: 
Erika Richie
Marian Luntz
Constable Alan Rosen

For a parade that had serious diversity problems under its previous president, .it is the most diverse Pride grand marshal class ever and nice to see.   It was past time that the Grand marshal nominees reflected the diversity of this city.

For the first time ever, Houston Pride has created a non binary Grand Marshal category.

Voting has already started for it.   The voting will run until April 7, with the winners being announced on April 25.  The honorary grand marshals will also be announced on that date.

Here's the link to vote....

Houston Trans Woman Shot, Misgendered By Houston Chronicle

Anytime and anywhere a trans woman is shot I have a major problem with it.   But when the crap happens in my Houston backyard less than a mile from where I live I take it personally.

A 24 year old Black trans woman known as Pinky was chased Thursday morning through a busy Chevron station parking lot just after 11 AM CST.   The gun wielding miscreant shot at Pinky twice, cornered her by the front door of the gas station located on the corner of Beltway 8 and Richmond Ave in West Houston, and fired three shots at her at point blank range.

She was taken to a nearby hospital in unknown condition.

The surveillance cam video obtained by ABC13 is disturbing and infuriating to watch.


I know that location well because it has a Frenchy's that I love to patronize.   That station because it is on a major street by one of our busy H-town freeways is always busy. 

So somebody saw something or knows something that will lead to the arrest and conviction of this fool.

The approximately 5' 8" Black male assailant wearing a gray hoodie got away in a light colored SUV, possibly a Honda.   HPD is definitely looking for his reprehensible behind.

If you have any information that will expedite that happening, you are urged to call Crime Stoppers at  713-222-TIPS (8477)

As for Pinky, her Houston trans family will definitely be checking on her to make sure she is okay, and once the waste of DNA is apprehended, stand with her when he is inevitably tried and brought to justice.

What also has me incensed and concerned about about what happened besides the fact it was in my neighborhood is that the Houston Chronicle dipped into the transphobic pool to report on this story.

Note to Jay R. Jordan:  A trans woman is a WOMAN, not a man.    It was not necessary for you to go there and try to justify your transphobia by adding the sentence about Pinky's ID.

I find it interesting you could point out the incorrect ID, but couldn't report Pinky's name 

Another point I need to make is this.  What is or isn't on that ID is not germane to this story.

Houston cis Black community and cis Black community leaders and politicians, several questions for you to ponder. 

When will you FINALLY step up and say it is NOT okay to shoot at or kill Black trans people and act on it?  When will our Black trans lives matter to you?   How many of us have to die this year before you finally conclude that enough is enough? 

And another FYI for you. Black trans Houstonians vote.

A trans woman was shot and ended up in the hospital as a result of what happened Thursday.   It is infuriating to me and the Houston trans community that once again, instead of respectfully reporting on it like ABC13 did, transphobia was injected into this incident by our main local newspaper.

MIQ 2016 Runner Up Competes In 2019 Miss Rio Pageant

The date and site for the 2019 Miss Universe pageant has yet to be determined, but Angela Ponce's historic trip to Bangkok to compete in Miss Universe has inspired other trans pageant beauties around the globe to try to make pageant history in their own nations.

One of those is in Brazil.

25 year old Nathalie Oliveira is starting her quest to be on the 2019 Miss Universe stage by competing in the Miss Rio de Janeiro pageant that takes place this weekend on January 26. 

It is a preliminary for the Miss Brazil Universe pageant that will take place later this year, and she is the first out Brazilian trans woman who has ever entered this regional pageant.

Oliveira was the winner of the Miss Trans Brazil pageant, and was the first runner up in the 2016 Thailand based Miss International Queen contest.     She also has a YouTube channel with over 15,000 subscribers that covers topics that include makeup, travel, and transsexuality

Good luck to Nathy!  Here's hoping she gets a step closer to being on the 2019 Miss Universe stage

SCOTUS Votes To Oppress Trans Troops

Why am I not surprised the four white conservatives and honorary white man Uncle Ruckus Uncle Thomas voted to oppress trans people and side with the Trump misdaministration on their odious trans ban.

Trans people serve in the armed forces of 18 nations, many of them our NATO allies.   The US should be leading in this area, not regressing.  Qualified American trans people who wish to serve our country should be welcomed with open arms, not told we aren't wanted.

There are trans people who wish to serve our country because they have traditions of military service that go back several generations in their families, 

Trans people are choosing military service for many reasons just like cisgender people. 

Forcing trans people to serve with a 'don't ask don't tell' policy didn't work for gay and lesbian troops, and won't work in this regard. 18 nations allow trans military service, including the ability to transition while they are in the military and it does not affect combat readiness or break the bank. 

It will cost far less for trans related medical care than it does to provide Viagra. It will cost an estimated $2-6 million a year for trans related care vs the $45 million that it cost last year to provide Viagra. 

There's also 15,500 trans people serving, some who have already transitioned and serve critical roles in our armed forces. 

Trans people should not only be allowed to serve, they should be allowed to medically transition while on active duty if necessary and have the VA cover trans medical benefits once they leave.

A sad day for this country/.

Sat Out The Houston Women's March Again

Did you not get the lesson that if your feminism isn't intersectional, you're doing it wrong?
Obviously you didn't, and that's why I and many Houston Black feminine leaders and our allies WON"T be at your little party-TransGriot,  January 19, 2018

And sadly, they STILL don't get it.

That's why when the Houston's Women's March (or whatever they call it now) took place today, I was chilling in my apartment writing and drinking hot chocolate.

Because just like the previous two years, the overwhelmingly white fauxminist centered leadership of it refused to include Black women, reach out to Houston grassroots advocates or the Houston trans community or listen to our concerns.

On top of that they co-opted a universally recognized symbol for a pagan goddess for their new logo

They refused to acknowledge our concerns in the Houston Black community that this march was not only taking place on MLK weekend, but also starting at the same time as the annual Houston MLK Children's March. 

Once they realized they had a PR problem of their own making, issued an insulting last minute late azz invitation to BLM Houston's Kandice Webber and Ashton Woods to participate.

The day these fauxminists finally decide to center the Houston march on women other than their pink pussy hat wearing selves is the day I finally venture downtown to join it. 

Until you get it through your heads that trans women exist in the Houston area in all our rainbow ethnic shades, and all women of color are at the table when you start the 2020 Houston Women's March planning instead of an oops afterthought invite after you mess up, I'll keep sitting this one out.

Until you fauxminists get it together, I'll be at Emancipation Park for the March For Black Women  where I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my presence is welcomed, and the invitation has been extended for me and girls like me to participate in it

Angelica Ross Featured In Sophisticates Black Hair Magazine

When I stated life as my true self 25 years ago, one of the things I started doing was picking up copies of Sophisticates Black Hair from my local Walgreen s and CVS magazine shelves

Sophisticates Black Hair Magazine, or SBH for short , has for over 30 years featured  hair styling and makeup tips geared toward Black women , but features our Black female celebrities looking fab at various events and on our fave television shows and movies..

It also has an issue dedicated to the Ten Best Styled Women of the Year

So it was a big deal when Angelica Ross announced that she has an article in the latest issue of SBH with our forever FLOTUS on the cover

Congrats Angelica!  Looking forward to the day when you are on the cover of Sophisticates Black hair magazine.

2019 Williams Watch- On To The Australian Open Third Round

The Williams Sisters are still handing their tennis business in Melbourne for this year's edition of the Australian Open and cruising toward another Sister-Sister confrontation in the fourth round.

They handled their second round matches in different ways.

Venus continues to do it the hard way.     She had another three set marathon against France's Alize Cornet, but unlike the first round match, she didn't have to go to tiebreakers to determine who won the sets.

Big Sis also flipped the personal tennis script by winning the first set, losing the second, then turning up her game another notch to overwhelm her opponent in the third. 

She beat Cornet 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to punch her ticket to the third round and a match with the world number one (for now) and the tournament number one seed in Simona Halep of Romania

Halep has also bee flirting with disaster herself the last two rounds, taking three sets to dispose of  Kaia  Kanepi of Estonia and  Sofia Kenin of the US.

Serena so far has looked like her old dominating self.

She rolled through another microwave tennis match, needing just 70 minutes to brush Eugenie Bouchard of Canada out of the tournament in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. 

It was shaky at times, but 22 winners and capturing the last five games to close out the match definitely helps you close matches out in a hurry

Little Sis may only be seeded 16th, but she is still considered the person to beat here as she pursues her record extending eighth Australian Open title and her 24th Grand Slam title overall

Unless the refs start messing with her.  And heaven help Naomi Osaka if they meet in this tournament.  They are on the same side of the bracket.

But first, before we start talking about potential future matches, she has to handle her third round business against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.    Yastremska has already taken out Sam Stosur  in straight sets and 23rd seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round in three sets.

2019 Williams Watch- It's Australian Open Time!

'New year, new tennis season, and of course you TransGriot readers know I'll be keeping up with my fave tennis playing siblings in Venus and Serena Williams.

This will be the first time since the 2017 Australian Open final that both sisters will be playing in this tournament, the first Grand Slam of the 2019 tennis calendar.

You'll recall after Serena won that 2017 Open title, her 23rd overall, in straight sets, she discovered she was 24 weeks pregnant

The Williams sisters won't meet in the Aussie final this year, but potentially the fourth round because they are not only on the same side of the women's singles draw, they are in the same section of it.

WTF?

Their 2019 run in the Aussie Open began with Big Sis taking on 25th seeded  Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania in the first round.   Big Sis had to work after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker.   She flipped the script by winning the second set in the tie breaker to even the match, and then blowing out Buzarescu in the third set.

Nevertheless, she persisted and will advance to take on Alize Cornet of France after posting a 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 win.

16th seeded Serena started her quest for her 24th Grand Slam title with an opening round match at Rod Laver Arena  with Germany's Tatjana Maria.

Little Sis wasted little time in administering this tennis beatdown, with her spending a grand total of 49 minutes on the court to send Maria packing.  She fired 22 winners in this match, and took the opening set in just 18 minutes

She punched her ticket to what looks to be a much tougher second round match with Canada's Eugenie Bouchard after a 6-0, 6-2 straight set win.

Happy 90th Birthday Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” 
― Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Today also happens to be what would have been the 90th birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.  It is a birthday commemoration taking place as we also remember that this year marks the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans at Jamestown.

While Americans love them some Dr King today, he wasn't as well loved when he was assassinated 50 years ago.  He had just a 25% approval rating according to Gallup polls at the time, and was beginning to stress a message of economic empowerment.

During his extraordinary life, in addition to pushing for the human rights of Black Americans, he was also calling out the war in Vietnam and constructively criticizing this country to live up to the ideals that it enshrined in the Constitution. 

He also called on this country to do right by its Black citizens and make good on the human rights check marked insufficient funds. 

It's interesting to not that the January 21 MLK Day will be taking place as a racist president  has shut down the government and is holding 800,000 federal workers pay hostage because he can't get funding for his wall.

We're also regressing instead of progressing on human rights, voting rights and building the Beloved Community' that Dr King talked about in his speeches.

The 'Beloved Community' is a place not only free of injustice, but a society that actively promotes an ethic of love, justice, and humanity in its legal, political, and civic life, as well as its religious, spiritual, and moral spheres.

We definitely have some work to do to get to that point.  It is not going to be an easy or quick path to getting there, and the road to it will have some potholes we'll need to fill.

But we will, and we must get to that point as a society.

 Happy Birthday, Dr King.  .

Trans Woman Messed With At Mississippi Casino

One consequence of the false anti-trans 'bathroom predator' rhetoric the Republican Party pushed to oppose trans rights laws is it invites scrutiny on any cis or trans woman who doesn't fit the stereotypical and goalpost shifting standards for what a woman is supposed to look like.

It has also emboldened transphobes to play gender police and mess with people going to the damn bathroom

One of the things Alexus Tate loves to do is head to the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica County Mississippi and enjoy the time she frequently spends there trying her luck. 

But the trip she took to the casino the day after Thanksgiving with a friend wasn't anything but pleasant for her because transphobia smacked her in the face.

I'm also not liking the transphobic 'born a man' line in this WREG-TV article   Back to the story. 

A female casino security guard loudly demanded to see Tate's ID as she left the restroom in front of other casino patrons.   A janitor confided to Tate that the security guard had made disparaging transphobic remarks about her as she entered the restroom, saying 'Why is 'it' in there?"

Tate immediately sought out other employees to address the transphobic incident and has been in contact with Gold Strike casino management.   The casino management claimed they were investigating the matter, but haven't been in contact with Tate since December.

Tate says while the Gold Strike management has been apologetic about the incident, has offered her free plays and hotel stays, what she wants most, the firing of the transphobic security guard, hasn't happened. 
MGM Resorts, who owns the Tunica casino in question, sent this statement to WREG-TV

“Inclusion is a core value for MGM Resorts, and all security officers are trained on our company’s policy of allowing guests to utilize public restrooms based on the gender with which they identify. Unfortunately, the security officer involved in this incident did not respond appropriately. The security officer in question was immediately corrected, the policy was clarified to the guest by a supervisor at the time of the incident, and the security officer involved was disciplined accordingly. We sincerely regret this incident and have apologized to the guest. We hope for the opportunity to make up for her poor guest experience 

“This incident does not represent our values or the conduct of employees across our company. Our employees train extensively on our policies, and we will continue to reiterate and emphasize our commitment to inclusion and our focus on treating guests appropriately. Our goal, as always, is to ensure all guests feel welcome and have a safe and enjoyable experience.”

Nice sentiment.  But until that message is sent with the firing of the security guard in question that transphobia isn't tolerated, and there are consequences for those who engage in it, these will be nothing but empty words 

GENDA FINALLY Passes the New York Senate!

I have been chronicling on the blog the tortured history of New York state's proposed Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) law that would give trans New Yorkers statewide rights protection and add them to the state's hate crimes law. 

Since 2008 it has overwhelmingly passed in the Democratically controlled New York General Assembly only to die in the Republican controlled NY State Senate without a committee hearing or even a floor vote..

In November, the Blue tsunami flipped eight senate seats and gave Democrats control of the NY State Senate with a solid 39-24 majority.

Now that the NY senate is firmly in Democratic hands, the GENDA bill finally began to move in that chamber instead of hitting the usual Republican legislative roadblock aided and abetted by DINO Democrats   

GENDA not only got its first committee hearing in the NY Senate, it passed out of committee and to the NY senate floor yesterday on a unanimous vote.

Today GENDA passed in the New York state senate on a 42-19 vote to send the bill to Governor Andrew Cuomo's desk for his signature to make it law.

Congrats to all my trans family in New York.  This is a day you have been waiting for since you were callously stripped out of the SONDA bill in 1993. 

And how apropos that GENDA passed on Dr King's birthday!

And today, Sylvia Rivera is smiling as the day she fought for on her deathbed has finally come to pass for trans New Yorkers.