Kate Bornstein: Thoughts About Hate Crime Legislation

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Nov 09, 2009 at 07:00:00 AM EST

Kate Bornstein is yet another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

By Kate Bornstein

So now we've got a federal law that deems it a hate crime if you go after someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That's a big deal. That includes a great many people. Last time I looked, the people who define themselves based on their sexual orientation or included all these folks who -- if you fuck with them -- you're facing hate crime charges.

L for Lesbian	D for Drag Queens	G for Genderqueer
G for Gay	D for Drag Kings	T for Two Spirit
B for Bisexual	D for DragFuck Royalty	K for Kinky
T for Transgender	I for Intersex	P for Pornographers
Q for Queer	F for Feminists	P for Pansexual
Q for Questioning	F for Furries	P for Polyamory
A for Asexual	F for Femme	Q for Queer Heterosexual
A for Adult Entertainers	B for Butch	ETC for et cetera
S for Sadomasochists	M for MSM	AI for ad infinitum
S for Sex Workers	W for WSW	AI for queer Artificial Intelligence
S for Swingers

Now, if the Hate Crimes Act includes all those people, then hip-hip-hooray for our side. As a friend recently quipped on Twitter, "One giant step for transkind."

Yes, yes. Just the way it is -- even if most people disagree with my list here -- the bill is a big step forward in LGBTQ etc freedom. One step at a time, right? I know what that's about, one step at a time. I'm a good 12-stepper -- sometimes, and with some things. So Yay! for this giant step.

AND I'm impatient. I'm impatient not for more laws that would protect more people. I'm impatient for change in our culture that would bring us closer to not needing the frakking laws in the first place. I'm impatient for change in our culture that would include a sex-and-gender political coalition that would include everyone I've listed above. And that would be only the first step in my plans for world domination:

1. We all of us -- sex positivists and gender anarchists -- would have to agree on an organizational structure that doesn't other anyone. There are some good examples in religions like the Quakers and the Unitarians -- and other religions that don't base themselves in patriarchal rule -- which is often a key factor to homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, and sex negativity. (Sex and gender activists would do well to acknowledge our allies in religious circles of spiritual power. We're gonna need a whole hell of a lot of religion if we're gonna stay together as a band of committed sex and gender outlaws.)

2. We'd have to agree on a political philosophy for ourselves that wouldn't other anyone. Frak this left-wing, right-wing BS. That's just another binary and if you're reading this column, you know how to deconstruct a frakking binary: you expose it as the lie that masks the truth of a hierarchal system of oppression. So we'd need a political philosophy that transcends the binary of left and right wing politics. There are models for that sort of thing going way back in time to Goddess culture and matriarchal rule. Well, wouldn't that be hotter and more fun than what we've got? It's only going to work once the left-wing/right-wing false binary has been resolved. There's truth in both sides. We just need to abide by the politics extant where those truths overlap. And please, we'd have to agree not to be mean to each other.  

3. We'd need a name that everyone would have fun using for themselves, a name that included everyone who thinks highly of their own commitment to sexual positivity and the embracing of gender anarchy.

4. The day-to-day activism/politics of this coalition would be all about agreed-upon compassionate triage and timely action.

5. Finally, we'd need to establish strong alliances with activists fighting for equity along the political vectors of age, race, class, religion, looks, ability, citizenship, language, and family status... and any other hierarchal system of oppression I've failed to spot and mention.  

6. Once we've established those alliances, we and our allies need to get together in a big room on a representative basis -- all of us people who are fighting for equity of identity, desire, and power in gender, sexuality, age, race, class, religion, looks, ability, citizenship, language and family status. As a new and larger and more diverse groups, we'd have to do steps one through four above. Then we should be ready to take over the frakking world.

But that's not going to happen for a long time, if ever at all. So the best each of us can do right now is give heartfelt thanks to the people who pushed through and approved the Hate Crime Bill. Here's hoping we can make the most of it and build ourselves a world in which we no longer need laws.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Marisa Richmond: Thoughts On Hate Crimes

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 12:30:00 PM EST

Prof. Richmond is another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

By Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.

The recent adoption of hate crimes legislation by the United States Government is a major step forward for the transgender community.  this is the first time any positive legislation for LGBT people has ever been adopted, and for it to be fully inclusive makes this extra special.

For years, transgender activists fought to be included in this legislation because of the ongoing level of violence against transgender people across the nation.  For many of us, the darkest hour came in 2005 when nearly 40 national groups singed a joint letter to members of the U.S. Senate urging them to adopt the fully inclusive bill which had passed the House, while another group, after pledging they would fight "only" for fully inclusive legislation, both refused to sign that letter and issued its own urging Senators to ignore the House action and adopt a separate bill that left transgender people.  The argument that this "strategy" was necessary to pass such a bill was bigoted and, simply, poor politics.

Today, as we stand on the edge of yet another Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Transgender Day of Remembrance, we can remember all that we lost in the knowledge that future victims of gender based violence will have those crimes aggressively investigated and prosecuted.

We should not forget, however, that the battle to end violence against transgender people has not been totally won.  We still have to end discrimination in the workplace.  Many communities still do not have any protections and must rely on the Federal government to take action to ensure they have a level playing field.

There is also the problem of what to do for those who live in states where there is a lack of interest in pursuing even an investigation of violence against transgender people.  My home state of Tennessee is one such place.  Our largest city, Memphis, home of the Blues, Barbeque, and  Elvis, has become identified as the most dangerous city in the country for transgender people.  I am regularly asked by other trans people if it is safe for them to visit Memphis.

The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition (TTPC) has a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly, SB0253 by Beverly Marrero (D-Memphis)/HB0335, by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis), which would add "gender identity or expression" to Tennessee's Hate Crimes statute.  Currently, Tennessee is one of 38 states which does not provide protection for transgender residents.  The rash of hate crimes against transgender persons, especially against African American transgender women in Memphis, make passage of this bill even more important here.  Having an additional tool available to victims will make life safer for everyone and send a message that the lives of transgender people in Tennessee have value too.

We encourage everyone in the other 37 states that do not have hate crimes laws covering all LGBT people to continue the work to raise awareness of violence against all of us and to push to make sure your state laws match the federal one so that victims can pursue justice on every available front.

Thanks again to everyone across this great nation who worked hard to make sure that transgender people were not left behind and to see that the lives of transgender people are now recognized as having value.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Vanessa Edwards Foster: Hate Crimes- A Long Time Coming And A Long Struggle Ahead

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 09:30:00 AM EST

Vanessa is another member of the trans community who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

by Vanessa Edwards Foster

It's been a long time coming. The historic passage of hate crimes legislation and signature into law by the President signals the very first federal law covering trans people in America. My emotions, though, are mixed: ebullience, wistfulness, solemnity, sadness

To have this finally pass, and to have it inclusive of trans people, is a major victory. Since 1997, I've been consistently taking time, shelling out money and visiting offices all over Washington DC and Austin - and even once in Annapolis this year - in attempt to get even this, the most elemental protection, passed with coverage for us all. With this official passage last week, all the memories of where we've all collectively been working to achieve what's finally reality - seemingly against all odds - come streaming in.

In 1999 I had the opportunity to pull in the most critical component of what would eventually be the key to eventual passage of the James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill in Texas two years later. Taking two of my gay friends on their very first lobbying visit to show them how to parry and effectively argue our case, we landed the support of Rep. Warren Chisum, long-known as an arch-conservative, lightning rod author for the most heinous anti-GLBT legislation. His support brought in other crucial moderate GOP co-sponsors and votes and also provided cover for blue dog Dems as well. Our only responsibility was to change the wording to "sexual preference" and "gender non-conformity."

It was a victory I was pleased to help along, but a hollow one personally. In 2001, gender non-conformity was refused inclusion in the bill (with a promise made to me that if we didn't fight this and let this pass, they'd "come back for us" the next session). The bill passed, I held my tongue, but they never "came back" for us. Even this year, while in Austin, I visited with Rep. Chisum again a couple times. He chastised me with reminder that he didn't want to revisit this bill again. However, he was ready once again to support. I'll always remember the bravery of those like Rep. Garnet Coleman, author of 2009's expansion bill in Texas, and the initial co-sponsors like Rep. Rafael Anchia and Rep. Alma Allen, as well as conservative Rep. Chisum and at least one other longtime Republican friend who were ready to bravely support and push this. The bill died in committee after testimony, but these unsung heroes deserve mention.

Memories of victims past stream back. Meeting one of our homeless trans girls in Houston mere months before she was shot and killed in the Montrose sticks in my mind: would this law have helped solve her murder and bring some solace? Seeing the abject, stoic sadness in the faces of the family of Terrianne Summers as I attempted to hold my own emotions in check while eulogizing my activist protégée, knowing her murder is also still unsolved with no justice.

Even in the cases where the murderers were caught, there's only a little solace for the victims' families past. Random memories. Watching the silent tears stream down the solemn face of Paula Mitchell at the Cortez, Colorado vigil in 2001 for her murdered child F.C. Listening to the sobs of Sylvia Guerrero over the phone in 2002, recalling her precious Gwen and how callously her body was dumped and buried, not long after Fred Phelps had found out Sylvia's address and viciously protested in front of her home. Sitting alongside Queen Washington as she recounted for a reporter covering NTAC's 2004 Lobby Day how her baby, Stephanie Thomas, was riddled with bullets a mere block from her home. Hearing the broken-hearted story from Sakia Gunn's mother about the shoddy treatment from Newark authorities and community leaders and later seeing it first-hand in 2004 when our march from West Orange into Newark had only six white faces - four NTAC members and two local PFLAG parents - and was briefly refused entry into the city by police even after organizers had received permits. Hugging an activist friend, Ethan St. Pierre, who was shaken and teary-eyed after having making his very first speech in Boston recounting his aunt, trans woman Deborah Forte, being brutally murdered and having to go to the morgue to identify her body. There's no way to adequately relate experiencing this.

I still recall vividly the long battles and the acrimony over the years of merely having trans people covered by hate crimes. Struggling with conservatives just as we did with the Human Rights Campaign or the Anti-Defamation League for protection. Vehemently arguing with Mara Keisling and Lisa Mottet at the 2003 IFGE convention as they agreed with HRC and ACLU lawyers, and tried to convince me, that "gender" would include "gender identity" due to congressional intent. Less than six month later, finding out first-hand from our own local District Attorney's office that they didn't "give a damn about," nor had the time nor budget to research what congressional intent was as they were following the letter of the law as written in Texas, and nothing beyond.  

Even something as indirect as political campaigning paid off. Being an Obama delegate won me few friends in the GLBT community during the primaries. From my lobbying experience though, I knew Hillary Clinton's fondness for incrementalism and lack of knowledge on trans people just as well as I knew Obama's full-scope approach to rights. Trans folks, including myself, fought hard during the campaign up to the national convention and all the way up until election day. That night, 1000 miles from home in battleground Dayton, Ohio, I knew we'd finally won our rights to be included when Ohio was called for Obama and later when it became official that President Barack Obama would soon occupy the White House.

We were branded as pariahs, had our characters impugned and reputations ruined for standing firm on trans inclusion. It was worth it. We now have what we set out to achieve: coverage, rights, recognition. Finally, federally, we're now human.

The Hate Crimes Bill is a watershed symbolic victory for Trans Americans. But beyond the symbolism, we remain vigilant. It's an important first-step, but not the final goal.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Gwendolyn Ann Smith: We Exist.

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Nov 02, 2009 at 12:30:00 PM EST

Gwen is yet another trans community voice who I've asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Since early in the creation and promotion of the Remembering Our Dead project and the Transgender Day of Remembrance, I've made one thing clear: the most important right we can have is simply the right to exist.

When a person is murdered due to anti-transgender violence, it is so often more than a simple killing. Our killers take great pains to obliterate us, participating so often in trying to erase our existence.  They'll stab us not once or twice, but dozens or even hundreds of times. They'll cut off our genitals or mutilate our breasts, attempting to destroy not only our bodies but the physical markers of our genders. They'll beat us, strangle us, burn us, and do all they can to make us go away and become a non-being. It's not just murder -- it is eradication.

With the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, the federal government under President Obama has taken a stand against these acts. No longer is it so easy to erase us, and no longer shall it be acceptable to treat us as disposable. We are now no longer to be treated as such, in much the same way we are protected due to race, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.

Indeed, by the very passage of this bill, actual or perceived gender -- what we identify as, and/or how we are seen -- is not just part of a hate crime law, but it past of the law overall. This is not just saying that we deserve to not be subject to a hate crime, but that we exist in the first place.

Are there still hills to climb? Of course. The law will still need to be seen in use. We'll have to see if it deters any crimes, and if any crimes that do happen are treated as hate crimes. It is one thing to have the language in there, and quite another to see the law applied.

Yet by an act of Congress and the stroke of the President's pen, I and those like me have been brought into existence on a Federal level. They have stood firmly opposite those who would seek to see me and others wiped away and forgotten.

We exist, and no one can take that away from us -- at least not without facing the specter of the Matthew Shepard Act and the 1969 Federal Hate Crimes Law.  It feels remarkably good to know this.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Helen Boyd: Law And The Objects Of Hate

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Nov 02, 2009 at 07:00:00 AM EST

Helen, as part of a trans family (and in a community sense, part of my trans family), is another trans community voice who I asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

Why we have to pass a law to tell people it's not okay to hurt or kill people for whom or what they are is beyond me.

Why we have to inform police and other law enforcement that the victim of a crime is a victim of a crime even if she is black, trans, and queer is completely baffling, and frustrating.

Why a person who is different provokes such violent rage is incomprehensible.

What is true is that these kinds of crimes happen, and they are happening this year at an alarming rate. We know, despite the protections that have been on the books a long while, that people are still killed for being black, Muslim or from a country currently out of favor in the US. People have been killed for being gay, for being assumed to be gay, for being trans and for being gendered differently.

We in the trans community know full well that the more crossroads of identity you live with - being black while trans, being female while Muslim, being differently-abled and poor - the more likely it is that you will face discrimination, hate, or violence. Any combination of minority identity leaves you vulnerable.

José Sucuzhañay didn't have time to explain that the man whose arm he was holding was his brother's when he was beaten by homophobic haters one night in Brooklyn. That José Sucuzhañay was already protected against a hate crime as an immigrant and a Latino didn't matter to the guys who thought he was gay. For someone like me, who is lesbian and not-lesbian, queer and heterosexual, explaining the complicated layers of my identity won't help. We are all one object of hate, immigrant and trans person, prostitute and Muslim, brother or wheelchair-dependent person. We are all one in our difference, minorities within a minority, and so the same object of scorn and fear to the people who would harm us.

What the Hate Crimes Act does is make us multiple; the additional protections that have been added to federal Hate Crimes Law help others recognize the many ways we are, and can be. So while we know these laws won't make us safe, they will make the crimes against us countable. They make the fear and mourning of our families visible. These new protections recognize our humanity and our families and our struggles.

~~~~~
Further reading:
* CNN: Slain immigrant's brother hopes for hate-crime legacy

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Allyson Robinson: Holding My Hand And Watching My Back

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Oct 30, 2009 at 16:30:00 PM EDT

Allyson is another trans community voice who I asked to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation -- the hate crime legislation that was signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

By Allyson Robinson

In remarks delivered at the White House reception marking his signature of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, President Obama said, "No one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hand of the person they love.  No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are."  As corny as it sounds, it felt a little like the President was holding my hand or watching my back when he said those words.

My wife Danyelle and I have been married for 15 years and for most of that time, we were that stereotypically sappy couple everyone hates.  If we were in arm's reach of each other, we were holding hands.  If more than 15 minutes had passed since we'd kissed last, we kissed, and we didn't care who was watching.  We were a romantic comedy's worth of winks, loving looks, and giggles.  But all that was before I began my gender transition and started being perceived by the public as a woman.

Just a couple of months ago, we were enjoying some time together without our four children - an occurrence that is all too rare for us these days - having dinner and seeing a movie a the local cineplex.  As we walked through the mall to the theater, our steps drifted closer to each other, and our hands touched.  Instinctively, Danyelle reached out to take my hand in hers.  Just as instinctively, I pulled my hand away, lest anyone around us see.  She was hurt, and so was I, but talking about it later we both agreed that the risk of harassment or violence was just too great.  There will be no more public hand-holding for us.  Our fear for our safety has pushed our perfectly legal, perfectly reasonable, perfectly laudable affection for one another into the closet.

Back when I was publicly perceived as a man, I never looked over my shoulder - never.  I played high school football, attended Army paratrooper school, led infantry soldiers on patrol through the Korean DMZ and air defense soldiers in convoy through city streets where we knew we were being targeted for terror attacks.  I am trained in self-defense and was even a pretty good boxer at West Point.  But I've realized that none of these things are what allowed me to walk alone through a dark parking lot or down an alley without fear.  What kept me from feeling afraid back then was the simple fact that, as a white male, I was just not a target.  It wasn't long after I began my transition that I came to understand just how much things had changed for me.   Today I diligently avoid places I never hesitated to enter before because I am a target.  With little more than a change of wardrobe, I transited from one of the least vulnerable classes of people in our society to one of the most.  Looking over my shoulder has become second nature.

President Obama's words - "No one should be afraid to hold a loved one's hand or be forced to look over their shoulder" - speak to the lofty ideal behind the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  They remind us of our Constitution's commitment to life as the first "inalienable right."  They acknowledge painful the truth Americans are often either too ashamed or too arrogant to admit: that some of us have less value in the public mind than others, and crimes committed against us weigh less heavily on the public conscience than crimes committed against others.  And they commit the strength of the President, the power of Congress, and the authority of the federal government to the protection of those who are made vulnerable by such prejudice and ignorance.  That's what the Shepard-Byrd Act means to me.  

Let's be realistic: this law will not prevent the next anti-trans or anti-gay hate crime from happening, nor the one after that.  Hate will hurt and kill again, and again.  Danyelle and I don't feel any safer holding hands in public today than we did yesterday, and I'll still look over my shoulder when I walk to my car tonight.  But something has changed.  Yesterday, my own federal government had not yet embraced its responsibility to guarantee my right to life by protecting me, and those like me, from acts of senseless violence.  Today, my human value, as a transgender person and a lesbian, is explicitly acknowledged, for the first time in history, in the law of the land.  

One of the elder statesmen of the LGBT civil rights movement once told me that, as hard as passing good laws is, it's really one of the easiest parts of our work.  "The hard part," he said, "is changing the culture in ways that undergird those good laws - so that our children's generation will find it hard to believe we needed laws like this in the first place."  I think, though, that good laws - when they're properly understood and adequately enforced - can contribute to cultural change.  Because of the Shepard-Byrd Act, maybe one day my children will really be able to hold the hand of a loved one without being afraid of how people will react or walk down the street without looking over their shoulder.  Then, and only then, will our work be done.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Vicki Estrada: Thoughts On The Hate Crimes Bill Signature By The President

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 12:30:00 PM EDT

I asked Vicki Estrada, along with several other voices in the trans community, to share their thoughts on federal hate crime legislation being signed by President Obama on October 28, 2009.
~~Autumn~~

By Vicki Estrada

Like any other weekday morning, I awoke this morning to the sounds of National Public Radio.  An unusually cold morning for San Diego, I snuggled into bed for a few more moments of sleep and hopefully some last minute dreams which I so enjoy.  Half asleep, I faintly hear the voice of Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality on the radio saying what a historic day today (October 28, 2009) is for Transgender people.   This afternoon, President Obama will sign the Hate Crimes Prevention Act which will be the first time Transgender people will be mentioned in a Federal Act in a positive way.  For this topic to be National news is significant enough but the signing of this Act is quite historic.  Will the mere signing of this Act stop transphobia and transgender hate?  Not initially of course, but it will bring our cause, our existence, our plight to the public forefront and it will allow local agencies to better fight and track down those that will partake in hate crimes against us and hopefully, help prevent these hate crimes.  

As an openly out and proud Latina post-op transsexual that transitioned (quite publicly) four years ago and also in a same sex marriage, this is very good news indeed, but the underlying issue remains.  Why is such a law needed in the first place?  Why are we hated so?  After all, this is a "Prevention Act", not a "Prosecution Act".  The majority of our effort should be to educate and inform, to eliminate the fear that many have of transgender people.  Only in this way, will transgender hate crimes be eventually eliminated.  How do we do this?  An anti-hate law is just the start.  We need to integrate.  We need to educate.  We need to participate.   We need to show our communities that we can be positive role models, leaders, creators and teachers.  But we need to be given that chance, and that is where the problem lies.  Today's signing of the Act is just the beginning.  Let us move forward with pride and not shame changing the perceptions and feelings of those that surround us. There will come a day when we are revered, not feared, but only if we continue the effort that so many have given that allowed today's signing to happen.

~~~~~
NPR article and audio Vicki referrenced:

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Takes On Hate Crimes Legislation Passing The House & Senate

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sat Oct 24, 2009 at 08:00:00 AM EDT

"I am pleased that today we were able to move the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 a step closer to passage this afternoon.  But I'm disappointed that Senate Republicans have decided that defeating hate crimes legislation takes precedent over supporting our troops.

"It is outrageous and unacceptable that Senate Republicans would vote against pay raises for our troops, battlefield equipment upgrades and increased funding for veterans' health care as we continue to fight two wars.  And they decided to do this all for the sake of stopping passage of landmark legislation that will bring justice to those who commit violent crimes based on bigotry and prejudice.  What message does that send to our country and, more importantly, to our troops?"

~Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

The bigotry and prejudice Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid mentions is against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Some of us are servicemembers; some of us are, like me, veterans; some of us are, like me, are actually LGBT disabled veterans. The Republican votes against this bill, when one condiders that there are LGBT veterans and disabled veterans, really  was "outrageous and unacceptable."

As many of us trans folk know, we often get erased from the coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) federal legislation. I watched yesterday as Rachel Maddow wonderfully mentioned "gender identity" in the passage of The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act:

Well, to keep the reality in focus for trans people, The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is the very first piece of federal legislation that includes gender identity. Let me say that again: this is the first piece of federal legislation that specifically includes transgender people.

And, President Obama has promised he will sign the bill, and that will likely happen next week.

I talked to Adam Bass -- Senior Media Strategist with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) -- on the phone today about the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. I worked with him closely during the coverage of the Angie Zapata...we were both deeply affected by covering that trial. Today I'm thinking of Angie as I think of this bill, so naturally I thought of Adam. I asked for his comments on the House and Senate passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and this is what he said:

As we await President Obama's signature on the recently passed hate crimes bill, I can't help but think of Angie Zapata Last April, I sat in a court room with Angie's family and friends and listened about the horrific last few hours of her life - when she was brutally beaten to death, simply because another human being hated that she was transgender.  Angie was a young, vibrant, beautiful sister, aunt and daughter.  She's someone I would have loved to have known.  It is remarkable to think that in a very short time we will see the nation's first gender-identity inclusive bill signed into law by the President of the United States.  It is an incredible signal of respect for Angie and all the other transgender and gay people who have been taken from us through hate violence.

I couldn't agree more with Adam.

Below the fold is a collection of what leading transgender civil rights organizations have said about passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Please take a read -- what they have to say seems pretty important to hear.

Guest Post: The Message Of A Fully Inclusive Hate Crimes Bill

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Oct 23, 2009 at 17:00:00 PM EDT

Ethan St. Pierre is the founder and creator of internet radio's TransFM International Broadcasting Network, as well as collecting the data for, and maintaining the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) Web Project's website. Besides being trans himself, his aunt is on the TDOR victim's list -- killed due to anti-transgender hate violence.
~~Autumn~~

By Ethan St. Pierre

To say that I am thrilled over the passage of the Matthew Shepard, James Byrd Jr. hate crimes prevention act is an understatement. Many people in the transgender community, myself included, have spent many years lobbying and educating people just to have gender identity included in the bill and to see a fully inclusive hate crimes bill head to the President's desk is beyond my wildest dreams. I wasn't sure if I'd see it happen in my lifetime.

Some years after losing my aunt, Debra Forte to a hate crime, I found the Remembering Our Dead web project and it's creator, Gwen Smith who also founded the Transgender Day of Remembrance. I thought it was a great way to educate people about the level of anti-transgender bias that we face and have been helping Gwen ever since in any way that I can.

Yesterday, as I monitored the progress of the hate crimes bill in the Senate, I was also busy typing in the names of the transgender people we have lost over the past year due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. It was a very emotional day.

I happened to see a number of articles begin to surface and quotes made by some transgender people that need mentioning. One was from a Transgender person in Florida who commented that the passage of the hate crimes bill meant that she no longer had to be fearful. That struck me hard because it simply is not true. The passage of the hate crimes bill will not prevent someone from harming you; I hate to think that this may cause some sense of false security for some people.

The hate crimes bill will ensure that transgender people be counted in a separate category in the yearly hate crimes report published by the FBI as well as to provide federal funding to help defer the cost of investigations when a hate crime does occur.

It also sends a clear message to law enforcement as well as to society that our lives are valued and that hate crime committed against us will no longer be tolerated.

This is a wonderful win and we should all be celebrating! I know that I will be take some time out to do that. We deserve it.

However, it does not mean that our work is finished. Legislation alone does not change the hearts and minds of the people who don't know us. Education is needed now more than ever, and I look towards Events like the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. Also, state and local groups -- as well as national organizations such as the International Foundation for Gender Education -- will continue the work that needs to be done.

As a person born and residing in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, I cannot write about the passage of the hate crimes bill without thanking Senator Kennedy for the work he's done. I just wish he were alive to see the passage of the bill.

~~~~~
Related:
* Pam's House Blend tag: Transgender Hate Crimes Essay Project

Socially Conservative Pols & Conservative "Christian" Organizations Unhappy About Hate Crime Bill

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sat Oct 10, 2009 at 20:30:00 PM EDT

So whoo-boy -- like we didn't see this barrage of unhappy commentary coming from the conservative "Christian" crowd! Here's some commentary from the "usual suspects":

• The Concerned Women For America's (CWA's) Support Our Troops - Not Homosexual Special Rights

CWA Audio:

Discription: A vote is imminent on the Defense Authorization Bill, H.R. 2647. However, liberal congressional leadership has added an amendment to the bill that would enact federal "hate crimes" legislation. Calling the addition of such unrelated measures in a time of war "blackmail," Congressman Todd Akin, R-Missouri, is asking listeners to call their representative right away and urge them to vote "NO" on the Defense Authorization Bill. Time is running out, the House will vote this afternoon.

Excerpts from the interviewed Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri) in the audio:

The Democrats are trying a strategy of holding our sons and daughters hostage, and wanting us to vote for our troops, and want us to vote for our troops and therefore pass one of their top items on their gay agenda  -- That is the hate crimes legislation. Now the whole point of the matter is it's a form of blackmail. It's requiring us to say "Oh, well, we're not going to support the troops if we don't support the hate crimes." It's this kind of sleazy procedure which  makes Americans disgusted and cynical about our government -- it's something we've seen now for nine months. And, something which I will have absolutely no part of.

I have a son going to Afghanistan in three weeks, and I will not have my support by my own children and for our sons and daughters who support freedom compromised by putting this hate crime legislation on. Which, by the way, threatens the free speech rabbis and pastors -- and anybody who wants to speak based on some religious convictions -- I won't have that threatened, and just have people try to say "Well, you're just not pro-defense." This just a procedurally dishonest thing that's been done. And, there are a number of us who are furious about it, and will have no part of supporting the Defense Authorization Bill -- even though I'm the ranking minority member on the Sea Power Subcommittee.

...[I]f we succumb to this tactic, and the liberals can put on their Hate Crimes Legislation on a Defense Authorization Bill -- with something that's totally unrelated -- what little piece of garbage will they put on the next bill that will have nothing to do with funding our troops? We cannot allow ourselves to be blackmailed by these kinds of amendments.

I guess I, as a disabled, Persian Gulf War, U.S. Navy veteran -- who also identifies as transgender -- am considered one of Congressman Akin's little pieces of garbage. Thank you, ranking minority member of the Sea Power Subcommittee, for seeing this disabled, retired, transgender sailor as a lesser, piece of garbage veteran. Would he even shake my hand and thank me for my 20-years of military service?

[Below the fold: the Traditional Values Coalition, Focus On The Family/CitizenLink, and the American Family Association weigh in on the federal hate crime legislation.]

Michael K. Lavers: LaTeisha Green's Mother Speaks At Brooklyn Forum

by: Autumn Sandeen

Sat Oct 10, 2009 at 11:30:00 AM EDT

So, when hate crime legislation regarding sexual orientation and gender idenity are discussed by the President tonight in his speech to the HRC, I hope he mentions LaTeisha Green and/or Angie Zapata. Trans lives that were snuffed out in hate crimes deserve mention with Matthew Shepard.
~~Autumn~~

By Michael K. Lavers
Photos by Laura Vogel

Roxanne Green spoke emotionally, passionately and even angrily as she talked about her murdered daughter LaTeisha at a forum at the Brooklyn Law School on Oct. 7.

"You would have liked LaTeisha--she was very outgoing," she said. "She was like the energizer bunny."

An Onondaga County jury convicted Dwight DeLee in July of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon after prosecutors accused him of shooting Green and her brother Mark Cannon last November as they and a friend sat in a car outside a Syracuse house party. Initial media reports indicated DeLee targeted Green because he thought she was gay. She was actually transgender.

New York State does not include gender identity and expression in its hate crime statutes, but prosecutors constructed what Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, described as a "narrative Teish was gay or lesbian to achieve a conviction." A judge sentenced DeLee in August to 25 years in prison, but Roxanne Green said she feels the sentence was too lenient.

"He shouldn't see another day on the street," she said.

Cannon added he decided to participate in the panel because he did not "want to see another family go through what our family has gone through."

"We lost someone very important to us," Cannon said.

LaTeisha Green's death was among a series of anti-LGBT violence and bias crimes that have taken place across New York State over the last year. Keith Phoenix and Hakim Scott allegedly beat Ecuadorian immigrant José Sucuzhañay to death on a Bushwick street corner last December because he thought he was gay--he and his brother Romel were arm-and-arm as they walked home from a nearby bar. Trinidad Tapia and Gilberto Ortiz allegedly severely beat Leslie Mora with a belt buckle as she walked home from a Jackson Heights nightclub in June. And a group of assailants attacked Carmella Etienne with rocks and empty beer bottles as she walked home from a store in St. Albans on July 8.

"I was pretty much scared for my life," Etienne recalled as she described how nobody came to her assistance while the men attacked her. "I felt like nobody cared. It happened in my neighborhood."

[More below the fold.]

Waking Up Too God Awful Early To Subcommunity Erasure - Part 1

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Oct 09, 2009 at 11:00:00 AM EDT

So, an interesting way to wake up.

So I turned on MSNBC to Morning Joe to follow the news. One of the first things I heard about this morning was President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I had the same thoughts as the hosts as the hosts even before they expressed their thoughts: 1.) What exactly has the President done to merit that award at this point in his Presidency? -- and 2.) this raises the foreign policy expectations of the President for the future to fairly high heights. Of course too, NASA shot the Moon too. All I can say is I'm glad we didn't use Marvin-The-Martian's Illudium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator.

I also heard, at the top of the 4:00 AM PDT hour, how the House had passed hate crime legislation for "gays and lesbians." Shortly thereafter, I watched the CNN video attached to Pam's diary How I ended up videotaped for AC360 today, and listened to both Anderson Cooper and the reporter in the segment's header -- Randi Kaye -- repeatedly use of the phrase "gays and lesbians." No "bisexual"; no "transgender" -- No B or T in the opening reporting header for the segment.

As we've pointed out frequently here at Pam's House Blend, the federal hate crime legislation covers sexual orientation and gender identity. That means the bill covers the entire broad spectrum of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

I won't speak for the Bisexual Subcommunity, but I will say the Transgender Subcommunity has worked hard for full inclusion in federal civil rights legislation; we've worked very hard over the years to make sure that language that includes the broad spectrum of the LGBT community.

Words matter. If media doesn't include bisexual and transgender people as part of the LGBT issue constituency, then part of the broad spectrum of people who are actually impacted by the current swath of federal civil rights legislation are improperly erased from public discussion.

I left this comment on AC360 Blog entry entitled Sound Off: Your comments 10/8/09:

I'm one of Pam Spaulding's "baristas" -- I'm one of the front page bloggers who regularly posts to the blog "Pam's House Blend." I'm a transsexual; I identify as transgender.

It really irritated me when I saw the segment on "gay and lesbian" disappointment with Obama Administration progress on "gay and lesbian" civil rights issues. The community is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The phrase "gender identity" -- which in definition in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) includes gender expression -- is included in both the federal hate crime legislation and ENDA.

My trans peers and my existence within the broader LGBT community is being erased by how CNN and other news organizations are covering LGBT issues; is being erased from public discussion of LGBT civil rights legislation.

Please do my trans peers and I the favor of not scripting us out of the LGBT civil rights movement. We exist as part of the broader LGBT community, and it's somewhat erroneous to report on "gay and lesbian" issues without including "bisexual and transgender" as part of the issue constituency that's also impacted by federal legislation.

Maybe it's partially the IBS speaking, but there is something irritating about too frequently watching my peers and I being erased from the public discussion of broad LGBT issues.

~~~~~~
Part 2 will be a piece on erasure of subcommunity concerns regarding ENDA.

House Passes Federal Hate Crimes Legislation

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 17:50:45 PM EDT

From what I've been reading, it looks likely the bill will be passed by the Senate next week.

If you're looking for what the President is going to say at the HRC dinner this weekend, my guess that one item that's going to be included in his speech is how he's looking forward to signing federal hate crime protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people sometime in the next two weeks.

Below are excepts from the press releases of Representatives Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin. Select the images of the press releases to read their entire statements in PDF format.

On a personal note, after covering the Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial last April, I can't help but believe this is further Justice For Angie.

From Rep. Barney Frank:

The US House of Representatives today voted in favor of legislation containing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which extends the definition of violent hate crimes to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

The original bill, H.R. 1913, passed the House on April 29th of this year, mostly along partisan lines.  The Senate attached its version of the Hate Crimes Bill to the Defense Authorization Act of 2010 (H.R. 2467), and after the bill passed the Senate, the language was maintained by the House/Senate Conference Committee.  Today, the Defense Authorization Act conference report passed on a vote that broke largely on partisan lines, 281 to 146.

In response to Republican House members who argued against the Hate Crimes provision, Congressman Frank stated earlier this week:

"It is clear that there is an animus against those of us who are gay or lesbian, against people who are transgender, on the part of many in the House, and they are reflecting a strong political sentiment in the country. They are entitled to it. I do not lament the loss of their friendship and affection; I can live without it. But it should not lead them to deny protection to vulnerable people, and we are talking here about crimes, not just murder, but about assault and destruction of property which are too often ignored."

Under current law, the Hate Crimes protections cover violent crimes perpetrated because of the victim's race, color, religion or national origin. The new legislation would include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability, and would effectively cover transgender individuals.  

The Hate Crimes provision in the legislation passed today will allow the federal government to assist local and state law enforcement authorities, which prosecute the overwhelming majority of Hate Crimes cases.  It permits the federal government to share resources and enforcement tools.  It also authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to make grants to state and local law enforcement authorities which have incurred especially high expenses in connection with the investigation and prosecution of these crimes.

From Rep. Tammy Baldwin:

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin today lauded the final passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, also known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.  The measure was included in the conference report to the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647) that passed the House today.  The Senate is expected to vote on the measure early next week, and it will then go to the President for his signature.

"This measure is long overdue and I am pleased that Congress has voted to do what's right," said Congresswoman Baldwin.  "Martin Luther King, Jr. often said that 'the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'  We see that beautifully illustrated here today," said Baldwin who is Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and a longtime champion of this legislation.

The Hate Crimes provision included in the conference report adds the categories of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability to existing protections for bias crimes based on race, color, religion, and national origin.  "We passed this bill not to provide a group of people with special protections, but because of a history of heinous, violent crimes intended to terrorize individuals who share these characteristics," Baldwin explained...

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) Speaks About Matthew Shepard Act On House Floor

by: Autumn Sandeen

Wed Oct 07, 2009 at 02:00:00 AM EDT

As a disabled, Persian Gulf War Veteran, who served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy, and who is transgender -- as a new media reporter for Pam's House Blend who covered the Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder Trial -- this is a painful House Floor speech to watch.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) states that the Matthew Shepard Act holds soldiers' well being  hostage. Then, the congressman later in his speech is so interested in protecting the free speech of faith leaders that he minimizes the bill's focus on the victims of hate crime homicides. It's a value system that seems completely upside down.

Excerpts:

...I see a real distinction in holding our soldiers' very well being hostage to this the sociological attack on what used to be the morals of America.

...Now, there are those who say that this will not effect religious speech, but when we have debated this bill, and people have looked at it carefully, you see that this circumstance can arise. A preacher preaching from the Bible, a rabbi preaching from the Torah, an Imam teaching from the Koran says, in his opinion ,homosexuality is wrong. Some nut hears 'em, goes out commits commits an act of violence, and when arrested says "Well I was induced to do this by the preacher, or the Imam, or the rabbi."

Well under 18 USC 2a, it says that anyone who induces another to commit a crime is just as guilty of the crime as the one who commited it. That's where the preacher, the Imam, the rabbi could be arrested...arresting and detaining has a chilling effect -- there's no two ways about it...

I don't say this phrase often, but I'm saying it now: I'm appalled. I'm literally appalled by this speech given on the Congressional House Floor. What a painful speech this was to watch.

Thursday Evening This & That: Open Thread

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Jul 30, 2009 at 20:00:00 PM EDT

So below is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob & I have been looking at so far this week.
• Bay Windows' Gender police at the gym :

During the Beacon Hill Judiciary Committee hearing July 14 on the transgender rights bill, a group of representatives of the gym and health club industry testified that such a bill would hurt their businesses by allowing people to use locker room and bathroom facilities based on their gender identity or expression, rather than on their biological sex. They argued that women would feel uncomfortable sharing facilities with anatomical males, particularly if the women had young children with them. Yet at gyms in Boston, where a similar transgender non-discrimination ordinance has been on the books since 2002, there have been seemingly no negative repercussions to extending non-discrimination protections to transgender people. The current transgender rights bill, House Bill 1728, would rewrite the state's hate crimes and non-discrimination laws-including around public accommodations-to make them trans-inclusive.

Kerry Campbell, sales director for Boston Athletic Club, said that her club has never had any complaints from members about transgender people using inappropriate locker room facilities. Campbell was among the group of gym representatives who testified against the bill, and she said her primary concern was not that it would allow transgender people to use the locker rooms, but that it would allow people falsely claiming to be transgender to abuse the law. She said she believes that based on how the transgender rights bill is currently written, it would deny gym managers any discretion in deciding who can use which locker room...

This reminds one of the Thompson Twins song -- Lies Lies Lies -- regarding the non-issues people seem to always bring up when discussing civil rights for trans people.

• FindLaw Writ's The New York Catholic Conference's Aggressive Bid to Stop Reform of Child Sex Abuse Laws:

The proposed Child Victims Act (CVA) is currently being considered in the New York State legislature, which is expected to hold several special sessions this fall in the wake of its recent, circus-like sessions in May and June. The CVA would modestly extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse - by five years for both civil and criminal claims - as well as open a "window" for all past victims to be able to go to court for one year despite the currently expired statutes of limitations on their claims.

As I have discussed in previous columns such as this one, this kind of window legislation has already been enacted in other states, where it has led to the public identification of previously unknown child predators.

The CVA's most active opponent is the New York Catholic Conference, the lobbying arm for the Roman Catholic bishops. (Some ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups have tagged onto the Conference, but the vast majority of Orthodox and other Jewish groups have chosen to side with the victims, as has the National Black Church Initiative.) While other state Catholic Conferences have fought such legislation, the New York group has let no ethical or humane interest stand in its way, hiring numerous top-dollar, seasoned lobbyists to try to kill the CVA through one devious approach after another. Also new in New York is the willingness of the bishops themselves to publicly rail against statute of limitations reform as though it were the equivalent of mandatory abortion...

Yes. Minimizing lawsuits by people abused as children by adults -- adults that include priests -- is exactly what Jesus Christ would be for, right?

• A tweet from the Los Angeles Times:

@LATimes Professor, policeman set for Obama's "beer summit." On tap: Bud Light, Red Stripe and Blue Moon. http://bit.ly/sII7o

From the Los Angeles Times article:

"As I understand it -- I have not heard this, I've read this, so I'll just repeat what I've read -- that professor Gates said he liked Red Stripe, and I believe Sgt. Crowley mentioned to the president that he liked Blue Moon," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

And then things changed. This tweet from MSNBC:

@msnbc Obama's chat with black prof, white cop and VP under way. Menu: Sam Adams, Bud Light, Blue Moon. No booze for Biden. http://ow.ly/iDru

Prof. Gates switched from Red Stripe to the domestic beer Sam Adams, while Vice President Biden joined the Beer Summit to make it a gang of four, and had a non-alcoholic brew. And, they drank out of beer mugs...no cans or bottles at this White House summit!

I think it's so much more important to know which beers are being drank at this summit than what's discussed at the summit, don't you think?

By the way, my beer, should I ever get a Presidential Beer Summit date, would be Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve Classic Dark. So here's a mini-Q of the Day: What would be your Beer Summit beer, should you ever be invited to the White House for a Beer Summit?
And also by the way, are YOU following PamsHouseBlend's tweets on twitter? Hmm?

• To fill out our Pam's House Blend article James L. Evans: "Americans' freedom to speak is not in jeopardy" a bit with some Southern Baptist viewpointing comes this from the Baptist Press piece Senate, House to negotiate gay hate crimes:

The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and others oppose efforts to expand hate-crimes protections based not only on their inclusion of categories defined by sexual behavior or identity but also because of concerns about the potential impact on religious freedom.

They fear the measure, combined with existing law, could expose to prosecution Christians and others who proclaim the Bible's teaching that homosexual behavior and other sexual relations outside marriage are sinful. For example, if a person commits a violent act based on a victim's "sexual orientation" after hearing biblical teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual behavior, the preacher or teacher could be open to a charge of inducing the person to commit the crime, some foes say.

Note that it's fear -- and their idea that they don't want the federal government to condone sin -- that's driving the decision of the ERLC's decision, and not facts. It's not loving their neighbors as themselves that's driving their policy position. Is it any wonder that when I write conservative "Christians" in this blog, I put quotation marks around "Christian"?

• Hot dog related story of the day (see item 4 in the list below): Planadvisor's Snackers Beware:

Eating can often be a source of the above distractions, but you're not alone if you need your coffee in the car: An Exxon survey of 1,000 drivers found more than 70% of drivers eat while driving and 83% drink beverages.

Most likely you are aware of the disasters messy foods can cause not just to your steering wheel, but the tie you put on for your next meeting. You might still be guilty of some of the items on "the top 10 foods to avoid while driving" list from Insurance.com:

1. Coffee: "Even with a travel lid, hot coffee can find its way out of the opening when you hit a bump."
2. Hot soup: "Many people drink it like coffee and run the same risks."
3. Tacos: "Any food that can disassemble itself will leave your car looking like a salad bar."
4. Chili dogs: "Huge potential for drips and slops down the front of clothing."
5. Hamburgers: "From the grease to the toppings, it could end up on your hands and the steering wheel."
6. Ribs and wings: "What's more distracting than licking your fingers?"
7. Fried chicken: "More greasy hands. You've got to wipe them off while you're driving."
8. Jelly donuts: "It's not possible to eat one without watching the center ooze out."
9. Soda: "Carbonation. Fizz in the nose. Lids that leak. Disaster."
10 Chocolate: "Try to clean melted chocolate off the steering wheel without swerving."

So anywho...It's an open thread! What are you reading or thinking about today?

Kiplinger Letter Stating Inclusion Of Trans People In ENDA Still Questionable / SHRM's ENDA Take

by: Autumn Sandeen

Mon Jul 20, 2009 at 05:00:00 AM EDT

Odds are good that Congress will pass a bill to ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation. It will expand current federal employment law, which bars bias on the basis of a worker's race, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability.

Less certain is whether the final legislation will also include a ban on discrimination of transgendered persons, which is more controversial. The antidiscrimination bill, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), does include such gender identity protections, but employer groups are concerned about that provision. For example, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) says that while it will support sexual orientation discrimination protection, it will not support gender identity protections.

Well, I wanted to see exactly what the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) actually had to say about inclusion of gender identity or expression inclusion in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), and actually found out that Kiplinger's has the facts correct. From the SHRM's fact sheet on ENDA, entitled Sexual Orientation; Frequently Asked Questions:

Q8: Why does the SHRM statement not cover "gender identity"?

A: While most SHRM members who participated in the development of our sexual orientation statement believed people should not be discriminated against based on their gender identity, there was universal concern expressed over the process to accommodate individuals in transgender situations. Since these accommodation challenges raised so many concerns among supporters and opponents alike, "gender identity" was not included in the SHRM statement.

So according to Kiplinger's report, a fully inclusive ENDA is in trouble.

And on top of that, I found out that SHRM still isn't onboard with gender identity or expression inclusion in ENDA because they are worried about accommodating people like me. I'm guessing their apparent fretting about the "challenges" that businesses could have trying to "accommodate" gender variant/trans people is code for saying that they're worrying about gender variant/trans people using workplace restrooms -- why give direct voice to their biased prejudgments and illiberality when one can use code words and phrases instead?

Just swell on all counts.

Well, I need to call my two California Senator's offices this coming week to thank them for voting favorably on the Matthew Shepard Act last week...So while on the phone thanking them via their phone answering staff members, I'll also need to remind their office staff members during those phone calls -- as well as calling and reminding the office phone answering staff member of my congressmember Susan Davis (D-CA) -- about how important a fully inclusive ENDA is to this particular voter as well.

Breaking: Hate Crimes Bill Passes Senate Vote

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 00:11:56 AM EDT

A cloture vote just passed by 63 to 28. By prior consent that passes the bill. I will post the roll call vote when it is provided by the Senate but at least five Republicans voted aye.The bill has already passed the House. Further details Friday AM. The bill extends federal hate crimes laws to sexual orientation and sexual identity. In essence it provides government assistance to local law enforcement and creates sentencing enhancements for bias crimes.

The Associated Press confirms in their piece Senate votes big expansion of federal hate crimes:

The Senate has approved the most sweeping expansion of federal hate crimes protections since the original law was enacted after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The legislation broadens federal reach to protect those physically attacked because of their gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or a disability. Current law is limited to crimes motivated by race, ethnicity or religion...

Further reading at tips-q: Breaking: Hate Crimes Bill Moving Along in the Senate (describing amendments to the bill).

Eric Holder's Statement At The Senate Matthew Shepard Act Hearing Today

by: Autumn Sandeen

Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 15:45:00 PM EDT

OVERVIEW

The Department's position on this legislation is detailed in a views letter that has been submitted in advance of this hearing. My testimony today will touch on some but not all of the issues discussed in that letter.

Hate crimes statistics reported to the FBI by State and local law enforcement agencies demonstrate that we have a significant hate crimes problem in this country. Over the past decade, approximately half of the hate crime incidents reported in the United States were racially motivated. However, many other victim classes are targeted for hate crimes. For example, during the last decade, religiously motivated incidents have generally accounted for the second highest number of hate crime incidents, followed closely by sexual orientation bias incidents. Moreover, recent numbers suggest that hate crimes against individuals of Hispanic national origin have increased four years in a row.* The Federal government has a strong interest in protecting people from violent crimes motivated by such bias and bigotry.

Although we at the Federal level are strongly committed to hate crimes enforcement, we recognize that most such crimes in the United States are investigated and prosecuted by other levels of government. The pending legislation would assist State, local, and tribal jurisdictions by providing funds and technical assistance to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. We welcome the bill's critical support of hate crimes enforcement efforts by State, local, and tribal authorities because all levels of law enforcement must have the tools they need to investigate and prosecute those who engage in bias-motivated violence.

This legislation also would create a new Federal criminal hate crimes statute, 18 U.S.C. § 249. Section 249(a)(1) would simplify the jurisdictional predicate for prosecuting violent acts undertaken because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person, by eliminating the requirement in current law that such hate crimes also be motivated by the victim's participation in one of six enumerated federally protected activities. See 18 U.S.C. § 245. This is a welcome change. The federally-protected activity requirement has no connection to the seriousness of the crime and is not constitutionally necessary.

I am particularly pleased that Section 249(a)(2) would for the first time allow for Federal prosecution of violence undertaken because of the actual or perceived gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity of any person. During the decade from 1998 to 2007, there were 12,372 hate crime incidents involving violence based on sexual orientation. These crimes fell entirely outside the scope of current Federal jurisdiction. The Department therefore welcomes the expanded coverage of section 249, which would allow us to prosecute and deter violent acts of this sort more effectively.

The remainder of my testimony will address the following issues: (1) federalism and comity; (2) the need for stronger Federal hate crime legislation; (3) constitutionality of the proposed bill; and (4) specific comments on three issues of particular importance to the Department, namely, the bill's rule of construction, certification provision, and statute of limitations.

* See Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Report, Hate Crime Statistics,
1997-2007 (reports available at: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/civilrights/hate.htm and
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2007/incidents.htm).

TVC Thinks Nothing Of Continuing To Use Anti-Trans Pejoratives

by: Autumn Sandeen

Tue Jun 23, 2009 at 06:30:00 AM EDT

And yet, the conservative "Christian" organization that originally dreamed up the '30 Sexual Orientations' [an idea that the website of Republicans in Congress picked up for their Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 webpage (when that webpage linked to a webpage that listed DSM-IV codes on Sexual and gender identity disorder)] thinks nothing of frequently and repeatedly using the pejorative she-male in their webpages.

The most recent example of this organization -- the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) -- using the pejorative she-male on their webpages comes their June 22nd piece by their Executive Director Andrea Lafferty, entitled It's Baaackkk: ENDA!. In her piece, Lafferty states the following about a fully inclusive ENDA -- calling Rep. Barney Frank's legislative aide Diego Sanchez by the pejorative (emphasis added):

What made the ENDA debate almost enjoyable during the last Congress was the major "drama-rama" over which version of ENDA to bring to the floor for a vote.

For months gays and transgender activists fought among themselves over whether or not to include "gender identity" in the bill. The drag queens and transsexuals wanted "gender identity," but Frank finally agreed to remove "gender identity" from the legislation in order to try to get it passed.

However, this is a new Congress and a new President who is a big supporter of all things LGBT.  This new bill will include "gender identity," because Frank knows that Obama is cozy with the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) crowd and can be counted on to push the LGBT agenda.

Frank's senior policy advisor on ENDA is Diego Sanchez, who is described as a "transgender." Sanchez is a woman who either went through a sex change operation; or is living as a man, but hasn't had any surgery, or is a she-male who went through half of the operation. If this is the case, Diego had his breasts surgically removed, but still maintains female characteristics below the waist.

The article goes on to talk about bathroom use for folk like Mr. Sanchez.

So why aren't our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organizations in Washington calling out the TVC for their use of pejoratives -- while pointing out that the Republican's in Congress got their sexual orientations talking point for the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act from an organization that uses the dehumanizing, anti-transgender pejorative she-male on a regular basis? A term that transgender people consider at least as offensive as the other f-word?

I don't know. One of our DC based LGBT new or legacy media sources should be asking our LGBT civil rights organizations that.

~~~~~
Further reading:
* Traditional Values Coalition keyword search: she-male
* Jenn Q. Public: Conservatives, Meet Google (Article on the conservative "Christian" and Republican use of "30 Sexual Orientations" meme)

~~~~~
Related:
* TVC, OneNewsNow (AFA), And The Liberty Counsel On Diane Schroer Decision
* Mostly Absent From The Hearing, But Commenting As If They Were There
* Landmark hearings on transgender discrimination begin
* The TVC & CWA Dump On Dana Beyer; Amy Contrada Warns Of The Transgender Apocalypse
* Just Feel The Love From The TVC
* Convincing sales pitch of the year, from Traditional Values Coalition

American Family Association's "Speechless: Silencing the Christians" Is Back

by: Autumn Sandeen

Tue Jun 23, 2009 at 05:00:00 AM EDT

Back in February,we blogged about partnering with LGBT community members and leaders in several local markets who were responding to an anti-gay infomercial titled Speechless: Silencing the Christians, which was produced by the American Family Association. Local expressions of concern led stations in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio to either decline to air the infomercial or postpone airing it indefinitely.

Just this week GLAAD has received three more reports of constituents spotting the anti-gay paid program on their local affiliates. One person saw it in West Hollywood, California on Independent Cable Channel, KDOC on Sunday, June 21, where it aired from 7 to 8 p.m. Another GLAAD constituent alerted us that the infomercial aired on WJZY the CW Channel 46 in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday, June 20 from 9 to 10 p.m. And we heard from other GLAAD constituents that the program aired on KMPH Fox 26 in Fresno, California on Sunday, June 21 (Special thank you to these twitter users for the heads up on Fresno: Gayrainarmy, k8cch14 and jace78).

GLAAD's Senior Director of Media Programs Rashad Robinson wrote this in a Huffington Post piece about this issue last February entitled As Seen on TV:

The infomercial was created and financed by the anti-gay American Family Association and features interviews with anti-gay activists who make a series of predictable, breathless, fear-mongering claims about LGBT people and equality.

As you would expect, the video is propaganda, pure and simple -- manufactured to perpetuate a climate of hostility toward our community and to create a culture where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are less safe, less secure, and where our families are put in harm's way.

The glaadBLOG post Anti-Gay Infomercial Resurfaces in North Carolina and California has a "take action" component if this infomercial should show up in a television market near you.

I guess the AFA thought they could silently reenter this anti-gay infomercial onto the airways again without anyone noticing. Well, they were wrong.

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Related:
* 'Victimized' AFA launches anti-gay 'Silencing Christians' web site and video
* The American Family Association's fascination with fraudulent documentaries
* Exposing the moral bankruptcy of the unraveling professional 'family values' crowd

Full copy of the breathlessly anti-LGBT video included below the fold, for those of you who are interested in watching this "interesting" video.