“But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity — the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share.” – President Barack Obama, 10/28/09
Hate Crimes Bill Signed Into Law
From NCTE:
President Obama has just signed into law the very first protections for transgender people in US history: The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
“This is a powerful day as the United States government, for the first time, stands up and declares that violence against transgender people is wrong and will not be tolerated in our country,” stated Mara Keisling, the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Every day transgender people live with the reality and the threat of personal violence, simply because of who they are. This must end and it must end now. The new law provides for some vital first steps in preventing these terrible crimes as well as addressing them when they occur. At NCTE, we are dedicating this day to all those who have been victims of hate-motivated violence as well as recommitting ourselves to ending the epidemic of hate that continues to damage our communities and our country.”
Mara will be present at the White House this afternoon when President Obama offers commemorative remarks to mark this historic moment.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which adds sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability to existing law, will have a number of positive impacts for transgender people:
- It will help educate law enforcement about the frequent hate violence against transgender people and the need to prevent and appropriately address it;
- It will help provide federal expertise and resources when they are needed to overcome a lack of resources or the willful inaction on the part of local and/or state law enforcement;
- It will help educate the public that violence against anyone, including transgender people, is unacceptable and illegal.
Most importantly, this law marks a turning point for the federal government, by including positive protections for transgender people and taking seriously the need to address the discrimination that we face.
Hate Crimes Through Senate
The Hate Crimes Act has made it through the Senate:
WASHINGTON – A bill to make violence against gays and lesbians a federal crime cleared the Senate Thursday and is headed to the White House for final approval.
The 68-29 vote was a victory for civil rights groups that have been fighting for years to expand the federal hate-crimes law beyond attacks motivated by bias based on religion, race, national origin or color. The new bill, which President Obama is expected to sign, includes penalties for assaults based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender, disability or gender identity.
Historic good news.
T-HUD!
It’s not sexy, but it’s great news from NCTE:
(October 21, 2009, Washington, DC) The National Center for Transgender Equality praises the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for its announcement today that it will ensure that its programs are available to all, including LGBT people. Today’s announcement is historic, since HUD is the first federal agency so far to officially propose guidelines that would explicitly address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The evidence is clear that some are denied the opportunity to make housing choices in our nation based on who they are and that must end,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “President Obama and I are determined that a qualified individual and family will not be denied housing choice based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”
It’s Your Booty
These are straight guys: how queer is that?
(btw, FB is blocking this content. feh to FB.)
Gainesville Jerk
I wish I could say I’m surprised:
The CVS Pharmacy manager who allegedly admitted Friday to filming women in his store’s bathroom was an active participant in the 2008 charter amendment to “keep men out of women’s restrooms.”
The group behind the petition drive, Citizens for Good Public Policy, could not be reached for comment.
Jonathan Matheny, 27, was charged with one count of video voyeurism after a customer told police she had discovered a cell phone equipped with a camera under a pile of tissues in the CVS bathroom at 125 S.W. 34th St. . . .
The petition drive in the summer of 2008 was aimed at a city ordinance that provided rights, including equal access to public accommodation, for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
Matheny signed the petition, according to records with the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office, and opponents of the charter amendment say they received reports that Matheny allowed the petitions to be distributed and signed at his store. Those behind the drive said the amendment was essential to prevent men from using the public-accommodation portion of the law to enter women’s restrooms and film, rape or otherwise prey on the opposite sex.
“It’s a bit hypocritical when that group was allegedly putting the petition on the ballot to protect women in bathrooms and then the manager of the store who was allowing the petition gathering was in fact preying on women in bathrooms,” said Terry Fleming, spokesman for Equality in Gainesville’s Businesses, the political action committee created to oppose the charter amendment. The amendment was defeated by voters.
The group behind the petition drive, Citizens for Good Public Policy, could not be reached for comment.
I bet they couldn’t. This hypocrisy is too gorgeous for words. Enjoy.
(from Gainesville.com, & thanks to Veronica)
WWJD?
Someone asked me recently if I knew what WWJD meant, and if so, how I would answer that question as per LGBT community.
My answer was: Honestly, I think Jesus would be working with the LGBT teenagers who are thrown out of their homes every year & forced to engage in survival sex to live.
What He Said
Agreed:
And despite the fact that Obama’s position is a 180 degree turn from the previous administration, which declared open war with the FMA, he is greeted with catcalls of “what have you done for me lately” or “just words,” feeding the right-wing narrative that Obama is all talk. Well played.
John Cole, just so you know, plenty of us in the LGBT community agree with you.
National Coming Out Day
And Happy National Coming Out Day! Who’d you come out to? I’m not sure if I have anyone left to come out to.
So, This March
Since Kate Bornstein has just identified me as a curmudgeon, and I woke up with a stiff back, I feel the need to finally say something about this whole Equality March that’s happening in DC this weekend.
I suppose I don’t need to mention that I didn’t go.
I hate marches. I hate rallies and protests. Hate ’em. I’ve taken part in plenty of them – against CUNY funding cuts, against the RNC occupation of NYC, & I’ve even been to big gay marches on Washington, too (& a very long time ago, now).
But what bothered me about this one is the whole issue of putting pressure on Obama, who I think is under quite enough pressure, if you consider having to defend, again, social spending and The New Deal 80 years later enough pressure. He’s got – rather, we’ve got – two wars, a global leadership that refuses to believe homosexuality exists (see Iran), and the biggest bunch of dumbass right wing morons who prefer an electorate that doesn’t know medicare is a government program. It’s sheer stupidity he’s/we’re up against.
And now that I’m in the so-called heartland (which I say because Brooklyn is, as well, the heartland, but not seen that way by the majority), what I see is a lot of sophisticated LGBT people hanging out in the big coastal cities.
I am curious to hear what people thought might come out of this march, and whether or not it did. I did not, I’d like to point out, say a damn word for or against the march before it happened, because I don’t believe in raining on people’s parades, and if a groundswell did indeed happen – I don’t think it did – it’s because we are still out of touch. What we got was Obama delivering the message, to HRC of all groups, that we already know: this shit’s going to take time. If he doesn’t have our support on the umpteen other progressive issues – like, say, a public opion for health insurance – his own power will be muted and our goals will be impossible to reach.
Okay, done now. Tomorrow, perhaps, I will talk about the term “bio girl” and how much I hate it.