Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Another Transgender Murder...

Another couple of transgender stabbings, one resulting in a death, in Washington DC—and this on the tail of the Lateisha Green situation. I don’t know much about the Washington case yet; a friend sent me a link to this short newspaper article. We’ll definitely have to talk about the Lateisha Green trial in a future post; there’s much more information floating around about that.

The sad fact is, transgender people are harassed, assaulted, or worse every day. This shouldn’t be happening, and someday, the senseless hurting and killing of transgender people everywhere is going to be a thing of the past. In the meantime, though, we have to do what we can to keep our transfolk, and ourselves, as safe as possible.

There’s a phrase that comes up time and again at transgender-related meetings, in public speeches, and during various transgender events (especially Day of Remembrance): pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living. Every time something this horrible happens is of course a huge setback, an utterly unnecessary death, and another unique and beautiful life ended too soon. There is always a silver lining, though; in the face of such tragedies as these, our community can come together, support one another, and work even harder to find ways to stop these needless attacks from occurring again.

Talking about it won’t save those we’ve lost, but raising awareness may help us to prevent these kinds of tragedies from affecting our community in the future. What are some ways that you can protect yourself in the event of an attack? Have you ever taken a self-defense course, or do you carry some form of protection (a weapon, pepper spray, a whistle)? Are the transgender or gender variant people in your life similarly prepared?

How are you honoring those we have lost? How are you going to continue to 'fight like hell' for the rights and safety of the living that remain behind to honor them?

Saturday, August 15, 2009

ENDA moves into the Senate!


So, the HRC blog (www.hrcbackstory.org) has announced that ENDA has passed in the House and moved on to the Senate. It seems ENDA has never made it this far before? If ENDA passes the Senate (WHEN—let’s be optimistic here), the two chambers will compare notes (in case one group amends it a different way than the other) and then send it off to the President. President Obama has promised to sign this bill into law if it reaches his desk, so, here’s hoping!

The blog includes some great quotes from the senators sponsoring the bill, including:

“There is no place in the workplace for employment discrimination. No worker in America should be fired or denied a job based on who they are.” Senator Merkley (D-OR), who also intends to “guarantee every America, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, the right to earn a living.”

“The promise of America will never be fulfilled as long as justice is denied to even one among us. ENDA brings us closer to fulfilling that promise…” Senator Kennedy (D-MA).

“… ENDA would close an important gap in federal civil rights laws by making it illegal to discriminate in employment.” Senator Collins (R-ME), who also acknowledges that ENDA “affirms the principle that individuals should be judged on their skills and abilities, and not by who they are” when it comes to work.

There is no quote listed by Olympia Snowe (R-ME), but she is the fourth sponsor of ENDA in the Senate.

I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about HRC in the transgender community, and a lot of hard feelings as well, but regardless of what they’ve done in the past, they are working to help the community now. The HRC can be a great resource at times, and the HRC blog offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the ongoing, many-faceted fight for equality for all queer people.

HRC offers more information and stats on ENDA (did you know that it’s legal to fire someone for being gay in 29 states, and legal to fire someone for being trans in almost 40 out of 50??), and also offers a quick-and-easy way to contact your Senators and ask them for help. Just go to www.PassENDANow.org and enter your name and address. Personalizing your message is optional, and HRC will sort out which senators should get your message for you. It takes literally ten seconds—I’ve done it already, and you can too!