Tag Archives: transgender issues

Trans and Gender Identity Issues Overshadow LGB At Equality Act House Judiciary Committee Meeting

Trans and Gender Identity Issues Overshadow LGB At Equality Act House Judiciary Committee Meeting

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Republican House members on Tuesday were on attack mode during the first House Judiciary Committee meeting of the Equality Act that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to extend housing, employment, and public accommodation protections to LGBT Americans.

Basically ignoring gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals: 90% of the GOP’s questions, concerns, and comments were targeted at the transgender community and gender identity issues categorizing the nondiscrimination legislation as advancing a “radical gender ideology.”

Georgia GOP Rep. Doug Collins claimed that “women, lesbians, and families become the collateral damage of identity politics.” He argued that the bill would codify “stereotypes and sexism,” adding, “To move this legislation forward, we must recognize that it prioritizes the rights of biological men over the rights of biological women.”

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) complained that nondiscrimination protections for gender identity would only help men who wished to lie about their gender

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) said during the hearing, “I believe that all people should be treated equally, but I am concerned that HR 5, with the weight of federal law, forces schools, prisons, shelters, etc. to prioritize the rights of biological males over that of biological women.”

Notoriously anti LGBT Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), said although men competing in women’s sports may not be widespread now, “there is no question that problem will continue to arise.”

“I think when we consider laws to say something is equal like testosterone, the testimonies already indicate it’s clear in the medical literature, it does make a difference,” Gohmert said.

Asserting the Equality Act would amount to telling women “it’s just too bad” men should be allowed in their safe spaces, Gohmert concluded the Equality Act amounts to a “war on women that should not be allowed.”

With Republicans focusing on the “T” and their claims that the bill would compromise women’s rights, the stories of gay and lesbian discrimination were easy to miss.

in 2016, from the Williams Institute, estimated that only 0.6% of U.S. adults identify as transgender, and as many up to 6.2% of Americans identify as LGB.

Conservative Asshole “Comedienne” Steven Crowder Makes Fun of Transgender Rights

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crowder full

 

Steven Crowder who was the main host of CPAC in 2011 and in 2012 was exposed as having selectively editing a video that he claimed showed him getting sucker-punched during a brawl at a union protest in Michigan. Has hit the bottom of the CON-servative barrel after he was fired by Fox News in 2013 for insulting Sean Hannity and now videos for the Liberty Alliance, which runs websites for Matt Barber, Victoria Jackson, Kirk Cameron, and dozens of other crackpots.

In his spare time, Crowder who calls himself a “comedienne” while nobody else does in his spare time likes guns, God and  making fun of transgender people.

Crowder, I’ll take it upon myself to answer for all the Ladies and Gentlemen out there: NONE of us want you in our changing rooms.

#FuckingAsshole

#CC15: Trans-Activists Storm Stage In Protest At Task Force’s Creating Change Conference. Why? – Video

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Trans Lives matter

 

At the NGLTF,  aka Task Force, aka National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change conference last night  in Denver, CO  a large group of transgender advocates stormed the stage in protest of the recent killing of a Latina trans teen by the Denver police.  The trans-teen Jesse Hernandez was driving a car that was reported stolen with at least two friends when she was confronted by officers. She allegedly drove the car toward one of them. Officers responded by firing several shots into the driver’s side of the vehicle, killing Hernández.

Via the Advocate:

Task Force deputy executive director Russell Roybal and Creating Change director Sue Hyde welcomed thousands of attendees at this year’s conference in Denver Thursday evening, and both showed emotion as they remarked upon the death of queer Latina Jessie Hernandez. Last week, Hernandez was fatally shot by police fire in Denver in a car authorities report was stolen. After Hyde and Roybal introduced the evening’s emcee, comedian Kate Clinton, a group of trans activists and allies, led by Bamby Salcedo, stormed the stage with dozens of handmade signs as the chant “Jessie Presente!” filled the ballroom”.

Via LGBT Weekly:

The transgender activists also were demanding increased support from the LGBT community in general to aid in their quest for equality. While there were several demands made from the stage by Salcedo, all coalesced around the statement “We are here demanding intentional, meaningful investment in our community.” Trans activists and supporters chanted “We are fighters.”  he protesters were calling LGBT organizations to task for a perceived lack of investment in the trans community.

Now I and everyone  I know have always promoted trans-equality.  But what really makes me wonder about the trans-movement is: What exactly was the point of disrupting a pro-equality conference where you are already fully supported to demand support?  This doesn’t make the general public any more aware of your problems  and you’d  be hard pressed to find anyone in the Creating Change crowd that doesn’t support you.

The trans=activist last night chanted that they are ” fighters”.  GO OUT AND FIGHT!  We have your backs.  We’ll even help. But go out and fight against those you need to.  WE ALREADY SUPPORT YOU.

Some personal advice.  Stop worrying about being on a Gay Inc. Board of Directors and get your asses out to City Hall and protest.

Don’t protest the very people who stand up for you already. Thats the easiest way to push people away.

And that’s already been happening.

We won’t even go into the fact that the  member of the trans-community they were protesting for possibly tried to run down and kill  a couple of police officers in s stolen car.  

I’ll leave that for the comments section.

 

 

Dan Savage On Suicide Of Trans Teen Leelah Alcorn: Her Parents Should Be Prosecuted For Murder

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Dan Savage Leah

Meanwhile, last night hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil for Leelah in Ohio.

CNN got a brief quote from Leelah’s mother who still refuses to recognize Leelah’s gender as female.

When Josh Alcorn voiced a desire to live as a girl, the Ohio teenager’s parents said they wouldn’t stand for that. “We don’t support that, religiously,” Alcorn’s mother told CNN Wednesday, her voice breaking. “But we told him that we loved him unconditionally. We loved him no matter what. I loved my son. People need to know that I loved him. He was a good kid, a good boy.” Crossing out the name “Josh,” the 17-year-old signed the name “Leelah” in a suicide note posted to Tumblr. The note was programmed to publish after Alcorn’s death Sunday. The teenager was struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 71 around 2:15 a.m., about four miles from home in the tiny town of Kings Mills, northeast of Cincinnati. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the death as a suicide.

Leelah Alcorn’s tortured yet eloquent Tumblr account has been deleted. It is unknown if this was done by the request of her family.

 

Plano, Texas’ Just-Approved LGBT Rights Ordinance Is A Big Ole Almost Worthless Sham

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regenerus fraud

 

It turns out there are some big ‘ole 18 wheeler truck sized loopholes having to do with “religious freedom” in Plano, Texas’ just approved LGBT Rights ordinance that everyone is crowing about that makes it almost virtually worthless. (Which is probably why it passed by such a huge margin)

According to the revised ordinance, discrimination based on a resident’s sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited in regards to public accommodation, employment, housing transactions and city contracting. However, religious and political groups as well as nonprofit organizations are exempt from the ordinance.

City Attorney Paige Mims said the ordinance also includes a waiver process for businesses to be exempt if the owners feel the policy would not allow them to conduct business based on their personal faith. Individuals and organizations found in noncompliance to the ordinance would be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, the least severe class of misdemeanor. While the ordinance does make it illegal to discriminate against gender identity in a public place, Mims said that would not extend to public restrooms and locker rooms which would still be segregated based on physical anatomy.

“We realize that privacy interests need to be balanced with equality interests,” Mims said at the meeting. “We took a lot of care to look at constitutional issues and freedoms that people have that are protected under the law … We’ve recognized in this ordinance that due process needs to be allowed and if people do have those [religious] defenses, they’re required under law to give the city notification … and we’re going to evaluate that.”

So all businesses large and small have to do is say “it’s against my personal faith” and they can get a waiver to legally discriminate and be a bigot.  And of course non-profits are exempted, and all religious institutions and organizations. Andd trans folks still can’t use public restrooms.

But gee, it did  look swell on paper. As long as no one read it.

 

The Minneapolis Star Tribune Runs Anti-Transgender Ad For Fun and Profit

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Barb Anderson

 

The Star Tribune of Minneapolis  upset many  readers this week by running an anti-transgender ad paid for by the Minnesota Child Protection League. The ad urges parents to contact Minnesota State High School League officials ahead of a meeting later this week and ask them not to approve a new policy that would allow transgender students to participate in athletics based on their gender identity.

The MCPL is described as “A group of veteran religious right and tea party activists” who were active opposing the anti-bullying Safe and Supportive Schools Act before it was signed into law.  The group’s lead spokesperson is Barb Anderson (picture above) , founder of the Parents Action League who once said, “The greatest threat to our freedom and the health and well-being of our children is from this radical homosexual agenda that is just so pervasive.”

The Star Tribune responded to complaints as follows:

If you were doing a story on how media of all kinds (broadcast, print, digital) handle campaign and advocacy advertising, I’d consider how we could contribute to the conversation. But I don’t think that’s what you’re doing. In Minnesota, organizations and individuals of all kinds — left, right, other — know that if you want to reach the largest audience and have the biggest impact with your message, the best way to do it is advertising in the Star Tribune.

TRANSLATION: We are whores who will print anything for money.

 

 

MN anti-trans hate group

Cincinnati, Ohio To Offer Transgender Surgery Benefits

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gay history

Yes you read that right.  Cincinnati, Ohio.

Medically necessary “transgender” procedures will be covered under the City of Cincinnati’s health insurance starting next year.

The reason: To help Cincinnati lure businesses and citizens.

“Since I’ve been here I’ve worked to make this city as competitive and inclusive as possible,” said Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach, the city’s first openly gay councilman. “This is a another step in that direction.”

Seelbach led a council majority in signing a letter urging the change.

Cincinnati would be the first city in Ohio to offer transgender procedures in its health benefits, according to a statewide advocacy group.

Shane Morgan, founder and chair of TransOhio, which provides education and advocacy, praised city officials.

“For Cincinnati to cover their trans employees – because there are trans employees who work there – is great,” Morgan said. “Hopefully cities elsewhere in Ohio will follow that.”

In recent years city officials have worked to include and embrace the LGBT community – a transformation recently noted on National Public Radio’s website. In June, the city began offering a domestic partner registry, paving the way for more companies to offer benefits to gay couples.

And in recent years the city started offering same-sex benefits to all city employees; the police department, fire department and mayor’s office all have liaison officers to the LGBT community.

Council last year passed regulations requiring anyone who contracts with the city to agree in writing to an inclusive nondiscrimination policy. And, the city’s hate crimes law that included race and gender was expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Including transgender procedures should give Cincinnati a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index, making Cincinnati one of the most lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-friendly cities in the country.

Interim Cincinnati City Manager Scott Stiles initiated the transgender insurance change, but was encouraged to act by a majority of City Council; In addition to Seelbach: PG Sittenfeld, Yvette Simpson, David Mann and Wendell Young signed the letter. Of course anti-gay city counselor Charles Winburn did not.

“It is important that we provide necessary medical benefits to all of our employees,” Stiles said. “This positions us well for progress and keeps the City competitive as an employer.”

As interim city manager, Stile made the decision, alerting Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of the change Aug. 22.

In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lifted its ban on funding medically necessary procedures for people who don’t identify with their biological sex.

Cincinnati joins cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Berkeley and Portland in offering transgender procedures. For the surgery to be “medically necessary” a professional mental health counselor would have to sign off on it.

Several Fortune 500 companies – including Procter & Gamble and US Bank currently offer transgender inclusive benefits.

 

New York City Ad Agency Suspends Chief Executive Over Transphobic Rant Column

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Gavin McInnes


Gavin McInnes the hipster chief creative officer of Rooster in New York City and occasional contributor to FOX NEWS has been put on suspension after writing a  repulsive transphobic column for Thought Catalog.

Excerpt:

“We’re all transphobic. We aren’t blind. We see there are no old trannies. They die of drug overdoses and suicide way before they’re 40 and nobody notices because nobody knows them. They are mentally ill gays who need help, and that help doesn’t include being maimed by physicians. These aren’t women trapped in a man’s body. They are nuts trapped in a crazy person’s body. I see them on the streets of New York. They are guys with tits and a sweatshirt. They wear jeans and New Balance. “What’s the matter with simply being a fag who wears makeup?” I think when I see them. You’re not a woman. You’re a tomboy at best. Get fucked in the ass. And ladies, if you’re a butch lesbian, you’re a lady with a lot of testosterone. Put a dick on a belt and fuck your girlfriend. You don’t need to turn your vagina inside out. You’re not a man. You don’t even know what Turf Builder is.”

WHOA!  What a “cis-gender” asshole right?  

AdWeek reports on the outrage and outcome of McInnes’ crazed piece below

Gavin McInnes, chief creative officer of Rooster in New York, has been asked to take an indefinite leave of absence following the publication of a transphobic essay. Published earlier this week onThought Catalog, “Transphobia is Perfectly Natural” has at publication received 2,082 comments. It has also sparked a “Boycott Rooster” movement, with Tumblr and Twitter accounts asking followers to let Rooster clients—Vans, Red Bull, Fox Sports and others—know they will not support companies that work with McInnes. “Gavin’s views are his own and do not represent those of the company or its members,” said a Rooster representative. “We are extremely disappointed with his actions and have asked that he take a leave of absence while we determine the most appropriate course of action.”

Well I suppose now the bigoted hipster asshole can work for FOX News full time.

NYC Drag Icon Lady Bunny Weighs In On The Word “Tranny”: “I’m sick of people thinking they can ban words.”

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Lady Bunny and RuPaul

 

In a recent interview with Paper Magazine, longtime drag personality and NYC icon Lady Bunny spoke on her new show Clown Syndrome and during the interview offered her opinions on the use of the word “tranny”.

And he pulled no punches:

Tranny is an abbreviation for transvestite and transsexual, so I’m free to use it since I fall with that category. Much as blacks can use the N-word. I know tranny from London, where they abbreviate everything — breakfast is brekkie, biscuit is biccie. Tranny is used affectionately on the club scene. Even transsexual advocates like Jayne County and Kate Bornstein have come out and said that these words aren’t necessarily slurs.[snip]

And I’m sick of people thinking they can ban words because they make them feel bad. Boo hoo for you! Any time we choose a different path in life, we’re going to get shit for it — whether you choose to be openly gay, trans or even a straight guy with tattoos all over his face. If you don’t have the balls to take s–t, then choose an easy path. And for huge gay organizations like GLAAD to join in to censor Ru or anyone else confuses me. “Gender bender” is on GLAAD’s list of banned words. That’s what Frank-n-Furter, David Bowie and Sylvester were–that’s not a slur except to the most precious, uptight goody two-shoes.

Ohhhhhhh guuuuurl. Shits about to get REAL!

 

Fox New’s “Dr” Keith Ablow: There Is No Such Thing As Being Transgender

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Ablow Quack

Dr.” Keith Ablow, a member of Fox News’ “Medical A Team,” is continuing his propaganda filled and baseless smears against LGBT people this time with an ill-informed, transphobic rant against a new California law that allows transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identities. Ablow used the same “bathroom panic” lie that’s been central to Fox’s c overage of the legislation and all anti-LGBT groups as well as extremist conservative GOP members.

“I don’t see anything but toxicity from the notion of a person with female anatomy feeling free to use the urinal in the boys’ rest room while a boy stands next to her and uses one, too.

Governor Brown is one of the liberal politicians in the world who wants to sell people on the idea that he loves freedom when he is actually addicted to disempowering people.  

And shaking the certain knowledge in boys and girls of whether they can count on not being seen naked by the opposite gender, not to mention whether they are themselves actually the gender they thought they were, is a powerful, devious and pathological way to weaken them by making them question their sense of safety, security and certainty about anything and everything.”

Ablow also went on to falsely state  that there’s no proof that transgender people even exist.

“I don’t believe we have definitive data (although many psychiatrists with very impressive credentials, who seem to mean well, assert that we do) that any male or female soul has ever in the history of the world been born into the wrong anatomic gender.”

Let me put that more clearly:  I am not convinced by any science I can find that people with definitively male DNA and definitively male anatomy can actually be locked in a cruel joke of nature because they are actually female.

Ablow is a bad medical joke. He has a long history of purposely misinforming and commenting on issues that he’s completely unqualified to discuss, Ablow is also one of the network’s most vocal defenders of junk “ex-gay” therapy programs and lashes out against the American Psychological Association for being politically motivated whenever its stances don’t comport with his bigoted views.

Ablow’s dangerous and intentionally misleading hyperbole and pseudoscience discredit him as a medical professional.

If Ablow really is a “Doctor” through the American Medical Association his credentials must be revoked immediately.  He is a danger to LGBT Americans everywhere.

Source: Media Matters