Tag: anti-transgender

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Trump Administration Asks SCOTUS To Allow Trans Military Ban Before Review

The Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military service members to go into effect while waiting on SCOTUS to decide whether or not to even take the case up for review.

The Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military service members to go into effect while waiting on SCOTUS to decide whether or not to even take the case up for review.

Apparently, the United States is in a state of emergency regarding the few thousand transgender people currently serving with honor in the U.S. military.

I know – it doesn’t make any sense.

Let’s go back a bit, shall we?

In July of 2017, President Trump surprised American military leaders and the world when he announced his plan to ban trans military service members after “consultation with my Generals and military experts” due to the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of transgender service members.

Remember, this is the guy who told Americans during the 2016 presidential campaign that he would ‘fight’ for the LGBTQ community.

Riiiiight.

Conservatives loved the idea; Liberals and LGBTQ activists were outraged.

In the ensuing months, numerous injunctions were ordered by judges blocking the implementation of the policy, and for good reason.

Not only has The American Medical Association (AMA) issued a statement saying there is ‘no medically valid reason’ for banning transgender people from serving in the United States military, but all four service chiefs (Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force) have testified they’ve seen no negative effects from transgender military personnel serving the country they love.

According to a 2016 RAND Corporation study, there are an estimated 1,320 to 6,630 transgender individuals out of the 1.3 million service members on active duty.

That same study estimated the cost of health care coverage for transgender personnel could range from $2.4 million and $8.4 million a year, which is about one-fifth of what

So, we can afford dick pills, but not trained trans soldiers…?

Then, earlier this month, Department of Justice Attorney Brinton Lucas told the D.C. Circuit Court that if the Trump policy were to be implemented, transgender troops would not be “discharged on the basis of their transgender status.”

(Wait for it…)

But, they would have to identify as the biological sex assigned to them at birth meaning they would have to stop any transition-related medical treatment – treatment that every major medical association has deemed necessary and life-saving for trans people.

Then, over Thanksgiving weekend, the Trump administration bypassed the appeals court process and requested the Supreme Court review the case before the circuit level courts even issue their opinions.

This isn’t a very popular approach as SCOTUS doesn’t like to review a case before it has made its way through the lower courts.

The high court likes to have cases work their way through traditional channels so they have the benefit of the opinions of lower court judges by the time cases reaches SCOTUS.

This week, the Trump administration filed emergency briefs asking the high court to allow the transgender ban to go into effect until SCOTUS can review the case in 2019.

According to Think Progress, the emergency briefs claimed waiting any longer to boot transgender military service members poses “too great a risk to military effectiveness and lethality” and it would be “contrary to the Nation’s interests.”

But such arguments have gained little traction in the past.

For example, U.S. District Judge Jesus Bernal ruled in September that “loss of unit cohesion” was the same argument used to keep Black people, women, and gay people from joining the military.

“The military has repeatedly proven its capacity to adapt and grow stronger specifically by the inclusion of these individuals,” wrote Bernal as he dismissed claims that including trans people would generate any different outcome.

It’s worth noting that the emergency briefs filed this week object to numerous motions for discovery filed in the cases. It seems the Trump administration wants to claim that all documentation related to how the ban was developed would fall under executive privilege.

What they really mean is that if those documents came to light, the American public might discover that Vice President Pence (a known homophobe) and his virulently anti-LGBTQ friends were instrumental in pushing the new ban through.

Should the Supreme Court allow the policy to be implemented before the case reaches SCOTUS, thousands of transgender soldiers could be discharged for being who they are.

This short video from the New York Times introduces just a few of the trans soldiers who are at risk of being discharged.

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Trump Responds To Outcry Over Transgender Proposal: “I Want To Protect Our Country”

Before boarding Marine One at the White House earlier today, Donald Trump responded to a question about the outcry regarding the proposed ‘redefining’ of sex by the Department of Health and Human Services that would virtually erase 1.4 million transgender Americans, that he’s “protecting everybody.”

“We’re looking at it, we have a lot of different, ahhhhh…concepts right now,” said Trump. “They have a lot of different things happening with respect to transgender right now – you know that as well as I do.”

When asked about his promise during the 2016 campaign to protect LGBT people, Trump responded, “I’m protecting everybody. I want to protect our country.”

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Barry Humphries (AKA Dame Edna) Is Anti-Trans And Pro-Trump

(image via Twitter)

In a new interview with The Spectator, Barry Humphries, whose most famous incarnation is as the over-the-top drag persona, “Dame Edna Everage,” surprises by revealing he is anti-transgender people and praises Donald Trump for ‘stirring up politics.’

This from a man who became famous performing in drag.

In London to perform a three-week residency at the Barbican, Barry Humphries’ Weimar Cabaret, Humphries told journalist Lloyd Evans that he feels the issue of transgender rights to be ‘terrible rat-baggery.’

He refers to transgenderism as ‘a fashion’ asking, “How many kinds of lavatory can you have?”

“And it’s pretty evil when it’s preached to children by crazy teachers,” he added.

Humphries also called out the anger he aroused when he referred to gender confirmation surgery as “mutilation.”

In a 2016 interview with The Telegraph, Humphries agreed with derisive comments about “men who believe that they are women and have themselves castrated”.

“They had their genitalia chopped off and tucked in and whatever they had to do,” said the 84-year-old. “And that aroused a lot of indignation — probably among the people who’d spent a lot of money having it done.”

Humphries tried to soften his position by adding, “But I don’t think I’m right to pontificate – I’m really an actor.”

On another topic, Evans asks if Humphries’ favorite onstage character, the sexist diplomat Sir Les Patterson, has been co-opted by Donald Trump.

“Has the President stolen your act?” asks Evans.

“No, I don’t think so,” replies Humphries. “I’m grateful to Trump for stirring up politics. And I won’t be joining any marches against him.”

(h/t The Spectator)

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Unhinged Trump Supporter Harasses Trans Woman In Restaurant Bathroom On Facebook Live

Jazmina Saavedra (L) harassed an unidentified trans woman

A transgender woman using the restroom at a Los Angeles Denny’s restaurant found herself being harassed by a wanna-be Republican Congressional candidate who broadcast the encounter on Facebook Live.

Jazmina Saavedra, a Republican running to represent California’s 44th Congressional district, clearly thought she was going to make some kind of a name for herself in Trump Land by attacking transgender people.

Armed with a selfie stick to make sure her face was clearly seen and proudly sporting her Trump sweatshirt, Saavedra barged into the bathroom attacking the unidentified woman. As she enters the restroom, the restaurant manager is already inside the ladies’ restroom, outside the stall where the trans woman is trying to do her business in peace.

“Why are you using the ladies’ room?” Saavedra demands to know. The trans woman in the stall shouts back, “You guys are harassing me…you’re invading my privacy,”

“You’re invading my privacy because I’m a woman!” Saavedra responds.

As the manager removed Saavedra from the restroom, the would-be politician candidate yells, “You violated my rights! You’re sick. Stupid, sick!”

“This is so stupid in California. You let people say, ‘I’m a lady.’ He’s a man,” Saavedra ranted as she made her way back into the restaurant, still broadcasting on Facebook. “This is so stupid in California. This is what the politicians, the sick politicians, approve. They put us in danger, a woman like me.”

The great irony here is it is the trans woman who is in danger; it is the trans woman’s privacy being invaded; and it’s the trans woman who merely wants to answer nature’s call and go about her life.

Trans woman trying to leave restaurant after being harassed

As the transgender woman was exiting the restaurant she addressed Saavedra asking, “Excuse me, I was using the toilet, how was I invading your privacy? Why are you singling me out, lady? And I’ve seen you yesterday following me.”

“Next time use the men’s room,” Saavedra hissed back. “Or nobody’s room. A transgender room.”

The Democratic congresswoman Saavedra is attempting to unseat is Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan, who denounced Saavedra’s actions in a statement: “I was appalled by the treatment that this woman received for simply trying to use the restroom. Everyone has the right to their own identity, and the right not to be discriminated against for who they are.”

Behavior like this from a Trump supporter isn’t news to those who have watched the Trump/Pence administration attack and dismantle rights and protections for transgender individuals. This includes:

• Rolling back guidance that directed schools to recognize a student’s gender identity

• Proposing a ban on transgender military service members

• Revoking regulations that protect trans people from health care discrimination

• Making changes to prison guidelines on where to house trans prisoners

The Advocate contacted Saavedra who held tight to her declaration that she felt she was in danger.

“I was feeling afraid of being inside the bathroom with a man,” she told The Advocate. “I didn’t know he was gay, I just heard the voice was a man. Another customer approached me and said that they were scared to go into the restroom because there was a voice of a man inside, and so I told the manager.”

Watching the video below, Saavedra doesn’t look very “scared.”

As has been widely covered by the press, there has never been a reported incident of a transgender person attacking or harassing anyone in a bathroom anywhere in the country. Ever.

Even in this recorded video, it is Saavedra who is stalking the trans woman.

Watch the Facebook Live video below:

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Trump To Roll Back Transgender Health Care Protections

Donald Trump is looking to roll back a 2016 Health and Human Services rule put in place during the Obama administration that bars healthcare providers who receive federal funds from discriminating against transgender Americans.

From The New York Times:

The law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in “any health program or activity” that receives federal financial assistance.

The Obama administration said the rule covered “almost all practicing physicians in the United States” because they accept some form of federal remuneration or reimbursement. It applies, for example, to hospitals that accept Medicare and doctors who receive Medicaid payments, as well as to insurers that participate in health insurance marketplaces.

The rule kept insurers from limiting health services like psychotherapy, counseling or hormone treatment as trans patients transitioned from one gender to another.

Some insurers attempted to dodge coverage for these patients saying the treatments were “cosmetic.”

Transgender Americans have been under fire since Donald Trump took office.

In addition to scaling back healthcare regulations, Trump has also proposed banning openly transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.

Plus, Trump’s Education Department has repealed protections allowing transgender students access to school bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

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White House Finalizes Guidelines To Ban Transgender Military Service Members

The White House is close to finalizing guidelines that will allow Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to begin expelling transgender military service members per Donald Trump’s orders.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mattis will have six months to implement the new anti-transgender policy.

The ban’s focus will consider deployability – whether or not the service member can serve in war zones.

The guidelines also include orders to cease paying for any medical expenses related to transgender men and women and denying enlistment to trans men and women in the future.

Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), which together with GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) filed a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s attempt to reinstate a transgender military ban, issued the following statement in response:

“The President’s willingness to attack his own troops is unprecedented and poses a serious threat to our nation’s longstanding commitment to honor those who serve and to prioritize military readiness over politics.

This ban needlessly takes aim at our courageous transgender servicemembers. This is not who we want to become: a country so committed to baseless discrimination that we are willing to sacrifice even our national security.”

According to reports, Trump took aim at trans service members when a group of conservative lawmakers threatened to torpedo funding for his wall along the Mexican border if he did not end trans military participation.

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Texas: “Bathroom Bill” Dies Again As Special Legislative Session Ends

From NBC News:

A Texas “bathroom bill” targeting transgender people died again late Tuesday along with many of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s summer demands as an already bruising legislative session was derailed by Republican backbiting that could preview an even nastier 2018 primary season.

It is the second time that North Carolina-style bathroom restrictions have failed to pass in Texas, and Abbott gave no indication he would order weary lawmakers to stay in Austin and try again – which would risk a third failure over what has erupted into one of the most high-profile bills in any U.S. legislature.

Corporate heavyweights from Amazon to Exxon Mobil lined up against the measure, as did some top law enforcement agencies, and opponents celebrated the latest failure despite the support from the governor and influential social conservatives who drive GOP politics and primaries in Texas.

“Today’s victory shows what can happen when transgender Americans and their allies stay vigilant and push back against legislation that helps no one and harms many,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, a national LGBT rights group.

JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president for policy and political affairs at the Human Rights Campaign, issued a statement which read in part, “We hope that this time, this issue remains settled: Texans don’t want harmful, anti-transgender legislation. First and foremost, these bills were defeated because of the many voices that came out in opposition, saying, ‘don’t discriminate in the Lone Star State.’

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Defense Secretary Mattis Was “Appalled” By Trump’s Transgender Ban Tweets

In announcing his ban on transgender service members in the U.S. military, Donald Trump made a point to say the decision was made “after consultation with my Generals and military experts,” but apparently Trump blind-sided just about every on his military team.

And what he didn’t make abundantly clear was the ban was actually was a snap maneuver to save money for his Mexican wall.

You know, the wall Mexico was going to pay for?

From the New York Times:

Mr. Trump made the declaration on Twitter, saying that American forces could not afford the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of transgender service members. He said he had consulted generals and military experts, but Jim Mattis, the defense secretary, was given only a day’s notice about the decision.

Mr. Trump elected to announce the ban in order to resolve a quietly brewing fight on Capitol Hill over whether taxpayer money should pay for gender transition and hormone therapy for transgender service members. The dispute had threatened to kill a $790 billion defense and security spending package scheduled for a vote this week.

But rather than addressing that narrow issue, Mr. Trump opted to upend the entire policy on transgender service members.

His decision was announced with such haste that the White House could not answer basic inquiries about how it would be carried out, including what would happen to openly transgender people on active duty. Of eight defense officials interviewed, none could say.

Mr. Mattis, who was on vacation, was silent on the new policy. People close to the defense secretary said he was appalled that Mr. Trump chose to unveil his decision in tweets, in part because of the message they sent to transgender active-duty service members, including those deployed overseas, that they were suddenly no longer welcome.

Repeat: “The defense secretary said he was appalled…”

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Train Conductor Schools Two Anti-Transgender “Dolts”

My dear friend Tom Viola shared this fantastic story of a patriotic train conductor schooling two idiots on a train bound for NYC via Broadway actress Kerry O’Malley:

On an Amtrak train headed to NYC. Mildly buzzed doltish business men two seats ahead of me are complaining about “the damn trannies who cost the army so much money switching themselves around on the taxpayers’ dime.”

While I contemplate if/what to say to these offensive a$$h0les, the conductor walks by and asks for their tickets.

“Tickets, please. Going to New York? Let me ask you, gentlemen, something. Have you ever gone to war?” The dolts don’t understand.

“Have either of you men served your country?” They look at each other, puzzled and shake their heads NO. “Because I have. And if I don’t care about the privates of my comrade in arms, why the hell do you?”

Dumbfounded and wounded silence.

First dolt:”Excuse me, sir…”

Conductor:”I will not excuse you. If my buddy loses a leg saving my ass, they sure as hell deserve the support of the Army to be a whole person, whatever makes them whole.”

Dolt #2:”We didn’t mean anything by it…”

Conductor:”Exactly. Might be a better use of your conversation to make yourself mean something.”

Dolt #2:”I’m sorry.”

The conductor looks them both in the eye for an uncomfortably long time.

“Wilmington next!” The conductor moves to the next car.

The dolts look at each other. “Shit.”

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Trump’s “Generals And Military Experts” Did Not Know Trump Anti-Trans Policy Was Coming

Even though Donald Trump began his tweet banning transgender military service members by stating, “After consultation with my Generals and military experts…” it’s become clear that the top military leaders at the Pentagon were surprised by the bombshell announcement yesterday.

As CNN’s Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr points out, today’s announcement from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stating there will be no changes in policy in the short term, does not offer any clear support for the president’s sudden shift in direction on transgender military.

Watch below.