Tag: transgender

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Hillary Clinton Speaks To Human Rights Campaign On LGBT Rights

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton addressed members of the Human Rights Campaign this morning, speaking passionately about LGBT rights.

From ABC News:

“Ben Carson says that marriage equality is what caused the fall of the Roman empire,” the Democratic presidential candidate said to laughter during a breakfast at the LGBT rights organization’s annual gathering in Washington, D.C.

Clinton then mentioned Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, which drew hisses and boos from the crowd gathered inside the grand ballroom of the Mayflower Hotel, and went on to challenge him to join her at a gay pride parade.

“Ted Cruz slammed a political opponent for marching in a pride parade. He clearly has no idea what he’s missing. Pride parades are so much fun. I was marching in them back when I was first lady. You should join sometime Senator, come on,” she said.

Both Carson and Cruz have said they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. ABC News has reached out to their campaigns for comment to Clinton’s remarks.

“Hillary would have everyone believe she’s been in favor of marriage equality since the fall of the Roman Empire,” Carson campaign spokesman Doug Watts said. “When she’s not lying, she’s spinning!”

“We need to say with one voice that transgender people are valued, loved, and one of us,” she said. “Transgendered people are still banned from serving … that is an outdated rule. I support the policy review that Defense Secretary [Ash] Carter recently announced in the Pentagon. I hope the United States joins many other countries and lets transgendered people join openly.”

She later called out the Republican presidential candidates for ignoring the issue all together.

“See if you are ever in a forum with any of them, if you can get them to say the word transgendered,” she said.

Speaking of The Equality Act, which has been introduced in Congress, which would outlaw discrimination against LGBTs in virtually every corner of society, Hillary said this:

“It’s a noble piece of legislation that deserves to become the law of the land. As president, I will fight for it and I hope many of you will be with me when I sign it into law.”

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Breaking Down The Transphobic Bathroom Myths

Matt Baume breaks down the lies and myths about transgender folks using the appropriate bathrooms.

With so many crazy folk like Mike Huckabee making bad jokes and hitting the transphobic panic button, we need to get to the heart of the matter – what are folks thinking is going to happen?

And what really happens when a trans person uses the bathroom?

Hint: they’re using the bathroom…

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Alabama: Employer Asks Transgender Employee “What Are You?” Then Fires Her

Imagine after a challenging period of time trying to find employment, you think you’ve found a dream job.

Not only a good job, but the company that’s hired you offers to pay to train you.

This was the case of Jessi Dye, a transgender woman living in Vinetown, Alabama.

On her first day at work at Summerford Nursing Home she arrived on time, filled out paperwork, received vaccinations (she would be training to become a certified nurse’s assistant). But come lunch time, Dye was summoned to the office of Robert Summerford, the manager for the facility.

“What are you?” he asked.

At that moment, Dye says she felt “exactly like being punched in the stomach.”

Dye explained that she was born male and transitioning to female.

From there, the situation got even worse with Summerford asking, “What am I supposed to do with you?”

And with that, Dye was fired on the spot.

Via the Huffington Post:

In March, Dye, with the support of lawyers from the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

On Thursday, the Southern Poverty Law Center announced that Summerford had reached a settlement with Dye. Rather than face a possible fight over Dye’s accusation in federal court, the company agreed to implement a policy that prohibits discrimination against job applicants and employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to conduct sensitivity training concerning LGBT people. (The amount of money paid to Dye in the settlement has not been disclosed.)

Sam Wolfe, a lawyer with SPLC, sees Summerford’s quick capitulation and favorable settlement offer as a positive sign that the climate toward LGBT people in the workplace is shifting around the country, even in states like Alabama, which have no statewide laws prohibiting LGBT discrimination.

“I think the takeaway here is that we have a small company that is represented by competent lawyers and they saw the writing on the wall,” Wolfe told The Huffington Post. “It’s an admission that employers do need to pay attention to their obligations under federal law to not discriminate because of someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”

This episode is not unique, and underscores why transgender folks (and gays and lesbians) need the Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed in Congress to protect against these kinds of cases.

For her part, Dye is glad the lawsuit at least brought attention to the very real issue of transgender protections. “I don’t want anybody else to have to go through what I went through that day,” she said.

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Trailer: The Danish Girl Starring Academy Award Winner Eddie Redmayne

The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne [“The Theory of Everything”] and Alicia Vikander [“Ex Machina”]), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech,” “Les Misérables”).

Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

The film will have it’s world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.

Opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, November 27th, and in additional cities in December 2015.

Watch the official trailer below.

(via press release)

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Pentagon To End Transgender Ban May 2016

USA TODAY is reporting on a proposal that would end the ban on transgender military personnel by May 27, 2016.

The move could affect about 12,000 troops.

The memo, circulated last week among top personnel and medical officials, lays out the road map for ending the policy and highlights some of the potential issues, including a pilot program that would provide leaves of absences for transgender troops being treated with hormones or having surgery.

Meanwhile, Army and the Air Force leaders know for sure of about 20 transgender troops in each service, according to a Defense Department official familiar with the issue who spoke on condition of anonymity because officials were not authorized to speak publicly. The condition of gender dysphoria disqualifies them from service under current policy, but a de facto moratorium on dismissals was enacted last month by Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

Carter ordered a six-month review of the issues surrounding transgender troops with the assumption that they can serve openly unless “objective, practical impediments are identified,” the Aug. 19 memo says. During that period, one of Carter’s chief deputies would have to approve any request to discharge transgender troops.

The memo details a list of issues surrounding the open service of transgender troops, including medical treatment, housing, uniforms and physical fitness standards.

Military leaders are also looking at reconsidering the discharge status of transgender troops who may have been kicked out in recent years. A change from dishonorable to honorable discharge would affect veterans benefits.

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Trailer: “About Ray”

Here’s the official synopsis:

ABOUT RAY tells the stirring and touching story of three generations of a family living under one roof in New York as they must deal with the life-changing transformation by one that ultimately affects them all.

Ray (Elle Fanning) is a teenager who has come to the realization that she isn’t meant to be a girl and has decided to transition from female to male.

His single mother, Maggie (Naomi Watts), must track down Ray’s biological father (Tate Donovan) to get his legal consent to allow Ray’s transition.

Dolly (Susan Sarandon), Ray’s lesbian grandmother is having a hard time accepting that she now has a grandson.

They must each confront their own identities and learn to embrace change and their strength as a family in order to ultimately find acceptance and understanding.

Coming soon to theaters.

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Ireland Lawmakers Approve Gender Identity Law

Following a historic vote legalizing same-sex marriage in May, Ireland now becomes the fourth country in the world to allow transgender people to legally change their gender without surgery or other medical intervention.

“This is a historic moment for the trans community in Ireland,” said Sara R. Phillips, chair of the Transgender Equality Network Ireland, in a statement after lawmakers approved the Gender Recognition Bill. “Today is the first day we will be seen as who we truly are.”

Wednesday’s vote caps off more than two decades of efforts around the issue that began in 1993 when Dr. Lydia Foy tried to change the gender on her birth certificate.

Irish President Michael Higgins is expected to sign the Gender Recognition Bill into law in the coming weeks.

“This is a great moment for trans people living in Ireland,” said ILGA-Europe Executive Director Evelyne Paradis in a statement.

Activists note, however, that the new law will not apply to transgender people under the age of 18.

Ireland will become the fourth country to allow trans people to legally change their gender without surgery and other medical interventions, joining Malta, Argentina and Denmark.

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Caitlyn Jenner’s Emotional Acceptance Speech At The ESPY Awards

In Caitlyn Jenner’s first major public appearance since announcing she is transgender, the Olympic gold medalist took the stage at ESPN’s annual awards Wednesday to assume the role of champion yet again, only this time, for a different community.

Accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Jenner spoke of the many challenging hurdles she has overcome throughout her life as an athlete, and now as one of the most public transgender people in the world:

“It’s been eye-opening, inspiring, but also frightening. All across this country, right now, all across the world, at this very moment, there are young people coming to terms with being transgender. They’re learning that they are different and they are trying to figure out how to handle that, on top of every other problem that a teenager has.

“They’re getting bullied, they’re getting beaten up, they’re getting murdered and they’re committing suicide. The numbers that you just heard before are staggering, but they are the reality of what it is like to be trans today.

“Just last month, the body of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson, a transgender young woman of color, was found in a field in Mississippi stabbed to death. I also want to tell you about Sam Taub, a 15-year-old transgender young man from Bloomfield, Michigan. In early April, Sam took his won life. Now, Sam’s story haunts me in particular because his death was a few days before my interview with Diane Sawyer. Every time something like this happens, people wonder, ‘Could it have been different, if spotlighting this issue with more attention could have changed the way things happen?’ We’ll never know.

“If there is one thing I do know about my life, it is the power of the spotlight. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, but with attention comes responsibility. As a group, as athletes, how you conduct your lives, what you say, what you do, is absorbed and observed by millions of people, especially young people. I know I’m clear with my responsibility going forward, to tell my story the right way — for me, to keep learning, to reshape the landscape of how trans issues are viewed, how trans people are treated. And then more prominently to promote a very simple idea: accepting people for who they are. Accepting people’s differences.

“My plea to you tonight is to join me in making these issues your issues as well. How do we start? We start with education. I was fortunate to meet Arthur Ashe a few times and I know how important education was to him. Learn as much as you can about another person to understand them better.

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Pentagon Close To Finalizing Plan To Allow Open Service By Transgender Individuals

The Associated Press has learned that Pentagon leaders are finalizing plans aimed at lifting the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.

Senior U.S. officials say an announcement is expected this week. They say the military would have six months to determine the impact and work out details, with the presumption that they would end one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service.

The officials say that during the transition, transgender individuals would still not be able to join the military. Decisions to force out those already serving would have to be referred to a top Defense Department leader.

(Via Huffington Post)