Good News

I had to go back to August to find it, but it is good news.

Letter from the President: Pediatricians should not be transgender children’s first bully
By Benard P. Dreyer, M.D., FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics
August 3, 2016

As I sat at the AAP Districts II and VIII joint meeting in late June listening to two families talk about their experiences with their young transgender children, I felt privileged to witness such love and acceptance — and such normal, happy children who just happened not to fit their “assigned” or birth gender. I was proud to be an AAP member and a pediatrician, just as I was proud in April, when the North Carolina Chapter and national AAP called for repeal of North Carolina’s so-called “bathroom bill,” a law that denies transgender students access to gender-segregated spaces such as restrooms and locker rooms in schools.

I’ve learned so much from these children and their families. First, gender dysphoria can start very early. Both children experienced strong opinions about their gender at the age of 4 or 5. Second, there is a continuum in gender dysphoria. Both children had natal male genders. Yet one child changed her name to reflect a female gender and insisted she was a girl, while the other child wanted to be addressed with male pronouns in spite of a preference to dress like a girl and choose play and roles traditionally engaged in by girls.

Both families stressed how important it is for home to be a safe and accepting space for the transgender child. When those children walk through the door of their homes at the end of a school day, they should be able to be themselves without any judgment. As one of the fathers passionately said, “I won’t be my child’s first bully!”

The pediatrician’s office, and the entire health care setting, should be a safe, accepting place as well. I was sad to receive an email from one of the parents telling of another family’s encounters with the health care system when they bring their 5-year-old transgender daughter in for care for her serious chronic disease. The doctors refuse to treat her as a girl until she is older, and some have even called child protective services claiming the mother is harming her child for allowing her to live as a girl.

In another article in the AAP News & Journal…

Transgender youths may struggle to find gender-affirming care
Melissa Jenco, News Content Editor
August 3, 2016

Transgender youths report multiple barriers to receiving gender-affirming health care, according to a new study.

Delaying such care comes with a price as it is connected to increased risk of psychiatric issues like anxiety and depression, which already are higher in transgender youths than in their peers.
[…]
Researchers set out to see if these youths were able to find gender-affirming care. They used surveys, interviews and focus groups to garner input from 15 youths ages 14-22 and 50 caregivers of transgender youths. They found six common barriers:

• limited number of providers trained in supporting transgender youths who were accessible in terms of insurance coverage and distance;
• lack of office protocols or awareness of professional guidelines;
• providers who did not use the patient’s chosen name or pronoun;
• lack of coordination between providers;
• trouble accessing pubertal blockers and cross-sex hormones due to age, parental approval or lack of provider training; and
• insurance exclusions.

The team suggested remedies for each barrier, including training providers and staff, developing office protocols, opening multidisciplinary gender clinics and providing cross-sex hormones at an age that allows adolescents to develop at the same time as their peers.

Maybe we will be getting better healthcare for the children.

We Were In The Golden Years

It was LGBT heaven, the White House was lit up in the rainbow colors, trans people, lesbians, there were trans interns, trans people were appointed to high level posts and gays were invited to the White House, and now…

Every single Trump cabinet member so far opposes LGBT rights
Pink News
By Nick Duffy
29th November 2016

Every single cabinet member appointed by Donald Trump so far opposes LGBT rights.
The Republican President-elect has begun appointing his top team ahead of his inauguration in January.

So far the billionaire – who claimed he would “protect our L-G-B-T-Q citizens” while running for election – has appointed a string of politicians who oppose LGBT rights.
With many spots still up for grabs, here’s a run-down of Trump’s cabinet so far:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is known as one of the most conservative and anti-LGBT members of Congress, holding a 0 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard on LGBT rights.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVos is a prominent donor to the anti-gay marriage lobby. She previously donated $200,000 in a successful bid to add an anti-gay marriage amendment to the Michigan ballot.

DeVos family organisations have also made large donations to anti-gay marriage causes – $500,000 to the National Organization for Marriage, and $100,000 to Florida4Marriage.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price
Another opponent of LGBT rights in Congress, Price is a co-sponsor of the First Amendment Defence Act, which would legalise discrimination against LGBT people on the grounds of religion.

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao
Secretary Chao served in George W Bush’s Cabinet as Labor Secretary, overseeing a Department of Labor which was opposed to LGBT anti-discrimination protections.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus
The current Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Priebus has steered the GOP into its most anti-LGBT position in decades, helping pass its most homophobic policy platform in decades.

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn
The retired US Army Lieutenant has a history of opposing LGBT rights, recently attacking Obama administration for lifting the ban on transgender people serving in the military.

After the Pentagon lifted the ban, he fumed: “Too often, way too often, our troops are instead are distracted by trivial matters, trivial matters about what words to use, what terminology is politically correct and what bathroom door to open up.

Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley
The Governor of South Carolina initially vowed to defend her state’s ban on same-sex weddings amid a lawsuit.

And then we have what else we can lose, the Washington Blade wrote that,

Transgender advocates have expressed concerns about repeal of Section 1557, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in health care. The Obama administration has issued a rule interpreting that language to apply to transgender people, including for transition-related care and gender reassignment surgery, as well as gender non-conforming people.
[…]
The potential loss of the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare is a source of anxiety for HIV/AIDS advocates. The program, which Republicans have threatened to change to a block-grant system, provides care for an estimated 40 percent of people with the disease in the United States.

Hilary McQuie, director of U.S. policy and grassroots mobilization for the HIV/AIDS group Health GAP, said the Price nomination is “a worst case scenario for people living with HIV.”

“In collusion with Paul Ryan, he will try to dismantle the safety net and healthcare system that has allowed us to build towards ending the epidemic,” McQuie said. “We are going to have to mount a huge response to secure Medicaid, Medicare, HOPWA, ADAP, CDC and every other acronym that represents healthcare and social services for people in the U.S.”

And I have a bad feeling that we might lose AIDS funding for Ryan White Act,

“Over the past eight years, HHS has shown strong leadership in addressing LGBT-related health disparities and implementing the National Strategy to End AIDS,” Graham said. “I hope that as secretary, Congressman Price will show the same leadership and attention to addressing important health issues that he displayed in the Georgia Senate.”

In conservative states that have cut funding for Planned Parenthood and for AIDS prevention there has been an increase in STDs and in some states it has reached epidemic levels.

Happy Days are not coming.

A Busy Day.

This afternoon I am over in Norwich where I am do a training for the Norwich city social workers, it will be a two hour PowerPoint presentation. Then in the evening I am teaching a class at Albertus Magnus College down in New Haven. The professor turns the class over to me for the evening and I love teaching the class and the best part is not having to grade the papers.

From past classes that I taught the students for him the students wrote in their journals,

When it was announced that we would have a guest speaker for our next class I originally thought nothing of it. I’ve had a good experience with guest speakers in the TCPCG [Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates] program so far and I was excited to hear what the guest lecturer would say. When I walked into class on Wednesday I remember seeing the back of a tall woman standing in front of our class, thinking she was our guest, and proceeded to sit down and open up my computer. About 5 minutes later the guest came forward and she said that we were going to start the lecture. Once the guest lecturer starting talking and I began to look at her a bit more in detail, I realized something very interesting - our guest speaker was a transsexual.

Now being an educated grad student I was fully aware of was exactly a transsexual was and that the transsexual community is growing every day, however, as far as I know, this was my first time meeting one. The weird thing however was that it didn’t seem like I was meeting a transsexual, but rather just another women - a guest lecturer. Once you get past the deep voice and the 6’2” figure, there was nothing weird or different here, just another woman. When the lecture started I was expecting to learn all about life as a transsexual, and while she did touch on this a little, she was focused more on the big picture. The picture being that there are thousands of transsexuals and people dreaming of being a different gender all around us, and often times they either go unnoticed or are looked as weirdly or differently. I think the message she was trying to tell us is that although on the outside we may look a little strange, it is really who they are on the inside that matters.

++++++++++++++

Diana __________’s presentation on the science behind the term “transgender” as well as the transgender community was thought provoking, informative, and interesting. I have many family members who are also members of the LGBT community, so topics such as gender identity have always captivated my attention. I have watched numerous documentaries on individuals who identity as transgender and the science behind this phenomenon. I have also had the opportunity to expand my knowledge of transgender biology, psychology, and culture through my interactions with a myriad of students at Hall High School. It was fascinating to learn that sections of a transgender person’s brain often possess gender characteristics that are different from the individual’s physical gender markers. I was also elated to discover that doctors can halt puberty in a transgender person’s body at a young age and help them experience an easier physical transition to their true gender. Such developments make me hopeful for the future. Ideally, treatments such as these will become more widely available to any transgender person who wishes to transition. However, I think the most important takeaway from Diana’s presentation was that people are just people, even if they were born in the wrong body and feel the need to make a change. Everyone should display empathy and compassion for their fellow human beings.

In the past I have done many panel type classes where we do an introduction about ourselves and then answer questions, I have found it more rewarding to teach the class than panel discussions (the only panels that I am on are at UConn School of Medicine for the 2^nd year med students) and I have been moving away from the panels toward teaching the class. On Thursday I am teaching a class at CCSU as a guest lecturer for a social work class.

I did a workshop at the NASW (National Association of Social Workers) conference a couple of years ago and you can see it here.

A Bold Move

I don’t know if I would have jumped into the lion’s den like that but then danger always attracted her.

Transgender Navy SEAL Applies for Job in Trump Administration
Military.com
By Amy Bushatz
November 25, 2016

Transgender retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck says she has applied for a job in the Trump administration in an effort to promote visibility for transgender and veteran issues.

Beck, who retired in 2011 after serving two decades in the Navy and on SEAL Team Six, said although she feels she is qualified to serve on civilian Pentagon staff, she would gladly do anything for the new administration, to include serving coffee.

"I'll carry their coffee if that's what they want -- just so I'm there, just so I'm visible and I exist, and so they see a veteran who is going through life who maybe they don't understand," she told Military.com during a telephone interview. "Maybe with that understanding, they can build some compassion and they'll understand what liberty means to me."
[…]
"I served my country; I fought for life, liberty and happiness; and I’m not allowed to have it myself," she said. "This is my country waving a flag and talking about liberty. We talk about liberty, liberty, liberty. And I keep saying, 'This is my individual liberty.' "

If anyone can do it, it is Ms. Beck, she has run in to enemy held buildings with guns a blazing, I don’t know which would be more dangerous; working in a Trump White House or attacking a Taliban position.

I met her a couple of years back and she is quite a person, very dynamic and out going.

It Has Started

We knew there was going to be a rash of anti-LGBT legislation coming out of Congress and now a state legislator is introducing a bill aimed at blocking any congressional bills supporting conversion therapy.

A bill banning ‘gay cure’ conversion therapy has been proposed under Mike Pence’s name
Pink News UK
By Meka Beresford
26th November 2016

A lawmaker in the US has introduced a law which intended to ban conversion therapy under Mike Pence’s name.

Patrick Burke, a legislator for Erie County has a designed a bill titled the Prevention of Emotional Neglect and Childhood Endangerment, which is PENCE for short.

Currently just five states, including Washington D.C, prohibit the practice outright.

The bill challenges Pence’s views, as the vice president elect has been a long supporter of the damaging conversion therapy which aims to ‘cure’ people of homosexuality.

In 2000 he openly supported the practice of changing sexual orientation and gender identity of LGBT minors through conversion therapy.

The legislator is trying to raise awareness about Pence’s past of anti-LGBT views before he gets into the White House in January.

The opposition to the bill is using the same old argument, “We don’t have any here.”

Burke’s bill is due to be debated next year but has faced opposition on the grounds that conversion therapy isn’t practiced in Erie county.

Republican lawmaker Josep Lorigo said: “There has been no use of this technique anywhere in Erie County.

“I am 100 percent opposed to this brand of ‘therapy,’ but I am also opposed to attempting to legislate every single issue we can think of, especially a law banning something that has never actually happened in Erie County.”

I doubt that very much, I bet if they look they can find some. I know here in Connecticut they also said that but in reality I know of about five places that subscribe to Conversion Therapy.

Now is the time to start working on state legislatures to strong non-discrimination law that protect LGBT people that also in public accommodations.

There Is No Typical Trans Person

We are all unique and so is what we have to put up with when we transition. Some have it hard, and some have it easy when they transition.

Eddie Izzard reveals years of transgender abuse to court
Comedian says ‘I stand my ground’, as man is found guilty of abusing him outside his home
The Guardian
Friday 25 November 2016

Comedian Eddie Izzard defended himself against a man who shouted homophobic abuse at him as a stand against “thousands of years of transgender people being aggressively attacked”, a court has heard.

Jamie Penny threatened to “do” the 54-year-old’s house after an altercation in Pimlico, central London.

A month later Penny, 24, shouted to Izzard that he was a “fucking poofter” after seeing him in a street nearby.

Penny, who is autistic, was found guilty of two counts of using threatening and abusive words or behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress. He also admitted damaging a police cell after he was arrested.

And he was not alone in harassing and threating the comedian,

Izzard said: “I was thrown because it had escalated. For hundreds of thousands of years transgender people have been aggressively attacked.

“I just thought, it is not going to happen – I am going to attack back with words.”

The court heard that a month later, on 4 May, Izzard was walking near Victoria station towards his house when he heard someone shout, “you’re a fucking poofter [a male prostitute]” from the other side of the road.

When we transition we have no idea how our neighbor will react, will they be accepting? Will be indifferent towards us? Or will they be violent and hostile toward us?

We will never know until we do come out in public.

For me it was mixed, most of the neighbors were indifferent towards me, some never talked to me before and haven’t talked to me since (I live in a typical suburban neighborhood, the neighbors all have garage door openers so all you see is the garage door open and them driving off with a wave and most have a lawn service cut their lawn). And a few are friendly and talk to me.

One neighbor had a tag sale and I went over to buy a tripod for my camera and as I was walking away I heard him say to his daughter… “That is our neighborhood queer.”

But all it takes is for you to have one bully in your neighborhood to make your life miserable.

I Can’t Help But Wonder

What will happen to this case once Trump takes over with his band of White Supremacists?

Judge rules in favor of intersex veteran who was denied passport
PBS News Hour
By Corinne Segal
November 23, 2016

A federal judge ruled Tuesday in favor of Dana Zzyym, an intersex Navy veteran who sued the State Department for a passport that would reflect a gender other than “male” or “female.”

“I find that the administrative record contains no evidence that the Department followed a rational decision-making process in deciding to implement its binary-only gender passport policy,” U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson wrote. “Therefore, the proper next step is to remand the case to the Department to give it an opportunity either to shore up the record, if it can, or reconsider its policy.”

Zzyym was born intersex, uses the pronoun “they” and does not identify as male or female. As a child, Zzyym was raised as a boy after receiving surgeries that “traumatized [them] and left them with severe scarring,” according to Lambda Legal, who represents them.

In 2014, they applied for a U.S. passport to attend the International Intersex Forum in Mexico City but were denied because they did not select “male” or “female” on their application. The suit, filed by Lambda Legal, claimed that the denial violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses in the U.S. Constitution.

They were denied a passport without the “Male”/”Female” box being checked, so they sued and the State Department has a choice to make…

The State Department can now appeal the decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. If the department does not choose to appeal, it must reconsider its current passport policy with the possibility of adding a third gender marker, Castillo said. Several other countries allow a third gender option on passports, typically marked by an “X,” which is permitted by the International Civil Aviation Organization, an arm of the United Nations that helps ensure safe aviation.

What will happen to the case once president-elect Trump takes over is any bodies guess?

If the comments are any indication there is a lot of hate and ignorance out there.

Boycott

Sometimes we go overboard on declaring a boycott (most of the time I don’t even shop at the place that is being boycott so it makes it hard for me to boycott it) but this is one I do boycott.

The apology to LGBTQ people that the Salvation Army won’t release
LGBTQ Nation
By Bil Browning
November 19, 2015

Last year, Queerty exposed two internal Salvation Army USA documents that lays out exactly how the religious org planned to battle the negative publicity from my campaign to get them to apologize for their anti-LGBTQ past.

After reading the memos describing their plan for a “strategy of containment” that includes whitewashing their past, confusing potential donors, and refusing to take responsibility for their horrendous history of discrimination, it seems appropriate to release exactly what they don’t want revealed: the public apology that the church leadership refuses to issue.

In two separate documents, the Salvation Army clearly is more interested in using PR spin to deflect attention and make LGBTQ people doubt whether or not the group’s history is worthy of an apology. In a 24-page memo titled “2014 Nondiscrimination Communications & Protocols,” the org’s public relations department spells out exactly how local and regional branches of the not-for-profit should respond to critics.

“In April 2013, The Salvation Army’s National Advisory Board adopted an aggressive issues management plan, with specific emphasis on addressing allegations of discrimination on on [sic] ongoing basis,” the document reads under a section marked “Preparations.” It notes that “The Salvation Army NHQ communications team and Richards Partners have held issue briefings and media training workshops in 2013 and 2014 for more than 150 of the highest ranking officers and respective public relations officials.”

Why I boycott the Salvation Army, Bil Browning wrote in Bilerico,

Since 1986 the Salvation Army has engaged in five major assaults on the LGBT community's civil rights and attempted to carve out exemptions that would allow them to deny gays and lesbians needed services as well as employment.

• When New Zealand considered passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act in 1986, the Salvation Army collected signatures in an attempt to get the legislation killed. The act decriminalized consensual sex between gay men. The measure passed over the charity's objections.
• In the United Kingdom, the Salvation Army actively pushed passage of an amendment to the Local Government Act. The amendment stated that local authorities "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship." The law has since been repealed, but it led many schools and colleges to close LGBT student organizations out of fear they'd lose their government funding.
• In 2001, the organization tried to extract a resolution from the White House that they could ignore local non-discrimination laws that protected LGBT people. While the commitment would have applied to all employees, the group claimed that it needed the resolution so it "did not have to ordain sexually active gay ministers and did not have to provide medical benefits to the same-sex partners of employees." After lawmakers and civil rights activists revealed the Salvation Army's active resistance to non-discrimination laws, the White House admitted the charity was seeking the exemptions.
• Also in 2001, the evangelical charity actively lobbied to change how the Bush administration would distribute over $24 billion in grants and tax deductions by urging the White House deny funding to any cities or states that included LGBT non-discrimination laws. Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary, issued a statement saying the administration was denying a "regulation sought by the church to protect the right of taxpayer-funded religious organizations to discriminate against homosexuals."
• In 2004, the Salvation Army threatened to close all their soup kitchens in New York City to protest the city's decision to require all vendors and charities doing business with the city to adhere to all civil rights laws. The organization balked at having to treat gay employees equal to straight employees.

I've seen the discrimination the Salvation Army preaches first hand. When a former boyfriend and I were homeless, the Salvation Army insisted we break up before they'd offer assistance. We slept on the street instead and declined to break up as they demanded.

Okay what after Mr. Browning wrote that is why I boycott SA, back in 2014 I wrote…

How Can They Do This?
Down in Texas the Salvation Army did it again! They turned away a trans-person from their homeless shelter in Dallas.

Salvation Army Refuses Housing Shelter To Transgender Woman
ThinkProgess
By Zack Ford
May 4, 2014

Back in March, Jodielynn Wiley fled her life in Paris, Texas. Because she is transgender, she had received death threats and had found dead animals left on her front porch. When she asked the police for help, they told her, “Being the way you are, you should expect that.” Wiley landed in Dallas, where she found emergency shelter at the Carr P. Collins Social Service Center, run by the Salvation Army.

As she reached the end of her 30-day stay at the emergency shelter, Wiley sought other long-term shelter options. One such option was the a two-year housing program run by the Salvation Army, which several other women from the Collins Center had recently entered. According to the Dallas Voice, when she interviewed for the program with her case worker, Wiley was told she was disqualified because she had not had gender reassignment surgery: “After I said no, she said, ‘Well, that’s why we can’t give you a room. It was putting me in an uncomfortable situation and very rude.” Her counselor then changed the story and claimed that there was a waiting list, but Wiley says that two women who arrived at the emergency shelter after she did had already entered the longer program.

When you agree to take federal funding you agree to not discriminate, the Salvation Army; it seems to me that they agreed to take federal funding under false pretenses.

And then there is Jennifer Gale, a homeless trans woman who died after being turned away from a Salvation Army shelter.

Trans woman’s death shines light on plight of homeless
Dallas Voice
By John Wright
Posted on 23 Dec 2008

A day later, Equality Texas issued a press release saying Gale’s death can be directly attributed to a lack of homeless shelters that accept transgender people and house them according to their gender identity. Transgender people face higher rates of homelessness  due to things like employment discrimination, and shelters typically will house them only according to their biological gender.
[…]
Marti Bier, an aide for openly lesbian Austin City Councilwoman Randi Shade, said the only shelter in Austin that houses women overnight, operated by the Salvation Army, would’ve forced Gale to sleep and shower with men.

Do you want to donate to the homeless then I recommend donating to Journey Home, they work with the homeless but they also do not discriminate against LGBT people.

Saturday 9: Baby's in Black

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Baby's in Black (1964)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Black is this week's signature color because Friday, November 25, was "Black Friday," when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains?
Nope, I don’t want to go anywhere near a mall this weekend and there is nothing online that I want.

2) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include pigging out or watching a game?
Pigging out yes, watching games no. And I paid for it, my blood glucose level in the morning was 136!

3) At Thanksgiving dinners, Crazy Sam's homemade gravy is always a hit. (Probably because she's so generous with the cognac, which gives the gravy a nutty taste.) What was particularly delicious at your Thanksgiving table?
Coconut custard pie.

4) Among the biggest the Black Friday advertisers are Target, Kohl's, Macy's and Best Buy. If you could have a $100 gift card to any one of those stores, which would you choose? 
Well it depends on who I am buying the gift card for. For some I would get them a Target card while for others I would get them a Best Buy card.

5) This week's song, "Baby's in Black," is about a girl who wears black because she's in mourning. Do you find that the color you're wearing reflects your mood?
Yes, I did wear black for Thanksgiving and in a way I was in mourning.
 
6) The woman who inspired this song, Astrid Kirchherr, has been friends with Paul McCartney since he and his bandmates (John Lennon, George Harrison, Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best) met her in Hamburg back in 1960. Tell us what you believe are the components of a strong, lasting friendship.
Same likes, desires, and being there for them through their hard times.

7) In the early days of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and John Lennon began writing a play but abandoned it. Do you have a novel, painting, play, song or poem that you're going to finish "someday?"
Nope… well kind of. I started my diary again.

8) When he was 16, George Harrison dreamed of moving to Canada, Australia or Malta. In just a few years, he would visit all those places with Beatles and eventually decided there was no place like home and stayed in England. Have you ever thought about moving to another country? If so, where?
Right now a lot of people that I know are thinking about Canada.

9)  Random question: Finish this sentence -- If you want me to give you "yes" for an answer, the best time to approach me is _____________________.
In the morning around 4 AM. What you are not awake at 4 then you probably you won’t get your “yes” answer, sorry.

Good Advice

One of the things about the trans community is we are not a homogenous community, we have a number of subgroups within the community. The umbrella has holes in it.

Trans Activists' Advice To Transgender Youth: 'We Have To Stop Fighting With Each Other'
Several activists from the transgender community have come together to encourage marginalised members of society to unite against those who attempt to undermine their human rights
Mirror UK
By Katie O'Malley
November 22, 2016

American trans activists Buck Angel and Janet Mock have come out to encourage the young transgender community not to be afraid in the face of persecution, following weeks of unease since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America.

At a recent screening of The Trans List – a multi-media project from artist Timothy Greenfield-Sanders that highlights activists in the trans community – adult film star and activist Angel began a call to action for the trans community, to not let fear get in their way of standing up for what is right.

Buck Angel told The Cut: 'Fear is how we ended up here.'

Amen to that. Fear is dividing us again.

Director Greenfield-Sanders said: 'The trans community has been so attacked and discriminated against, and there are still no laws protecting trans people in most states. So as the LGB movement has become mainstream, the T in the LGBT is finally finding its moment.'

But we are once again being pushed aside by Gay Inc. that wants us to push public accommodations aside and just work on employment and housing. But we have seen that before and it doesn’t work, they never come back for us, just look at New York state and SONA.

'I think right now, what we need to do is ensure that anyone who is considered other — trans folk, queer folk, people of color, poor folk, disabled people — that they band together and form coalitions in order to fight back against a lot of the things that go on or could possibly go on in this new administration,' she said.

'If all the people who were considered marginalized banded together, we would be considered the majority. Hopefully, this specific election season has woken us all up to be able to connect in ways that we can enact change,' she added.

We cannot let Martin Niemöller poem become true, “Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

When Someone Asks Me How Long I’ve Been Trans…

...I tell them all my life. One of my first forages in to the trans community was when I bought Caroline (Tula) Cossey book “My Story,” I felt so guilty buying the book. I felt like when I walked up to counter that all types of alarms would be going off with a big neon arrow pointing down saying “TRANSSEXUAL” flashing on and off. But you know what, nothing happened. And when she was in Playboy I felt the same thing would happen.

Well Caroline Cossey is back in the news,

Transgender Bond Girl Caroline Cossey breaks her silence: I hid for 25 years but I'm back holding my head high
The model and actress was known to millions as Bond girl Tula, for working on a TV gameshow and was in demand as a model when it was revealed she'd been born a man
Mirror
By Vikki White
19 NOV 2016
As a Bond girl and a pin-up known to millions as Tula, Caroline Cossey oozed glamour and had a glittering life in front of her.

She was working on a TV gameshow and was in international demand as a model.

That all changed when an undercover sting callously revealed to the world that she was born a boy.

It was the early 1980s and she became the world’s most famous transgender woman – choosing to tell her remarkable story in the Sunday Mirror.

But life in Britain was to become too much after she was mocked by cruel sections of the press, attacked by a male fan and pounced on by a “lynch mob” bombarding her with personal questions.

Fleeing the UK, she became a virtual recluse and swapped A-list parties – and Playboy photoshoots – for anonymity.

But now she is back in the limelight, buoyed by the rise of transgender women in the public eye. And in her first British interview for almost three decades, the ex-model from Norfolk again turns to the Sunday Mirror to tell her story.

She says: “In the 1980s, being transgender was like a death sentence – it still can be in certain countries.

She is now 62, only a couple of years younger than me and she is coming out again to be an advocate for the trans community.

So what of the future? Smiling broadly, she adds: “I’ve got a bucket list. There are some nice offers on the table and I’ve sold the movie rights to my life.

"It will be interesting to see who plays me...”

I will be looking forward to the movie and this time I won’t be sneaking in to see it.

Happy Thanksgiving

I am away today at a fiends place in Massachusetts, but for many people Thanksgiving and the Holidays are an especially lonely time, they might not have  estranged from their family since they came out to them. Their families and children have disowned them and for them Thanksgiving is a time when they feel their loss the greatest. Thanksgiving is a time where we reflect on all that we have been thankful for the year but for those of us it could also be a time a great sadness while they see others around them celebrating during the holiday seasons. So let us open our hearts and doors to them and invite them to the table.

On the lighter side... what would Thanksgiving be without "Alice's Restaurant"



One of my favorite sitcom skits was from WKRP in Cincinnati, "Turkey Drop"

Back In The Closet Again

What are our choices?

One of my duties as executive director of the non-profit is to answer the phone, and normally it does take up much of my time and the calls are usually looking for information that they could have found on our blog or it is someone who wants me to do training for their agency, but it has been different for the last couple of weeks. They are now from worried trans people and there is not much I can tell them except that what they are feeling is understandable with us facing the unknown.

The Trans People Who Are Detransitioning To Stay Safe In Trump’s America
The Establishment
By Sam Riedel
November 20, 2016

Being homeless and living in a tent in the mountains wasn’t exactly where Addy had expected to be at 31. A month ago, she’d at least been bouncing from a motel to a shelter. But life has a funny sense of humor—especially when you’re a transgender woman—so Addy used her own humor to make the most of it: Alone in her remote shelter on Election Night, “I was just making weird as heck Trump statuses on Facebook,” she says. “‘Shit posting,’ as the kids call it.” Her friends rallied around her wry, Dada-esque absurdities, and even Trump’s widening lead in the electoral college was funny for a while.

Eventually, however, reality settled in. “It hit me, like, ‘oh no, this is serious.’ And I started thinking about my friends. Black, Mexican, Jewish, Muslim, trans, queer . . . they (we) are all fucked.” As hate crimes skyrocketed around the country over the ensuing week, Addy realized that to stay safe as a homeless trans woman, she’d have to take drastic measures and detransition.

I wouldn’t call it detransitioning but rather going back in the closet because detransitioning is more about realizing that transitioning is for them, not about safety.

For those who are not far along in their transition it is not that hard to go back into the closet, but someone who had GCS or has been on hormones for awhile it will be a lot harder.

Trans people who’ve been on hormones for a long time and/or have undergone GRS are in a much different boat. Amelia Gapin, who made headlines as the first transgender athlete to grace the cover of Women’s Running magazine this summer, told me that in the first 24 hours after the electoral results came in, she found herself pinging back and forth “between terror over what would happen to people like me and just feeling completely deflated and empty. Like there was nothing. Nothing at all.” Amelia, who is 33, has been transitioning since 2013; she underwent GRS earlier this year. Although she’s come so far in her journey, Amelia still considered detransitioning—something she says was partially related to thoughts of self-harm, but “it felt more like self-preservation. Detransition to blend back into the world. If I go back to playing the role of being a straight cisgender white male, all threat is removed. Not just for me, but for my wife. It was an answer to the question ‘How do I survive in a Trump/Pence-led America?’”

Then there are those who take drastic measures.

The simple, bleak answer is that not everyone will. A suicide note was posted to Instagram on November 9th; written by someone calling herself only Lydyne, the note was brief but chilling. “My parents are going to put me through conversion therapy. But they can’t,” Lydyne wrote. “I am going to kill myself tonight so I would like to thank everybody for making my life seem at least a little better online. I know a lot of people will oppose this, but my life was over the minute trump [sic] was announced president.” Although the note is one of many accounts that may remain unconfirmed, suicide hotlines were jammed following Trump’s victory, with Trans Lifeline reporting more than 500 calls by the evening of the 9th. One of them might have been Lydyne’s. Amelia says she had thoughts like that too. “Those still haven’t gone away entirely.”

The calls to the CTAC phone has dropped off but the angst that felt form talking to them and listening to their fears has taken a toll on me.

My best advice is if you are in transition change your federal documents as soon as possible, after January 20^th it is a crap shoot. And if you need emotional help see your therapist or call the transgender hotline.

Locally there are...
Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective also offers ID assistance for transgender individuals every Tuesday and Wednesday. Call Diana [That's me] at 860-278-4163 for info on HGLHC's ID program
*****
Medical clinics solely dedicated to completing the necessary paperwork and writing gender affirming letters for trans* individuals in CT who want to urgently have their documents changed will be held December 1st, December 8th and December 15th from 3pm until 7pm in New Haven, CT.
*****
GLAD
Transgender people living in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont) seeking to update their legal name and gender on federal and state documents can receive free legal representation through this rapid-response program, Pop-Up ID Project

Home For The Holidays

For many LGBT people there is no home to go to for the holidays, they have been cast out of their family because they are trans, lesbian, bi, or gay.

Queer For The Holidays: Post-Election Edition
Huffington Post
By Laura A. Jacobs, LCSW-R
November 22, 2016

Since the election I’ve woken up terrified, fearing for my wellbeing more than I have in a decade.

So many of us can name friends, family members, and others closeby who voted for candidates that intend to strip LGBTQ+ people, Muslims, people of color, immigrants, or otherwise nonmainstream communities of rights. They would limit our access to services and dehumanize our identities. We are traumatized and furious, not merely at the results but also at the people we might have trusted (or not).

And in the next few days we are headed home for the holidays, something often traumatic in itself. We may get misgendered or be subject to countless other forms of discrimination; now we must spend time with family members who have voted against us and we feel that much more emotionally vulnerable. What to do?
[…]
For some in our communities, going home may be too emotionally unsafe. Feel free to avoid; ‘miss the bus’ and spend the days instead with friends walking in nature or on the couch with Netflix and a blanket. There are countless good (and trashy) movies to watch, and untold seasons of television yet to binge. Reject turkey and order pizza.

As the article said, the holiday season is very hard on us. I know one trans person who hasn’t talked to his family since he transitioned in close to three decades. Another trans person that I know that has been estranged from her family helps out at soup kitchens for the holidays.

A Big Victory Down In Nevada

Among all the doom and gloom there was a bright ray of hope. Down in Nevada they just passed a policy to allow us to change our birth certificates with surgery but more important without a doctors letters!

VICTORY: Nevada passes the most progressive birth certificate gender change policy in the nation!
NCTE Blog
By: Arli Christian
November 21, 2016

NCTE is incredibly pleased to salute the Nevada Department of Public and Behavioral Health for passing an updated birth certificate gender change policy for people born in Nevada. The policy became official last week and is groundbreaking as the first non-medicalized birth certificate gender change standard in the United States! We hope this breakthrough sets a standard for other states, establishing that private medical information is irrelevant to having an accurate identity document that reflects a person’s gender.

Under Nevada’s new regulations, an individual born in Nevada can get a new birth certificate issued with a corrected gender marker if they submit (1) their own affidavit stating their gender and requesting that the gender marker should be corrected on their certificate, and (2) a second affidavit from someone else who knows them, or other verifiable evidence, confirming the facts in their affidavit. The second affidavit can be from anyone who has personal knowledge of the applicant’s gender, meaning anyone who knows the applicant’s gender firsthand through a personal, familial, medical, or professional relationship. These affidavits can confirm transition-related medical or mental health treatment or otherwise confirm an individual’s gender identity and the gender they live as every day.

Nevada’s unique approach to correcting the gender marker on a birth certificate treats the process the same as correcting other items on vital statistics certificates, such as the date of birth or death, the location of birth or death, an occupation, etc. The Department of Public and Behavioral Health intentionally and intelligently designed this regulation to treat standards of proof for all corrections to certificates uniformly and equally. The new policy replaces Nevada’s old standard that required a court order establishing the individual had a ‘sexual transformation’ to update the birth certificate.

NCTE worked hard to achieve this groundbreaking new policy alongside our wonderful state partners, Gender Justice Nevada and the Transgender Allies Group, and coordinated closely with the Nevada Department of Public and Behavioral Health to assist them in developing this modernized regulation. Congratulations to Nevada for your innovative efforts to make updated and accurate birth certificates available for all transgender people!

NCTE continues to push efforts to modernize identity document policies at the state and local level. For more information about the policies in your state, visit the ID Documents Center.

This is really a great step forward, for many trans people getting a letter from a is too costly for them and this new policy just removed most of the cost (there will probably be a small fee to get the documents notarized).

When we were working to pass Connecticut birth certificate law NCTE was one of the organizations that helped us.

I Tried.

I tried to find some trans news that wasn’t political but I couldn’t.

So I am not going to write about anything trans.

Last Saturday I went walking with a friend at Wadsworth Falls State Park, it is one of my favorite parks to go walking there is a lot to photograph and the walking is difficulty I rate as “moderate” because of it terrain and the trials are around the park are not too long.

So on Saturday I went walking with a friend and we walked a little over a mile, I won’t say that we got lost because I knew that we were somewhere between two marked trails but we were on an unmarked trail.

I like the look of stone walls but it is hard to capture the look of the walls, here are two attempts…


This is the side of the stone bridge,

And this is the stone walls on the top of the bridge.

As we walked up the Laurel Brook trail we arrived at the site of the old dam and pump station. Some reports say that the water from the pond was used as an early form of air conditioning pumping the water up to the house for cooling. I have some doubts about that because the water wouldn’t be that cool in the summer months. Anyhow here is the pumphouse.

And the graffiti on its side.

I love the bright colors and the design of the graffiti.

We then lost the trial markers and followed a path through the woods until we found the Cedar Loop trail and as we were walking on the trail we meet two women equestrians and we talked to them a while before they rode on.

We then drove over to the "big falls"

I am a little self-conscious when I am out walking because of my deep voice and usually don’t say much when I pass another walker and also my wig usually become soaked with sweat so I never look my best when hiking.

Next hike that I am thinking about is around Gay City State Park (don’t you just love the name of the park?)

Chief Strategist

This is what we are facing with president-elect’s chief White House strategist, Steve Bannon.

10 of Breitbart's most incendiary headlines
CNN Money
By  Jill Disis
November 15, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump's chief White House strategist hails from a website that traffics in incendiary headlines, many of them outwardly racist, misogynist, anti-Semitic -- and very, very pro-Trump.

Steve Bannon led Breitbart News before taking leave in August to run Trump's campaign.

As recently as Sunday, amid a surge of harassment and vandalism since the election, the site published an article titled, "Wave of fake 'hate crimes' sweeps anti-Trump social media." The Breitbart Twitter account, meanwhile, celebrated Bannon's new job.

Here's a sampling of Breitbart's most incendiary headlines:

• 'The solution to online 'harassment' is simple: Women should log off'
• 'Bill Kristol: Republican spoiler, renegade Jew'
• 'Trannies whine about hilarious Bruce Jenner billboard'

A December 2015 article criticized a campaign to take down a billboard mocking Caitlyn Jenner after she went public with her transition last year. "Transsexuals have forced a company in New Zealand to take down a billboard poking fun at Bruce Jenner and his man-parts," the article said.

• 'Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy'
• 'Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage'
• ' "Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?" '
• 'Gay rights have made us dumber, it's time to get back in the closet'
• 'Science proves it: Fat-shaming works'
• "There's no hiring bias against women in tech, they just suck at interviews"

In an article by Jessica Roy in the LA Times had this to say about Steve Bannon,

The chairman of Breitbart News will be President-elect Donald Trump's chief strategist in the White House.

Steve Bannon's promotion in the Trump empire — he served as CEO of Trump's presidential campaign — was met with horror from civil rights groups and Jewish and Muslim organizations.

“It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premier website of the alt-right … is slated to be a senior staff member in the people’s house,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

Bannon once described Breitbart News in an interview with the Investigative Fund as the "platform for the alt-right," or alternative right. It's a brand of far-right conservatism that generally embraces and promotes white nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny.

People who identify as alt-right reject those descriptors as overly simplistic. They believe that what they define as intellectualism and rational thought should guide policy.

According to Breitbart's own "guide to the alt-right," they aren't racist, they're "unapologetically embracing a new identity politics that prioritizes the interests of their own demographic." They aren't misogynist, they "incorporate masculinist principles." (Breitbart does concede in that same article that neo-Nazis, or "1488ers," make up part of the alt-right.)

Sorry I am not going to whitewash it by calling them alt-right, they are white supremacists! They are racist, misogynist, and anti-Semitic. We cannot let the press gloss them over by calling them alt-right, there is only one name for them white supremacists.

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This afternoon I am down in New Haven giving another training for homeless shelter employees. I can't help but wonder if in the coming months will HUD remain a partner is the training.

Transgender Day of Remembrance Speech

My speech from the Transgender Day of Remembrance last night at the MCC church in Hartford.

When I was invited to speak here tonight I was planning on talking about how the light was at the end of the tunnel, but now…

We are approaching a dark time and we need to take stock on what we have and what we could lose in the future and how we can preserve our gains that we have already made.

We have a lot to lose but those who are not in this room with us have even more to lose. The trans people who were killed this year were trans but they were also black or Latino and all they wanted was to live. Those of us with privilege need to reach out and help people that are living on the margins.

But it is not only the trans community that we need to reach out to but also Muslins, the undocumented, people of color, Latinos, and the disabled, they all need our protection.

We cannot let what happened here in World War II to the Japanese during happen again with Muslims or the undocumented people. We cannot let them be put into internment camps.

Around the country we have seen a rise in hate crimes and a rise in calls to helplines because of the fear that is gripping the country. One report said that the Transgender Hotline received a tenfold increase in the number of calls after last week elections.

You all know the Martin Niemöller's famous quote…
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist.

And ends with,
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

We cannot let this happen again!

We need to band together. We need to link arm to arm, march together and leave no one behind.

We must not only look out for those in the trans community but we have to help those who are less fortunate because their race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion intersects with their gender identity. We must care for the trans people who cannot integrate in to society because of their ability to pass and they are the ones who will feel the hate directed against them. They are the one who will feel the bare the blunt of this new reality.

I hope that we will not see an increase in the number of people who will harm themselves but I fear that we will.

We must not only focus on national events but also locally. The Senate is now tied with eighteen Republicans and eighteen Democrats and the same senator who 2011 introduced an amendment to the gender non-discrimination bill that would have required all trans person to register with the
Department of Motor Vehicles is now going to be Minority Leader in the Senate.

Last year a bill was introduced that would have stripped away health insurance for trans people and we have to be vigilant that bill like that are soundly defeated in committee and never make it to a vote on the floor of the legislature.

What will the future bring?

How will our school children be affected we can only guess, but we should prepare for the worst.

We will probably lose our insurance coverage for medically necessary trans health care with not only Obamacare but also Medicare, but we cannot let state Husky insurance dump us which so many of us desperately need.

We may lose being able to change our gender markers on Social Security and Medicare and our passports without having surgery. At the worst we may not be able to change them at all.

What will happen to our brave soldiers, airmen, and sailors who came out as trans, or lesbian, or gay we do not know. The worst case scenario is that they will be discharged and hopefully they will still be able to get needed VA benefits.

We will see trans people, lesbians and gays go back into the closet again.

We are going to be going to be going through tough times but we can do it together and we did it before when we were forced into the closets by the laws of the fifties and sixties, and when the plague struck in the eighties. We can survive it again.

We are resilient, we have to be to have come this far. Our journey in life is hard and it is going to get harder, how hard I have no idea but we can weather the storm together, but one thing I do know is that we cannot let fear rule our lives.

I Wish Them Luck

But I worry about those who came out with the repeal of the transgender exclusion military policy and the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law.

Transgender Marine Aaron Wixson is coming out under military's new trans policy
MIC
By Mathew Rodriguez
November 19, 2016

Being who you are while serving in the armed forces is now much easier — and Aaron Wixson's story proves it.

Lance Cpl. Aaron Wixson is one of the first transgender men to serve openly in the Marines, according to a CNN profile.

In June, the Pentagon announced it would lift the ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military. On Oct. 1, the government published its transgender policy and as of that date, transgender people serving in the military would be able to access health care to help them transition.

Meanwhile…

Women, Transgender Troops Worry Trump Could Roll Back Obama Policies
Newsmax
By Joe Crowe
Wednesday, 16 Nov 2016

Women and transgender people who serve in the military and their supporters are expressing concern that President-elect Donald Trump's administration could roll back policies that had been approved by President Barack Obama, according to The Hill.

In December 2015, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that women would be allowed in all roles in combat, and in June of 2016, he announced that transgender troops could serve openly. Both changes are being rolled out now, but could be reversed by the Trump administration.
[…]
Kasper said that reversing the policies might present problems for some service members, The Hill reports, such as transgender members who have already revealed their status. "There's so many different ways to approach it. For the people who came forward in the time they did, there might be some grandfathering," Kasper said.

As I said, I hope for the best but I can’t help but be concerned for all the LGBT service members who have come out and now are at-risk of being thrown out of the military with possible a dishonorable discharge.

A Tale Of Two States

This is a story of two states, New Hampshire and Texas. First we have New Hampshire…

N.H. lawmaker to file legislation prohibiting discrimination against transgender people
Concord Monitor
By Ella Nilsen Monitor staff
Thursday, November 17, 2016

One New Hampshire lawmaker is trying to get the state to take concrete action against transgender discrimination during this upcoming legislative session.

Democratic state Rep. Ed Butler of Harts Location plans to file legislation that would update the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights to make it so state residents cannot be fired from their work or excluded from housing for their gender identity and gender expression.

While New Hampshire citizens cannot be discriminated against for their age, sexual orientation or place of origin, no such protection exists for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.
[…]
Butler brought a similar bill in front of the legislature in 2009, which narrowly made it through the state House of Representatives but was defeated in the state Senate.

I wish them luck, especially now that Chris Sununu will be the new governor.

Then we look at Texas…

Proposed Bill Would Make Teachers Out Their LGBT Students
San Antonio Current
Posted By Alex Zielinski
November 18, 2016

Texas Republicans are really uncomfortable with LGBT kids.

First, they blocked a federal order to allow trans students in public schools to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. Now, they want teachers to out LGBT students to their parents, with or without the student’s consent.

Sen. Konni Burton introduced a bill on Thursday – which just so happened to be national Transgender Day of Remembrance – that would require public schools give parents "any general knowledge regarding the parent's child possessed by an employee of the district” and records "relating to the child’s general physical, psychological or emotional well-being."

This may sound vague — and even harmless. But Burton has explicitly said this is a response to guidelines adopted by Fort Worth school district earlier this year, guidelines that banned staff from telling parents about their child's transgender status. The rule was quickly extinguished by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas' leader in anti-LGBT policies.

The old Chinese proverb/curse is coming to fruition… “My you live in interesting times”

Saturday 9: Cabaret

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Cabaret (1972)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Liza Minnelli encourages you to put down "the knitting, the book and the broom." Which of those three were you most recently doing: knitting, reading or housework?
Reading, but not a book but a Kindle.

I downloaded three audio books for my ride down to New Jersey for Thanksgiving.

2) She sings that we shouldn't allow "some prophet of doom to wipe every smile away?" Do you know anyone who reliably looks at the downside of life?
Yes, and I bet there are many more people who are looking at the downside lately.

3) In 1972, when this recording was popular, so was The Brady Bunch. In the two-part season premiere, The Bradys went to Hawaii. Do you have any warm weather vacation plans this fall/winter?
Hibernating in front of my woodstove.

4) Though not her uncle, just a friend to both of her parents, Liza always called  Frank Sinatra as "Uncle Frank." Is there an older person in your life who isn't a blood relative, but who refer to as "aunt" or "uncle?"
Nope, no one.

5) Liza collapsed onstage during a Christmas concert in 2007. She says she'd been nauseous before she went on and simply fainted. Sam has never fainted. Have you? 
Only once that I remember, I was working outside of my parents’ home when I stood up… under the air conditioner and the next think I remember is laying down looking up at the sky.

6) People are often surprised when they learn Liza is good friends with Gene Simmons -- the KISS member with the long tongue. Tell us about one of your good friends. 
She care about others.

7) Liza told US Magazine that she loves to eat at Olive Garden. Do you?
Only as a the last resort. It is a typical chain restaurant.

8) She keeps apple juice and yogurt in her refrigerator at all times. Would we find either in your refrigerator right now?
Not yogurt and not really apple juice but rather apple cider. If you say that apple cider is the same as apple juice then you never had apple cider and that it is like comparing Velveeta to a Sharp Cheddar.

This apple orchard is only a mile from my home.

9)  Random question: Which would be a more frustrating dinner companion -- someone who won't shut up, or someone who won't say a word?
Both are annoying. I have eaten with each type. But it helps to understand why they are like that. The person who can’t shut up lives alone and the one who didn’t talk was very introverted.

Transgender Day of Remebrance

Every November 20th is the Transgender Day of Remembrance is when we memorize the trans-people who were murdered in the last 12 months.  We remember trans people who were murdered for who they were; not for money or passion but were murdered but because of hate. They were killed because they had the courage to live their lives as the person they were.

This year’s TDOR is particularly poignant because of not knowing what we face with President-elect Trump. Fear is running rampant in the LGBT community. Will we be banned from using the bathroom of our gender identity, will we be unable to change our gender and our name on Social Security, Medicare, passport and other federal documents?

The vigil is heald all around the U.S. and the world nd you can find a place for where you can attend a TDOR here.

A list of the names of the people who were murded this year can be found below the TDOR locations in Connecticut.

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Transgender Day of Remebrance location in Connecticut

WHERE
Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford (I will be at the MCC Hartford for their services)
155 Wyllys Street,
Hartford CT
WHEN
Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 6pm - 8pm
___________________________________________
WHERE
Triangle Community Center
618 West Ave
Norwalk, CT 06850
United States
WHEN
Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 7pm - 8pm
____________________________________________
WHERE
Niantic Community Church
170 Pennsylvania Avenue
Niantic, CT
WHEN
Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 7pm – 9pm.
____________________________________________
WHERE
Amistad Statue in front of New Haven Town Hall
WHEN
November 20, 2016 at 2 pm Speak Out & Candlelight Vigil
WHERE
New Haven Pride Center
84 Orange Street, New Haven, CT
WHEN
3 pm – 5:30 pm Trans Networking, Resources, and Support
____________________________________________
WHERE
Unitarian Meeting House
328 Paddock Avenue
Meriden, CT
WHEN
Sunday, November 20, 2016 at 10:30 AM to 12:00

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Those who have lost their lives in the U.S. and around the world this past year because of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

USA

Monica Loera (43 years old)

Cause of death: gunshot

Location of death: Austin, Texas, USA

Date of death: January 22nd, 2016

Jasmine Sierra (52 years old)jsierra

Cause of death: beaten to death

Location of death: Bakersfield, California, USA

Date of death: January 22nd, 2016

Maya Young (25 years old)mayayoung

Cause of death: stabbing

Location of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of death: February 20th, 2016

Kendarie/Kandicee Johnson (16 years old)

Cause of death: Gunshot

Location of death: Burlington, Iowa

Date of death: March 2nd, 2016

Keyonna Blakeney (22 years old)

Cause of death: upper body trauma

Location of death: Rockville, Maryland, USA

Date of death: May 1st, 2016

Tyreece  “Reecey” Walker (32 years old)

Cause of death: multiple stab wounds

Location of death: Wichita, Kansas, USA

Date of death: May 1st, 2016

Mercedes Successful (32 years old)

Cause of death: gunshot

Location of death: Haines City, Florida, USA

Date of death: May 15th, 2016

Amos Beede (38 years old)

Cause of death: beaten to death

Location of death: Burlington, Vermont

Date of death: May 22nd, 2016

Devin Diamond  (22 years old)

Cause of death: blunt force trauma, set on fire

Location of death: New Orleans, Louisiana

Date of death: June 5th, 2016

Deeniquia Dodds (22 years old)

Cause of death: shot

Location of death: Washington D.C., USA

Date of death: July 4th, 2016

Dee Whigham (36 years old)

Cause of death: stabbed to death

Location of death: St. Martin, Mississippi, USA

Date of death: July 23rd, 2016

Zella Ziona (21 years old)

Location of death: Gaithersburg, VA)Cause of death: shot: Zella was found in an alley with gunshot wound to the head and groin areas.

Date of death: October 15th, 2015

Kayden Clarke (24 years old)

Location of death: Mesa, Arizona

Cause of death: shot: Police officers who went to Kayden's home to protect him from self-harm shot him dead

claiming Kayden had a knife.

Date of death: April 2nd, 2016

Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum (32 years old)

Location of death: Los Angeles (USA)

Cause of death: shot: She was murdered after a domestic dispute with her ex-partner.

Date of death: March 24th, 2016

Shante I. Thompson (34 years old)

Location of death: Houston TX

Cause of death: shot: Shante and a friend were killed by seven or eight people.

Date of death: October 4th, 2016

Skye Mockabee (26 years old)

Location of death: Cleveland OH

Cause of death: head injury: Skye was found unresponsive in a parking lot with an apparent head-wound. The individuals who found her called EMS, but she was declared dead at the scene.

Date of death: July 30th, 2016

Erykah Tijerina (36 years old)

Location of death: El Paso TX

Cause of death: not reported: Erykah was found dead at her home with signs of violence.

Date of death: August 8th, 2016

Rae'Lynn Thomas (28 years old)

Date of death: November 8th, 2016

Location of death: Columbus OH

Cause of death: shot: Rae'Lynn was shot and then beaten by her mother's ex-boyfriend

Crystal Edmonds (32 years old)

Location of death: Baltimore MD

Cause of death: shot: Crystal was bleeding from a gunshot to the back of her head when police found her on a sidewalk. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Date of death: September 16th, 2016

Brazil
J.W. da Silva (24 years old)
Cause of death: stoned to death.
Location of death: Paudalho, Brazil
Date of death: October 27th, 2016


Julia Sofia (20 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed to death.
Location of death: Nazaré, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: October 21st, 2016

Yasmin Montoy (20 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death, blunt force trauma to the head.
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: October 16th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: suffucation
Location of death: Sorocaba, Brazil
Date of death: October 13th, 2016

W. R. Alexandre
Cause of death: beaten to death.
Location of death: Baixada Fluminense, Brazil
Date of death: October 8th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Date of death: September 30th, 2016

Rafael Silva (17 year old)
Cause of death: 17 gunshots, ran over by car.
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: September 30th, 2016

Chaiene da Silva
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Paudalho, Pernambuco, Brazil
Date of death: September 24th, 2016

Larissa (31 years old)larissa
Cause of death: shot in abdomen, thrown from car
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: September 16th, 2016

H.J. Silva  (37 years old)
Cause of death: blunt force trauma
Location of death: Sítio do Quinto, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: September 11th, 2016

Pâmela Pereira  (16 years old)14991-3
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Conceição do Jacuípe, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: September 9th, 2016

unidentified woman (24 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot and stab wounds
Location of death: Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: September 9th, 2016

Taina W.P. Alencar (22 years old)
Cause of death: stab wound
Location of death: Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: September 4th, 2016

Hilda A.J. da Silva (46 years old)
Cause of death: strangled with an electrical cord
Location of death: Aliança, Pernambuco, Brazil
Date of death: September 4th, 2016

Bruniele
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: August 29th, 2016

Erika W.P. de Arruda (30 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wounds to neck and groin
Location of death: Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: August 25th, 2016

Brenda
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Castanhal, Pará, Brazil
Date of death: August 19th, 2016

Tiffany Rodrigues (23 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: August 8th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016

Thiemy Oliveira (24 years old) to2
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016

Adriane Bonek (43 years old)
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: São Pedro da Aldeia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016

Sabrina E.S. Sales (25 years old)650x375_sabrina-souza-salles_1653742
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: July 25th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: July 13th, 2016

Edymara M. Leão (36 years old) edwy
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Lago Norte, Brazil
Date of death: July 11th, 2016

Nickolle Rocha (19 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: July 11th, 2016

Pandora Pereira (26 years old) pand
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: July 3rd, 2016

Daiane Brasil (36 years old) well
Cause of death: gunshots to the neck, chest, and face.
Location of death: Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: June 27th, 2016

Julia Almeida (28 years old) juliaalmeida
Cause of death: strangled, thrown in sugar cane field.
Location of death: Ituverava, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: June 25th, 2016

Danielly Barby (24 years old)  barby
Cause of death: gunshot to the neck
Location of death: Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: June 25th, 2016

Sheila Santos
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Calabar, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: June 24th, 2016

Lorran Lorang (19 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Duque de Caxias,  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: June 22nd, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: beaten to death with a wooden club
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: June 18th, 2016

Gabriel Figueira de Lima (21 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed in the neck
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: June 16th, 2016

Paula
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Goiandira, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: June 16th, 2016

Lauandersa
Cause of death: stabbed over 30 times
Location of death: Genipabu, Caucaia, Brazil
Date of death: May 16th, 2016

Ana Hickmann  (30 years old)
Cause of death: 2 gunshots in the neck
Location of death: Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Date of death: May 15th, 2016

Michele de Souza (22 years old)
Cause of death: 7 gunshots to the chest, abdomen, legs and arms.
Location of death: São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: May 11th, 2016

Leticia Silva (22 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Belém, Pará, Brazil
Date of death: May 5th, 2016

Alana da Silva Pessoa (22 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wound.
Location of death: João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: May 4th, 2016

Jéssica L.C. Menezes (24 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: April 16th, 2016

Luana Biersack (14 years old)
Cause of death: sexually assaulted, beaten, and drowned..
Location of death: Novo Itacolomi, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: April 13th, 2016

Amanda Araujo  (17 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Date of death: April 11th, 2016

Bianca Abravanel (25 years old)
Cause of death: 15 gunshot wounds to the chest and face.
Location of death:Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: April 11th, 2016

Andinho
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Date of death: March 29th, 2016

Gabriela Rodrigues gab
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Aparecida de Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: March 28th, 2016

Keyti (42 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death.
Location of death: Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Date of death: March 27th, 2016

D.S. Barros (21 years old)
Cause of death: 30 stab wounds over entire body                                          
Location of death: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: March 23th, 2016

M. Moreira  (16 years old)
Cause of death: head trauma
Location of death: Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: March 20th, 2016

Camilla Rios  (32 years old)
Cause of death: 30 stab wounds over entire body
Location of death: Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: March 14th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: unknown, dismembered
Location of death: Brazil
Date of death: March 10th, 2016

Mika  P. Da Silva
Cause of death: gunshot wounds to the head and groin
Location of death:Macau, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Date of death: March 7th, 2016

María la del Barrio
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: Manaus, Brazil
Date of death: March 6th, 2016

V.
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds to the neck
Location of death: João Pessoa, Brazil
Date of death: March 7th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Gravatai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 27th, 2016

Natascha (37 years old)
Cause of death: set on fire.
Location of death: Tarumã, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 24th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: strangled, partially burned
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 19th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: strangled, partially burned
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 19th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Carapicuiba, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 12th, 2016

Malu (30 years old)
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: Maracanaú, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: March 11th, 201

Fabiane Hilario (20 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot at point blank range to the head.
Location of death: Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: January 27th, 2016

Dani (20 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot to the chest
Location of death: São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: January 24th, 2016

Bruna Souza (23 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: January 23rd, 2016

Ketelen Alves (23 years old)
Cause of death: gunshots
Location of death: Manaus, Brazil
Date of death: January 23rd, 2016

Giovana Atanazio (20 years old)
Cause of death: Thrown from a bridge, drowned
Location of death: São José dos Campos, Brazil
Date of death: January 17th, 2016

unidentified woman
Cause of death: multiple gunshots
Location of death: Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: January 4th, 2016

Italy
Thiago Fernando Batista (30 years old)
Cause of death: unknown, body thrown in dumpster.
Location of death: Rome, Italy
Date of death: July 29th, 2016

Mexico
Paulett Gonzalez (24 years old)
Cause of death: murdered, burned beyond recognition.
Location of death: Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
Date of death: June 2016

Pakistan
Alisha (23 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Parda Bagh, Faqirbabad, Pakistan
Date of death: May 25th, 2016

Russia
Raina Aliev (25 years old)
Cause of death: dismembered
Location of death: Dagestan
Date of death: October 201

Spain
Lorena Reyes (32 years old)lorena-reyes-300x168
Cause of death: fall, after being stabbed
Location of death: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Date of death: October 24th, 2016

Thailand
Amphon Kongsong (28 years old)
Cause of death: strangled, body stuffed in bed frame.
Location of death: Pattaya, Thailand
Date of death: August 20th, 2016

Turkey
Hande Kader (24 years old)
Cause of death: murdered, burned beyond recognition.
Location of death: Istanbul, Turkey
Date of death: August 2016

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This list is from the International Day of Remembrance and TGEU websites