This is just too beautiful. I knew about Tara & Bella, but I’d never seen a clip specifically about them & their friendship.
Freedom to Marry
A study done by two NYU researchers shows that in fact, party, ideology, frequency of religious service, and age were far more important factors than race in the defeat of Prop 8.
So at long last, we can put this one down.
The other good news is that they also found support for same sex marriage has increased in nearly all demographics.
Press release at Freedom to Marry, & the actual study is here (pdf).
Congress Is Back
From the NCTE:
Today, January 6, Members of Congress raise their right hand and swear to uphold the Constitution as they begin the new legislative session.
Let’s make sure the first thing they hear about is the importance of an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that protects all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224 3121 and have them connect you to your Representative (based on your zip code). Tell them: “I am a constituent and I would like you to please tell Representative _______ that I strongly support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would ban discrimination against all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”
Then, call back and leave messages with your two Senators too!
Request an in-person meeting for you and other community members with your two Senators and your Representative (or their staffs) in their home district offices. You can call the district offices to request these meetings but they often want you to fax a meeting request. To find contact info for district offices, go to to www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.
Sample meeting request letters, and other talking points and resources for your meetings, are available in the following toolkits:
- ENDA Grassroots Toolkit
- National Center for Transgender Equality’s Making Your Voice Heard
- PFLAG’s Bringing the Message Home
Start of Term
Sorry for this boring post, but today was the 1st day of classes, which means tomorrow is the first day of Trans Lives, and it’s 2 hours at a time, which means I need to be well-rested because they won’t have read anything yet & I’ve got to talk the whole time!
Deaths in Memphis
There is a diarist at Daily Kos who has written about the high incidence of murder of African American trans women.
Queerty (tongue in cheerk) predicts Memphis will reach out to the trans community as a result. I doubt it. They’re 2nd in homicides in the country, which means everyone – not just trans people – have been victims of violence (via Grand Divisions).
What a way to start a new year.
Riddle Me This
A slight altercation in the partners’ group got me thinking: what is the difference between (1) changing your expectations of what your partner is actually able to bring to the table and (2) simply lowering your standards?
The Boards
The mHB message boards are back up.
Trans Year in Review
Here’s Jacob Anderson-Minshall’s now annual “Trans Year in Review” article, which covers a lot of interesting people and events and media in the trans commmunity for 2008.
The Boards
The mHB message boards are down for now, & will probably go back up sometime this weekend. There was a bit too much acrimony going on for us to manage with very limited internet access and we needed to talk amongst ourselves about their future.
So hold tight, & they’ll be back.