Category: trans

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Trans Families Needed to Take LGBT Families Survey

I know the lovely group of people doing this research, and can personally recommend them, so please, trans families with children, take their survey. We complain all the time that the T is left out of LGBT studies, & these folks are making sure we’re part of it this time.

Here’s how they explain it:

Our online survey explores the ways in which LGBT parents and their children manage social policies and pressures within their communities. The survey is kind of long—it may take you an hour to complete. However, we want to learn about each family’s perspectives, experiences, and opinions. Parents are asked questions about topics such as attitudes in your community, parenting and family relationships, social pressures and sources of support, as well as questions regarding your child(ren). Children are also welcomed to participate in our study.

At this point, over 150 LGBT families from 24 states have participated, but we want to hear more voices and perspectives. So far, we only have small numbers of gay dads and trans-parents–we need your help! We want families from ALL backgrounds: economic, ethnic, spiritual, and disabled diverse families. With your help, we hope to better understand challenges facing LGBT families and promote social policies that support all families.

If you would like to participate or to learn more about us, please check out our website: www.lgbtparents.org

If you have questions, ideas, or comments please feel free to email Beth Haines (hainesb@lawrence.edu ) or Julie Konik (konikj@lawrence.edu).

Thanks again for your help!

Warmly,
Beth Haines, Julie Konik, and Siobhan Brooks
Sarah Bruemmer and Erin Henzi

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For Veterans’ Day, Equality Please

This message just came in from AVER (American Veterans for Equal Rights) and TAVA (Transgender American Veterans’ Association):

American Veterans For Equal Rights president Danny Ingram and Transgender American Veterans Association president Monica Helms have made a joint YouTube video appeal to President Obama and Congress to Lift the Ban on LGBT military service by repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

On this Veterans’ Day, as President Obama considers sending more patriotic American troops to Afghanistan, AVER and TAVA remind the President of his campaign promise to repeal DADT.

Go to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QkRcAcya30

Send the link to others and your Congressional reps.

Danny Ingram
President AVER

Monica Helms
President TAVA

Thank you, veterans, for your service.

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Victory in Kalamazoo

Woohoo! Kalamazoo Michigan got it’s non-discrimination ordinance! One down, two to go! Here’s One Kalamazoo’s press release:

ONE KALAMAZOO DECLARES VICTORY IN BALLOT FIGHT
Kalamazoo residents approve nondiscrimination ordinance


“Our campaign started with a very basic idea, and today voters confirmed that we are One Kalamazoo,” said Campaign Manager, Jon Hoadley.

With only absentee ballots outstanding, 65 percent of Kalamazoo voters have approved Ordinance 1856 by a vote of 6,463 to 3,527, adding protections for gay and transgender people to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance.  This margin is larger than the number of outstanding absentee ballots that are currently being counted. Continue reading “Victory in Kalamazoo”

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Obama on Passage of Hate Crimes Law

“But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity — the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share.” – President Barack Obama, 10/28/09

(Transcript via HRC)

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Hate Crimes Bill Signed Into Law

From NCTE:

President Obama has just signed into law the very first protections for transgender people in US history: The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

“This is a powerful day as the United States government, for the first time, stands up and declares that violence against transgender people is wrong and will not be tolerated in our country,” stated Mara Keisling, the Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Every day transgender people live with the reality and the threat of personal violence, simply because of who they are. This must end and it must end now. The new law provides for some vital first steps in preventing these terrible crimes as well as addressing them when they occur. At NCTE, we are dedicating this day to all those who have been victims of hate-motivated violence as well as recommitting ourselves to ending the epidemic of hate that continues to damage our communities and our country.”

Mara will be present at the White House this afternoon when President Obama offers commemorative remarks to mark this historic moment.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which adds sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability to existing law, will have a number of positive impacts for transgender people:

  • It will help educate law enforcement about the frequent hate violence against transgender people and the need to prevent and appropriately address it;
  • It will help provide federal expertise and resources when they are needed to overcome a lack of resources or the willful inaction on the part of local and/or state law enforcement;
  • It will help educate the public that violence against anyone, including transgender people, is unacceptable and illegal.

Most importantly, this law marks a turning point for the federal government, by including positive protections for transgender people and taking seriously the need to address the discrimination that we face.

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Transgender Workplace Discrimination Stats

I don’t remember hearing anything about this study, nor that the results were in, but I thought others might want to check it out.

The key findings are:

  1. Survey respondents reported twice the unemployment rate of the population at large.
  2. 97% of respondents reported harassment on the job.
  3. 47% reported an adverse job situation (firing, lack of raise/promotion, not hired).
  4. 15% of transgender people lived on $10k a year or less.

I expect my usual skeptics to be surprised by these stats, and to want to know more about how the survey worked & who responded. It was done by NCTE and The Task Force, and included participants from all 50 states.