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Summer can be a great time for activism. Members of the US Congress spend the summer months in their home districts, creating the perfect opportunity for their constituents—you!—to visit them and talk about the need for transgender civil rights. Check below for more information on how to become involved in NCTE’s summer visits to congressional offices. It is also a wonderful season to organize community building activities, like barbeques and other get togethers. So, let’s move transgender equality forward this summer as we work nationally and locally!
Aiming for Equality: NCTE’s First Conference a Resounding Success!
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| Some of the Conference Participants | |
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On June 17 and 18, a geographically diverse group of transgender activists and allies gathered in Albany, NY for the first Target States Conference co-sponsored by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
This pioneering conference brought together a core of state advocates who are or will be deeply involved in introducing and organizing passage of transgender-inclusive state anti-discrimination legislation. This was the first training effort of its kind designed specifically to impact state level activism to increase transgender civil rights. Sarah Flynn, of Vermont Trans Action, noted, “The training provided invaluable experience-tested methods of organizing trans political action. It is a sign that our movement has come of age that we are working collaboratively at the state level.”
Advocates from Vermont, Wisconsin, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland came together for a weekend of intense learning and sharing of experiences. These states currently have legislation that covers “sexual orientation” but not yet “gender identity or expression” in their anti-discrimination policy.
Different states are in very different stages in the process of passing trans-inclusive legislation, so one of the most important and well received elements of the training was the opportunity for state advocates to learn from each other in sharing best practices and challenges they’ve encountered doing the work. This day and a half of intensive training further prepared participants for the process and provided tools for passing a statewide law, working with legislators, building a team, using the media, and drafting a state-wide plan of action.
Participants had very positive reactions. Diego Sanchez of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition commented, “It was stupendous to be in a room with other leaders in the country, and I thank NGLTF and NCTE for giving counsel, time, support and inspiration to work together to make our country truly one with human and civil rights equality.” Moonhawk River Stone said, “Networking with others from other states, learning from their experience, combined with a savvy, comprehensive, clear curriculum made for a valuable training I’ll draw from for years to come.” And Stacia Ohira summed it all up well when she stated that she knows, “I am NO LONGER alone.”
The training was led by Lisa Mottet, from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Transgender Civil Rights Project, and by NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling. They were joined by Dave Noble of the Task Force and Simon Aronoff of NCTE, as well as by local activists. The participants’ sharing of their own experiences and expertise was key to the success of the weekend.
NCTE gives special thanks to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, who made significant funds available to cover transportation and housing costs for participants who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to attend. The Task Force’s help was instrumental to the success of the conference. Our thanks to them and to their staff who participated in this important weekend!
Out Japanese Legislator Visits NCTE
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| Simon Aronoff, Kanako Otsuji, Mara Keisling and Jaya Kalra | |
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On June 13, NCTE hosted a visit from Ms. Kanako Otsuji, Japan’s first and only openly lesbian elected official. The youngest person ever elected to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly, Ms. Otsuji was instrumental in opening Osaka’s public housing to same-sex couples. NCTE Deputy Director Simon Aronoff arranged the meeting and invited representatives from other leading LGBT organizations to attend.
Ms. Otsuji was in the U.S. through the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Through an interpreter, Ms. Otsuji asked the group how she can mobilize Japan’s new LGBT rights movement quickly and effectively. She told staff that in Japan, transgender people have access to hormones and surgery much more readily than in the U.S., and changing one’s gender marker on legal documents is easier as well. She attributed the difference to Japan’s strict medical classification of transgender people, remarking that Japanese doctors treat transsexuality as a disability—something that many Americans might take issue with. Conversely, she said, lesbian, gay and bisexual people face a tougher road to social integration.
The organizations represented were the National Association of LGBT Community Centers, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Freedom to Marry, and the National Stonewall Democrats, shared strategic information about organizing, fundraising, international collaboration, and varying non-profit structures.
Eldie Acheson, Director of the Task Force’s Department of Public Policy and Government Affairs, offered some history and context of the LGB movement in the U.S. to explain that while Japan’s movement may be kicking off almost thirty years after ours, Japan is not “thirty years behind”. Even though Japan’s movement is in its beginning stages now, it need not follow the same path as U.S. activists have. Japan’s activists can, in fact, achieve vast social improvements very quickly, Acheson encouraged. Others in the group agreed that Japan will benefit from the groundwork that has already been laid worldwide.
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This month, Athens-Clarke County, Georgia voted to extend its employee anti-discrimination policy to cover sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. In this jurisdiction, sexual orientation is defined as being legally inclusive of gender identity and expression. This is a wonderful recent victory for Georgia’s LGBT movement.
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In Spain, a new law was passed in June which allows transsexuals to change their name and gender on official documents. Medical documentation of gender dysphoria is required, but surgery is not. This is a key victory in a heavily Roman Catholic and often conservative country.
In a similar move, the Supreme Court of South Korea made provisions last month for transsexuals to change their identifying information on the family register. Lower courts have had varied rulings on the subject through the years, sometimes allowing it and sometimes not. This is the first ruling on the matter at a national level in the South Korea. The plaintiff in this case was a 51-year-old FTM.
A member of the Canadian Parliament, Bill Siksay, has introduced a bill to add “gender identity or expression” to the country’s Human Rights Act. Siksay, an openly gay man, authored a similar bill last year, which did not move forward because of the electoral process. While some provinces offer protections based on gender identity and expression, there is currently no national legislation that addresses the issue. Siksay noted the higher levels of violence and discrimination trans communities face and seeks to increase the legal protections. Egale Canada, a national LGBT rights organization, supports the bill and has called for its passage.
The bill was introduced as a “private members bill,” which is a bill introduced by a member of the House of Commons and not by a Cabinet minister. Private members bills rarely pass because the time allocated for their consideration is significantly shorter than bills introduced by the government. Nevertheless, there are some significant exceptions, including the bill that added sexual orientation to Canada hate crimes laws.
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On June 22, the transgender community and our allies commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco by installing a historical plaque marking one of the most important sites of the early transgender and queer movement. In San Francisco, August 1966, police were called to remove transgender patrons from Compton’s Cafeteria—a late-night diner that once stood on the corner of Turk and Taylor Streets in the Tenderloin neighborhood. On that night, one drag queen decided that she had had enough police harassment and fought back. The altercation soon became a riot. It was t he first real sign that drag, queer and trans people weren’t going to take harassment and discrimination anymore. This rebellion against the police took place three years before the riots at Stonewall and marks an important movement in the transgender movement towards social integration and political equality. That movement continues to progress forward today, forty years later. Lisa Leff’s widely reprinted Associated Press wire story covering the Compton’s commemoration, “Transgender Community Finds Acceptance,” included a quotation from NCTE’s executive director Mara Keisling. The Compton’s story is also being told through trans historian Susan Stryker’s award-winning documentary Screaming Queens: The Riots at Compton’s Cafeteria. We continue our work in honor of those who fought back at Compton’s Cafeteria, and for all those who have contributed time, energy and talent to our movement. For more information about the Compton’s riot and the documentary, please visit www.comptonscafeteriariot.org and www.screamingqueensmovie.com.
NCTE Board Chair Appears in The Advocate
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| Andy Marra in the Advocate |
The Pride Issue of The Advocate, a leading news and culture magazine in the LGBT community, included an article detailing the many contributions of NCTE’s Board Chair, Andy Marra. The article, entitled, “Future Gay Leaders: Meet seven gay ambitious youths you should be keeping your eye on,” hit the newsstands on June 20. Andy has been actively involved with NCTE since 2004. In addition to her volunteer time with NCTE, Andy works as the Asian-Pacific Islander Media Fellow for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
Congratulations to Andy for this honor; we are proud of have the Chair of our Board listed as one of the seven future leaders of our movement.
The article is not yet available on the Advocate web site, www.advocate.com.
In Memoriam: Vern Bullough and Frisky Brewer
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Noted historian Vern Bullough died on June 21 from cancer at his home in Southern California. Bullough was a widely published author with expertise in nursing, medieval history, sexuality prostitution and gender. Among his major works were American Sexuality: An Encyclopedia (1994), Sexual Variance in Society and History (1976), and Cross-Dressing, Sex and Gender (1993). In the 1990s, he authored Gender Blending: Transgender Issues in Today's World among many other works. He also wrote a number of important volumes on medical history and nursing, as well as working with his wife Bonnie Bullough on almost two dozen books. Many of his works are staples in gender studies curriculum and offered some of the first academic perspectives on sexuality and gender. He was a founding member of NCTE.
Obituaries for Bullough can be found in the Los Angeles Times at Los Angeles Times obituary and in the New York Times at The New York Times obituary, among others. His webpage has additional information at www.vernbullough.com.
Earlier this year, the Atlanta trans and drag community suffered a terrible loss when well-known and loved performer Ms. Frisky Brewer passed away. Frisky’s friends at Tripps Bar & Grille collected funds in her honor and made a generous in memoriam donation to NCTE in her name. We thank Tripps Bar & Grille for helping to support our work. Our deepest condolences go out to Frisky’s friends and family.
Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice
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On June 23, more than 500 marchers rallied in New York City as part of TransJustice’s Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice. The march stepped off in spite of being denied a permit by the NYPD and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Speakers before the march included Jack Aponte of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Jennifer Ramirez of Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment (FIERCE), Dee Perez of Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered (GLOBE), Jay Toole of Queers for Economic Justice, and D’Angelo Johnson and Imani Henry of TransJustice, among many others.
You can read a full report of the rally in this article by Minnie Bruce Pratt for Worker's World
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Hurricane season is underway, and NCTE wants you to say safe and protected—both from Mother Nature and from any unique problems transgender people may face during an evacuation.
To that end, NCTE has launched a new resource for transgender people living in hurricane-prone areas. You can access this information by visiting the Hurricane Resources page of our website at: http://www.nctequality.org/Resources/hurricane.aspwww.nctequality.org/Resources/hurricane.asp.
It is important for transgender people living in coastal regions to be prepared for obstacles both during and after a hurricane hits. NCTE urges everyone to put together a preparedness kit that not only takes into account basic survival needs, but also your specific health and legal needs as a transgender person.
Our online Hurricane Resources page includes a link to “Making Evacuation Shelters Safe” a joint publication (2005) from NCTE, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Lambda Legal. You can also access the Task Force’s Transitioning Our Shelters.
If you have questions or face discrimination or harassment in a shelter please contact NCTE or Lambda Legal at the numbers below.
Lambda Legal National Help Desks:
Toll Free: (866) 542-8336
Legalhelpdesk@lambdalegal.org
National Center for Transgender Equality:
(202) 903-0112
NCTE@NCTEquality.org
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Congress will be out for recess in August, but it’s actually the best time for transgender people and our allies to lobby our elected officials at home. NCTE’s Congressional Summer School is an opportunity to meet with your officials in their home district office and to educate them about the state and federal needs of their transgender constituents. This is especially critical as Congress is close to introducing a transgender inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
NCTE will support you in making these Congressional meetings a success by providing everything you need, including background information on legislators, a “how to” lobby manual, handouts to leave with your elected official, and, in some cases, by scheduling the meetings for you. Stay tuned for more updates about Congressional Summer School. Please contact us as soon as possible if you think you would like to participate.
Meet Our Legal Intern: Sarah Cook
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| Sarah Cook |
Support Transgender Equality
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Having a strong voice for transgender civil rights in the nation's capital and around the country is possible because of the ongoing support of members like you. Your donations make NCTE and its programs stronger and more effective. Please consider building trans equality by making a donation online click here.
