4/1/10

Man Charged in murder of Baltimore Transgender Woman Dee Green

Baltimore Sun Larry Douglas, 20, of Baltimore has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing of _____ Dee Green__, 25, of the first block of N. Woodington Road in Southwest Baltimore.

A counselor said she knew Green as "Dee," and that Green identified as a woman.

In November, Green was recognized at a vigil at City Hall commemorating International Transgender Day of Remembrance, according to an item on Baltimore Brew, a local news Web site. One who attended the event, Cydne Kimbrough, founder and director of the Gender Learning Advocacy and Support System, said in an e-mail to The Baltimore Sun that Green had been a client.

"We were helping her start the process of going to school and [the] name-change process," Kimbrough said. "She was very interested in a better quality of life for herself."

Dee Green is listed on the Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorializing 2009

Unidentified person [Dee Green] dressed in woman’s clothes
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Date of Death: October 25, 2009
Police found her lying unconscious and bleeding in the street.
They took her to the hospital where she died a half hour later.
Original Source: Baltimore Sun



The first Day of Remembrance was held in San Francisco in 1999 as a vigil for Rita Hester, murdered in that city on November 28, 1998. Since then, Day of Remembrance ceremonies have spread to over 150 cities, from Minsk to Tel Aviv to Yogyakarta, Indonesia—anywhere that transgendered people live, die and are not too afraid to speak out in public against the violence, discrimination and prejudice they confront daily.
“We have to fight every day just to maintain a sense of self,” said Falina Laron, a peer educator and trans outreach worker at AIDS Action Baltimore.

3/31/10

2nd Annual International Transgender Day of Visibility March 31st

The Dallas Transgender Advocates and Allies are celebrating our lives with the second annual International Transgender Day of Visibility!

Being out today is the cornerstone of our lives for many of us. We have been blessed to spend at least a part of our lives living in our true gender.

As we may celebrate living out and proud we may also pause a moment in recognition of our transgender sisters and brothers still living in seclusion, unable to live in true freedom.

Come join in the celibrations at the Dallas Transgender Advocates and Feministing!

City of Houston Texas ENDA Passed

Cross posted from Transgender Foundation of America "The TG Center is very pleased to report that Mayor Annise Parker signed Executive Order 1-8 (Revised) and 1-20 (Revised) barring workplace sexual orientation and gender identity/expression discrimination for City of Houston employees. Order 1-8 will prohibit discrimination and/or retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity at every level of municipal government, including in hiring, contracting and/or access to City facilities and program/activities. The order goes on to explicitly state: “It is further the City’s policy to provide each City employee a work environment free of discrimination and harassment based on either sexual orientation and/or gender identity.”

Section 3.1.3 addresses access to bathroom facilities, stating that the GLBT community will not experience harassment and/or discrimination concerning “availability of City facilities” in all “City interactions with the public.”

Section 9.2 of the Executive Order goes further stating, “It shall be a violation of this Executive Order for an employee to fail or refuse to recommend and contract or purchase for award based upon any contractor’s or vendor’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity; or to fail to make available to any member of the public or employee use of a City facility or receipt of a City service, if that person otherwise would be entitled to such use or receipt, based upon a person’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity; or to impede access by any employee or member of the public to a City restroom facility that is consistent with and appropriate to that person’s expression of gender identity…”

Full article at TG Center News: City of Houston ENDA Passed

3/29/10

Transgender Advocates respond to promised changes to 'Ticked off trannies with knives' trailer.

For immediate Release
Contact

kelli Busey
Email
Activist Organizer
Dallas Transgender Advocates and Allies
Dallastaa.ning.com

Darlie Brewster
Email
Film Maker

Constance Macintosh-Mascherin
conniemacintosh@hotmail.com
activist/coordinator

Melissa Sklarz
New York Trans Rights Organization (NYTRO)
melis0213@aol.com

In response to a outcry from the transgender community condeming the movie trailer linking a murdered transgender woman, Angie Zapata, with 'Ticked off trannies with knives' movie director Israel Luna has agreed to produce a trailer so that Angie Zapata's name no longer appears.

email sent to Kelli Busey from Israel Luna March 29, 2010

"Kelli...

My initial thought of placing both Angie Zapata and Jorge Mercado's names was to give a disturbing reality to my film about transgender violence. Something horrible and disturbing does happen to my characters in the first half of the film.

After listening to many of the voices in the trans-community I've realized that the association between the names at the beginning of the trailer and the content of the film in it's entirety has been difficult to connect.

I've had time to think about it, and have decided to take their names off the beginning of the trailer. I'll begin working on this later today and have it posted this week. I’m not sure if you noticed, but the trailer on the Tribeca site has never included the reference.

Thank you for your email and I wish you the best as well.

Israel"

We are immensely relieved that Angie Zapata's horrific bludgeoning death by Allen Andrade will not be associated directly with this comedy.

However, we are still at odds with any inadvertent associations that this movie may produce with transgender people in real life.

We therefore ask Israel Luna in his amended trailer to place instead a acknowledgement that that this movie is meant for entertainment purposes only and the fictional personalities therein should not be confused as a portrayal of how transgender people interact socially.

***************************

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#Transgender Advocates respond to promised changes to 'Ticked off trannies with knives' Trailer http://bit.ly/ctXJgZ #LGBT #TTWK PLS RT

Easy Resolution to Ticked off Trannies With Knives Refused: Luna's silence Confirms ill intent

Update 3/29 11:49pm Israel Luna has committed to changing the trailer so Angie Zapata's murder would not be connected with this movie.

Setting the record straight.

In a effort to reach out to Israel Luna director of "Ticked off trannies with knifes" I sent him this email over the weekend:

Israel,
I beleive we might have a way to defuse this divisive situation. If you agreed to remove the references to Angie Zapata's murder from the begining of the trailer I beleive most including myself would view this film in a very different light,

What I said before stands, I wish you the best,

Kelli Busey


Israel Luna has not responded to this email and the trailer remains unchanged.

Israel Luna is intentionally and with forethought slandering transgender people with a slur that would be used in the court of law by the prosecutor to prove a aggravated assault was in fact a hate crime.

*Israel Luna was fully cognisant of the offensiveness of his movie before it went into production.

The announcement of his project came as a comment by him on a Dallas Voice Blog article which was the very post that responded to my objection to the Dallas Voices indiscriminate and often use of the word "tranny".

*Israel Luna demonstrates his awareness of transgender sensitivities.

Luna, frustrated after receiving objections from the overwhelming majority of commenter's to the name and content of his planned movie singled me out for attack since I was the most outspoken. In a lowlife maneuver Luna attempted to shame me into silence by OUTING me as a pre-op transsexual.

Israel Luna Says: February 1st, 2009 at 11:47

I don’t know if this will matter or not but the simple story to my script is:
GIRLS perform.
GIRLS get bashed by STRAIGHT MEN.
GIRLS are left for dead.
GIRLS come back and kick their ass!
The End.
These characters will be so empowering, so strong, so amazingly-kick-ass hot and feirce!
I don’t feel that TICKED-OFF PRE-OP TRANSITIONING M2F SEXUALLY REASSIGNING WOMEN WITH KNIVES would be as appropriate.


Outing someone intentionally ia a act of violence meant to endanger their well being. However I was not and am not ashamed of my poverty I endure since transitioning that prohibits me from obtaining sexual reassignment surgery.

Israel Luna is seeking wealth and fame by intentionally antagonizing and marginalizing transgender people. That deserves the recognition it is owed.

This movie may very well be shown at the Tribeca and the Q Cinemas in Fort Worth as planned regardless, but notice to all who will pay tribute to this tragic betrayal of their transgender brethren. You are paying homage to a deceitful and malicious man who's only joy is in tearing our society apart.

Do you believe Luna will be sedated by targeting transgender people exclusively? And so what if he does, you're not transgender?

You say you are already out so who cares? You trans/gay closeted child loves you and needs a chance in life. Your fellow church member who lives in fear of being outed deserves your concern. The unborn transgender, gay and lesbians who have yet to face a homophobic/transphobic family and society deserve better from you.

Courage Campaign and GetEqual: Speaker Pelosi Pass ENDA Now!


Speaker Pelosi: It's time to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Sign our petition asking the Speaker to bring ENDA to a vote now
After the historic passage of health care reform, we now have an opportunity to transform the lives of Americans again by passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

As shocking as it may be to believe in the year 2010, in 29 states a lesbian, gay or bisexual person can be fired simply because of their sexual orientation and in 38 states a transgender person can be fired because of their gender identity. That's why the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is so vitally important.

We've seen the passion Speaker Pelosi brought to the challenge of passing health care reform. Now more than ever, we need her passion and skill to achieve the passage of ENDA. Please join Cleve Jones, the Courage Campaign and GetEQUAL in adding your name to this petition that we will hand-deliver to Speaker Pelosi:

Dear Speaker Nancy Pelosi --

With health care legislation passing, now is the time to institute workplace protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people by passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin says she believes that we have the votes to pass ENDA, and Rep. George Miller has said the bill is ready to come out of committee now that the health care bill has passed.

As Speaker of the House of Representatives, we call on you to act boldly and decisively and bring ENDA to the floor for a vote now.

Click here to go to the petition site