8/26/21

Transgender woman murdered in Shreveport Monday, family says it was a hate crime

Brennan "Pooh"  Johnson
Brennan "Pooh"  Johnson

Shreveport La.  25-year-old transgender woman Brennan "Pooh"  Johnson, was found fatally shot in a car Monday morning. Her family believes it was a hate crime.  

Shreveport police got a call around 5:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 23 to check out a car parked behind a house in the 300 block of W 74th Street. That’s off Linwood Road in Shreveport’s Cedar Grove neighborhood.

Johnson who lived on Fincher Road in Minden, a successful makeup artist and hairstylist was pronounced dead at the scene.

TW. Misgendering.

KSLA reports that Johnson’s family says she is a transgender woman and they believe that may have been a factor in her killing.

Authorities urge anyone with any information about Johnson’s death to call Shreveport police detectives at 318-673-7300 or 318-673-6955.

Or contact Caddo-Shreveport Crime Stoppers by calling 318-673-7373, using the organization’s website or using the P3 Tips app to provide information anonymously. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $2,000 for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for this crime.


8/25/21

Texas bill to ban transgender students from sports heard again


We get the message Texas Republicans.

Governor Greg Abbott failed to get a bill to exclude transgender students from sports passed during the regular session and and failed to do so again during the first 'special session'. So having nothing better to do as the pandemic rages he tried again by making it a top priority during the second special session.

After a hearing that began at 10:30am and lasted until 6 am chair Dutton adjourned the hearing without a vote and left SB 2 pending.

Planet Trans would have like to attend the hearing but her community abandoned her when she was forced to retire due to covid and couldn't pay for the site anymore.

That and Equality Texas refused to acknowledge her existence, even committing acts of microaggression against her.

They fought well for the trans community that they felt worth fighting for which is better than nothing I suppose.

The future of SB 2 is unknown. A similar bill was heard in the same House committee chaired by Dutton during the regular session that ended by Dutton saying that a vote wouldn't be taken.

Later during the regular session, Dutton used transgender children as a tool of revenge against fellow democrats and passed it anyway. 



8/24/21

Three Colombian Transgender women killed over the weekend

Three Columbian transgender womnn were killed last weekend, between August 14, to August 15, 2021. According to the Bogata-based human rights organization Red Comunitaria they are Antonella, who was assassinated in Cali, Dayana, who was murdered in Rozo, Valle del Cauca, and Camila Ardila, from Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia.  A popular pop star sung #NiUnaMás - #NotOneMore bringing tears of apperaction to those listening. Wholesale slaughter of transgender people in the western hemesphere According to Eltiempo.com, the cases have been registered in Valle del Cauca (7), Bogotá (5), Antioquia (3), BolĂ­var (2), Cesar (2), Tolima (1), Sincelejo (1), QuindĂ­o (1 ), Atlántico (1), Cundinamarca (1), Magdalena (1), Huila (1) and Caldas (1). However, it should be noted, organizations have warned that there is an underreporting and that the number of trans people killed for their gender identity is surely higher.

(In addition: Violence haunts trans women sex workers in Cali )

 In 2020, the organizations documented 32 murders during the year (31 women and 1 man), although the Ombudsman's Office only has information on 28 (27 women and 1 man ).

 The truth is it is expected that in 2021 that figure could be exceeded. As reported by this newspaper in its multimedia special ' The Trans Spring Storm' , with these records, Colombia is among the first places in the dishonorable list of countries where the lives of the trans population are most violated.

 The research project Transrespect versus Transphobia in the World (TvT) confirmed this in its last report, in which it documented 350 murders of trans and gender-diverse people between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020. (Read on: Hidden violence against trans men in the country )

The data showed that Central and South America, with 82% of the cases (287), is the most violent region.
There is the highest number of murders in a single country: Brazil, with 43% of the total deaths of that period (152 people).
And they are followed by Mexico, with 57;
The United States, with 28;
Colombia, with 21 ,
and Argentina, with 12.

This places this population as one of the most vulnerable, especially trans women. The causes are attributed to a phenomenon known as 'double discrimination', since they face the violation of their rights for being women and for being trans people. 

3/12/21

Amazon takes a Stand for equality Tells the GOP no more Junk science Books

 

Amazon



Amazon said in a letter to Republican Senators that it will no longer sell books that incorrectly identify sexual and gender diversity as a mental illness. Amazon did this after being questioned as to why they delisted "When Harry Became Sally" the former best-selling book by Ryan T. Anderson.

The letter was in response to Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who had sought an explanation from the e-commerce giant on its decision to remove the book “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” from its storefront last month.

Amazon will not sell any books on its platform that portray transgender, other gender identities, and sexual orientations as mental illnesses, the company explained in a letter to three Republican senators who had sought an explanation from the e-commerce giant about its decision to delist a book written by a conservative author, as conservative politicians attempt to challenge the Biden administration’s efforts to expand protections for LGBTQ+ people.

In a letter to the senators, Amazon said that the company has “chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,” the Wall Street Journal first reported.

The sudden delisting of this junk science book caught a plethora of conservatives off guard. "When Harry Became Sally" is the go-to junk ‘science’ book that the GOP uses to validate their crusade against transgender people.

Anderson told The National Catholic Register on Monday morning that he was alerted to the situation as “people trying to buy it told me it was gone.”

Junk Science.

None of the reviews for author Ryan T. Anderson’s book, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, actually come from transgender people, nor from doctors who care for transgender patients, nor from anyone who advocates for transgender people. The same is true of the content inside the book, which is largely based on junk science, according to Think Progress.

Anderson, a William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation has become one of the most prominent voices in the contemporary anti-LGBTQ movement. Those eager to oppose the fight for transgender equality had been anticipating the arrival of When Harry Became Sally, hoping it will serve as a valuable compendium for convincing people to reject the legitimacy of transgender identities.

Anderson doesn’t shy away from that motive.

“In this book, I argue that Dr. McHugh got it right,” Anderson wrote in his introduction, referring to Dr. Paul McHugh and McHugh’s theory that being transgender is a mental illness.

Who is Dr. Paul McHugh?

Dr. Paul McHugh is a disgraced Academic who published non peer reviewed ‘opinion pieces” based on meta studies that he conducted. He is a part of the American College of Pediatrics which is designated as a conservative hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a fringe anti-LGBTQ hate group that masquerades as the premier U.S. association of pediatricians to push anti-LGBTQ junk science, primarily via far-right conservative media. As an example, Andre Van Mol, co-chair of ACPeds’ Committee on Adolescent Sexuality recently wrote equating “Transgenderism to a state sponsored religion ”

To give a brief history, Paul R. McHugh M.D. is a psychiatrist from one of the world’s most prestigious medical schools, John Hopkins University (JHU). Before coming to JHU he was a graduate from Harvard Medical School. These days he’s seen in the media parading himself as an expert in the field of sexuality and gender where he writes ‘opinion pieces’ on anti-trans studies. But his studies, specifically on gender & sexuality, are not peer-reviewed and go completely against the whole of the scientific consensus. The term “opinion-pieces” is not a slur, McHugh has often referred to his work as opinion-pieces. To be clear, despite McHugh’s impressive credentials he has little to no clinical or research experience with transgender children nor adults. The only work he has ever published on this topic are meta-studies. These meta-studies (opinion-pieces) are mostly conjectured material that are not factual. McHugh supports his conclusions by pulling from other research studies which have later been found to be misrepresented.

Dr Paul McHugh wrote “I Will Not Be Silenced” after 600 LGBT health experts signed a letter stating that he “does not represent prevailing expert consensus opinion about sexual orientation or gender identity-related research or clinical care.”

In fact, every reputable medical organization in the United States signed a statement pushing back against the pseudoscience that Dr. McHugh pedals when the Trump administration attempted to curtail transgender care on the basis of religious freedom.

"Amazon takes a Stand for equality Tells the GOP no more Junk science Books" can also be read on planet transgender.com

2/21/21

Trans woman Jessica Watkins, Oath Keeper Wants a Get Out of Jail Card

Transgender woman Jessica Watkins
Jessica Watkins insurrectionist oathkeeper

Transgender woman Jessica Watkins, a former Army ranger and Oath keeper charged with conspiring to storm the US Capitol, has asked to be released from jail pending trial, alleging that she has been “treated harshly” and is at “particular risk in custody” because she is transgender, according to BuzzFeed News. 

She also argues she is no threat to the public and only went to the Capitol because “She believed that the President of the United States was calling upon her.”

Rot in hell 
Jessica Watkins. Better yet, I hope you get sentenced to life at Fort Leavenworth.

I may be just be a leg, but I am smart enough and patriotic enough to never have dreamed to do what you did. In other words, I was a soldier.

As a former Ranger you recruited, trained civilians and coordinated an attempted military style coup, 

I used to train civilians for military duty as a 
 Infantry Staff Sergeant in the Army National Guard. 

The difference is that I performed my duties to protect my country. 

You led an insurrection to overthrow my country.

Your invasion of the Capitol Building of the United States on the day that the presidential election was to be certified was the most traitorous un-American act imaginable.

“Jessica Watkins this is the FBI with a warrant. Come to the back door with your hands up and empty,” an FBI officer is heard saying over a bullhorn in the video.



Kelli Anne Busey Proud Trans Woman US ARMY US Army National Guard SSG/Retired

Utah Anti-Trans Health Care Bill is Defeated: One down 47 to go

Sue Robbins(R), with the Transgender advisory Council at Equality Utah and Dr. Jennifer Plumb(L) had something to celebrate Friday with the defeat of one anti-trans bill.

The Utah House sent HB 92 a bill to deny trans youth legal healthcare, back to the Rules Committee, stopping it for this legislative session.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox has said he will veto the other bill which would deny transgender girls the opportunity to play on girls intramural sports teams.



  


However important this victory is these attacks on trans youth are perennial happening in nearly every state with a Republican majority.  What's more the bills are near carbon copies of legislature introduced in 20 other legislatures this year 
Doctor Jennifer Plumb, Attending Physician at University of Utah Health shared this on Sue Robbins' Facebook page

"Thank you to so many who stood up to protect health care for transgender youth. Thank you to the House HHS committee who did not allow this legislation to advance. And thank you to the brave, beautiful, brilliant big-hearted folks who make standing up with strength and support possible. To the transgender kiddos out there, know there is an actual fortress of folks surrounding you, valuing you, celebrating you and fighting for you. You are fiercely loved 🏳️‍⚧️
 

Equality Utah praised the failure of H.B. 92 on Friday, but Robbins believes transgender legislation, including the trans-female sports ban, will continue to be brought up.

“I think we will see this again because we have national organizations that are feeding these bills to the states and they’re not going to be deterred until they lose in the courts,” she said.

Robbins says several bills regarding transgender rights are being shopped around to state legislatures from groups including the Alliance Defending Freedom a designated LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)

Bills in at least 20 states are targeting the transgender community in what LGBTQ advocates say is an organized assault by conservative groups.

On Thursday, NBC reports, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban transgender student athletes from joining teams that match their gender identity. The measure, which passed 65 to 26, also calls for withholding state funds from sporting events that allow athletes to play as anything other than their sex assigned at birth. The bill now heads to the state Senate.

The same day the North Dakota House passed its bill, the Mississippi state Senate passed its own athletic ban, which now goes to the state House for consideration. Georgia, Kansas, Utah and Tennessee advanced similar legislation last week, as well.

In 2020, legislators sponsored 20 bills to restrict transgender students’ participation in sports, according to the ACLU. At least as many have been introduced this year.

Bills driven by ‘centralized groups’

To date, the only trans sports bill to become law is Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Barbara Ehardt. Signed by Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, last March, it mandates that "biological sex" be the sole determining factor for inclusion on athletic teams at public schools and universities.

Ehardt worked with the Alliance Defending Freedom in crafting the measure, The Idaho Press reported. Founded in 1994 by Christian conservatives, the Arizona-based group has provided legal counsel for a variety of efforts to curtail LGBTQ rights, from defending gay-marriage bans to ensuring the right of businesses to refuse LGBTQ customers. Perhaps most notably, the ADF defended Jack Phillips, the owner of a Colorado bakery, Masterpiece Cakeshop, in his 2018 Supreme Court case over his refusal to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple.

Kate Oakley, state legislative director and attorney for the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ advocacy group, told NBC News that a bill under review in Montana restricting transgender sports participation was also written by the ADF.

The ADF did not confirm that it wrote the Idaho bill or provided template wording for legislation to any state, but Matt Sharp, an attorney for the organization, told NBC News in an email, “As is typical practice for legal organizations, Alliance Defending Freedom is often asked by legislators to review possible legislation and offer advice.”

In February 2016, Sharp claimed “lawmakers in at least five states” had used the ADF’s model legislation to draft so-called bathroom bills, The Washington Post reported. Sharp also said the Alliance mailed template bills to “thousands” of school districts.

The ADF did not confirm that it wrote the Idaho bill or provided template wording for legislation to any state, but Matt Sharp, an attorney for the organization, told NBC News in an email, “As is typical practice for legal organizations, Alliance Defending Freedom is often asked by legislators to review possible legislation and offer advice.”

In February 2016, Sharp claimed “lawmakers in at least five states” had used the ADF’s model legislation to draft so-called bathroom bills, The Washington Post reported. Sharp also said the Alliance mailed template bills to “thousands” of school districts.

The ADF did not confirm that it wrote the Idaho bill or provided template wording for legislation to any state, but Matt Sharp, an attorney for the organization, told NBC News in an email, “As is typical practice for legal organizations, Alliance Defending Freedom is often asked by legislators to review possible legislation and offer advice.”

In February 2016, Sharp claimed “lawmakers in at least five states” had used the ADF’s model legislation to draft so-called bathroom bills, The Washington Post reported. Sharp also said the Alliance mailed template bills to “thousands” of school districts.

LGBTQ Nation takes a deep dive into the copycat legislation

“These bills are intended to look constituent-led, but we know it’s driven from these centralized groups,” Chase Strangio of the ACLU told NBC News

“Alliance Defending Freedom has on several occasions said that, should a state be sued for one of these pieces of anti-trans legislation, that they would be happy to take care of the litigation,” HRC’s Cathryn Oakley told The American Independent.

The work of these national organizations could explain why Republicans in so many states are trying to get these bills passed this year, even while openly admitting that they have no idea whether their legislation would address any complaints in their states.

For example, Mississippi Sen. Angela Hill (R) sponsored a bill that would ban transgender girls from competing in sports. During the debate on the bill, Republicans couldn’t even name a transgender student-athlete in the state and none of them even asked if there were any. Hill herself was only willing to say that “numerous coaches across the state” told her that “they are beginning to have some concerns of having to deal with this.”  

Chace appeared on the LGBTQ Nation podcast this week to discuss the anti-transgender legislation.

Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom, Eagle Forum, Twenty States 47 Boilerplate anti-trans bills: Check to see your if your state is pushing hate legislation at the National Center Transgender Equality.