6/14/13

Social Security Administration (SSA) No Longer Requiring Surgery or BC for Gender Marker Change!

I went to the Texas SSA office on a hot Friday August afternoon in 2007 on a mission. My terminal manager was getting pressure from the main office to correct a discrepancy in an employees records. My record. I am a MTF whose gender was unrecognized by the SSA. Within a month his requests had turned into a demand. I had to get the SSA to stop sending the payroll department gender"no match" letters or risk losing my job.

I had been able to change everything except my birth state, Ohio, does not amend or reissue birth certificates for transsexuals. Since I was pre op and couldn't produce proof of SRS I was left with only one option. A friend had told me I might be able to get the change through on the QT, as she did, if I did it as directed. So I passively, submissively  approached the SSA window after a short 3 hour wait, smiling in my most pleasant feminine way and explained what I wanted.

Well long story short the clerk produced the regulation denying my gender marker change a couple of hours later and I left unsuccessful and soon to be unemployed. A couple of years later after Obama was elected he directed the SSA to stop sending out those no match letters, but that was too late for me. I lost a $900 a week job because of that bureaucratic bullshit.

And I know I'm only one among thousands of trans people who have had their jobs put in jeopardy thanks to a government which seemed to not care.

I have great news! My brothers and sisters, you will not have to become unemployed and homeless as I did to satisfy that antiquated bureaucratic rule.

According to The National Center For Transgender Equality as of June:

Social Security will accept any of the following forms of evidence for a gender marker change:

• A U.S. passport showing the correct gender,
• A birth certificate showing the correct gender,
• A court order recognizing the correct gender, or
• A signed letter from a [provider] confirming that you have had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition

You can view the official SSA regulation here.

The Pew LGBT Report Ignores The Transgender Experience

Listening to public radio last night on my MP3 while at work in a shipping department I became increasingly disturbed about a PBS show, which I embedded below,  about the recent Pew Report which conducted a first of a kind spectrum wide survey of LGBT people.

I became immediately distraught by the framing the survey with what transgender people perceive as a gay issue, the upcoming supreme court ruling on same sex marriage. What further distressed me was how little the survey acutely reflected my experiences as a transgender woman with nearly 10 years of living authentically.

It really makes me wonder. Did the survey results include the 5% of the LGBT population that is transgender? I do not see evidence transgender people were asked questions based on their gender expression. It appears the results were grouped by sexual orientation regardless of gender expression.

I don't believe the Pew Report properly reflects the transgender experence because it fails to survey us as a separate component of the LGBT population.

I for one have faced and continue to face discrimination at work mainly because many of my supervisors religious beliefs. I have been told "No Way" when asking about a pathway out of shipping to a higher paying job and have been the victim of vicious  rumors since starting there. I have been physically threatened twice with physical harm in the last year at work. I have been harassed by the management and there employees at my apartment. For all this I think it we have made progress but nothing like the Pew Report suggests.

A much more accurate survey for transgender people was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality Injustice at every turn.

Zoey Tur Famed LA News Copter Pilot Comes Out as Transgender

Los Angeles helicopter pilot-reporter Zoey (Bob) Tur, who covered the L.A. riots and the O.J. Simpson freeway chase has announced she is transgender.

Tur the lone pilot who dared fly above the LA Riots says she has started taking HRT 30 days ago. She says her life has already started to change and expects major changes within the first year. Tur says her name change is forthcoming is addressed by her birth name and male pronouns during the MP3 interview and the embedded CBS video.. According to Tur, transsexualism a genetic change that occurs in the embryonic state that is yet to be understood.





6/13/13

Nova Scotia Reverses itself the Next Day and decides to Cover Sexual Reassignment Surgery

On June 11th we received the heartbreaking news published by CBC.ca that "After studying the issue, Health Minister David Wilson said in a letter last week that the province has decided not to fund the surgery."

“When we must decide which areas to fund, there are a number of items to consider. For example, what does the best available research tells us, and are we able to fund a service within our limited healthcare budget,” said Wilson.

“The department has given the matter of gender reassignment surgery considerable consideration and we went through a careful policy review, including extensive research and consultation with other jurisdictions.”

"The surgery is either partially or fully funded in all provinces except Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island."

On June 12th, the very next day, Health Minister David Wilson changed his mind and decided to0 rescind the law because "its the right thing to do"

Get the inside scoop on this atDented Blue Merecedes

Nicole Maines' Transgender Rights Case Heard By Maine Supreme Court

At question, do transgender students have the right to an education? This case is critical as it will set a legal precedent right wing haters attorneys will defer to in the future when deciding whether to persecute transgender students or not.

Nicole's dad talks about the inhuman treatment of his daughter that brought the case to where it is today:
"In the fifth grade when Nicole was ten years old another student made her life a living hell. He came into the bathroom one day and called her a 'faggot'. It Turns out this young mans grandfather was active in Maine's Christian civic league and he wanted to protest Maine's new law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression."

'He told his grandson "if that boy can use the bathroom (girls room) so can you".

"Instead of enforcing Nicole's rights the school scared of being sued by the Christian civic league told Nicole she could no longer use the bathroom. That separation from Nicole's peer's made her feel like a freak."



Nicole's dad tells of what brought there family this point.



They discriminated by failing to allow her to use the proper restroom and failing to stop harassment.

How do you tell your to children it's adult that do not under stand you. How do you explain to your children adults are using you as political pawns? To make matters worst the boy began a two year campaign of harassment and intimidation calling Nichole hateful names, constantly following her around school, watching which bathroom she used and tormenting her.

Instead of stopping the bullying the school appointed staff to follow Nicole around punishing her instead of the bully.





6/12/13

Boston Police Adopt New Transgender Policy After Losing Lawsuit

The Boston Police working with the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) have adopted a new transgender policy in response to to a lawsuit filled by Trans woman Brenda Wernikoff.

Ms. Wernikoff had been staying at the Boston Woods Mullen homeless shelter for a year when a employee called the police on her for using the ladies room. According to the Lawsuit Ms. Wernikoff was arrested and humiliated, made to strip and jump up and down for the officers who then called her by male pronouns. Ms. Wernikoff won this lawsuit and was awarded $30,000 dollars.

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

SUBJECT: TRANSGENDER POLICY

Section 1. General Considerations
The purpose of this Special Order is to establish guidelines for the appropriate treatment of
transgender individuals who come into contact with the Boston Police Department. The policy of
the Boston Police Department is to treat all individuals with dignity, respect, and
professionalism. Officers shall at all times abide by Boston Police Department Rule 102 §9
(Respectful Treatment), as well as the City of Boston Office of Human Resources’ “Guidelines
to Prevent Gender Identity Discrimination” when interacting with transgender individuals. The
following considerations are simply a codification of existing procedures and practices:

Section 2 Definitions

Adopted Name – Non-birth name that a transgender individual uses in self-reference (this may
or may not be in the individual’s legal name).

Gender Expression – External characteristics and behaviors that are socially viewed as
masculine or feminine. Gender expression is the external manifestation of one’s gender identity.

Gender Identity – A person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not
that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated
with the person’s physiology or assigned gender at birth. Gender-related identity may be shown
by providing evidence including, but not limited to, medical history, care or treatment of the
gender-related identity, consistent and uniform assertion of the gender-related identity or any
other evidence that the gender-related identity is sincerely held, as part of a person’s core
identity; provided however, gender-related identity shall not be asserted for any improper
purpose.

Gender – An individual’s biological or anatomical identity as male or female
Transgender Individual – A person whose gender identity differs from his/her assigned gender
Female-to-Male (“FTM”) – A person who transitions from “female-to-male,” meaning
a person who was assigned female at birth, but identifies and lives as a male. A “femaleto-male” individual should be addressed using masculine pronouns (i.e. he, him, his),
regardless of surgical status.Male-to-Female (“MTF”) – A person who transitions from “male-to-female,” meaning
a person who was assigned male at birth, but identifies and lives as a female. A “male-tofemale” individual should be addressed using feminine pronouns (i.e. she, her, hers),
regardless of surgical status.

Section 3 Forms of Address

Officers shall address transgender individuals by the individual’s adopted name. This is true even
if the individual has not received legal recognition of the adopted name. In addressing or
discussing a transgender person, officers will use pronouns appropriate for that person’s gender
identity (e.g., she, her, hers for a prisoner who is male-to-female; he, him, his for a prisoner who
is female-to-male). If officers are uncertain about which pronouns are appropriate, then officers
will respectfully ask the individual.

Section 4 Calls for Service

Calls for service or complaints generated by transgender individuals shall be addressed and
investigated in a manner that is consistent with all Department policies. No officer shall fail to
respond to a call for service based on the gender identity or expression of the caller.

Section 5 Stop and Frisk

Officers shall continue to use standard practices and procedures when conducting “Field Stops”
and “Frisks”, and shall abide by Rule 323 at all times. Additionally, a search or frisk shall not be
performed for the sole purpose of determining an individual’s anatomical gender, and
transgender individuals shall not be subject to more invasive search or frisk procedures than nontransgender individuals.
Section 6 Prisoners

Sec. 6.1. Transportation
Whenever possible, a transgender prisoner shall be transported alone. Officers shall
ensure that additional units are called in order to assist with transporting transgender
individuals.

Sec. 6.2. Booking
The Booking Officer will process transgender prisoners, including persons held in
protective custody and juveniles held in custody, according to normal booking procedures
as outlined in Rule 318. When booking a transgender prisoner, the Booking Officer will
include the prisoner’s adopted name (i.e. name that the individual uses in self-reference)
in the booking, either as the primary name or as the “also known as” (a.k.a.) name. The
transgender prisoner will be booked under the name appearing on the prisoner’s
government-issued identification, as well as under an a.k.a. name where applicable. If no identification is available, then the Booking Officer will use the adopted name for
booking purposes, either as the primary or the a.k.a. name. The prisoner’s birth name will
be used only if it is the prisoner’s legal name or it is required by a legitimate law
enforcement purpose, including but not limited to, a prior arrest record.

Sec. 6.3. Searches
All searches of the transgender prisoner’s person will be conducted by two officers of the
gender requested by the transgender prisoner, whenever possible. If two officers of the
preferred gender are not available, the search shall nonetheless be conducted by two
available officers. If the prisoner does not specify a preference, then the search will be
conducted by officers of the same gender as the transgender prisoner’s gender expression
(e.g., a female-to-male prisoner’s expressing no preference should be searched by a male
Officer). The prisoner will also be required to complete the “Statement of Search
Preference Form” prior to any search (Form #0076-BFS-0413). Any prisoner who refuses
to complete the “Statement of Search Preference Form” shall be searched by officers of
the same gender as the transgender prisoner’s gender expression. Officers shall refer to
Rule 318D regarding proper search procedures.

Sec. 6.4. Conditions during Holding
Whenever possible, a transgender prisoner shall be held in a cell without other prisoners.
The Booking Officer and Duty Supervisor shall make all efforts to ensure that the
prisoner is held without other prisoners, including looking at availability in any and all
other district stations. Transgender prisoners requiring medical attention shall be handled
as any other prisoner requiring medical attention in accordance with Rule 318.

Edward F. Davis
Police Commissioner

Full policy in PDF Here.