Attack Average: One Every Three Months
Though horrific, Ruby Ordenana's murder last week
<http://www.queerty.com/queer/news/trannie-murdered-in-san-francisco-200\
70320.php> in San Francisco hardly qualifies as original. The 27-year
old woman's violent death counts as just one of many tranny-related
murders. The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition reports that since 1995,
at least fifty trans persons under the age of 30 have been brutalized
simply for their physical "deviance". And that number will only continue
to rise.
GPAC executive director Riki Wilchins delivers the startling, disturbing
news: Ruby's murder is not an exception. Gender non-conforming young
people € ¦’¶ who have often been shut out of employment, housing, and
safe environments because of their gender identity or expression € ¦’¶
are dying at a rate of about one every three months.While victims; trans
status may be a malicious motivator, it appears race also plays a
factor. According to Wilchins, "These young victims were almost all
Black or Latina, transgender or gay, biologically male, and murdered in
attacks of extraordinary violence". Scary shit, that. Even more
frightening, GPAC claims that if FBI hate crime statistics specifically
featured trans violence, they would "outweigh every other category
except race". It's hard out there for a pimpette.
Read the entire press release, after the jump.
Gender-Based Violence Claims Life of Another Young Person of Color
- Ruby Ordenana Murdered in San Francisco's Mission District
- Research Shows Trend of a Killing about Once Every 3 Months
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 28, 2007) € ¦’¶ Gender-based violence has
claimed the life of another young person of color. Ruby Ordenana, also
know as Ruby Rodriguez, a 27-year-old Latina transgender woman was found
strangled with knife-like cuts and scars on her arms in the early
morning hours of March 16 in San Francisco's Mission District.
"Ruby's murder is not an exception. Gender non-conforming young
people € ¦’¶ who have often been shut out of employment, housing, and
safe environments because of their gender identity or expression € ¦’¶
are dying at a rate of about one every three months," said Riki
Wilchins, Executive Director of the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition
(GenderPAC). "We mourn the tragic loss of yet another young
life."
Ruby's body was found in the same area where another transgender woman
was beaten and raped last summer. According to friends, Ruby, a
Nicaraguan immigrant who was involved in sex work, was pulling her life
together and attending support groups and English language classes.
Since 1995, over 50 young people aged 30 and under have been violently
murdered by assailants who targeted them because they did not fit
stereotypes of masculinity or femininity. In December 2006,GenderPAC
released the groundbreaking human rights report "50 Under 30:
Masculinity and the War on America's Youth" to document this tide of
fatal violence and the key demographics of its victims and their
assailants.
In the course of the year that the report was researched and published,
three additional murders of victims that fit the "50 Under 30"
profile were reported in Memphis, Phoenix and Nicetown (PA).
"These young victims were almost all Black or Latina, transgender or
gay, biologically male, and murdered in attacks of extraordinary
violence," added Wilchins. "Ruby's murder fits this sad
pattern."
If the investigation of Ordenana's murder follows the profile of victims
in the "50 Under 30" report, it is most likely to go unsolved.
54% of the deaths documented in the report remain unsolved, as compared
with 31% for all homicides nationally.
Ordenana's murder came the same week as the introduction of the Local
Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA) into Congress, the
long-awaited bill that would give the Justice Department the power to
investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence based on sexual
orientation and gender identity.
"The LLEHCPA is necessary in moving our country toward a society where
hate crimes are unacceptable, and where everyone's most basic human
rights are protected: life, liberty, and the expression of self without
fear of violence," said Wilchins. "We urge Congress to remember
its commitment to protect all Americans from bias-motivated violence,
and to remember Ruby Ordenana, by supporting this bill."
Murder cases in the "50 Under 30" report that were classified as hate
crimes were solved nearly one-and-a-half times more often than those
that were not. 72% of the report's cases were not so classified,
despite the extremely violent nature of the crimes (many deaths combined
stabbing, beating, strangling and shooting).
The annual FBI Hate Crimes Statistics report documents assaults
motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or
disability. According to the "50 Under 30" report, if murders
based on the victim's gender identity or expression were included in
the data, they would outweigh every other category except race.
The "50 Under 30" report is available online
<http://www.gpac.org/press/> . To assist reporters and policy-makers in
identifying victims from their regions, click here
<http://www.gpac.org/workplace/2007lobbyday.html> .
Tagged: Crime <http://www.queerty.com/queer/crime/> , Gay
<http://www.queerty.com/queer/gay/> , News
<http://www.queerty.com/queer/news/> , Transgender
<http://www.queerty.com/queer/transgender/>
Copyright 2005 € ¦’¶ 2006 Jossip Initiatives.

Commissioner Gay Gentry would ask everyone who has heard of the
firing of City Manager Steve Stanton to believe that it was for his
management style, not his transitioning from male to female. I cannot
believe her nor should anyone else. This was simply a way to get rid
of someone who has "embarrassed Largo in a very public way."
Had this firing been simply because of his management style, I
believe it would have either happened much before now (since his
style had to have been noticed sometime in the last 14 years) or it
would have been more fully documented and not in such a rush after
the public announcement of his planned operation. Commissioner
Gentry, you're fooling no one but yourself that this was for
something other than what it was, a blatant case of discrimination.
Commissioner Gentry noted that he was asking for more consideration
of his personal situation than he ever showed to anyone else, adding
that he had even fired one employee because they stayed home with an
elderly parent during a hurricane. Yes, Commissioner Gentry, Mr.
Stanton fired someone who didn't do their job. Is there any
documented incidents that you could have brought up where Mr. Stanton
didn't do his? If there were, why did he continually receive praise
in his work reviews?
The bottom line for me is that you took a person who had basically
been forced to tell publicly something that should have been left to
the personal timetable he'd originally planned and you made that
situation much worse by firing him for reasons that you couldn't even
prove, all because you perceived a sense of turmoil. Your reasoning
was wrong, your actions were hasty, and your city will be known as
intolerant because of those actions.
Congratulations. You may have won something with his firing but the
city of Largo lost something much more valuable this past weekend:

It's humanity.

Transgender activists will again converge on Capitol Hill in May for another attempt at passing federal transgender-inclusive legislation. The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) has announced its

Washington DC dates for direct advocacy with Congress on what’s turning out to be Transgender Lobby Week.

The transgender community is hopeful this year for legislation with explicit protections for the trans community.  With conservatives out of power in both houses of Congress, this appears to be the best chance at any type of equal rights enactment for anyone in the GLBT Community. 

Building upon the inclusive Hate Crimes legislation that passed the House of Representatives in the last Congress, there may well be the first inclusive legislation on employment non-discrimination as well this session.

This year’s visit by NTAC will be May 16 - 17, with a plenary training session on Tuesday, May 15, 2007.  However, NTAC will not be the only group lobbying that week.

“Mara Keisling’s group will be conducting a transgender lobby day on the Hill on  Monday and Tuesday,” said recently-elected NTAC Chair Ethan St. Pierre.  Meanwhile, “the non-trans members of the community will be lobbying with Riki Wilchins’ group at the end of the same week,” St. Pierre added.  “Along with NTAC in the middle of the week,” St. Pierre noted, “the transgender and other-gendered community will be lobbying Congress … the entire week.”

“Members of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition are looking forward to lobbying for trans-inclusive legislation in the areas of Hate Crimes and Employment non-discrimination,” added NTAC Board Member Marisa Richmond. 

Richmond, who chairs NTAC’s Lobbying Committee admitted that both the Hate Crimes and Employment Non-Discrimination legislation “have been major concerns of transgender persons, and NTAC, for a number of years,” adding that “we are optimistic that we will see passage of both [pieces of legislation] in 2007.”

NTAC participants from New England to California will make the trip to the nation’s capital, likely including victims of anti-transgender hate crimes and those with personal experience of employment and other types of transgender discrimination.  Since the late ‘90s, NTAC members have been making grassroots forays to the nation’s capital to gain these long sought-after protections. 

Now it appears the many years of efforts may be providing a glimmer of opportunity.

NTAC will assist attendees by arranging meetings with their senators, representatives and staff members.  Those making the trip will need to make arrangements for travel and lodging, however NTAC will have a hotel in mind and attempt to block out a number of rooms for participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

NTAC has actively advocated at the grassroots level for the rights of transgender Americans at federal, state, and local levels.  As always, participants will have the opportunity to meet with many like-minded trans and trans-supportive activists from organizations across the country, working toward fully inclusive federal civil rights laws.

Registration and hotel information for the effort will be linked to the NTAC website (http://www.ntac.org) when details become available.  In the meantime, those with questions about joining this grassroots lobbying effort can write to richmondmj@aol.com, or call 615-293-6199 after 6PM CDT.

Founded in 1999, NTAC - the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition - is a civil rights organization working to establish and maintain the right of all transgendered, intersexed, and gender-variant people to live and work without fear of violence or discrimination.

Work has been absolutely hectic lately but it's been a fun form of chaos.  This has been my first post product release cycle at Microsoft and I must admit that so far it has been a planning process like one I've never experienced before. 

I don't write personally for this site as much as I would like to but when I do, it is often rather heart felt. 

This is one of those occasions...

I think that each us of looks back over choices that we've made and attempts to rationalize the results.  Personally, I have been evaluating the success of my transition from male to female and examining how well I've integrated into my place in female society.

In retrospect, even though I live the "out" lifestyle, I've done a pretty good job.  I was eating lunch with some of my co-workers the other day and it became {slowly} apparent to me that one of the girls who transferred from a different Redmond office had no idea of my history.  I took a moment and gently explained the situation to her, to which she reacted perfectly, and continued with our conversation.

After returning to my office I realized that I've done a good job of integrating into my new role.  This is especially important to me because I tend to still be a rather visible person in the development team in our Massachusetts offices.

This isn't really why I'm writing today, I'm writing because I want to consider one particular decision I made when I was planning all of my procedures and surgeries a few years ago.  In particular, I'm referring to a decision in which I decided not to have and FFS surgery performed.  For those of you that are not familiar with the term FFS (Facial Feminization Surgery), I'll describe what I was considering.

Cheek implants - small nylon wedges to elevate the appearance of my cheek bones to help create a more feminine shape to my head.

Chin implant - Also a small nylon insert designed to give my jaw and chin a sharper line and offer a little more extension that I currently have.

Rhinoplasti - Your basic nose job, I wanted a reduction in size and a small change in the shape of the tip of my nose.

Well, I decided not to do any of these things!

I was very fortunate that I didn't have to do this work to pass as female but there was a greater concern looming about this decision.  I was very fearful that I might not be able to identify with my reflection after surgery and the thought of this concerned me greatly.  As bazaar as this may sound, I didn't want to lose myself in the process of transitioning.

Then yesterday while I was surfing through various websites that I read, I came across a link to this site and the chain of emails here just crushed me.  Basically, it looks like a woman who's name was Lisa, committed suicide after her FFS procedures were performed. 

I cried inconsolably for her because I suppose "she could have been me"

I've included the intro to this page and then the link...

Be well,

Dana

From this site on angelfire

This is a site for transsexuals that have had problems from FFS done by Douglas K. Ousterhout.

I am hoping that you will be able to either find advice or help for fixing the problems that were created. I would rather see other TG girls and guys get help with the problems then doing something rash. This site is devoted to Lisa, whom took her own life because of the mistakes that Dr. O made with her face during FFS. Rest in peace Lisa, we love you and always will.

If you would like to have your Dr. O worries or problems shared on this and other web sites, send anyone of us an email. We are a group of TS girls that been deformed by Dr. O FFS work and were left out in the cold when Dr. O refused to fix the problems. We have devoted our time letting the world know the truth about the problems which were created and have been covered up by Mira and Dr. O. As of now we have 22 web sites and 30 groups devoted to FFS and the problems with Dr. O. There are 27 TS women now that make our network for running websites and groups devoted to telling the real truth about what Dr. O did to us and other TS women.

Check out this article on c/net

As expected, SPI Dynamics researcher Billy Hoffman demonstrated a Web application vulnerability scanner written in JavaScript. The tool, called Jikto, can make an unsuspecting Web user's PC silently crawl and audit public Web sites, and send the results to a third party, Hoffman said.

But, in a change of plans, Hoffman did not publicly release Jikto. "The higher-ups first say we can, and then they change their mind," he said after his presentation. "We decided to focus on the educational message and show people the danger."

The transcripts are available on tampabay.com

12:05 a.m.

Decision is final: Stanton is fired

After six hours of speakers, commissioners take less than five minutes to reaffirm a decision to fire Steve Stanton. Voting to dismiss Stanton were Mary Gray Black, Andy Guyette, Gigi Arntzen, Harriet K. Crozier and Gay Gentry. Mayor Pat Gerard and Commissioner Rodney Woods dissented.

By KEVIN LANDRIGAN, Telegraph Staff
klandrigan@nashuatelegraph.com
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 20, 2007
CONCORD – Gerri Cannon, a transsexual from Merrimack, said it's
unfair she's been unable to get hormone treatment in preparation
for, and after, surgery that changes her from male to female.
"I'm not looking for special benefits," Cannon told the House
Commerce Committee Monday.
"The only difference is I am listed as a genetic male for insurance
purposes."
Cannon, and seven others in various stages of changing their sex,
backed legislation to mandate that insurance companies cover hormone
replacement therapy treatments.
Mikayla Howden, 49, said she always struggled with sexuality as a
husband and parent of four children.
"I saw a man with a beard and my brain didn't match what I saw in
the mirror," said Howden of Concord, who spent $15,000 to have the
surgery two and a half years ago.
Insurance companies cover estrogen hormone typically for menopausal
women, and testosterone for men to treat sexual dysfunction, among
other things.
California and Washington are the only states that require insurers
to cover hormone treatments for those undergoing a sex change.
Dr. Jennifer Madden of Nashua said she got coverage for hormone
treatments under her health insurance plan for only one month.
Someone working for her employer offered a solution.
"We'll just change you to female (on the form) and everything will
be fine," Madden recalled.
A month later, Madden learned the group rejected that tactic. After
appeals to the insurer and the insurance commissioner, Madden said
she brought her case to Nashua Democratic Rep. Ruth Ginsburg.
"Once I started hearing and learning and found out what it was all
about, it began to be something I really wanted to do," Ginsburg
said.
Supporters say this policy is inconsistent with New Hampshire law
that bans discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation.
The state Commission on Human Rights has regulations that prevent
restrictions on health-care benefits for a "particular disability,"
and it specifically recognizes transsexual disorder, they said.
But Mark Vattes, a lobbyist with Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield of
New Hampshire, said this is another mandate that will raise
insurance rates and would promote the drive to cover the more
expensive surgery.
"We oppose it because it's a mandate and it may lead to other
mandates," Vattes said.
Madden said the cost to insurers to cover hormones would be minimal,
as patients typically make a co-payment.
The total cost for estrogen therapy can be $25 to $75 per month
while the cost of androgen for female to male treatment can range
from $20 to $210 per month, Madden said.
Therapists said those struggling with their gender can become
depressed, even suicidal, and hormone treatment leads to significant
improvement.
"I've had many clients tell me that when they finally transition,
they are finally at peace with themselves and the world," said
Phyllis Cudmore, a counselor and gender specialist.
Exeter Republican Rep. Lee Quandt said the bill presents lawmakers
with a quandary.
"You can tell this has a great impact on the lives of these people
but it is a mandate, and we're under pressure to keep them to a
minimum," said Quandt.
Gerri Cannon had hormones paid for while working for Hewlett-Packard
that purchased a special rider for the coverage.
She's since been laid off and loses her continuing coverage starting
next month.
"I've known since I was a teenager, a little over 40 years ago, that
I was different from many of the other boys my age," Cannon
concluded. "I didn't know what to call it back then, but I know now.
I am a transsexual person."
Kevin Landrigan can be reached at 224-8804 or
klandrigan@nashuatelegraph.com.

by Daniel Ortner
Columnists | 3/20/07
While the government's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on
homosexuality in the military has received renewed scrutiny since
Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called
homosexuality "immoral" this month, at Brandeis, sexual and gender
identity discrimination is far more subtle. Specifically, our sex-
based housing policy discriminates by failing to acknowledge the
complexity of sexual desire and conceptions of gender rather than an
outright bias.
Sex-specific housing should thoroughly offend both those in the
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and those
outside of it.
Brandeis' dorms have a variety of single-sex and mixed-sex floors.
However, a clear rule still stands: No two people of opposite sex can
share a single room. Even in suites, members of the opposite sex can
be suitemates, but not roommates. Jeremy Leiferman, an associate
director of Residence Life, acknowledges that this policy is based on
a traditional morality structure that views individuals romantically
living together as something aversive. This portrays human sexuality
as a negative, denied rather than embraced.
Yet, even discounting the libertarian notion that sexuality is a
private matter that shouldn't be legislated on, the sex-based stance
is patronizing in many ways. First, it assumes sexual intimacy or
attraction between any two members of the opposite sex-patently
untrue. This policy leaves no room for men who mostly are friends
with women and wish to live with one of them, or vice versa. It can
make the room-selection process even more onerous and burdensome for
some.
Additionally, the policy ignores the fact that same-sex relationships
are quite prevalent. According to the 2006 NOVUS guide, 14 percent of
those responding to an online survey identified themselves as
something other than heterosexual-a more comprehensive study is
currently being conducted to more conclusively determine the
percentage of the total student body that is not hetrosexual, but it
is likely that this number will be comparable or even higher.
If the aim is to prevent intimate partners from living together, then
this policy completely misses a substantial portion of student
relationships. Male roommates or female roommates should ideally be
perceived, in a truly sexual-identity-blind policy, as being equally
likely of being in a relationship as couples of opposite genders.
Even more dangerous is the effect that sex-based housing has on
individuals with gender-identity conflicts. Sex and gender have
medically and psychologically been identified as separate concepts;
an individual can be a biological male, but still hold a female
gender identity. Sex-based policies perceive identity as a purely
binary system, rather than a nuanced continuum of gender concepts.
Therefore, the current policy is extremely dangerous for those
transgender individuals forced to choose housing-or as a freshman, be
placed-based on their chromosomes rather than their own gender
determination.
On campus, there has already been widespread dialogue about gender-
neutral bathrooms, facilities without male-female designation. The
Shapiro Campus Center already houses several. These bathrooms help
prevent feelings of confusion and gender uncertainty, and are thus
vitally important to the establishment of equal treatment of all
gender identities.
We should not rest with these small steps. In most residence halls,
even on mixed floors, bathrooms are still clearly labeled by sex.
While our campus has made many strides toward eliminating outright
hatred, it is essential that we continue to alleviate discomfort, and
the housing policy does not help.
ResLife should be credited for making progress on these issues in
recent years; however, we should make clear that as a campus, we want
a less discriminatory atmosphere.
Already, many campuses across the country have begun providing gender-
neutral housing for juniors and seniors, including the University of
Chicago and Harvard University. Data from polls taken before and
after implementation show wide-ranging support and appreciation of
the policy.
Many of the common fears, such as increased rates of sexual assault,
have been unfounded as well. "Absolutely no issues with sexual
violence or sexual assault in co-ed rooms" were found at the
University of Pennsylvania when a policy permitting co-ed rooming was
instituted.
At Brandeis, the integration of such a policy would be relatively
easy, as we already have single-sex floors for those uncomfortable
with the notion of living with members of the opposite sex, and the
pull-in system could be modified to include a consent form for mixed-
sex rooms. Removal of sex-specific bathrooms could be a gradual
process as well, with mixed floors leading the way. There are, of
course, many practical concerns that need to be hashed out, but
progress has been made in recent years through attempts to establish
Thematic Learning Communities based on gender-blind principles
promoting tolerance.
The current policy should offend and infuriate all those who want our
university's agenda of tolerance to be truly realized. It is a policy
based on a negative view of human relationships and sexuality and one
that neither acknowledge the loving intimacy that can come from same-
sex relationships, nor the difficulty of being forced to choose from
the two sexes. Additionally, it fails to acknowledge that friendships
without romantic entanglements can and do exist between men and
women. Indeed, such views have no place on our campus.
© 2007 the Justice: the Independent Student Newspaper of Brandeis
University
http://tinyurl.com/3xz2lo

Jennifer Finney Boylan.

The past few years have seen more and more transgender characters popping up in television and film, from Rebecca Romijn playing transwoman Alexis Meade on Ugly Betty to Felicity Huffman taking home a Golden Globe for her role as Bree in TransAmerica to Jeffrey Carlson’s role as transitioning M-to-F Zoe in All My Children. Yet while there are more and more transgender parts on the big and small screen, few if any of them have gone to openly transgender actors.
All My Children bucked that trend in its March 9 episode, which featured a group of seven transgender actors as members of a transgender support group that Zoe attends to cope with coming out and transitioning. But there was a twist: according to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which has consulted with the show’s producers on the trans-themed plot arc, the support group scenes were unscripted, and the transgender actors told their own stories, giving All My Children’s audience the chance to learn firsthand about the challenges faced by transgender people. And in a genre where over-the-top antics and sensationalism are the norm (by way of example, other scenes from that episode focused on one character, Bebe, conspiring with another character to fake her own kidnapping to escape from her vindictive husband), the support group scenes were refreshingly honest, down-to-earth and emotionally engaging.
Several of the actors in the support group scenes have already had ample experience telling their stories to a large audience. Jennifer Finney Boylan, who played the support group facilitator, is better known as the author of the best-selling memoir She’s Not There, which chronicled her own transition. Other actors in the scene included David Harrison, an actor and playwright who has performed his own one-man show about his transition, and Betty Crow, whose spouse Helen Boyd chronicled her own experiences as a supportive spouse of a trans person in her books My Husband Betty and She’s Not the Man I Married.
The show represented a diverse group of transgender people at very different points in their transition. When the actors took turns introducing themselves at the start of the support group some said that they had transitioned years ago and were comfortable living as trans, while others described themselves as in the middle of the transition process and unsure how to proceed.
One of the central themes of the scenes was the importance of having the support of loved ones after coming out and during the transition process. Crow describes Boyd’s reaction to her coming out, saying, “My wife was just odd enough as a teenager and hung out with the odd kids that when I told her she kind of went off and did her research and did her reading and asked really good questions, and she may not be 100 percent comfortable, but she gets it. She knows it’s real, she knows it’s not something I’m making up, she knows I didn’t choose to be trans. She knows that where the choice happens is what I choose to do about being trans.”
Another message that the episode hammered home was that there are lots of transgender people facing the anxieties and complications associated with transitioning. After Zoe described the abuse she faced by her father when he found her wearing her mother’s clothes as a child and her fears about transitioning, Boylan let her know that she’s not alone.
“I hope that through this process, among all the other things that happen, you can realize that you are worth being loved and that what you’ve been through is something that lots of people go through,” said Boylan.

By Timothy Cwiek
PGN Writer-at-Large
Philadelphia police will play a complete version of the 911 tape of
the 2002 incident in which a transgender woman was given a police
courtesy ride and found shortly after with a fatal head wound.
"We're [playing the tape] in a spirit of cooperation," said Deputy
Commissioner Richard J. Ross, who agreed that the full tape of the
Nizah Morris incident should be played for the Police Advisory
Commission. "[PAC members] are trying to investigate police conduct,
and we're not trying to hide anything. We want to divulge as much as
we can."
Police gave Morris, 47, the ride at about 3:15 a.m. Dec. 22, 2002,
from the 1300 block of Chancellor Street to the 1400 block of Walnut
Street, where they reportedly thought Morris lived. She was
discovered with a fatal head wound and died two days later at
Jefferson University Hospital.
The PAC is investigating police conduct related to the ride and its
aftermath.
Ross said he turned down a request by PAC for a transcript of the
tape or a copy of it. "I don't think we're obligated to do that," he
said.
Instead, playing the tape for PAC staffers will satisfy PAC's
investigative needs while also permitting the police to retain
possession of their materials, he said.
"[PAC staffers] want to know what's on the tape, and playing it for
them is the best way to do it, in my opinion," Ross added. "This was
a call that I made."
He recently ordered his staff to make a copy of the tape, which will
be played at a meeting to be held within the next month at a police
facility.
Ross said members of the public will not be permitted to attend the
meeting, nor will they be supplied with a copy or transcript of the
complete tape.
At press time, PGN's request for a copy of the complete Morris 911
tape remained pending with City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr.
In April 2003, after public pressure, police released an incomplete
version of the 911 tape.
In December, the PAC released dispatch records suggesting that
transmissions on the tape actually continue for an additional 49-
minute period after police said the tape ended.
William M. Johnson, executive director of the PAC, hopes the full
911 tape will clarify why the Morris assignment was closed
as "unfounded" at 4:03 a.m. Dec. 22, 2002.
Unfounded designations are reserved for situations in which police
arrive at a location and no one is present to receive attention —
which clearly wasn't the case in the Morris incident, Johnson noted.
The three officers involved in the Morris incident – Thomas Berry,
Kenneth Novak and Elizabeth Skala – never wrote a report about the
courtesy ride they said was given to Morris.
In addition, the patrol logs of Skala and Novak state that Morris
was taken to a hospital about 3:15 a.m. rather than being taken on a
courtesy ride to 15th and Walnut streets.
If the paperwork is missing or inaccurate, Johnson said the 911 tape
may be an important tool to explain the officers' actions that
morning.
© 2007 Philadelphia Gay News
http://www.epgn.com/030207/1nizahtapes030207.htm

By LORRI HELFAND
Published March 2, 2007
LARGO - City Manager Steve Stanton says he wants to keep his job and
is seriously considering challenging his pending termination.
"I love being the city manager," Stanton, 48, said Thursday. "It's a
dream job, and I'm not looking at doing anything else right now."
Tuesday night, a week after Stanton acknowledged he planned to have
gender-reassignment surgery and change his name to Susan, the City
Commission adopted a preliminary resolution to remove him. It also
placed him on paid leave until a final decision is made.
That vote started a process during which Stanton can ask for a
hearing to make his case.
Stanton received a copy of the resolution Thursday and has five days
to request the hearing.
If Stanton asks for a public hearing, commissioners are required to
hold it no sooner than 15 days and no more than 30 days after his
request.
If Stanton does not request the hearing, the City Commission can make
his termination final within five days of the day he received a copy
of the resolution. The commission meets Tuesday, but the issue is not
on the agenda.
If Stanton, who makes $140,234, is fired, he would receive a 12-month
severance package.
Stanton said he will request an appeal if he can prepare a
presentation that thoroughly addresses various issues and concerns
raised by commissioners and the community about transgender people.
But, otherwise, he said, he doesn't want to put additional stress on
employees.
Tuesday, nearly 500 people showed up for the meeting to discuss
Stanton's employment. Extra officers were on duty and the staff set
up a registration area and additional rooms to accommodate the crowd.
"If I can't put together a decent appeal, I'm not going to disrupt
the city organization," Stanton said.
Stanton also said it was too soon to say whether he would file a
lawsuit to regain his job if the dismissal goes through.
Lorri Helfand can be reached at lorri@sptimes.com or 727 445-4155.
[Last modified March 2, 2007, 05:59:07]
© 2007 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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All My Children to Air Historic Transgender-Focused Episode March 9
eye on the media > All My Children to Air Historic Transgender-Focused Episode March 9

Six Transgender People Share Real-Life Stories During Unique Taping

ABC’s popular daytime drama All My Children broke new ground in January with the introduction of a transgender character, Zoe (Jeffrey Carlson). On March 9, the series will mark another first when six transgender people appear on the show, sharing their personal stories in a rare unscripted format.

GLAAD Media Programs Coordinator Tom Ogletree visited the set of All My Children on the day of the historic taping and had a unique opportunity to speak with executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, several All My Children cast members, and the transgender guests who came to share their stories. "Being on-set during the taping, watching the actors and their characters interact with real people's stories, was an amazing experience," Ogletree said. "And it was evidence again that All My Children really is committed to the story of Zoe’s transition, to telling it accurately and to telling it well."

Caruthers said that the episode represents an important moment, both for Zoe and viewers. "The audience will be given the rare opportunity, along with Zoe, to experience the real unscripted stories and issues experienced by real transgender men and women playing themselves. We are very proud to showcase their compelling stories."

Jennifer Finley Boylan, a transgender advocate and author of the bestselling memoir She’s Not There, was cast as the leader of a support group attended by Zoe. "It’s really quite a risk they’re taking," she said about the format of the taping, a first for All My Children. "They’re just going to turn on the cameras, and we’re all going to tell our stories, and it’s unscripted – we don’t even know what is going to happen. It’s very exciting." 

"I feel really privileged to be part of this project because I think it’s extremely powerful because so many people watch it," said participant David Harrison, an actor and playwright who has performed a one-man show about his own transition experience. "The potential is enormous to help not only trans people coming out but their families."

Betty Crow, another participant, pointed out that the episode will also help friends and family. "Transgender people don’t exist in a void – they have people who love them and family," she said. "We’ve actually heard stories about people that because of this storyline have been able to wrap their heads around their son, daughter, husband, wife – that seeing it in this context has brought a sense of normalcy."

Actor Jeffrey Carlson, who portrays Zoe, knows first hand the impact this storyline has had on viewers. He spoke with GLAAD about the fan mail he has received from people ranging "from an eleven year old girl to a woman in her eighties" whose previous misconceptions had been challenged. "People say – and there’s always a qualifier – that I didn’t think I was going to like this story, but I wanted to hold Zoe in my arms when she came out."

Boylan said she hoped that someday a transgender character would not merit any special notice, saying, "There’s an old line from a song about dreaming of a day when things we’ve never seen will seem familiar. That’s what I hope for – when people out there in television land or book land or radio land understand that this is something familiar, this is something that is another good way of being human."

GLAAD collaborated with All My Children since last fall, helping to educate those behind the scenes to ensure that Zoe’s story is told accurately and with integrity. Since Zoe's introduction, the ABC family comedy Ugly Betty introduced the transgender character Alexis Meade, played by Rebecca Romijn. On cable, The L Word has featured a female-to-male transgender character for two seasons, and Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy recently announced that he is developing 4 oz., a new series for FX that will follow a male sportscaster's transition.

"There will never be acceptance of an issue without visibility," says GLAAD Entertainment Media Director Damon Romine, "and it's these kinds of representations of the transgender community that will ultimately make the unfamiliar familiar."

For a complete Q&A with Jennifer Finley Boylan, please click here.

For hi-res photos, click here.

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Resources:
GLAAD's Media Reference Guide: Transgender Terminology

All My Children's Official Web Site

Jennifer Finley Boylan's Web Site

My Husband Betty

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Michael A. Cohen, ABC Daytime Media Relations
Phone: (212) 456-1429            Email: michael.a.cohen@abc.com

Sarah Holbert, GLAAD Entertainment Media Manager
Phone: (323) 634-2013            Email: holbert@glaad.org

article

By PHIL DAVIS

LARGO, Fla. (March 1) - The City Commission voted to begin the process of firing a top official less than a week after he announced plans to pursue a sex-change operation.

Julie Busch, The Tampa Tribune / AP

The 5-to-2 vote Tuesday started a three-step process to remove City Manager Steve Stanton from the job he's held for 14 years.
Stanton, 48, confirmed last week that he is a transsexual. With a solid reputation as a forceful and energetic leader, he had hoped to keep his $140,000-a-year job as he underwent the gender reassignment process.
"It's just painful to know seven days ago I was a good guy and now ... I have no integrity," Stanton told the commission. "My challenge here has always been that someday I was going to leave this organization. So I am going to do it with a smile on my face."
Stanton can appeal the decision, though his contract says he can be fired without cause at any time.
He will be placed on paid leave while the city begins the legal process to end his contract. The council must vote again to formally fire him.

Mayor Patricia Gerard and Commissioner Rodney Woods cast the dissenting votes.
"He's done a great job for us," Gerard said. "He's done what we asked him to do and taken the heat over and over and over again and now we're going to turn on him."
Commissioner Mary Gray Black said Stanton's surprise announcement last week "caused stress, turmoil, distraction and work disruption" among other city employees.
"I do not feel he has the integrity, nor the trust, nor the respect, nor the confidence to continue as the city manager of the city of Largo," said Black, who introduced a resolution to fire Stanton on Monday.
About 500 people attended the meeting. Dozens signed up to speak, some praising Stanton and others saying the exposure of his secret life undermined his ability to lead the city.
City officials say they have received hundreds of e-mails about Stanton's announcement, most calling for his removal.
Largo is a city of about 76,000 about 22 miles west of Tampa.