Hooray, no more "panic" defense!!!

I think it's horrible that anyone was ever able to use the "panic" defense to begin with. Nobody should be able to injure or kill a person, and then get off the hook because they "panicked" when finding out the other person was gay or trans*. This is absolutely heinous! Thank goodness, it's just about over:

“There is absolutely no justification for the use of ‘panic defenses.’ Clearly this tactic has been utilized by defendants, unjustly targeting members of the LGBT community, based on damaging stereotypes,” Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla said in a statement Wednesday. “With AB 2501, we are moving forward to ensure equality in our courts and making it very clear that discrimination against the LGBT community is intolerable and unacceptable.”  - advocate.com

Sometimes victories are small, and sometimes they are big. This one is huge!

Related articles

• US: California bill outlawing trans and gay panic defenses headed to governor
• California Takes A Stand Against Gay and Trans Panic Defenses in Criminal Cases
• Ban on 'gay panic defense' heads to governor

Hotel shot - Durham, N.C.

Be careful on Skype....

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I got myself dressed up and made up yesterday, leaving out only a wig. I was working from home, and got lost in the problem I was trying to solve. Skype's ringtone started playing, and I looked up to see that it was my mom calling. I answered the call, totally forgetting that I was dressed!

I had reading glasses on, and it's kinda dark out here, so there's a chance she couldn't tell. If she could, she didn't mention it. And she didn't seem surprised. I was very surprised, though! I couldn't do anything except talk.  :)

My wife pointed out later that the sweater I was wearing looks very girlie. She thinks that my mom noticed, but just didn't say anything.

Eeeek!

(Yes, I am a 40+ year old. Yes I am still hiding this from my mom. Yes I still worry about disappointing my mom.)

:)

Still around

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still around! It's been a hectic, crazy year so far, but I am hoping that things can get back to normal soon.

Tips for being a transgender ally

Found an interesting article on InfoBarrel giving tips on how to be an ally for transgender people. There are some excellent tips in this article. One of the ones that I would share with my non-transgender is:

Defend them: If you are witnessing discrimination or harassment in the form of transphobia then speak up; don’t just stand there and let it happen. The more people ignore the issue, the more people are going to think that harassing transgender people is an acceptable behavior and therefore keep doing it!

Related articles

• Teen accused of threatening to shoot East Millinocket transgender student
• We don't buy transphobia
• From school to society, the intolerance transgender people face | Jill Filipovic

The right to be who I want to be...

I have talked quite a few times about already about getting dressed and leaving the house.  It is something that I've wanted to do many times. I jump started myself earlier this year. I got myself dressed up - in what I think isn't a bad way - and made an excursion to my third place, the Gender Identity Center here in Denver. This is where the monthly cross-dressers meetings are held. I've been enough times that I feel very comfortable there. Comfortable enough that I've gone there dressed outside normal meeting times on a number of different occasions.

This pic shows the first time that I went to the GIC during a "normal" day. I know you can't really tell because of the pixelization, but I have a great big smile on my face! Being out, in the middle of the day, going about my business like there was nothing different from me than anyone else. Do you wanna talk about a sense of freedom? A sense of belonging? A sense that whatever others might believe, I have the right to be me!!! It was fantastic, absolutely incredible. Might even say life-changing.

Related articles

• Thursday April 11 Discussion - GLBT labels
• 10 Historical Cross-Dressers
• Transcendent Transexuality
• Gender identity laws vs. religious freedom