Articles- Collected Articles For The Transgender Community

Kolakowski for judge, yes on C

EDITORIAL There’s not a lot to bring voters out to the polls in Berkeley and Oakland, but two important races deserve attention. Proposition C, a bond act to replace the city’s aging public pools, has widespread support, but needs two-thirds of the vote to pass. And in a race for an open judicial seat, Victoria Kolakowski has the opportunity to become the first transgender person to serve on a trial court in the United States.

OUR ENDORSEMENTS

YES ON PROPOSITION C

Berkeley has four public pools, three outdoors and the indoor Berkeley High School Warm Pool. All four are badly in need of repair, but the Warm Pool faces imminent closure. That would primarily affect the disabled and senior communities, who use the pool for exercise, recreation, and therapy. It’s not a wealthy group overall, and having a place to go year-round to swim (or in some cases, just do physical therapy in the water) is a big deal.

The remaining pools are used by kids, adults, local swim clubs, and Berkeley residents who can’t or don’t want to spend the money on private gyms. Prop. C would provide the money to build a new Warm Pool and fix the cracks and do seismic upgrades and needed repairs on the other facilities. It’s the kind of measure that’s hard to oppose (it would cost the typical homeowner less than $100 a year in increased taxes) and every member of the City Council has endorsed it.

But with no major local issues on the ballot, progressives may not turn out in large numbers, which means the more conservative voters (who tend to dominate low-turnout elections) could account for enough votes to deny Prop. C a two-thirds majority. So Berkeley residents need to get out and vote — yes on C.
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As the legislative window closes, LGBT groups gather behind ENDA — while keeping a close eye on DADT
by Chris Geidner, Metro Weekly

As the timeline for action on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) tightens, LGBT organizations turned up the pressure on Tuesday, May 18, with a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington and a rally in front of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in San Francisco. The events – particularly the San Francisco event – led Pelosi (D-Calif.) to spend an hour Monday, May 17, on a conference call aimed at reassuring LGBT groups that she intends to hold votes on both “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal and ENDA this year.

The National Center for Transgender Equality’s (NCTE) Mara Keisling, who was among those invited to participate in the Monday conference call with Pelosi, told Metro Weekly, “She talked to us about her commitment for ENDA and possible ways of getting both ENDA and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ through Congress this year.”

Most congressional observers and LGBT advocates expect movement on DADT repeal to be considered, if formally proposed, as the Senate Armed Services Committee and full House consider the National Defense Authorization Act in coming weeks. But no such path has been made clear for ENDA, even in the House where the bill has a greater chance of success. After Monday’s call with Pelosi, Keisling noted, “ENDA’s still not scheduled, so that’s hard.

“We went into the call and came out of the call knowing that the speaker is personally committed to LGBT issues. We went in and came out knowing that the speaker has a very crowded agenda,” Keisling said. “She sees a pathway to getting both done … but our job is to be pushing. We need ENDA now.”
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Rep. Frank expects repeal amendment to be introduced next week; ENDA likely to be put off until ”late June, early July”
by Chris Geidner, Metro Weekly

Despite Wednesday night’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the House Armed Services Committee with no language repealing the ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said he expects that repeal language – in some form – will be introduced as an amendment to the bill on the floor next week.

A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not dampen expectations, telling Metro Weekly that Pelosi is discussing the matter and noting that she has said that ”many find the defense authorization to be a ‘natural place’ to bring up DADT repeal.”

In the Senate, meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold its mark-up of the NDAA next week, beginning on Wednesday, May 26, with members ”advised that late night sessions are expected, as the Committee intends to complete markup on Thursday, May 27.”
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By Dr. Amy Marsh

Here’s the affirmation: “All persons have the potential to live fully functioning and emotionally healthy lives throughout the lifespan along the full spectrum of gender identity and gender expression.” That’s a quote from the newly released “ALGBTIC Competencies for Counseling Transgender Clients.” (ALGBTIC is a division of the American Counseling Association.)

Here’s the reality or, rather, one piece of it: “In California, transgender female clients of publicly-funded counseling and testing sites have higher rates of HIV diagnosis (6%) than all other risk categories, including MSM (4%) and partners of people living with HIV (5%), and African American transgender women have a substantially higher rate of HIV diagnosis (29%) than all other racial or ethnic groups of transwomen (16). Estimates from California’s urban centers also suggest that HIV prevalence rates among transgender women are extremely high, especially for transgender women of color and African American transgender women in particular (2, 15)…” And that’s from a 2008 study called “Serving Transgender People in California: Assessing Progress, Advancing Excellence.”
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by Joseph Erbentraut
EDGE Contributor
Thursday May 20, 2010

While mainstream media’s news reports of Dana A. “Chanel” Larkin’s murder on Friday, May 7, in Milwaukee have focused on the alleged perpetrator’s version of what he said happened, the crime’s scant media coverage has offered little to no information on who she was.

According to those who did know her, Larkin, 26, was a young transgender woman of color who loved her family and friends. She had turned to sex work to make ends meet.

Milwaukee prosecutors contend Andrew Olacirequi had met Larkin on the street late Thursday, May 6, while he was driving around the city looking for a prostitute. He reportedly encountered Larkin near North 27th Street and North Avenue around 1 a.m. on May 7, and offered her $20 to perform a sex act. Larkin reportedly asked the suspect if “it was OK with him actually being a man.” Olacirequi allegedly pulled out a .357-caliber revolver when Larkin reportedly made an advance on him and shot her in three times in the head.

Larkin was found dead on the sidewalk of North 23rd Street, and police arrested Olacirequi after he returned to the crime scene to look for a lost cell phone. Prosecutors have charged him with first-degree reckless homicide and use of a dangerous weapon; he faces up to 65 years in prison.
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