This is my weekly roundup of the background radiation I am exposed to. It’s usually the bad and ugly of how the world treats LGBT folks, with a heavier emphasis on the T’s. I like to leave the full links exposed because then you can see where the article is.
I am a big news consumer, and these are just a small sampling of what’s been going down in the past week.
This week was a special kind of news disaster, in that there were more stories than I’ve seen in a while.
Let’s start with the anti-transgender round up this morning by state because holy cow the things going down this week.
Kentucky:
Headline: Kentucky Democrat Introduces Two Anti-LGBT Bills
http://www.advocate.com/politics/2017/1/04/kentucky-democrat-introduces-two-anti-lgbt-bills
This guy is a Democrat in Kentucky. What do these political designations even mean these days? He’s putting out two anti-LGBT bills. House Bill 105 is a religious right to discriminate law, which also says there will be no law that supersedes it, to prevent discrimination, and House Bill 106 is a straight up bathroom bill requiring public restrooms to only allow folks matching the “biological sex” on the door. I’m pretty sure if I went in the ladies room in Kentucky, the cops would be called these days.
Texas:
Headline: Following North Carolina’s example, Texas Republicans unveil ‘bathroom bill’
This is another bathroom bill attempting to force transgender people into a bathroom based on their “biological sex”, and like the above bills in Kentucky it would preempt local non-discrimination ordinances. I’m betting they are word for word similar, and came from the same place.
Headline: What’s a Hippocratic Oath: Texas Judge Allows Doctors to Discriminate Against Trans/Abortion Patients
http://www.themarysue.com/whats-a-hippocratic-oath/
Additionally, in Texas, a transgender man was denied a hysterectomy from a Catholic hospital based on “religious” objections. As if Jesus said anywhere in the bible anything about transgender folks. They also refuse to treat any person that has had an abortion in the past. They are being sued, and are arguing that it is too risky to treat transgender people at all, or folks that have had abortions. I think the medical term for that theory is “bullshit”.
Headline: Texas judge halts federal transgender health protections
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/31/texas-judge-halts-federal-transgender-health-protections.html
This Texas judge ordered a temporary injunction stoping the anti-discrimination part of the ACA that prevents discrimination against transgender people. Apparently conservatives think they will be forced to treat trans folks, you know, like other folks with similar medical problems.
I still remember thanking my doctor for not turning me out when I came out. He was shocked up here in the Pacific Northwest, and horrified when I told him I knew folks whose doctors refused to even fill basic medical scripts after finding out their patient was trans.
I’ll be honest, I found this out on Saturday, and it really hit me hard. We had come so far, and now to be told we are not worth equal medical consideration is a blow.
Alabama:
Headline: Alabama Republicans want to introduce actual real-life bathroom police
They want to police people in the bathroom. Probably the focus would be on the women’s room. It forces any public institution that has a “trans friendly bathroom” to hire security to be posted in that bathroom. By trans friendly bathroom, I think they mean a normal bathroom where folks just go to pee without being hassled.
Virginia:
Headline: Virginia GOP Lawmaker Introduces Another Shitty Transphobic ‘Bathroom Bill’
http://jezebel.com/viriginia-gop-lawmaker-introduces-another-shitty-transp-1790784942
This bill is worse than the usual shif-fest of bigotry and hate. It included a clause to force schools to out transgender children to their family. This is horrific, because if a family isn’t safe, that could lead to the child being abused, or rendered homeless.
There was some good news on this one though.
Headline: Virginia Governor signs executive order protecting LGBT people
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/01/05/virginia-governor-signs-executive-order-protecting-lgbt-people/
The Virginia Governor has vowed to veto this bill, and he’s also signed an executive order to protect LGBT folks.
Alright. I’m done with this week. My list of possible links for today was about three times as long. I know I am still missing things that are important, but I’m going to crawl back in bad, and play Minecraft, and have a beer. Stay safe out there.
Accidently Gay 