Last month a friend of mine, a
transgender girl, a member of one of my support groups was walking
home after attending an event just two blocks from her home. She was
stopped by four guys, I intentionally won't call them men, with less
that honorable intentions. Verbal abuse began the encounter which
soon degraded to physical violence. Fortunately for her, in her
previous life, she had some martial arts training which she was
forced to use. She wound up in the hospital overnight along with two
of her assailants, one of whom spent two weeks there. Personally I'm
glad that she had that training perhaps it kept her from becoming yet
another victim of Transgender murder. This summer a transgender girl
was murdered near here in Rochester, New York. That's to close to
home for me. Yes even here in America it seems that it is open
season on transgender individuals.
Each fall Spectrum of WNY hosts a
transgender day of remembrance where a memorial is held for all the
transgender individuals murdered during the last year. Each
individual name read off, this usually amounts to several hundred
from around the world. One report that I read stated that in 2012 at
least 265 transgenered individuals were murdered. It's estimated
that around the world five transgendered persons are murdered.
Admittedly there are some countries that are over represented on this
list. But the sad truth is that far too many of the murders are from
right here in the good old USA. The Inter American Commission on
Human Rights states that transgender murders are 50% higher in
Canada, the USA and South America than that of lesbian and gay
murders.
In November of 2008 Teisha Green was
murdered in Syracuse, New York by Dwight DeLee. He shot her as she
sat in a car and said loud enough for those around to hear, “this
country doesn't need any more fags.” He was convicted of
manslaughter as a hate crime and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
His guilt was never in question. It was daylight, there were
witnesses to his actions and his words. Yet last month he was
released from prison having served only four years of his sentence.
His conviction was overturned on a technicality. Apparently someone
somewhere was convinced that the judges instructions to the jury were
not clear enough. He was guilty of a hate crime, that much is clear.
His guilt was never in question yet today he walks a free man. What
kind of justice is that I ask?
And as if murder and violence isn't
enough for us to worry about. Recently the Huffington Post ran a
report about Paola a student at Albany. Paola moved to Albany from
Puerto Rico and became a student in collage there. Paola shared an
apartment with a couple of other roommates. Once the roommates found
out that Paola was transgender they harassed her. The harassment
eventually turned to threats of physical violence. Paola turned to
the landlord for assistance and was promptly given 30 days to vacate.
I wish I could say that these are only isolated cases but they are
all to common.
Year after year we sit and watch as
states and even the federal government pass laws giving minority
groups equal protection under the law. African Americans, gays and
lesbians have been recognized as minorities that deserve protection.
Yet routinely any reference to transgender protections have been
stripped from all such measures. Ten years ago a bill was introduced
in Albany that would give a measure of legal protection to us
transgendered individuals. For six years the New York Assembly has
pases this measure known as GENDA (Gender Expression
Non-Discrimination Act) yet for those same six years the state Senate
has refused to pass the measure. And this even as several cities in
the state pass similar measures.
Is it not enough that I have suffered
for decades, that I've risked family, friendships and personal
relationships. The actions of the country I love and my state seem
to be saying that anything goes as far as I'm concerned. Violence
and even my murder will be treated lightly. That I can be denied
medical assistance or given substandard care. I've already lost one
job, home and pension, I've lost my church, my wife and I now live
apart. Yet it's perfectly OK for my current employer to fire me for
no other reason than I'm transgender. The apartment manager where I
live now can tell me to vacate for no better reason than I regularly
dress as a female. But I am transgender, I cross gender boundaries,
why should I expect to be treated as a human being.
Anita
