AB1266, The School Success and Opportunity Act, requires that any pupil “be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.” The bill was signed into law Aug. 12, 2013 by…
I wish we in the LGBT community were better at speaking to Christian conservatives in language that they could relate and connect to. When the “tenants of Christian faith” card is played with regards to the lives of LGBT Americans, we in the community generally don’t respond to these charges in a way that religious…
Media Matters for America have announced their LGBT Misinformer of the Year … The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI). The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), a California-based right-wing advocacy organization, set a new standard for dishonesty on LGBT issues in 2013, concocting a story about bathroom harassment by a transgender student in an effort to deny transgender…
Local school boards and communities this week continued their progress towards implementing the School Success and Opportunity Act, which Governor Brown signed earlier this year. The new law, AB1266, restates existing anti-discrimination law to ensure that all students, including transgender students, have the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in schools. Kane Tajnai, a student…
“Every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family,” said Supervisor Harvey Milk on one of the multiple instances he exhorted gay people to come out. “You must tell your relatives. You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friends. You must tell the people…
This year, California became the first state in the nation to proactively support transgender students’ rights with the signing of Assembly Bill 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act. The bill guarantees transgender students safe access to restrooms, locker rooms and sports teams that corresponds with the student’s gender identity. Prohibiting a student from doing…
“Jim Crow states passed statutes severely regulating social interactions between the races,” states a Web page for the Ferris State University’s Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. “Jim Crow signs were placed above water fountains, door entrances and exits, and in front of public facilities. There were separate hospitals for blacks and whites, separate prisons,…
“We treat our transgender students – our boys, our transgender boys and girls – simply like any other boys and girls with the same rights and responsibilities, rules and obligations,” stated Judy Chiasson, Ph.D. and program coordinator for Human Relations, Diversity and Equity, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) at the June 12 California State…
In April of 2011 the Williams Center, released a brief entitled “How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender?” It was a brief that, compiling, weighting and aggregating data from several studies estimated the size of the LGBT population in the United States. Among the key findings was that “an estimated 3.5 percent of…
I work mostly on trans civil rights issues. I work on issues involving trans youth and trans military service. In past years I’ve worked on trans antiviolence issues, especially issues involving hate crimes and trans media coverage. I haven’t worked on other issues that I care about, such as a woman’s right to choose and…
