Protest against Pacific Justice Institute in front of the campus of Trinity Law School in Santa Ana, Calif. It’s not enough to know what one’s against. One often actually needs to know what one is for, and then be willing to work – and sometimes sacrifice – to facilitate those things to become reality. I…
A port bow view of the guided missile frigate USS Ford (FFG-54) There are beginnings and there are endings; sometimes beginnings and endings have personal resonance. I recently had such an experience. June 29, 1985, the USS Ford (FFG-54) commissioned at Naval Station Long Beach, Calif. She was a Perry-class guided missile fast frigate, abbreviated…
“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…
The Capitol Resource Institute’s (CRI’s) Karen England apparently is leading a coalition calling itself Privacy For All Students that’s spearheading a referendum to repeal AB 1266 (School Success and Opportunity Act). Gov. Brown signed this bill into law Aug. 12, and it will become law Jan. 1, 2014 unless enough signatures are gathered to put…
“Readiness and morale of our armed forces will suffer. The impact of a shutdown on the department and the military and civilian families – many of whom live paycheck to paycheck – is simply catastrophic.” – Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young (R-FL) chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, as quoted by the Army Times As…
As the military services are moving each day in the direction of better supporting LGB dependents (spouses, children, etc.), there are Ts in the military family that the DoD is failing to adequately support. We don’t hear much about these Ts in the military family, but within the military family there is no question that…
In a somewhat similar way to Pvt. Chelsea Manning’s choice to willfully violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for what she hoped would be for a greater good, I know what it’s like to willfully violate the UCMJ for what I hoped would be for a greater good. Our choices too were similar…
