Transgender Community

http://newsday.com/ny-man-gets-25-years-for-transgender-hate-killing-1.1376199

NY man gets 25 years for transgender hate killing
August 18, 2009 By The Associated Press
BEN DOBBIN (Associated Press Writer)

SYRACUSE, NY (AP) — A laborer who became just the second person in the nation to be convicted of a hate crime in a transgender slaying drew a 25-year sentence Tuesday for shooting to death a Syracuse woman.

Dwight DeLee, 20, showed no emotion when a judge imposed the maximum penalty for manslaughter as a hate crime in the November slaying of Moses Lateisha Green, 22. Born male, Green began living as a woman at 16 and dressed frequently in women's clothing.

"I'm no monster, I'm a young human being," DeLee said, offering an apology to Green's family while insisting he didn't kill her.

Acquitted of murder as a hate crime, he faced a minimum of 10 years in prison. The manslaughter conviction means he intended to injure, not kill, someone because of anti-gay bias when he fired a .22-caliber rifle once into a car where Green was sitting outside a house party with her brother and a friend.

Green, born Moses Cannon, was "the sweetest person you ever met" and well-loved by a family that accepted her for who she was "right from the beginning," said her father, Albert Cannon. He added that he would accept DeLee's apology "if it came from his heart, but I don't think it did."

The only other hate crime conviction in the slaying of a transgendered person was in May, when a jury in Colorado convicted Allen Andrade of beating 18-year-old Angie Zapata to death with a fire extinguisher after discovering she was biologically male.

In July, the US Senate approved legislation to extend current federal hate crimes protections to gays and other groups.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, named after the gay Wyoming college student murdered in 1998, would expand federal hate crimes — currently defined as those motivated by race, color, national origin or religion — to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The House passed a similar hate crimes bill in April.

"More than one transgender person is killed per month in this country," said Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York. "Many go unnoticed or largely unnoticed."

Syracuse police are investigating whether Johnny Gaston Sr., the father of two prosecution witnesses in DeLee's trial, was shot in retaliation for their testimony. Gaston was hit in the neck and critically wounded five days after the trial ended on July 17. He has since recovered.

On the witness stand, his son and daughter both recanted statements they gave to police incriminating DeLee. During the trial, the judge warned DeLee there would be serious consequences if he was linked to reported threats being made against prosecution witnesses.

Defense attorney Clarence Johnson denied prosecution claims that DeLee hated homosexuals and argued there was no evidence he had a history of anti-gay bias before the shooting. It was not immediately known if an appeal is planned.

Several witnesses said they heard DeLee refer to Green as a "faggot" just before Green was shot. But Johnson questioned their reliability, pointing out the shooting happened on a darkened street with a crowd of people around and that all the witnesses had been drinking alcohol, some heavily.


Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NzQ4ODE4Mzk2



This Boy's Life: Being Transsexual in Kuwait
Published Date: August 14, 2009
By Sahar Moussa, Staff writer

'Gharam' means passion in Arabic and Gharam is what this young Kuwaiti male-to-female transsexual likes to be called. The first impression you get when sitting with Gharam is confusion. He is tall and thin with short, straight black hair, an obvious nose job and full lips and cheeks. You can see his well-shaped, wide eyes sparkle under the blue contact lenses and clean eyebrows. You cannot help but notice his soft skin and hairless arms under his navy blue t-shirt and his well-defined, lean body under the tight, white, low-waisted jeans. His smiles and gestures are exaggerated, showing off his well-manicured nails, fake dimples and perfect white teeth.
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http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/southport-news/southport-southport-news/2009/07/31/southport-boxer-rob-newbiggin-about-his-sex-change-plan-and-being-driven-out-of-town-101022-24278631/

Southport boxer Rob Newbiggin about sex-change plan and losing friends
Jul 31 2009 by Gemma Jaleel, Southport Visiter


Rob Newbiggin and his wife, Emma

SOUTHPORT boxer Rob Newbiggin says he has been driven out of the town he loves after admitting he will undergo a sex change operation.

The father-of-three has forged a 20-year career as a boxer in America and has even sparred with Ricky Hatton, but will soon begin a new life as a woman, known as Mercedes, after the operation.

Rob, 44, said that as soon as the news broke in a daily tabloid newspaper, he lost all his friends.

He told the Southport Visiter: “The way The Sun treated my story was the complete opposite to what I expected. Maybe I was being naive, but they made me out to be some kind of freak. I should have just spoken to the Visiter.

“I have lost every friend I have ever had in the world in this town.

“That upsets me because I have done a lot for this town, with my painting and murals.

“My friends don’t want to know me. I’ve got people winding their windows down shouting abuse at me while I go for my run - that’s why we are having to relocate. I have to think about my kids.”
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From pamshouseblend ( http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/12280/transgender-identified-in-mass-about-a-third-thought-about-suicide-in-past-12-months ).



In their article citing a Massachusetts Department of Public Health survey on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health, the Boston Herald reported that:

[The study] found that about 31 percent of transgender respondents said they have considered attempting suicide in the past year, compared to just 2 percent for heterosexual residents, 4 percent for gay and lesbian residents and 7 percent for bisexual residents.

Thirty-one percent. In the past twelve months ...

That statistic is sobering, especially compared to the statistics for LGB and heterosexual people. From the report paragraph (that has slightly more detail accompanying in the table with the cited statistic than the Herald article):

Respondents were asked if during the past 12 months they had seriously considered attempting suicide. Among heterosexuals, 2.3% reported having considered suicide and among gay men and lesbians, Massachusetts Department of Public Health: Tbl 10, Mental Health - Considered Attempting Suicide4.4% reported suicide ideation. Transgender persons (30.8%) and bisexuals (7.4%) reported higher rates of suicide ideation.

Again, that number is sobering.

The other statistic cited by the Boston Herald regarding transgender people:

Nearly 35 percent of transgender residents also say they've been threatened with physical violence during their lifetime by a partner, compared to 14 percent for non-transgender residents.

The statistics for that paragraph are found in Table 12 of the report.



~~~~~
Further Reading:
* The Health Of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender (LGBT) Persons In Massachusetts; A survey of health issues comparing LGBT persons with their heterosexual and nontransgender counterparts; Massachusetts Department of Public Health; July 2009

http://calgaryherald.com/officer+educates+police+transsexualism/1819330/story.html

UK officer educates police on transsexualism
By Valerie Berenyi, Calgary Herald
July 23, 2009

CALGARY - Members of the Calgary Police Service attended a workshop on transsexualism Wednesday conducted by a transgendered officer from the UK to learn more about diversity issues.

Const. Louise Worsfold, who transitioned from male to female in 2004 while working as an officer for the Metropolitan Police Service in London, told her story to about 30 members of the CPS.

Const. Lynn MacDonald of the service's diversity resources unit said Worsfold, a firearms officer at Heathrow Airport, contacted her six weeks ago. She was planning a vacation in the Calgary area and offered to do a presentation.

"It was a great opportunity for the Calgary Police Service to learn and grow and figure out the best way to support our members should one of them decide to go through a transition," MacDonald said.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/16/rose.transgender/

Commentary: Transgender people are everywhere
By Donna Rose
Special to CNN
updated 3:20 p.m. EDT, Tue June 16, 2009

Editor's note: Donna Rose is a speaker and advocate for transgender and transsexual issues. She is the author of a memoir, "Wrapped In Blue: A Journey of Self-Discovery." Her Web site is http://donnarose.com/ .


Donna Rose says transgender people don't fit the stereotypes society often tries to impose.

(CNN) -- It was only a matter of time. The real-life drama of being transsexual has come to Hollywood. Chastity Bono, the impossibly cute little blond girl who, for many of my generation, remains frozen in time as the sweet, chubby-faced cherub closing many a Sonny and Cher show in the arms of her doting parents, recently announced that he is transsexual and will be transitioning from female to male. He will go by the name of Chaz.

As shocking as this news may be to some, it is yet another reminder that all is not necessarily as it appears and that each of us is more complicated than simply the skin and bones of our bodies. Rather, it is our heart and spirit that defines us.

Transgender people -- that is, people who may not experience or express their gender in ways that are necessarily typical for the physical sex of their body -- have been part of the fabric of cultures for as long as history has been recorded.
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http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/transgender/kyr_transgender.html

Download in PDF format: http://www.aclu.org/images/asset_upload_file781_33764.pdf
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