I came out to my friends (now ex-friends who continue to haunt my dreams) two months before Leelah Alcorn died. It was a shocking experience to see unfold right before my eyes. I couldn’t fathom how so much hate could exist in this world, how some could be so inhumane to someone so full of love. Read more

I wish this shocked me, I wish I could feel something other than building fear and anxiety. I often wonder where I would be if I had found help as a young adult and transitioned when I used to cry myself to sleep not understanding who I am versus now with some measure of resource and a far more understanding and… Read more

People were playing music and dancing in the street. Boy, bye. I have seen tons of people who are not hostile idiots mention this talking point: that by taking the monuments down, we are erasing history and dooming ourselves to repeat it or something. Read more

Yea, when it comes down to it Lincoln asked Lee “If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?” and Lee said “Yes I would.” Read more

The really crazy part for me is that he didn’t kill her for being trans. He killed her because his buddies found out she was trans. So it was fine to date her, and have a relationship with her...but if anyone finds out, it’s murder time. Which for me makes it even worse. This wasn’t a crime of passion, an in the… Read more

The good slightly positive news is that Thursday was the last day Congress could reverse Obama era policies with a vote (the 1996 Congressional Review Act), so it will be just a little more difficult for them to continue their mission of undoing everything President Obama did.
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I always think “we wouldn’t need hate crime legislation if the government ACTUALLY pursued regular crimes against those groups”. Like, great, you have stiffer sentences for the few people you catch, but you let soooo many more go free by simply not pursuing the cases. I’d rather have regular sentences for all of the… Read more

the first case prosecuted under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was passed under the Obama administration Read more

As I will write for every story of a murdered trans person, here are some statistics to think about. Read more

Okay, so obviously this law itself is terrible. However, I was just struck by how insulting the language is. By defining heterosexuality as “natural” and “ordinary,” they are basically calling LGBT people freaks. Whoever wrote that shit, go to hell. Read more

We should get the White House involved in this. We know they don’t want to be held to the accepted definitions of the words they use.
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It’s a variation off of normal legal speak. A more conventional phase would be “ordinary and customary” meaning or “plain and ordinary” meaning. It just means that words should have the meaning that an average person would usually attach to them in context. Read more

Sure thing, no problem. Read more

It’s going to be inevitable that someone brings it up, so I’m going to shoot it down before it even takes off. Read more

Consistent with DHS policy, information about minors in ICE custody is no longer available through DHS-VINE. Read more

In fairness, I often warn my 1-year-old son that I don’t negotiate with terrorists. Read more

Stop him before his teeth come in and he becomes even more deadly!

No, it’s my general outrage spewing uncontrollably in all directions. I have to get off this before I have an anger induced aneurysm. Read more

ALL TRUMP IS ASKING FOR IS JURY OF HIS PEERS

Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King is a great book on the subject. Highly recommended, especially in conjunction with The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Read more