CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL TO HONOR MEMORY OF TRANSGENDER MURDER VICTIM RESHAE (LUCUS) McCAULEY
LARGO, Florida, December 19, 2003. Please join Transgender FORGE, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Equality Florida, and the friends and family of Reshae (Lucus) McCauley in honoring her memory at a silent candle light vigil to be held on Sunday, December 21, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. at Largo Central Park, 101 Central Park Drive, in the heart of Largo.
Nearly two weeks ago, Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community was shocked and saddened to learn of Reshae’s brutal murder. Although Reshae’s murder was widely reported in the media, it took a while before the word got out that it was a member of our LGBT community who had been killed. The media reports all listed the murder victim as Lucas McCauley. Many of her LGBT friends new her as Reshae.
On the night she was killed, Reshae spend the evening at Z109 (formerly Lost Boys and Lost & Found), a Largo club that caters to the gay and transgender community. She was seen at the bar that night with William McHenry, a man who witnesses reported they had never seen before. A few days later, McHenry was arrested at his girlfriend’s house, where McHenry also lived, and charged with Reshae’s murder. Police also found a knife and a pair of jeans splattered with what looked like blood at the home of McHenry’s girlfriend.
The undercurrent of vulnerability and fear that often pervades our community has suddenly leapt to the surface.
Please join us on Sunday, December 21, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. for a silent candlelight vigil in Reshae’s memory. The vigil will be a silent testimony to peace, dignity and acceptance for all people.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Janice Carney, E.D. Transgender FORGE 727-399-0305
Friday, December 19, 2003
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
BUSH DECLARES WAR ON US - Crossing this line in the sand will provoke civil disobedience across country, says National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
December 16, 2003 - President Bush told Diane Sawyer in an interview that aired this evening that he would support a Constitutional amendment (known as the Federal Marriage Amendment or FMA) that denies same-sex couples the right to equal marriage.
PRESIDENT BUSH: "If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment which would honor marriage between a man and a woman, codify that, and will - the position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make, so long as it's embraced by the state or [?] start at the state level. Let me tell you, the court I thought overreached its bounds as a court. It did the job of the legislature. It was a very activist court in making the decision it made. As you know, I'm a person who believes in judicial restraint, as opposed to judicial activism that takes the place of the Legislative Branch." [Click Here] to see remainder of transcript.]
"To support a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would blatantly discriminate against a group of Americans is unconscionable," said Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director. "We consider this a declaration of war on gay America. We cannot and will not be silent in the face of this attempt to enshrine our community with second class citizenship in this nation's most sacred document. The President is clearly pandering to the political and religious extremists that are his base. We did not ask for this fight, but if the President wants one, he will have one. And that fight will involve civil disobedience across this country."
December 16, 2003 - President Bush told Diane Sawyer in an interview that aired this evening that he would support a Constitutional amendment (known as the Federal Marriage Amendment or FMA) that denies same-sex couples the right to equal marriage.
PRESIDENT BUSH: "If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment which would honor marriage between a man and a woman, codify that, and will - the position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make, so long as it's embraced by the state or [?] start at the state level. Let me tell you, the court I thought overreached its bounds as a court. It did the job of the legislature. It was a very activist court in making the decision it made. As you know, I'm a person who believes in judicial restraint, as opposed to judicial activism that takes the place of the Legislative Branch." [Click Here] to see remainder of transcript.]
"To support a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would blatantly discriminate against a group of Americans is unconscionable," said Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director. "We consider this a declaration of war on gay America. We cannot and will not be silent in the face of this attempt to enshrine our community with second class citizenship in this nation's most sacred document. The President is clearly pandering to the political and religious extremists that are his base. We did not ask for this fight, but if the President wants one, he will have one. And that fight will involve civil disobedience across this country."
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Making 'Room at the Inn' For Transgender People
A new guide from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Transgender Civil Rights Project provides concrete recommendations for shelters on how to make shelters safe for Transgender people.
"I don't think most Americans have any idea how much discrimination transgender people face," said Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director. "If they did, more people would be doing something about it. Transgender people who lose their jobs because of discrimination, then lose their homes because they can no longer pay the rent or mortgage, are still likely to get a 'your kind is not welcome here' from an emergency shelter. I am hopeful that this guide will be a tool for shelters to make changes so that all people have a safe and warm place to stay."
"Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People" is a joint publication of the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Earlier this year, the National Coalition for the Homeless adopted a nondiscrimination resolution covering transgender people. The guide combines the transgender expertise of the Task Force with NCH's expertise on shelters to produce a usable guide that is suitable for homeless shelters across the country.
Most homeless shelters are segregated by sex, and, most shelters, if they accept transgender residents, require that they be housed with members of the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender women who identify and live as women but were born male report that male residents harass, sexually proposition, and sometimes even assault them. Transgender men who identify and live as men but were born female are sometimes placed in men's shelters that do not have privacy in bathrooms (no stall doors) or in showers. Gender-based dress codes are also a significant problem, especially for transgender youth in shelters who can face discipline for simply dressing according to their own gender identity.
The problem of unsafe shelters for transgender people is especially alarming given the frequent and pervasive discrimination that transgender people face. For example, many transgender people are not welcome in their family home, have been harassed out of school, and cannot acquire employment. Due to this discrimination, transgender people have an increased need for social services including homeless shelters. Unfortunately, when shelter policies, other residents, and the service providers themselves discriminate, which is an all too common reality, transgender people often have no where to go.
The Guide is designed for shelters that want to provide safe shelter for transgender people but are not sure how to do so. The Guide provides many answers to concerns about safety and privacy for all shelter residents, including transgender residents, the bulk of which are addressed without monetary expenditures.
"Our goal was to ground our policy recommendations in the reality of shelter life. That is why the recommendations are based on successes at real shelters across the country," said Lisa Mottet, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Legislative Lawyer for the Transgender Civil Rights Project and lead author of the Guide. Recommendations in the Guide are primarily derived from solutions forwarded by shelters and advocates in Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington, DC.
Mottet developed her expertise on making shelters safe for transgender people while working with a coalition of groups in Washington, DC. For her work, she received the "Human Services Award" from Transgender Health Empowerment, Inc., a local transgender organization.
In addition to its own distribution, the Task Force and NCH are encouraging local activists to share this guide with local homeless shelters, assist them with policy development, and provide transgender-sensitivity training for shelter staff.
"Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People" is available for free download from the Task Force publications library.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Transgender Civil Rights Project provides legislative and strategy assistance, including evaluation of legislative language, to activists and organizations working to pass trans-inclusive anti-discrimination bills or to add transgender protections to existing laws.
A new guide from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Transgender Civil Rights Project provides concrete recommendations for shelters on how to make shelters safe for Transgender people.
"I don't think most Americans have any idea how much discrimination transgender people face," said Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director. "If they did, more people would be doing something about it. Transgender people who lose their jobs because of discrimination, then lose their homes because they can no longer pay the rent or mortgage, are still likely to get a 'your kind is not welcome here' from an emergency shelter. I am hopeful that this guide will be a tool for shelters to make changes so that all people have a safe and warm place to stay."
"Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People" is a joint publication of the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Earlier this year, the National Coalition for the Homeless adopted a nondiscrimination resolution covering transgender people. The guide combines the transgender expertise of the Task Force with NCH's expertise on shelters to produce a usable guide that is suitable for homeless shelters across the country.
Most homeless shelters are segregated by sex, and, most shelters, if they accept transgender residents, require that they be housed with members of the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender women who identify and live as women but were born male report that male residents harass, sexually proposition, and sometimes even assault them. Transgender men who identify and live as men but were born female are sometimes placed in men's shelters that do not have privacy in bathrooms (no stall doors) or in showers. Gender-based dress codes are also a significant problem, especially for transgender youth in shelters who can face discipline for simply dressing according to their own gender identity.
The problem of unsafe shelters for transgender people is especially alarming given the frequent and pervasive discrimination that transgender people face. For example, many transgender people are not welcome in their family home, have been harassed out of school, and cannot acquire employment. Due to this discrimination, transgender people have an increased need for social services including homeless shelters. Unfortunately, when shelter policies, other residents, and the service providers themselves discriminate, which is an all too common reality, transgender people often have no where to go.
The Guide is designed for shelters that want to provide safe shelter for transgender people but are not sure how to do so. The Guide provides many answers to concerns about safety and privacy for all shelter residents, including transgender residents, the bulk of which are addressed without monetary expenditures.
"Our goal was to ground our policy recommendations in the reality of shelter life. That is why the recommendations are based on successes at real shelters across the country," said Lisa Mottet, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Legislative Lawyer for the Transgender Civil Rights Project and lead author of the Guide. Recommendations in the Guide are primarily derived from solutions forwarded by shelters and advocates in Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington, DC.
Mottet developed her expertise on making shelters safe for transgender people while working with a coalition of groups in Washington, DC. For her work, she received the "Human Services Award" from Transgender Health Empowerment, Inc., a local transgender organization.
In addition to its own distribution, the Task Force and NCH are encouraging local activists to share this guide with local homeless shelters, assist them with policy development, and provide transgender-sensitivity training for shelter staff.
"Transitioning Our Shelters: A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People" is available for free download from the Task Force publications library.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Transgender Civil Rights Project provides legislative and strategy assistance, including evaluation of legislative language, to activists and organizations working to pass trans-inclusive anti-discrimination bills or to add transgender protections to existing laws.
Be Prepared for Ruling on Florida’s Antigay Adoption Ban
an Equality Florida Action Alert
(Tampa, FL) Any day, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hand down a decision on the legality of Florida’s ongoing antigay adoption ban. Florida is the only state in the country that specifically excludes gay and lesbian individuals or couples from adopting children.
While 3,500 children await adoption in Florida, Gov. Bush argues that the ban should be upheld, and thousands of families eliminated from consideration.
Approximately 30% of all Florida adoptions are single parent adoptions. In fact, the Department of Children and Family Services recently changed its internal policy to reflect this reality and discontinued the practice of showing favoritism for married couples over single parents.
Regardless of how the court rules, Equality Florida is asking our citizen activists to make every effort to join us in celebration or protest at a rally in major cities across Florida.
We will gather at the below listed location at 6:00 PM on whatever day the decision is handed down. We will notify you through Equality Florida’s Action Alert e-mail listserv as early in the day as possible.
Please be prepared to join us in celebration or protest for a decision that has national implications. If Florida’s adoption ban stands, many other states are prepared to implement similar measures to deny lesbian and gay parents the right to adopt. Thousands more children from across the nation could be without future adoptive families as a result of this ruling.
Equality Florida Office / The Center
3708 Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33609
(813) 870-3735 (x214)
an Equality Florida Action Alert
(Tampa, FL) Any day, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to hand down a decision on the legality of Florida’s ongoing antigay adoption ban. Florida is the only state in the country that specifically excludes gay and lesbian individuals or couples from adopting children.
While 3,500 children await adoption in Florida, Gov. Bush argues that the ban should be upheld, and thousands of families eliminated from consideration.
Approximately 30% of all Florida adoptions are single parent adoptions. In fact, the Department of Children and Family Services recently changed its internal policy to reflect this reality and discontinued the practice of showing favoritism for married couples over single parents.
Regardless of how the court rules, Equality Florida is asking our citizen activists to make every effort to join us in celebration or protest at a rally in major cities across Florida.
We will gather at the below listed location at 6:00 PM on whatever day the decision is handed down. We will notify you through Equality Florida’s Action Alert e-mail listserv as early in the day as possible.
Please be prepared to join us in celebration or protest for a decision that has national implications. If Florida’s adoption ban stands, many other states are prepared to implement similar measures to deny lesbian and gay parents the right to adopt. Thousands more children from across the nation could be without future adoptive families as a result of this ruling.
Equality Florida Office / The Center
3708 Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33609
(813) 870-3735 (x214)
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