• A Trans-youth and I were subjected, in a Connecticut Diner, to over fifteen minutes of abusive, derogatory and threatening language and actions. 

• My prior partner and I were severely beaten in Miami , resulting in a broken nose and numerous traumas to the body and face.  

From a national perspective, transphobic hate crimes occur daily ranging from misdemeanor to first degree felony or murder; with many of these hate crimes experienced by our youth.  Our community suffers an average of 1.5 deaths a month due to anti-transgender hate, bigotry and bias.  Some of the more recent national examples are:

• Tanesha Thomas [ AL ] – Stabbed to death – 5/22/2003

• Jessica Mercado [CT] – Stabbed Multiple Times, body burned – 5/9/2003

• Mimi Young [DC] – Stabbed to death – 4/9/2003

• Danisha Williams [FL] – Murdered  -- 2/28/2003

• Nikki Nicholas [MI] – Shot to death – 2/21/2003

• Timothy “Cinnamon” Broadus [FL] – Shot Multiple Times – 1/8/2003

• Tamyra Michaels [MI] – Shot to death – 12/21/2002

• Roberta Nizah Morris [PA] – Beaten to death with a crowbar – 12/24/2002

During a one month period in September 2002, we had three transyouths murdered ages 17, 18, and 19!  It is also a very sad note that in none of the above cases have the murderer(s) either been identified or in custody.  The following is an excerpt from a TransActivist – Ethan St. Pierre in Massachusetts whose aunt [Debra Forte] was brutally murdered:  

“There have been 7 murders of Trans-folk in the state of Massachusetts .  Out of those 7 only 2 have been solved and both the killers turned themselves in. Chanelle Pickett was murdered on November 20, 1995. Her killer got 2 years in prison. My aunt’s killer [Debra Forte, ED] got 15 yrs after he plea bargained with the district attorney. My family did not have a say in the matter. The DA’s office did not think a jury would be sympathetic to my aunt's "life style" so they did not want to take it to trial. That same year Chanelle Pickett's killer went to trial and when he was convicted of assault and battery and received a 2 year sentence, the DAs office called my Mom to say, "see, I told you so."  If you want to talk about anger, I have plenty to talk about but it seems like I have no ears to tell it to.”  

Everyone knows of Matthew Shepard and his tragic hate crime murder and the subsequent media attention and trial of his murderer’s.  Did anyone in the media state that the case should be plea-bargained because of Matthew’s “lifestyle”? Additionally, how many people know that on November 28^th of that same year, Rita Hester a Boston Transwoman [and whose family lives in Connecticut ] was brutally murdered?  Her tragic murder and all those other trans-identified murders occurred with little publicity or even serious action or investigation by the police.  In fact, the media typically sensationalizes these murders as a man who dressed as a woman, with continual references to he [in cases of a TransWoman]. The HRC and numerous organizations praise the revamped Federal Hate Crimes Law Bill #S.966 – Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act.  However, this bill has NO coverage or even mention of the gender identified or expressive individual.  No matter what the politicians or DC based gay and lesbian groups say, such exclusion is what continually invalidates and places in the path of hate and violence, our community, its people and its very existent.  Why don’t people care?  Does a transperson’s life not have the same meaning or value as any other? As the DA had stated above, does societies perception of the value of our lives not matter in this world!  God help all of us if that is the case.

Reporting

And so, you may:  Show me the reports and statistics.  In response, I would like to quote Roger Coggan, LA’s Director of Legal Services and Public Policy:  

“Crimes against transgender people continue to be underreported.  We’ve done targeted outreach to the transgender community, which has resulted in a doubling of the number of reported hate crimes, but we know that's just the tip of the iceberg. Many transgender people are still afraid they are going to be re-victimized by law enforcement and service providers. We need to send the message that the transgender community is part of our community."   

Examples of such re-victimization by law enforcement and service providers are:

• Tyra Hunter, a DC transwoman, denied life-saving medical care when rescuers discovered she had male genitalia. For five minutes and without medical care, Tyra was the butt of transphobic comments and actions by the attending medical providers. The family was awarded a Million-dollar wrongful death suit; while the firefighter found at fault in Tyra’s death was promoted!

• JoLea Lamot had an allergic reaction to some medication.  NYC rescue workers and police responded to the 911 call. When police discovered JoLea was a TransWoman they began harassing her, calling her “it” and “trans-testicle.” They beat her, sprayed her, her mother and a neighbor with pepper spray, handcuffed her and forced her to stay in a psychiatric hospital overnight. 

When my partner and I were severely beaten in Miami I was directly asked: “Do I want Medical treatment or to file a complaint”, I said No!  Images of Tyra Hunter or the police officers who have snickered at my being a transwoman passed through my mind.  Also I thought: would two transwomen be believed over two middle class white men from Ohio ?  I was safer going back to my hotel to heal rather than trust a society or a medical and legal system that marginalizes the trans-identified person.  I will always regret not reporting this crime, though I will always remember my fear that still exists today! 

Why “Gender Identity or Expression”

Many times you will hear the comments: “Why do we need explicit language for Gender Identity or Expression, isn’t that just a subset of the existing protected class of sexual orientation” or “What is meant by Gender Identity or Expression”?  

To any trans-identified or gender expressive individual the answers are obvious.  However, if you don’t “live and walk in the lives” of our people, the answer truly is unclear and the question a fair one.  To answer these questions, I think an excerpt from the California Hate Crime Statute is useful:

Section 186.21 of the Penal Code defines: "gender" means the victim's actual sex or the defendant's perception of the victim's sex, and includes the defendant's perception of the victim's identity, appearance, or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance, or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the victim's sex at birth.  

The reason why this definition is useful is that it goes to the core of the differentiation between sexual orientation and sex [i.e. sexual identification].  

Many of the hate crimes I and other trans-identified people encounter have nothing to do with the perpetrators views of the victim’s sexual orientation, rather they have to do with the victim deviating from [and therefore defying] the standard binary female/male model and roles of sex [or its social counterpart gender]!  JoLea Lamont was not harassed and detained by the NYC Police because she was a Lesbian; she was harassed because she defied their personal views of sex and gender.  Gwen Araujo was beaten and murdered not because of her sexual orientation [which in her view was heterosexual], but simply because the accused felt violated by here gender [sexual] identification. My sister has stated to me, on a number of occasions that she could accept and love me if I was Gay though she cannot accept or love me as her sister. Gender Identification or Expression is not a subset of Sexual Orientation, they are totally different and at times exclusive to each other; and for such reasons, laws must explicitly recognize this.  Hate Crimes can be motivated by bias to homosexuality but do not deceive yourself, Hate Crimes can be motivated solely by a bias to a persons deviating from the socially acceptable binary model of male/female – that is, their Gender Identity or Expression.

Raised Bill 6390 – AN ACT CONCERNING [REVISIONS TO THE] HATE CRIMES

The following are excerpts of my words in testimony for the above bill -- note what is stated in the underlined sentence.  I have no crystal ball to have foreseen Jessica’s death, though statistically it was just a few months away! Perhaps if this bill was passed, or there was more vocal outcry on anti-transgender hate crimes, Jessica would still be alive today.  

For these reasons, and many more, my community and I implore Connecticut in 2003 to pass Raised Bill 6390 – An Act Concerning Hate Crimes, which revises the current Hate Crimes statutes to include “disability or gender identity or expression”.  And if you say, these hate crimes don’t occur in Connecticut – You are wrong! It just nearly universally never gets reported, for reasons I hope you understand. And please let us not wait until such a vicious and bias motivated murder to a Trans youth occurs in Connecticut to act.  To reiterate, if you say sexual orientation statutes protect us, I can only say that such statements and thinking are what marginalizes our community and its people, in the eyes of society, the law and the medical systems.  This is why passage of this bill is imperative!  Five States currently have specific language to cover the trans-identified or gender expressive individual within their Hate Crime States – CA, VT, MN, MO, PA, while at least 27 states and the District of Columbia have Hate Crime Laws that include “sexual orientation”.  Make Connecticut the Sixth State to protect the trans-identified and gender expressive individual. [Update: Hawaii and New Mexico are now added to this list].  

In closing, I would like to quote Kate Kendell, Esq., Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights:  “Advancing the Lesbian and Gay movement without grappling with gender would be disrespectful of the pain and suffering gender oppression causes for so many of us. While many of us may bend the gender boundaries on occasion, we must recognize that transphobia creates a uniquely threatening challenge. As a non-transgender person, I have access to gender privilege that transgender people don't have. It is important to recognize our privilege even as we work to create a more equitable society, where such privilege is eliminated. We must work for a world where the tomboys and the Gwen Araujo are secure, safe and free to be fully who they each are at 8, at 16, and for a lifetime.”  

The author may be contacted at jerimariel@yahoo.com