They Have Wolves in South Dakota? Right?

The highly transgender discriminatory South Dakota Bathroom Bill was vetoed yesterday by South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard !  

From the Washington Post: “South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) has vetoed a bill that would have been the first in the nation to restrict transgender students’ access to school restrooms and locker rooms.

At least in South Dakota, the wolves have been held off-barely and now it's time to look over our shoulders for the next battle and hard fought victory.

I picked up the statement from Lexie Cannes "State of Trans" site. you can read it here.

It's a HUGE victory! 

Plus, in a rare moment of clear rationale from a politician, here is the governors statement:

 "In a message to state lawmakers announcing his veto, Daugaard said that the bill would have introduced a new statewide mandate that “does not address any pressing issue concerning the school districts of South Dakota.”

“Instead of encouraging local solutions, this bill broadly regulates in a manner that invites conflict and litigation, diverting energy and resources from the education of the children of this state,” Daugaard wrote, emphasizing that local school districts should be able to decide how to handle questions about bathroom use without interference from the state or federal government.”

Good point since after all we just dodged a bullet (literally) around here when a student opened fire in a cafeteria, only wounding four. Makes you want to ask where are the priorities? 

Headed for A Nursing Home Closet?

It is a very real fear to many transgender seniors: what will/could/maybe happen to us if we get in the wrong place at the wrong time in the wrong nursing home-and have nothing we can do about it. Not surprisingly, not much is written on the subject which I can pass along here in Cyrsti's Condo. It's from The Atlantic and is called "The Challenge of being Transgender in a Nursing Home." It goes on to say: Many elder-care facilities are ill-equipped to deal with the needs of transgender seniors, who fear that a move to assisted living may leave them vulnerable to discrimination and harassment.

 Plus (of course) it gets better: " In nursing homes, gender-segregated spaces like bedrooms and housing wings can be of particular concern to transgender seniors. As Alia Wong recently reported for The Atlantic, the U.S. Department of Education has affirmed that the protections of Title IX extend to transgender students; in July, citing Title IX, the Justice Department filed a statement in support of a transgender student suing a Virginia school district after being required to use an “alternative” restroom. But, Cook-Daniels said, there are currently no similar anti-discrimination regulations in place for nursing homes and other assisted-living facilities."

If you are of a more advanced age and are up for a less than uplifting read (scary) follow the link above.

Movin' Along!!!!

Fortunately, I was able to move my computer and other bloggin "Stuff" to a new home without incident-so far!!! What's going on is I am moving from my old house into another in route to my partner Liz's house in Cincinnati.  But, I still have to sell my original house in the spring.

At any rate-more than a couple very positive happenings took place.

The first is a landmark protection case concerning transgender school students.  Here is an excerpt from Outword:

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education released a long-awaited, much-needed guidance document for elementary and secondary schools that offer or want to offer single-sex classes.

Included within the document was an important protection for transgender students that should not be overlooked. The guidance states clearly that transgender students must be allowed to participate in single-sex classes consistent with their gender identity. (In other words, consistent with who they are.) This latest positive breakthrough builds on guidance released earlier this year that made it explicitly clear, for the first time, that Title IX extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity.

Nicole Maines (from left), 14, her mother Kelly Maines and her twin brother Jonas listen to Wayne Maines (right) as he delivers a stirring speech about their experience in helping Nicole seek justice and acceptance as a transgender youth

Plus, a Maine Transgender student’s (above)  lawsuit ended with a $75K award, a final order telling Orono schools to allow bathroom access  to the girl’s bathroom in grade school and middle school.  The need for this clarifying direction to schools across the country could not have been clearer. For more on the story go here.

As soon as I get caught up, I will connect a few dots to the Laverne Cox presentation I went to plus further positive news concerning active transgender military members and vets.

Thai and Transgender

Baramee Phanich is looking forward to Thursday. That's when he, along with other Thammasat University graduates, will be attending the annual royally sponsored graduation ceremony. For Baramee or Denjan, as he's known to family and friends, the ceremony has special meaning, as he, along with four fellow transgender students, have been granted permission to dress as women.