Universal Health Care's Back, June 8th; Health Care Reform Week, Not Weak Health Care Reform, June 21st; and Tammy Baldwin Introduces LGBT Health Care Bill, June 24th

In addition to the historic possibility of affordable public health care (you know, just like in other developed nations), the debate around this legislation offers an unparalleled teachable moment to "reform" the discrimination against LGBTQ people and people living with HIV out of the health care system. This is an opportunity for LGBTQ and HIV-positive communities to educate lawmakers about our experiences accessing care, and press for non-discrimination and cultural competency components in the legislation that moves forward.

The administrators in Douglas County are handling the situation well, providing unisex bathrooms and reiterating their desire as educators to give all students a learning environment free from harassment. Bravo! I believe that these types of best practices are becoming more common because of the hard work and educational efforts of advocates like Kim. If you pop over to Equality Arizona Radio, you can listen to Kim answer tough questions about trans kids. Questions like: When do kids know that they are transgender? How old should a child be to transition? What does "transition" mean in the case of a five year old? What happens when an endocrinologist delays puberty in trans youngsters?

When I was a young trans person, I had to walk two miles in the snow--uphill, both ways--to access needed trans-related health care, reliable information about my legal rights and status, and supporting educational materials for friends and family. And still, compared to trans folks who transitioned in the decades before the Internet and before LGB organizations added the T to their names, I was relatively awash in resources.

The landscape continues to improve for gay and lesbian youth, and recently exponentially for trans and gender variant youth. Where there was a complete dearth of information, now websites, support groups, and books have sprung up. The profound sense of isolation that was felt in earlier decades can be escaped--for at least a little while--by those trans youth with an Internet connection. Parents increasingly see stories of trans children like their own on television talk shows and documentaries. Advocacy and support groups like PFLAG's Transgender Network and TransYouth Family Allies connect parents and families across the country.

About 100 people braved the chilly evening to watch the DC premiere of this Israeli trans documentary. I was joined on the panel by local politico and national gender rights advocate Dr. Dana Byer and Rhodes Perry, field and policy manager at PFLAG National, to answer audience questions about trans issues and Judaism. Although to be fair, Dana had to field all of the questions on Judaism since she's spent years at Yeshiva and Rhodes and I are "Gentiles." Thanks, Dana.

Directed by Orna Ben Dor, Mom, I Didn't Kill Your Daughter documents the lives of Lior and Yuval, a trans male gay couple in Israel. The documentary spans about a year and a half of their relationship in which Lior begins his physical transition, and Yuval quests to change the gender marker on his national ID card from F to M--one of the first people to do so in Israel. Throughout the film, we watch Lior's mother come to terms with her child's transition at 22--progressing from not knowing the meaning of "transgender," feeling that she's lost her "daughter," to ultimately embracing Lior and his partnership with Yuval.

The first of its kind, "Beginning the Conversation: Fraternity & Sorority Transgender Resource Guide" was given to Greek leaders at the Association of Fraternity Advisors Annual Meeting in Denver on December 4th. And while its co-authors Jessica Pettitt and Sarah Fielding concede many of "the answers aren't provided nor are they known" when it comes to accommodating a range of gender expressions and identities within sororities and fraternities with strict legally-sexed policies, I found the guide to be a solid start on beginning that conversation.

I was a fan of the X Files while it had its run on television. The show was an entertaining ride through all manner of paranormal experience--from UFOs to changeling monsters and mind twisting powers. So when the girlfriend, kid and I were looking to fill an afternoon on vacation in L.A., I suggested we go to the movies to check out the X Files: I Want to Believe movie.

I wanted to believe that it would be a decent flick along the lines of the old series. It wasn't. We spent most of the movie trying to decide which was worse: the acting, the screenplay, or the musical score. And I lost big points with the teen for suggesting this over Batman. Fandango, I want my money back.

But what's germane to this blog is that the movie contained some subtle and not-to-subtle LGBT defamation.

Which is all by way of introduction to two current nondiscrimination law "repeal" (or disinformation) efforts happening in Colorado and Montgomery County, Maryland, that have me spitting mad.

Actually, it's sites like these that make me feel slightly weary of joining in the first place--especially as an out transperson. Why can't there be a site that is truly about networking, keeping in touch with friends, building community, and not worrying about being contacted by creepy Internet strangers?