Gov. Kate Brown has signed a bill that will make it easier for transgender people in Oregon to shield any updates they make to their birth certificates, a process typically conducted through the court system without privacy from public view.
The measure, which takes effect next year, makes Oregon the second state after California to adopt laws specifically designed to help mitigate potential discrimination against transgender individuals from employers, landlords or anyone else who is otherwise able to dig up birth-record changes through public record.
The new law eliminates the requirement that changes to someone’s name or gender identity must be posted publicly by the courts. It also allows court cases involving gender identity changes on birth records to be sealed.
It’s a minor tweak to state law that could have a big impact on the local transgender community, says 59-year-old Stacey Rice, executive co-director of Q Center, a Portland community support center for LGBTQ individuals.
Rice is a transgender woman but still hasn’t been able to change her North Carolina birth records after 17 years because she hasn’t undergone a sex-change operation, which the state says must also be confirmed through a notarized letter from their doctor. The same requirements apply for driver’s licenses, although Rice got it done anyway thanks to the kindness of a North Carolina DMV employee years ago.
“I was going to have a driver’s license that has my female face on it, my female name, but it’s still going to say ‘M’ and let’s say I get pulled over for some reason and maybe a police officer looks at it and says ‘what’s going on here?’ that was terrifying,” Rice said.
HB 2673 passed the Democratic-controlled Oregon Legislature earlier this month with some Republican support at a time when, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court‘s legalization of same-sex marriage, the nation remains largely divided as to how to balance LGBTQ rights and religious freedoms.
This year about 30 states introduced roughly 130 anti-LGBTQ bills, about half last year’s figure, according to the D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign. Most of the measures have died, but legislatures in South Dakota, Alabama and Texas passed bills providing protections for faith-based adoption agencies that do not want to place children with gay or lesbian adoptive parents.
Opposite scenarios are playing out in other states like Nevada, where GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a law earlier this month banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ youth. And this week, Republican Congressman Scott Taylor of Virginia agreed to co-sponsor the federal Equality Act, which would give that community civil rights protections.
Oregon wasn’t always a welcoming place for gay rights. Voters approved a measure banning same-sex measure in 2004. It was overturned a decade later.
For Oregon, Brown said in emotional remarks that the transgender equity bill carries broader significance in the aftermath of last week’s deadly stabbings of two men trying to defend two teenage girls from racial and religious slurs on a Portland light-rail train.
“Hate and discrimination have no place in our Oregon,” Brown said.
Brown, herself a bisexual, became the nation’s first openly-LGBTQ elected governor last November and Democrat Tina Kotek is the first openly lesbian House Speaker.
Gender issues, grief/loss, recovery, relationships, anxiety, life transitions, Client-centered therapy, Expressive arts therapy, clinical hypnosis, individuals and couples. Queer rights advocate, many years experience with GLBTQI clients.
Over 10 years working directly with the trans population. Trains mental health practitioners in delivering culturally competent care to the trans community. Writes and researches in the field of transgender mental health, with a focus on families, trans youth, trauma, and intersections of identity (sexuality/racial ethnic/religious/ ability, etc.).
Specializes in family therapy (esp. with trans youth), couples counseling, parent training and support; uses EMDR, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Maudsley Method, Narrative & Mindfulness Approaches, and with issues of addiction, eating disorders, anxiety/depression, trauma, infidelity, sexual identity, and navigating mixed-orientation and poly relationships.
3. Judith Goleman Address: 171 N. High Street, Sebastopol Phone: 707-829-1670 Email:golemanjudith@aol.com
Specializes in couples counseling. Transgender clients very welcome. “Be who you were born to be.” Accessible office.
4. Leslie Hansen, MFT Address: 411 B Street, Suite 9, Petaluma Phone: 707-483-5153 Email:lesliehansenmft@comcast.net
Couples, young adults, individuals. History of deep involvement with and support of trans people in professional and personal capacities. Co-organized 1st trans conference in Sonoma County. Work informed by attachment theory.
5. Debra J. Kelly, MFT (“Kelly”) Address 1: 114 Sotoyome Street, Santa Rosa Address 2: 1008 5th Street, Santa Rosa Phone: 707-569-0459 Email:krei@sonic.net
Works with a view of the whole person – strengths, moving toward wholeness, not “pathology.” Supervises interns who accept low-fee. Active in queer community for many years, promoting health of sexual minorities. Works with clients of diverse gender identifications. Accepts insurance, has a sliding scale.
6. Lisa Lund, CRC, MFT Address: Santa Rosa & Novato Phone 1: (707) 547-0401 Phone 2: (415) 460-9500 Email:lisa@lisalundmft.com
Certified Gottman Therapist, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. Expert couples counselor, inclusive of clients of any sexual or gender identity.
7. Jan Ogren, MFT Address: 621 Cherry Street, Santa Rosa Phone: 707-544-7756
Works through lens of systems: cultural/social/family systems and their effects on individuals including gender and sexual orientation; has trained clinicians on LGBTIQ concerns and polyamory. Sandtray and art therapy. Individual, couples, and family therapy.
Many years specializing in working with trans clients and involved at national and international levels in improvement in health services for trans people. Teaches Human Sexuality and more as a university psychology professor. Uses ä variety of therapeutic approaches, tailored to the client’s needs. Insurance: Aetna, Blue Shield, Healthnet, Medicare.
9. Judith Peletz, MFT Address: 1144 Sonoma Ave., Suite 117, SR Phone: 707-526-7720 ext. 315
Interest, some education and experience with working with transitioning people. Works with children, adolescents, and adults on loss and grief, self-esteem/personal growth, and more. Uses hypnosis. Accepts insurance (Blue Shield, Anthem Blue Cross, UBH and others), offers sliding scale when needed. Office is accessible.
Extensive personal and professional experience with gender exploration and transition. Specializing in working with gender and sexual identity, navigating polyamory, kink-acceptance, self-esteem, depression, effective communication, queer families, and family-building. Uses mindfulness work to achieve inner equilibrium and strength. Talk therapy, body-centered therapy, creative. Offers genuine love and support. EMDR for processing traumatic experiences. Individuals and couples. Offices are not accessible.
11. Kitty Wells, MFT Address: 411 East St., Healdsburg Phone: 707-433-3351 Email:bewells@sonic.net Subject: “confidential to Kitty”
Trauma recovery, improving negative beliefs about self, EMDR, affirms the integrity and worth of all people. Office is not accessible. MFT = Marriage and Family Therapist (California license) EMDR= Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a science-based technique for resolving trauma (and more) quickly. Insurance: Ask the clinician about insurance. They may take yours, or they may submit claims to your insurance company if your insurance covers “out of network” providers.
Shanna offers Jungian inspired psychotherapy for adults, couples, and youth. By integrating work with the unconscious, mindfulness and other somatic techniques, both body and psyche are invited to come into full awareness. Dream work, and EMDR may also be integrated to support the shifts and changes desired. More than ten years experience working within the LGBTQ community. Specific expertise in supporting transgender and genderqueer adults, youth, partners, and family members. Additional areas of specialization include addictions, trauma, spiritual and creative struggles, and relational issues.
A 2009 hate crimes law meant to make federal prosecutions easier has resulted in relatively few convictions nationwide. An Associated Press analysis using data gathered by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University show that 47 people nationwide have been prosecuted using the law, with 37 convictions.
Another 300 people were referred for prosecution, but hate crimes charges were never filed. In at least half those cases, there wasn’t enough evidence or prosecutors couldn’t prove intent, a key threshold.
Shown here are the total number of cases that law enforcement agencies presented to federal prosecutors in each state, followed by the number of convictions.
Recent developments have prompted Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) to revise and reissue its position statement on the protections of transgender and transitioning people under Title IX. The arguments for inclusion remain largely unchanged, however the history of the issue has been edited to reflect changes in the current political winds.
This ATIXA position statement reflects the importance of protections for gender nonconformity, gender identity, gender expression, transitioning and transgender status conferred by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Allegations of such discrimination should be subject to a civil rights, equity-based response from any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. ATIXA strongly endorses and supports these protections and encourages their full implementation within all schools, colleges and universities subject to Title IX.
Because the verbiage of Title IX itself is broad in its protections, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR) interpretation of the law has evolved over time, progressively focusing on employment discrimination, equity in athletics, sexual harassment and sexual violence. OCR and the courts are now debating whether the Title IX lens should focus on the rights of gender-nonconforming and transgender individuals to ensure their access to the full benefits of federally funded educational programs.
As schools establish new policy and turn toward best practices now in the absence of federal guidance, ATIXA encourages broad consideration of the very real barriers to education faced by students identifying as transgender. To be clear, schools are now free to protect transgender and transitioning students as much as they want, unless there is state law to the contrary, and many state laws explicitly include gender identity and expression as protected classes.
ATIXA supports gender nonconforming and transgender individuals enrolled and/or employed by schools and colleges and welcomes the diversity they bring. ATIXA hopes that its members will endeavor to assure that school and college communities will be safe, hospitable and supportive for those gender nonconforming and transgender individuals within our communities.
Founded in 2011, ATIXA is the nation’s only membership association dedicated solely to compliance with Title IX and the support of our more than 3,000 administrator members who hold Title IX responsibilities in schools and colleges. ATIXA is the leading provider of Title IX training and certification, having certified more than 3,000 Title IX coordinators and more than 8,000 Title IX investigators since 2011. ATIXA releases position statements on matters of import to our members and the field, as authorized by the ATIXA Board of Advisors. For more information, visit atixa.org.
With 40 state legislatures convened thus far in 2017, analysts report there are more than 30 measures introduced in 11 states that are intended to weaken or remove civil rights safeguards for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans.
In this polarized political climate, a majority of Americans state they oppose measures that erode civil rights for LGBT people:
Two-thirds (66%) of adults say they oppose laws allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBT persons because of their religious objections (and a similar proportion (68%) stated their opposition in a May 2016 Harris Poll.)
62% of adults oppose state laws that repeal or overturn local or city LGBT anti-discrimination laws and ban cities from passing similar protections in the future (which has ticked up slightly from the 60% of adults who thought so when asked in May 2016.)
Despite these majority views, Americans still face a slightly wider division on legislation to restrict access to bathrooms for transgender Americans by requiring individuals to use the bathroom that corresponds to their sex at birth, rather than their true gender identity. When asked about so-called “bathroom bills” in May 2016, 49% of all adults expressed support – however in January 2017, that support has reached 54% of Americans, with 46% of adults opposing these bills.
Nonetheless, over 6 in 10 Americans (63%) agree that all public buildings should be required to offer a single-user or gender non-specific bathroom. Americans slightly favor the federal government (39%) over state governments (36%) in deciding bathroom access, while 22% are not sure at all.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,192 U.S. adults ages 18+ surveyed online between January 9 and 11, 2017. Complete results of this study can be found here.
Americans Weigh Effective Responses When Americans are asked how effective various tactics might be in overturning or preventing passage of these kinds of laws that restrict LGBT rights, several options are believed to be very or somewhat effective:
Nearly 6 out of 10 Americans (59%) believe Federal law suits against states for civil rights violations would be effective;
A majority of Americans (56%) say that corporate decisions to move their headquarters or offices out of state are an effective response;
55% agree that sporting associations that disallow states with discriminatory laws from hosting major games is effective;
Half (50%) of Americans say that film and television productions that pull their current or future projects out of states with these laws will make a difference, and 47% say that entertainers who cancel their performances also have impact;
At the end of the scale, just 41% believe state governments that ban their employees from non-essential travel to discriminatory states will make a difference, and only about 1 in 3 (32%) find social media hashtags with messages such as #NoHateInMyState or #WeAreNotThis have influence.
“In state after state, we see echoes of a national struggle that roiled North Carolina last year,” said Bob Witeck, business strategist and President of Witeck Communications. “Facing similar issues this year, Texas business leaders now estimate a loss of $8.5 billion in GDP as well as 185,000 jobs lost if discriminatory legislation is enacted. These findings make clear that Americans are especially mindful of the economic and social consequences of these decisions.”
Two Lambda Legal clients who are transgender are one step closer to having their names legally changed to match their gender identity.
The Georgia Court of Appeals unanimously reversed a lower court decision Friday, saying that the judge had abused his discretion in denying name changes where there was no evidence that the requests were made for an “improper purpose.”
The Court sent the case back to the trial court with direction to grant the name changes sought by Rowan Feldhaus and Andrew Baumert.
Baumert said:
It was hurtful and insulting to be denied my legal name change. I’m happy that this is over, for myself, for Rowan, and for any other transgender person who wants to change their name legally in Georgia.
Transitioning is a difficult journey and when I took, what was for me, a big step to change my name legally, I was met with condescension and ignorance, and that’s not right.
Lambda Legal client Rowan Feldhaus
Feldhaus said:
I’m so happy and so relieved that we won and that this is done. Being able to have my name reflect who I am as a man and have it be legal is so powerful and so important to me.
I hope that other judges see this and think twice before imposing their personal beliefs on another transgender person looking to change their name.
Columbia County Superior Court Judge J. David Roper had denied Feldhaus’ request for a name change, arguing that Feldhaus’ requested middle name, Elijah, was not gender-neutral. Judge Roper said:
I do not approve of changing names from male to female – male names to obvious female names, and vice versa.
I think it is misleading to the public and think that it is dangerous in some circumstances for one – for the public not to know whether they’re dealing with a male or a female.
When denying Baumert’s request, Judge Roper said:
My policy is to allow someone who claims to be transgendering [sic] — and I’ve had them in various stages — my policy is to permit someone to change, in your case, from an obviously — what appears to me to be a female name to something that is gender-neutral.
Judge Roper went on to suggest several names he “can live with,” including Morgan, Shannon, Shaun and Jaimie. Judge Roper said that for Baumert to have a name that matches his gender identity would “confuse or mislead the general public.”
Lambda Legal Counsel Beth Littrell said:
This decision solidifies an important right for the transgender community, to have a name that matches and affirms their gender identities and obliterates the dangerous notion that living in conformity with that gender is somehow fraudulent or otherwise a concern for the government.
This decision puts judges on notice that their personal beliefs, which in this case were sexist and biased against transgender people, are not a substitution for the law.
According to Sioux Falls Two-Spirit and Allies, 28-year-old Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow was originally from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and was a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe. Police are expected to release more information about the homicide investigation on Monday.
The group asked for prayers for Wounded Arrow’s family on Facebook Saturday and said they believe she was killed on New Year’s day.
“Tunkasila has called another one of our community members home,” the group wrote. “Our hearts are broken as we will miss her very much.”
Wounded Arrow was also remembered by friends and community members at Sious Falls’ Center for Equality.
“She is the type of person that when she talks people stop to listen,” Youth Outreach Director Reina Parker told the Argus Leader. “The impact she leaves on people after meeting her once is something nobody forgets.”
The Center released an official statement, noting that a record number of transgender people were reported murdered in 2016, most of whom were transgender women of color.
“This marks the second trans woman murdered in 2017, and it happened in our own back yard,” said Danielle Wilcox, President The Center for Equality. “While the investigation is ongoing, we see that gender and race often play a role in the escalation of violence toward transgender people.”
In South Dakota, the state’s attorney general is working to put an anti-transgender bathroom bill before voters in 2018.
The first reported transgender murder this year was of Mesha Caldwell, a Mississippi trans woman who was found shot to death on January 4.
In the most comprehensive investigation of transgender-related homicide to date, Mic Thursday released “Unerased: Counting Transgender Lives,” a project looking at trans murder in America.
Working in collaboration with transgender advocacy organizations, activists, academics and victims’ loved ones and families, a team of reporters at Mic has launched an interactive database of transgender homicides from 2010 to the present. Intended as a resource for activists, journalists and academics, the database contains a wealth of demographic data about each victim, including biographies and multimedia. In an effort to elevate the stories of marginalized populations, Mic will continue to track transgender homicides in the future.
Alongside the database, Mic also has published an investigation by transgender journalist and advocate Meredith Talusan, complete with data visualizations detailing the results.
Among Mic’s key findings:
With 23 documented cases so far, 2016 has seen one of the the highest number of transgender homicides since advocacy organizations began tracking them officially in 2010.
Black transgender women face the highest rates of violence: 72% of transgender victims between 2010 to 2016 are black trans women.
Young black trans women (ages 15 to 34) are estimated to be between 8 and 39 times more likely to be murdered as young cisgender women.
Of the 25 cases that were tried, five involved black trans women as victims and resulted in lesser charges of manslaughter or assault. Only one case with a black trans woman victim has resulted in a first-degree conviction since 2010.
Mic found that, because public institutions are not equipped to acknowledge the existence of transgender Americans, the identities of transgender victims are often effaced after death. Many trans people can’t spare the expense of having their names and gender markers updated on government documents. Law enforcement and coroner’s offices are not trained to identify crime victims as transgender. Immediate family members who reject a trans person’s identity often withhold it from authorities, who defer to the family when it comes to revealing personal information. The U.S. Census does not track transgender people, and while the FBI added gender identity as a category in its annual self-reported hate crimes report in 2014, the agency does not track gender identity along with its homicide statistics.
“In reporting this story and speaking with family members of transgender homicide victims, we focused on bringing light to the systematic failures impacting trans people, especially trans women of color,” said Meredith Talusan, lead reporter on the Mic project. “If everyone in the U.S. were murdered at the rate young black trans women and femmes are, there’s no doubt that the public would consider this a crisis of massive proportions.”
Devin Diamond, a black, transgender woman who was killed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in June, would not have been listed among transgender homicide victims if it were not for a friend who happened to post about her using female pronouns on Facebook, where a local reporter came upon the post. Law enforcement, the coroner’s office and her family all classified her as male even though she routinely presented herself as a woman both in person and online, telling friends that she was on hormones and was seeing a psychologist.
“’Unerased’ offers a close, sometimes intimate look at the violence too regularly faced by one of our most vulnerable populations,” said Kerry Lauerman, executive news director at Mic. “It’s the sort of in-depth, revelatory project we’re dedicated to pursuing more of in the future.”
“Unerased” was reported with the assistance of the New York City Anti-Violence Project. To view the report please visit: https://mic.com/unerased.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.
Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people.
We live in times more sensitive than ever to hatred based violence, especially since the events of September 11th. Yet even now, the deaths of those based on anti-transgender hatred or prejudice are largely ignored. Over the last decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, regardless of any other factors in their lives. This trend shows no sign of abating.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.
J.W. da Silva (24 years old)
Cause of death: stoned to death.
Location of death: Paudalho, Brazil
Date of death: October 27th, 2016 source
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Julia Sofia (20 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed to death.
Location of death: Nazaré, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: October 21st, 2016 source
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Yasmin Montoy (20 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death, blunt force trauma to the head.
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: October 16th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: suffucation
Location of death: Sorocaba, Brazil
Date of death: October 13th, 2016 source
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W. R. Alexandre
Cause of death: beaten to death.
Location of death: Baixada Fluminense, Brazil
Date of death: October 8th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Date of death: September 30th, 2016 source
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Rafael Silva (17 year old)
Cause of death: 17 gunshots, ran over by car.
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: September 30th, 2016 source
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Chaiene da Silva
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Paudalho, Pernambuco, Brazil
Date of death: September 24th, 2016 source
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Larissa (31 years old)
Cause of death: shot in abdomen, thrown from car
Location of death: São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: September 16th, 2016 source
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H.J. Silva (37 years old)
Cause of death: blunt force trauma
Location of death: Sítio do Quinto, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: September 11th, 2016 source
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Pâmela Pereira (16 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Conceição do Jacuípe, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: September 9th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman (24 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot and stab wounds
Location of death: Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: September 9th, 2016 source
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Taina W.P. Alencar (22 years old)
Cause of death: stab wound
Location of death: Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: September 4th, 2016 source
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Hilda A.J. da Silva (46 years old)
Cause of death: strangled with an electrical cord
Location of death: Aliança, Pernambuco, Brazil
Date of death: September 4th, 2016 source
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Bruniele
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: August 29th, 2016 source
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Erika W.P. de Arruda (30 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wounds to neck and groin
Location of death: Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: August 25th, 2016 source
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Brenda
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Castanhal, Pará, Brazil
Date of death: August 19th, 2016 source
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Tiffany Rodrigues (23 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: August 8th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016 source
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Thiemy Oliveira (24 years old)
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016 source
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Adriane Bonek (43 years old)
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: São Pedro da Aldeia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: August 1st, 2016 source
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Sabrina E.S. Sales (25 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: July 25th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: July 13th, 2016 source
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Edymara M. Leão (36 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Lago Norte, Brazil
Date of death: July 11th, 2016 source
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Nickolle Rocha (19 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: July 11th, 2016 source
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Pandora Pereira (26 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: July 3rd, 2016 source
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Daiane Brasil (36 years old)
Cause of death: gunshots to the neck, chest, and face.
Location of death: Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: June 27th, 2016 source
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Julia Almeida (28 years old)
Cause of death: strangled, thrown in sugar cane field.
Location of death: Ituverava, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: June 25th, 2016 source
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Danielly Barby (24 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot to the neck
Location of death: Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: June 25th, 2016 source
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Sheila Santos
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Calabar, Bahia, Brazil
Date of death: June 24th, 2016 source
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Lorran Lorang (19 years old)
Cause of death: asphyxiation
Location of death: Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: June 22nd, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: beaten to death with a wooden club
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: June 18th, 2016 source
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Gabriel Figueira de Lima (21 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed in the neck
Location of death: Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Date of death: June 16th, 2016 source
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Paula
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Goiandira, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: June 16th, 2016 source
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Lauandersa
Cause of death: stabbed over 30 times
Location of death: Genipabu, Caucaia, Brazil
Date of death: May 16th, 2016 source
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Ana Hickmann (30 years old)
Cause of death: 2 gunshots in the neck
Location of death: Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Date of death: May 15th, 2016 source
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Michele de Souza (22 years old)
Cause of death: 7 gunshots to the chest, abdomen, legs and arms.
Location of death: São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: May 11th, 2016 source
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Leticia Silva (22 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Belém, Pará, Brazil
Date of death: May 5th, 2016 source
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Alana da Silva Pessoa (22 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot wound.
Location of death: João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
Date of death: May 4th, 2016 source
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Jéssica L.C. Menezes (24 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: April 16th, 2016 source
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Luana Biersack (14 years old)
Cause of death: sexually assaulted, beaten, and drowned..
Location of death: Novo Itacolomi, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: April 13th, 2016 source
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Amanda Araujo (17 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Date of death: April 11th, 2016 source
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Bianca Abravanel (25 years old)
Cause of death: 15 gunshot wounds to the chest and face.
Location of death:Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: April 11th, 2016 source
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Andinho
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Date of death: March 29th, 2016 source
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Gabriela Rodrigues
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Aparecida de Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: March 28th, 2016 source
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Keyti (42 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death.
Location of death: Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Date of death: March 27th, 2016 source
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D.S. Barros (21 years old)
Cause of death: 30 stab wounds over entire body Location of death: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Date of death: March 23th, 2016 source
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M. Moreira (16 years old)
Cause of death: head trauma
Location of death: Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Date of death: March 20th, 2016 source
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Camilla Rios (32 years old)
Cause of death: 30 stab wounds over entire body
Location of death: Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of death: March 14th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: unknown, dismembered
Location of death: Brazil
Date of death: March 10th, 2016 source
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Mika P. Da Silva
Cause of death: gunshot wounds to the head and groin
Location of death:Macau, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Date of death: March 7th, 2016 source
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María la del Barrio
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: Manaus, Brazil
Date of death: March 6th, 2016 source
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V.
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds to the neck
Location of death: João Pessoa, Brazil
Date of death: March 7th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds
Location of death: Gravatai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 27th, 2016 source
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Natascha (37 years old)
Cause of death: set on fire.
Location of death: Tarumã, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 24th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: strangled, partially burned
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 19th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: strangled, partially burned
Location of death: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Date of death: February 19th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Carapicuiba, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: February 12th, 2016 source
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Malu (30 years old)
Cause of death: unknown
Location of death: Maracanaú, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: March 11th, 2016 source
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Fabiane Hilario (20 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot at point blank range to the head.
Location of death: Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Date of death: January 27th, 2016 source
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Dani (20 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot to the chest
Location of death: São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Date of death: January 24th, 2016 source
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Bruna Souza (23 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil
Date of death: January 23rd, 2016 source
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Ketelen Alves (23 years old)
Cause of death: gunshots
Location of death: Manaus, Brazil
Date of death: Jaunuay 23rd, 2016 source
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Giovana Atanazio (20 years old)
Cause of death: Thrown from a bridge, drowned
Location of death: São José dos Campos, Brazil
Date of death: January 17th, 2016 source
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unidentified woman
Cause of death: multiple gunshots
Location of death: Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
Date of death: January 4th, 2016 source
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Italy
Thiago Fernando Batista (30 years old)
Cause of death: unknown, body thrown in dumpster.
Location of death: Rome, Italy
Date of death: July 29th, 2016 source
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Mexico
Paulett Gonzalez (24 years old)
Cause of death: murdered, burned beyond recognition.
Location of death: Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico
Date of death: June 2016 source
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Pakistan
Alisha (23 years old)
Cause of death: multiple gunshot wounds.
Location of death: Parda Bagh, Faqirbabad, Pakistan
Date of death: May 25th, 2016 source
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Russia
Raina Aliev (25 years old)
Cause of death: dismembered
Location of death: Dagestan
Date of death: October 2016 source
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Spain
Lorena Reyes (32 years old)
Cause of death: fall, after being stabbed
Location of death: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Date of death: October 24th, 2016 source
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Thailand
Amphon Kongsong (28 years old)
Cause of death: strangled, body stuffed in bed frame.
Location of death: Pattaya, Thailand
Date of death: August 20th, 2016 source
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Turkey
Hande Kader (24 years old)
Cause of death: murdered, burned beyond recognition.
Location of death: Istanbul, Turkey
Date of death: August 2016 source
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USA
Monica Loera (43 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Austin, Texas, USA
Date of death: January 22nd, 2016 source
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Jasmine Sierra (52 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Bakersfield, California, USA
Date of death: January 22nd, 2016 source
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Maya Young (25 years old)
Cause of death: stabbing
Location of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Date of death: February 20th, 2016 source
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Kendarie/Kandicee Johnson (16 years old)
Cause of death: Gunshot
Location of death: Burlington, Iowa
Date of death: March 2nd, 2016 source
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Keyonna Blakeney (22 years old)
Cause of death: upper body trauma
Location of death: Rockville, Maryland, USA
Date of death: May 1st, 2016 source
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Tyreece “Reecey” Walker (32 years old)
Cause of death: multiple stab wounds
Location of death: Wichita, Kansas, USA
Date of death: May 1st, 2016 source
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Mercedes Successful (32 years old)
Cause of death: gunshot
Location of death: Haines City, Florida, USA
Date of death: May 15th, 2016 source
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Amos Beede (38 years old)
Cause of death: beaten to death
Location of death: Burlington, Vermont
Date of death: May 22nd, 2016 source
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Devin Diamond (22 years old)
Cause of death: blunt force trauma, set on fire
Location of death: New Orleans, Louisiana
Date of death: June 5th, 2016 source
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Deeniquia Dodds (22 years old)
Cause of death: shot
Location of death: Washington D.C., USA
Date of death: July 4th, 2016 source
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Dee Whigham (36 years old)
Cause of death: stabbed to death
Location of death: St. Martin, Mississippi, USA
Date of death: July 23rd, 2016 source
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Erykah Tijerina (36 years old)Cause of death: Stabbed 24 times
Location of death: El Paso, Texas, USA
Date of death: August 8th, 2016 source
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Rae’lynn Thomas (28 years old)
Cause of death: Shot at point blank range
Location of death: Columbus, Ohio, USA
Date of death: August 10th, 2016 source
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TT Saffore (26 years old)
Cause of death: Throat cut
Location of death: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date of death: September 11th, 2016 source
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Crystal Edmonds (32 years old)
Cause of death: Shot in back of head
Location of death: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Date of death: March September 16th, 2015 source
The primary, if (mostly) unspoken, purpose of voter ID laws is to keep down turnout among African-American voters who prefer Democrats. But one of the side effects of the laws is that they make it harder for trans voters too. An estimated 34,000 trans voters may find it impossible to cast a ballot this election because they can’t clear the hurdles that Republican legislatures have put in place.
According to a report from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, eight states have laws that make voting incredibly (and perhaps intentionally) difficult for trans people. At issue is the need to produce documentation, such as a birth certificate, that not only proves that they are U.S. citizens but that also reflects their gender. Of course, North Carolina, hotbed of anti-trans activity, is one of the eight offending states.
“Transgender people have unique, and sometimes insurmountable, burdens to obtaining accurate IDs for voting in states that require it,”says Williams Institute Scholar Jody Herman, the author of the study.
Changing documents so that they accurately reflect the voter’s gender is a burdensome and often costly process that requires jumping through a series of bureaucratic hoops. Needless to say, that burden falls disproportionately on transgender people of color, youth, students and people with disabilities. The National Center for Transgender Equality has a checklist for voters to help them navigate both pre- and post-Election Day challenges.
Did Republican legislators intentionally decide to craft laws that target trans voters? Probably not. But that if they did, they’d consider it a feature of the law, not a bug.
Cause of death: Stabbed 24 times
