President Obama's Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced the official observance of November 20th as Transgender Day of Remembrance to memorialize deaths of people who suffered with sexual confusion -- some of whom assumed to have been murdered because of their nonconformist lifestyles.
For background, read Obama, Senate Continue to Push Transgender Privilege and also read how "transgender rights" means Naked Men Allowed in Girls Locker Rooms by Law even though Transgenderism is a 'Delusion' According to Victim
-- From "Statement by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on Transgender Day of Remembrance" posted at ENews Park Forest (IL) 11/20/12
"I stand proudly today — and every day — as an ally to the transgender community and to every person and family impacted by anti-transgender bullying and violence. Transgender people are part of the diversity that America celebrates today and they, like every American, deserve to live without fear of prejudice or violence.
"What Gwendolyn Ann Smith began as an online project in 1998 to memorialize Rita Hester's murder has today evolved to include hundreds of vigils and events in workplaces, churches and community centers around the world. I hope that this year's commemoration will serve as an opportunity to shine a brighter light on both progress made and the challenges ahead."
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From "White House meeting held on transgender rights" posted at Wisconsin Gazette 11/20/12
A group of transgender community advocates met with White House staff to mark the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance and discuss ways to ensure dignity, equality and justice for all people, according to a release from the White House.
The White House statement said, "Throughout America and around the world, many transgender people face bullying, harassment, discrimination, and violence. Far too often, we hear shocking and tragic stories about transgender people who have been assaulted and even killed because of their gender identity or expression. The Obama administration is committed to preventing violence against all people, including all members of the LGBT community, and this meeting was an important opportunity to explore ways to make our communities and neighborhoods safer."
Gautam Raghavan, associate director in the White House Office of Public Engagement, said, "In the months and years ahead, we look forward to working to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all transgender people.
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From "Struggles of transgender people garner attention" by Hannah Gaber, Arizona Daily Star 11/20/12
"Gender identity is part of your core," says Dr. Melissa Levine of El Sol Family Medicine, who includes "Are you a boy or a girl?" in her basic "well-child check."
It's important to note that gender and sexuality are not the same thing, Levine says. People can say with conviction at 3 or 4 years old which gender they are - even if it's different from the one they were born with. At that age, she says, children have no concept of sexuality.
"Trans kids have a long-term, unchanging view of themselves," says Martie van der Voort, a counselor with the University of Arizona Counseling and Psych Services who specializes in gender and lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender issues. She says this often comes along with a "sometimes belligerent refusal to accept their birth-body."
Dr. Richard Muszynski, a Tucson clinical psychologist whose practice includes transgender patients, says transgender individuals more often display depression, attempt suicide, abuse substances and cut themselves than those who do not struggle with gender issues.
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From "Transgender Day of Remembrance on Tuesday" by Barbara Blake, Asheville Citizen-Times 11/18/12
One of the city’s more somber ceremonies will take place Tuesday evening when members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and their straight allies gather for the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Community activist Monroe Gilmour, coordinator of WNC Citizens Ending Institutional Bigotry, said the Mountain Area Health Education Center’s Southeastern Transgender Health Summit in August was “an important and eye-opening conference.”
Samuel “Basil” Soper, founder and president of Just Us For All, said he is not aware of any local transgender people being murdered.
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From "Ceremony at Oakland center honors victims of anti-transgender violence" by Madeleine Thomas, Oakland North 11/19/12
Despite the rain, more than 100 people came to the Oakland Peace Center for the ceremony.
“Some people die in car accidents, cancer or being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Tiffany Woods, program coordinator for TransVision, a program of the HIV Services Department of Tri-City Health Center, a community clinic in Fremont serving high-risk populations in Alameda County. “Trans people are killed just for the fact that they are challenging people’s perceptions of religion, gender and sexuality.”
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, Oakland Police Department spokesperson Johnna Watson, and the Judge Vicky Kolakowski—the country’s first openly transgender Superior Court trial judge—spoke throughout the night.
Anti-transgender bias compounded with racism is particularly high for transgender Latino and Latina and people of color, according a 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey from the National Center for Transgender Equality.
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Also read 2-year-old Says She's a Boy, 'Parents' Say OK as well as 4-year-old Says I'm a Boy AND a Girl, NY Times Loves It
