Road Trip! Driving Pretty and helping lobby for Trans rights!

[Ceera]

Today I had quite a memorable experience. Over the last two years I have gotten pretty used to going out en-femme for local social occasions, or going shopping or to do day to day things as a woman, and at some out of town events I have ventured out from my hotel room for an outing. But I've always had a way to change back or to refresh my presentation either at home or at the hotel, only minutes away.

Well, today I pushed for several new personal firsts, so I could join a group of people from the group "Basic Rights Oregon" on a road trip to the state capitol, to talk to members of our state Senate and House of Representatives, to ensure their support for several bills under consideration to become new laws supporting Transgender and LGBTQ rights.

My day started at 6 AM, getting dolled up and on the road by 7:30 AM. And that started my first new experience of the day, "Driving Pretty" for over an hour, to get from the town I live in, to the State Capitol. I had a lovely drive, through three small towns before joining the main freeway for the last half hour of that trip. (And of course, I got to do it again for the trip back to my home town.)

That also put me over an hour away from my "safety net", as I was fully en-femme, with no way to change back to male presentation and clothes until I drove all the way home again! Another first for me. I brought my full makeup kit in my purse, so I could refresh my makeup on site and not end up with beard showing through my makeup by mid day.

The trip's purpose was another first for me, either en-femme or as my birth gender - getting involved in politics and lobbying for reform to current laws. In particular, one bill we were supporting was to modify state laws for how to get a name change and gender marker change on a birth certificate approved. The proposed new law simplifies the process and protects applicant's privacy and security. Another new bill was the first ever Oregon proposed law specifically to protect Transgender rights, improving access to health care for Trans employees of contractors working on State projects. Other supported bills were to help LGBTQ minors, and to help with reproductive services access for Trans people (like ensuring an FtM trans man could still get a hysterectomy or pap smear test).

Over 150 Trans and LGBTQ allies people showed up with our Basic Rights Oregon group, plus another 80 people from a human rights group. Together we went through a training session in how to talk to our politicians about proposed laws and seek their support. Then, after a brief lunch, we walked to the Capitol and went in small groups, based on our home cities, to talk to our representatives and senators about the legislation. My group, in addition to myself (gender-fluid, non-binary, MtF trans woman) included another MtF Trans woman and her GG wife; a supportive ally GG mom who brought her LGBTQ daughter and one of her daughter's female friends (both in high school) to participate; the ally father of a trans non-binary college age child; and one experienced volunteer lobbyist, a lady from England who is married to an MtF trans woman. We got to meet with two congresswomen representing our city, and with one male Senator, all of whom were very supportive!

I finally got home again at 6 PM, making it roughly 12 solid hours for me remaining solidly en-femme.

I will only post two pictures here. One is a selfie of me at the Capitol, and the other is a group shot, which is part of our small group posing with our Senator (he is the guy with the red necktie). The mom and two high school kids had to leave before we met the Senator. Everyone in the group shot gave their permission to post the photo, and the senator himself posted an almost identical group shot - taken with his own phone - to his Facebook page.

[Rachelakld]

sounds like a long road, well done and hope everything goes well

[Aunt Kelly]

Well done, Ceera. I am so proud of you, taking this big step, and for such a noble cause. I have every confidence that the legislators in Oregon will pass those bills.

Hugs,


Kelly

[bridget thronton]

Thanks for standing up for our rights

[Helen_Highwater]

Sounds like you had both an interesting and enjoyable day. Well done for getting involved. Did any of the politicians give you any feedback as to how they viewed the legislation proposals?

[Ceera]

Thanks everyone. So far, the bill about the name and gender marker change has passed in the House (it had gotten that far before our trip yesterday), with all the democrats and two republicans voting in favor. It just needs to pass in the Senate, where the democrats also have a majority, to go to our governor for her approval, to become law. Since the changes do not affect state budgets, it only needs a simple majority to pass. The governor herself is openly LGBTQ, so it should pass.

Some important things the new name / gender marker law would improve are:

* Allows court cases to be held by any circuit court in the state
* Changes the requirements wording for all methods so it no longer explicitly states that SRS has been completed! The new law only requires the applicant themselves to attest that they have "undergone surgical, hormonal or other treatment appropriate for the individualfor the purpose of affirming gender identity". This is huge for non-binary individuals, for whom bottom surgery may not be at all appropriate.
* The wording of the law regarding gender markers does not specify they must be "male" or "female". A county court in Oregon recently approved a non-binary marker for an applicant.
* Eliminates a requirement to publicly post the applicants former and new identy information, as that was causing identity theft and personal security problems.
* Allows the change record to be sealed, so the legal identity documents look as if the new gender marker was always there.
* Allows the applicant to go directly to the state registrar to apply for the change, bypassing the court hearings and lawyer fees! Not only does this greatly simplify the application process and reduce costs, but it also reduces courthouse workload.

The three democratic politicians we spoke with all indicated their full support for all four bills that we talked about. The one about employees working for contractors who want State contracts may be the hardest to pass, as the Insurance lobby will be fighting that, and it may require more than a simple majority to pass.

- - - Updated - - -

One more pic - here is how I was dressed all day. Picture is taken standing beside the door to the Governor's office.

I wore a black women's skirted suit, with a black jacket that had turned-up cuffs, a black skirt, black blouse with silver decorations on the neckline, black nylon stockings, and 'sensible' black pumps.

[Lana Mae]

Congrats for your steps along your journey! Thanks for sharing and representing us! Hugs Lana Mae