Is the world today leaving us here behind?

[OCCarly]

Many states have floated legislation to limit trans rights. My state, Texas tried 7 different anti-trans bills, the worst of which would've slapped us with a high fine and a year in jail for using the women's restroom. These bills failed - we stopped 'em in Texas. We've stopped 'em pretty much everywhere this year.

However, last month, Houston voters, overwhelmingly voted down an equal rights ordinance because it was called "a bathroom bill", by the right. Houston is the FOURTH largest city in the US. It has a huge LGBT population, and an out lesbian serving as mayor. This ordinance should have passed. It didn't because the opponents of it used a simple, but nasty slur against trans people: "No men in women's restrooms." The governor and lt. Governor called us rapists and pedophiles, bankrolling a nasty commercial showing a shadowy man confronting a little girl in a restroom.

They are going to bring this strategy to your town, unrolling LGBT friendly laws town by town.

They are trying to do that with a ballot initiative here in California. Some bunch of "Christians" from Texas is going around to all the evangelical churches here gathering signatures. But we are not going to let a bunch of carpetbaggers from Texas tell us how to run things here in Cali. Things have changed a little since the bad old days of Proposition 8.

To the OP, Jenni, FWIW, there are other places on the web that address just the concerns you listed, but they are different from this place. They lack the stability, the sense of community, and it gets depressing spending my time among a bunch of much younger transgenders who are transitioning at the speed of light compared to me because I am (successfully so far) trying to preserve a marriage and a career.

I am here because this is a stable community of folks who are here for the long term, and I am here because this is a fun place to be. I go to other places on the web to engage in activism. I am a member of the Transgender Law Network (as my male self) and I do engage in activism in the real world.

But not here. To me at least, this is a place to relax and have fun.