On this edition of TRW, I finally have some good news to share. There have been several disturbing occurrences, yes, but also some promising legislative achievements! So let’s get on with it!

Virginia

Governor Northam of Virginia signed into law the ‘Virginia Values Act’. It is a landmark amendment to the Virginia Human Rights Act, extending protection from discrimination to LGBTQ people. It takes care to define gender identity in very liberal terms:

The term “gender identity,” when used in reference to discrimination in the Code and acts of the General Assembly, means the gender-related identity, appearance, or other gender-related

characteristics of an individual, with or without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth. Senate Bill 868, ‘Virginia Values Act’

This is a huge victory. Virginia is the first state in the south to extend discrimination protection to cover gender and sexuality. These protections come after the historic democratic takeover of the Virginian state government. The 2018 midterms saw three federal House seats flipped, and in 2019 the democrats flipped the state senate and governor’s mansion.

This blue wave can be largely accredited to a record number of women and progressive candidates that ran in response to the 2016 presidential election.

Now, trans Virginians can sue over discrimination in employment, housing, and much more. Hopefully this will spur more states to guarantee trans rights.

TSA

We move into some more negative news now. Mother Kimberly Erway has, on behalf of her 16 year old trans daughter, filed a lawsuit against the TSA, the agency that manages security checks in airports. This is not the first time the TSA has faced a legal challenge; it has long been accused of violations of privacy and the 4th amendment.

See, the TSA uses body scanners to detect anything hidden under someone’s clothes. The scanners have 2 settings: male and female. Male accounts for the existence of a penis, Female accounts for breasts and bra straps. You already see the problem.

When Jamii Erway went through this scanner, her feminine clothing and male anatomy caused the scanner to go off. That would be fine (well, not really, but it would have been like every other time this had happened), except the TSA agent on the scene decided to break protocol. Jamii explained her gender situation to the scanner operator and the agent, but she was ignored.

TSA procedure called for a quick pat-down of Jamii’s crotch, with the back of the hand. The agent, however, demanded Jamii come into a private room and submit to a strip search. Jamii refused, as she had every right to, and, after her mom refused to order her to comply as the agent requested, her mom rented a car and they drove the 600 miles home.

Indonesia

CW: Descriptions of extreme violence

In a horrific act of hate, a trans woman in Indonesia was beaten with a log and set on fire by a mob of six, three of whom have been arrested.

You’d expect this to be met by at least life in prison. However, the police’s charges could leave the murderers with at most 12 years in prison. This is because the charge isn’t for murder. It’s for assault.

Supposedly, when they doused the woman in petrol and lit a lighter, they did not intend to set her on fire. Because they didn’t mean to actually burn her alive, they get off with ‘physical violence’.

This has unsurprisingly been condemned by global rights advocacy groups, such as Amnesty International.

“This despicable murder must be investigated urgently. It would not be the first time that LGBTI people in Indonesia have been violently targeted simply for who they are.

“Without prompt action from the authorities to cast light on this horrifying crime and bring perpetrators to justice, transgender people in Indonesia will feel even further neglected and vilified by their government.

This despicable murder must be investigated urgently. It would not be the first time that LGBTI people in Indonesia have been violently targeted simply for who they are.

Without prompt action from the authorities to cast light on this horrifying crime and bring perpetrators to justice, transgender people in Indonesia will feel even further neglected and vilified by their government. Usman Hamid, Amnesty International

Indonesia has been a hotbed of anti-trans violence for years; this is yet another occurrence in a long line of violence

Norway

Let’s end off on a high note. The Norwegian government has extended it’s hate crime legislation to protect trans people. The country’s Labor party, along with advocacy groups, introduced this back in 2018, and it has finally been codified into law.

In the end, it seems to have been a bipartisan effort, and government officials are encouraged by this success. Unfortunately I cannot find much more information on this subject, but I assure you if I can find more sources on how this was passed I will include it in the next edition.

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