It has to be an interesting time to be transgendered, especially living in Arizona. The city of Scottsdale is still dealing with the civil rights battle between Michele deLaFreniere and Anderson's Fifth Estate owner Tom Anderson. So locally the struggle for acceptance continues. However, nationally, we just saw the passing of ENDA in the house, and the legislation that passed includes protection for gender identity. This step is monumental. So, it would seem in the bigger picture, progress is positive.
However, there is one area where continued improvement needs to happen. In case your not aware, members of the transgendered community are often times victims of violence that is triggered just because of who they are. There are some people that are so offended that they feel just in their attacks. Several days ago, azfamily.com ran an article about the above mention deLaFreniere. Comments that were posted in response to the article were so vile that the article was removed from the site midday. There were threats and wishes of death. It was appalling.
Just two years ago, Arizona lay witness to the murder of a member of this community. In 2005, Amancio Corrales of Yuma was found beaten and drowned in the Colorado River. The killers still have not been found.
In an effort to pay homage to those we have lost, the Transgendered Day of Remember was launched in 1999. This Sunday, November 18, if you're available, please come out and attend this event to be held at the AZ state capital, 1700 West Washington Street.
For additional information, please visit http://www.azdor.org/
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