What Are Our Rights?
So much going on in the world today with religious and world leaders bound and determined to rule over what someone does with their own body. And just what gives them the authority to say what I can do with my body, or what you can do with your body? How do they feel as if they have the final say in abortions, gender confirmation surgery, and other extremely personal decisions? Even with topics such as alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana, I’m leaning toward let people do what they do, as long as we don’t infringe upon the rights of others. What are our rights? Well, luckily the Human Rights Campaign has put the Bill of Rights into layman’s terms, meaning something we can all read and understand: “Amendment 1 Congress can’t make any law that:
Congress can’t stop people from having and carrying weapons. Amendment 3 You don’t have to let soldiers live in your house, except if there is a war, and even then Congress needs to pass a law and set the rules. Amendment 4 Nobody can search your body, or your house, or your papers and things, unless they can prove to a judge that they have a good reason for the search. Amendment 5 Except during times of war or if you are in the military:
If you are arrested and charged with a crime:
You also have the right to a jury when it is a civil case (a law case between two people rather than between you and the government). Amendment 8 The government can’t make you pay more than is reasonable in bail or in fines, and the government can’t inflict cruel or unusual punishments (like torture) even if you are convicted of a crime. Amendment 9 Just because these rights are listed in the Constitution doesn’t mean that you don’t have other rights too. Amendment 10 Anything that the Constitution doesn’t say that Congress can do, is left up to the states and to the people.” So, now that we know our rights. We can understand what we should expect for ourselves and from our government. We also have the Declaration of Independence, which is a separate but important document. Written almost ten years earlier than the Constitution, it gives the layout of how our Forefather’s saw this country’s vision. As a place where “All men are created equal” and “Endowed with.. certain inalienable rights..” Honestly, I believe the word “persons” would be better suited here, but I know these times are pre-civil rights era. I will stick with persons for now. Leaving us with the end of the statement “Certain inalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Of course that is limited to not trampling over another person’s rights, but let’s think about this. If it makes a person happy to bang some hair, most would naturally want them to pursue that happiness by encouraging them to go to cosmetology school, learn hair design, or attend barber classes. Perhaps you’re tired of the town you grew up in, have been there all your life and want to move to a brand new city in order to pursue happiness? Would you expect a negative reaction from friends or family? Potentially, but more than likely not, if they thought you would have a better life for doing so. Then why are so many transgender people told we are wrong for pursuing what makes us happy? I am happy to be James, be a father, partner, writer, and an advocate. I am just me; because that’s what makes me happy. Trying to be a gender I didn’t feel comfortable with wasn’t bringing me joy and was holding me back from pursuing happiness for myself. Being a gender I didn’t truly feel fit the inside wasn’t satisfying my life. It’s like having the outside of your house be the original 1930’s design and having the inside be completely remodeled to a 2017 fashion. No one could tell from the outside what’s within, except the ones that live there. Same with transgender people, we know ourselves better than you know us, so let’s leave the decisions we make about our bodies up to us. Same goes for individuals born with a uterus and their reproductive rights. STOP TELLING US WHAT WE CAN AND CAN’T DO WITH OUR BODIES, THEY AREN’T YOURS! When I read over the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, it makes me happy to think the basic fundamentals of a free society are hiding in there somewhere, we just have to make them apply to this century. Now, let’s go on to Liberty, yes I know I am doing them in reverse order. Liberty, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, states that Liberty is: “the quality or state of being free; the power to do as one pleases; freedom from physical restraint; the power of choice.” I like that last one “the power of choice”. If we look at both pursuit of Happiness and Liberty together, we can understand that we, as citizens should enjoy the power to do as we choose to pursue our own individual happiness. Except there are policies and religious laws allowing people to be discriminated against or turned away from businesses, housing, and employment. The essentials to live a life is gainful employment and a home to live in. Unfortunately, it’s not the best case scenario for all individuals. Did you know that 20% of transgender youths will have experienced homelessness? The transgender population as a whole has an overwhelming number of 1 in 5 that have unstable housing (per the Gender Minorities & Homelessness Report: Transgender Population). These numbers are astrological in comparison to the cis-gender population (people whose gender aligns both inside and outside). When I think about the words written in the Constitution, my first thought is we should all be equal, there should be no discrimination. Let us delve into the Fourteenth Amendment for a moment. Constitution.org has a great resource for learning about the Constitution of our country. It states that the Equal Protection Clause should not discriminate. Initially this was racially motivated to say that the races were equal. However, I believe this should extend outward to “all persons”. Meaning, all persons should not be discriminated against. As we are seeing with our current administration in DC, they are gouging holes in our Constitution, solely based on exact wording that isn’t in our Constitution. Which is why discrimination based on sex isn’t okay, but since it doesn’t specifically include the words “gender”, resulting in legal discrimination against who? Transgender people. An easy target, since many religious sects shun us, many of our family members have fallen to the way-side, and we lose friends more often that grandma misplaces her glasses! The Wikipedia entry about the Fourteenth Amendment lists this as the description of the Equal Protection Clause: “The clause, which took effect in 1867, provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction, “the equal protection of the laws”. Why is our own government denying it’s citizens equal rights and equal protections? Why are states ripping citizen’s rights and protections away to favor religious organizations? Perhaps because we are different. But different doesn’t equal wrong, or bad. It just means unique. I’m sure we all have traits that set us apart from others, even our relatives. I heard a quote once that said “If everyone in the world was exactly the same, it would be a boring place”. Before I go off on a very long tangent, I should wrap this up. But not before saying this: Think about it: What if the next persons to be discriminated against is people like you? http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ https://www.livescience.com/4995-declaration-independence-changed-world.html https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv/the-equal-protection-clause/clause/20 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liberty http://www.nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/in-focus_transgender_sep2014_final.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Protection_Clause
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Last night after waking from a nap, I got the idea to turn the television on for the first time in over a week. Upon doing so was the horrifying news there was an active shooter on the Las Vegas strip. Not knowing how many lives were affected at the time, I sat and watched in horror as the events unfolded throughout the night. First reports were wildly inaccurate as the accusations were stating multiple casinos were involved. However, it was discovered later that those were just hype since people were so on edge. It was difficult to believe my eyes as tweets, Facebook posts and social media videos began to surface about the incident. Almost immediately locals took to Facebook crisis response offering help in the form of rides for stranded visitors, temporary shelter, food, clothes, and even some baby items like diapers were available for the victims.
Being just a few miles down the road from the carnage, made for a very scary night. Especially, since the initial reports included a “suspicious device” in an SUV that was parked at the Luxor. Bringing the threat of safety to a much wider area than simply the Las Vegas strip. As I sat and watched the live scenes, it was a gruesome account as bullets were flying, bodies dropping, and the death count rising. The first toll said 24 injured, 2 dead. However, the survivors fleeing from the scene, detailed a very different count of numbers as they were interviewed. As the night became the wee hours of the morning, the sheriff gave an even more frightening number, this time the report was 50 dead, more than 100 injured. Katherine and I watched the live footage, which had taken over all of the local news media channels. Many national and international media crews were in town already for the release of O.J. Simpson from the Nevada prison. This made media access very easy. The tales of the helpers that were plugging bullet wounds with their bare hands, or their fingers in a bleeding hole, the people throwing themselves in harm’s way for their loved ones, began to surface shortly after, as survivors came rushing from the scene. We weren’t sure as to what to do, except to check on the people we have met in Vegas since living here. The weight of this tragedy has been far reaching, since many of the victims that died, were from several other states around the country and Canada. Today, reading over some of the victims list, I found listings from California, Tennessee, New Mexico, Canada, along with Nevada residents. There were people from varying walks of life. We very well could have been among the fallen, thankfully we were home with our children, resting for the week ahead. However, we’ve been discussing doing more activities here in Las Vegas. Now that this has occurred, it’s sent a massive shock to over 500 hundred directly, and people like us, indirectly. Although, we were home safely, we were still scared stiff. We were unable to sleep until after 5 in the morning, even though the incident happened at few minutes after ten pm. Our PTSD had been affected and there isn’t anything we can do, except cope and keep going. For the hundreds of people whose lives have been forever altered, that’s what they will have to find a way to do as well, as best as they can. Is to pick up the remaining pieces and keep going forward. There will be a sadness hoovering over our community for a long time. We will still be picking up the pieces here to feel safe in our neighborhoods, in our community, and home. I’ve seen the difference today in the faces of the others I’ve met in passing. While out and about the frowns looked more resounding; the “hello’s” sounded more concrete; the “how are you’s” seemed more genuine. People’s faces and demeanor had changed from the week before. The promise of tomorrow isn’t a solid one, even though the sun will most likely rise, we may not. Knowing there was such awful events the day before, made thankfulness readily available to those spared. The monstrous events yesterday, also made sadness, grief, and fear inevitable. I cannot begin to imagine the grief brought about by actually being in the event of such a massacre. Being on the outside looking in, being just a few miles outside the carnage zone, doesn’t make one feel safe either. Having PTSD will most likely be a reality for the survivors, in addition some may experience survivor’s guilt. Both are hard to live with, and at times difficult to manage. Living with post-traumatic stress disorder, taking on only what I’m comfortable with is best. I’ve learned a few things that have helped me when in a PTSD flare.
This will not heal the broken heart, but it can help you to feel safer, loved, and to get through until it is mended. |
Authors:James and Katherine are a transgender couple raising two kids. They were southerners when coming to understand themselves as trans. Ultimately it lead to a nearly three year road trip to find home. Now they are re-housed and still focused on outreach in the transgender community! Archives
October 2020
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