SCOUTS and the Voting Rights Act

Today the Supreme Court decided to strike down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which gave congress the power to review states with histories of race discrimination before they changed their voting laws. They found that this was unconstitutional and that the states had the right to decide whatever they wanted about voting laws. The thing is, that voting is a right, not a privilege and a right that must be afforded to all. Immediately after the decision states started putting in place new voter ID laws which inherently discriminates against minorities, people in poverty, and the elderly by requiring voters to display photo ID before making their trip into the booths. Many people cant afford these IDs, have no residence to tie them to and so many other complications that have arisen from such laws. They tried to enact one of these laws in Pennsylvania in 2012 for the presidential elections but pulled it at the last minute because of controversy.
The vote in this case was 5-4 with the majority including all the conservative justices, including chief justice John Roberts and Clarence Thomas. The latter vote confuses me because as a person of color, Justice Thomas should realize the implications this decision could have on communities of color. He should also realize why this law was created in the first place, to protect African Americans from the voting discrimination such as the literacy tests that they were forced to take in order to register to vote. When I was younger, I learned about freedom summer in 1964 when thousands went down to the south to register people of color to vote. I wonder if something like this could happen again now that the Voting Rights Act has essentially been gutted.
I have no expectations about what will happen tomorrow with the vote on DOMA and Prop 8. Even though gay marriage is an issue I am not fiercely passionate about, I still support the cause because I know that there are many rights denied to couples who aren't married.
In addition the Supreme Court made another decision today in the case of baby girl vs. adoptive couple in which they bypassed the ruling of a South Carolina court which gave custody of a baby girl to her biological father in lieu of a couple that had raised her since birth. The interesting thing about this case is that the father was part of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma who ruled as a sovereign state that this girl was also part of their nation. The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 was written to curb the adoption of native children by non native parents, hoping to end the troubling trend that had been started when america put native children in homes and boarding schools in order to make them more civilized. The court ruled that the father would not have custody of his child because the child was only a tiny fraction Cherokee. However, the Cherokee nation does not decide the identity of the child based on genetics but rather on what the tribal council thinks. The council ruled that the child was considered part of their nation, therefore the supreme court was undermining their authority to decide such things when they issued their ruling today. This could have a wide impact on many native children who are being ripped from their tribes because of their adoption by non native couples. Its just another way we are slowly expelling native Americans from this country.
Ultimately, I don't think the Supreme Court will rule positively in any case until we have more liberal justices. In this current configuration, conservatives always win and will continue to do so.

Today is verrtual lobby day to repeal DADT. Don't Ask Don't Tell is a policy that keeps our men and women in uniform from being who they really are. This is not right, the military are government employees, if things like ENDA are passed then basically the government violates them. Everyones parents tell them that they can be what ever they want when they grow up, but what if thats not true? I just want to know why the policy is still in place. Tell me. 

more about the T.

When was the last time you were sitting in your GSA and someone brought up a transgender issue? Do you even know what transgender issues are? I think a lot of people forget about transgender issues in their GSA's because transgender kids aren't as prevalent in our schools as gay's and lesbians. The reason for this is that Transgender kids have a harder time coming out than other students. Being transgender involves a lot of money, time, commitment and emotional distress. Teenagers have a hard time doing this because they know it will be a long and hard process that might cause much pain to them and their loved ones. They are afraid to be themselves. Some are so afraid that they keep it a secret their entire lives. I have 2 stories I'd like to share with you so that you can see how different Transgender people's experiences can be. The first story I'd like to tell you is about a boy, lets just call him r. He is an FTM who started his transition last year. When he first told his parents, who are divorced they were not exactly supportive. But they came around eventually, buying him a binder and considering a name change. R has since started a you tube blog that talks about Transgender issues and is in the process of writing a bill that will allow students to have their chosen names on official school documents like yearbooks and ID cards. He is a shining example of a transgender success story and he is a really inspiring person to talk to, he has become a role model of mine, changing the transgender world one step at a time. The next story is about a girl, lets just call her C. She is an FTM that has not begun her transition yet. Being transgendered is all about the transition from gender of origin to gender of choice. C has told most of her friends that she is trans, but is afraid of what her parent's reaction will be. She is involved in the LGBT community and is getting help from the people around her, but she does not know when she will tell her parents. I don't think she keeps secrets, but I think she is afraid, the fear that keeps you from coming out.
Please take these stories to heart and share them, so that the world is afraid no more.

The T in LGBT

We talk alot about how this is an LGBT blog. But I dont think anyone talks enough about the T in LGBT. Transgender people suffer many hardships, just as much if not more than gay's and lesbians. Transgender people often dont feel comfortable with their own bodies and some cant even look at themselves in the mirror. They have to go through so much to make them feel and look like the other gender. Some struggle with name changes and being called their birth gender, others are not accepted anywhere and feel like they have nowhere to turn. I have a friend who I met on the internet who is trans. He is FTM (male to female) and struggles to be accepted by his family and in school. He made me begin to question my own gender. I have always had male and female qualities. When I was young, I always used to get mistaken for a boy. I sometimes still do. I love to hang out with the guys and talk about guy stuff. But I also love to dress up and feel pretty. I like having the guys take care of me and treat me like a lady. What I have concluded about myself is that I am like a tuffle . With a very beautiful, feminine, loving outside and a gooey, boyish, playful and inappropriate on the inside.  I am genderqueer. I am both a boy and a girl and I like the way I am. I sometimes wish I had male genitals but most of the time I am happy with my body. I love to joke and be tough and play sports (but in a very girly way, I am so bad at sports). I think that gender identity is something that the LGBT community should take more seriously. Combating Transgender bullying and harassment is important too. So is helping teens to combat dysphoria, which debilitates teens so often and no one even knows. It's sad to see people go through this. I want to help.

"here come the business men like a heard a cattle rumbling in the exchange has officially begun, and all the offices or buzzing the executives are busy bees, watch the keys turn in the employees" - Turn, Smile, Shift, Repeat, Phantom Planet

read my new blog post at&nbsp;<a href="http://blog.dayofsilence.org/2010/04/day-of-silence-student-voices-emmy-new.html">http://blog.dayofsilence.org/2010/04/day-of-silence-student-voices-emmy-new.html</a>
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LGBT Activism at it's Best!

I took a break for a few days but now i am back. During the time I was gone I met some amazing people and did some amazing things. At a screening for a documentary screening called bullicides (about LGBT kids who are bullied so badly they commit suicide) I met Daryl Presgraves who is the communications director for GLSEN and Dr. Eliza Bayard the executive director of GLSEN. Daryl recognized me from my tweets asking me if i was rememberandhope on twitter. When I replied that I was he told me that he loves my tweets and reccomended that I apply for the GLSEN ambassadors program, which connects LGBT youth with social media. I also met, through her website and a confrence call Laura who is the executive director of NMB and who is organizing for harvey milk day in may. Day of silence is on friday and I am so pumped! I am so excited to participate, organize and get active for this most wonderful event. I have been planning ever since last years DOS and now my plans are finally coming true. Now I am just trying to get the word out and do the right thing. Also, I started a conversation with Ryan Cassata a 16 year old FTM transgender. He is so nice and so smart and inspiring. I think that he can help me alot and we can eventually partner to do something great together. I love meeting new people, being an LGBT activist and just making the world a better place.

Passover and Activism

Passover is a day where we celebrate freedom and commemorate the Jews "coming out" of Egypt. I think that Passover is the Jewish holiday that has the strongest connection to activism that I know of. Freedom is something that we in the LGBT community do not have yet. We cannot come out openly into our metaphorical Egypt and we have no guiding force like Moshe to lead us out. Which is why even the people in the back can do their part to help start the journey. Even in the passover story every action has a reaction. Moshe's mom did not want to let her baby die and put herself in danger to protect him, it was a small action that produced a huge reaction. Just remember all of the things you can do, no matter how small they seem to make a difference. You can organize Day of Silence at your school which could lead to huge numbers of people joining your GSA and then you guys organizing a rally, and so on. Its like that Disney song. The "Friends for Change" http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/friendsforchange/ program is focused on the environment and helping kids to do their part in helping to save the planet. Their main message is that kids can do something to change the world even if it is that one little thing. The Jewish people all worked together to get out of Egypt and do something great. The Friends for Change program seeks to work with kids, just as Moshe worked with the Jewish people. This lesson about passover something that I think should be shared at every Seder and included in every Hagaddah because it is something that everyone needs to know.

"With one little action the chain reaction
We'll help it start
Make it strong
Shine a light and send it on" - Disney's Friends for Change, Send it On

Thank you and have a Happy Passover