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Equality Forum: Transgender Panel Members ‘Still Have To Do These 101s’

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The New Civil Rights Movement’s John Culhane is the official blogger for Equality Forum, Philadelphia’s internationally known and always interesting cavalcade of events that celebrates, informs and provokes on all (or many, anyway) things LGBT. John will be sharing reports daily over the next few days. Read all John’s Equality Forum posts here. 

It’s fair to say that the Transgender Panel is the one I always await most eagerly at the annual Equality Forum. It’s uniformly interesting and edgy. And it’s nice to get beyond the formal equality that most often drives our sprawling community(ies) and into the murkier waters of social justice. Last night’s panel did not disappoint.

The room was packed by about 70 people, many of whom engaged the panelists in a dialogue that can only loosely be described as Q&A. As invited by moderator Joe Ippolito, the mostly transgender audience wove their compelling personal narratives into their exchanges with the willing panelists, who were very free about ceding air time. The panelists were: Jeanine Ruhsam, President of TransCentral Pennsylvania (an advocacy group); Melissa Sklarz, President of the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC; and Kye Allums, who made history by playing for a women’s Division 1 basketball team at George Washington University while identifying as a male (despite female biological origin).

The evening had two themes. First, were the gay and lesbian advocates the natural advocates of the trans-community?

Second, what is the teaching role of transpeople? (Do they “still have to do these Trans 101s?” as Ippolito so perfectly asked.)

Addressing these themes allowed both panelists and audience members to share their personal stories and experiences in illuminating ways. For example, one audience member bemoaned the fact that she’s been doing trans-activism for almost “40 years, and [is] tired of it.” She also felt as though she was often a “trans-token” on LGB (not so much T) panels and boards.

Well, who wouldn’t get tired of this? And Ruhsam gently agreed that sometimes one just needs a break. But generally, the panelists and some of the audience members were committed to the on-going project of education, and thought that such education had already helped make lesbians and gays into the allies that we should have been long ago. Ruhsam noted that we all “mess with gender” in ways that are discomfiting to the sexual majority. (I’d agree, although it’s fair to say that some gay men and a few lesbians have tried to cover “our hurt with a show of gladness,” to quote Smokey Robinson. But no amount of adoption, mainstreaming or wishful thinking can change the brute facts.)

Sklarz thought that gays and lesbians were “maybe” natural allies to the transcommunity, but agreed with one astute audience member (me) that perhaps more support had come from the public health community. It’s easy to see why Sklarz — whom I’d describe, not uncharitably, as the most world-weary of the group — would be likely to view public health advocates as natural allies. She described her own long journey, a bumpy ride that included substance abuse and long-term unemployment (that started as soon as she began transitioning by taking hormones). It’s really the public health community that would look to particular communities to find practical solutions to these problems rather than the rights-driven approach of the mainstream lesbian and gay community. Yet Sklarz — now a high-profile Democrat, after all –  understood the importance of alliances toward the goal of transrights, and said she’d take anyone who’d work with her. And some of these mainstream legal struggles — even for marriage equality — have resonance (although not in exactly the same way) for transfolks, too. (As Ippolito pointed out, even when they identify as man and woman, transpeople push the marriage equality movement in a way by undermining the gender norms of marriage.)

Allums had the least to say, and I’ll confess I wanted to hear more. He says he’s committed to traveling around the country and talking to whomever will listen about his experiences and the problems of bullying. He talks to the bulliers — a courageous act that, it seems, has changed at least some hearts and minds. Yet there’s so much rich ore to be mined in the whole area of transmen and women in sports. Although Allums didn’t talk much about his journey, I saw some parallels to Caster Semenya, the South African track star whose gender was notoriously called into question because she (1) “looks” more male than female; and (2) is very freaking fast. What determines who’s male and female? And how does the occasionally complex issue of gender affect the male-female to which sports is committed like few other areas of human striving?

Well, few other areas: Another is public bathrooms. As Sklarz painfully pointed out, the bathroom excuse for denying trans-equality emphasizes exactly the wrong class of victims — those who might have to share a public bathroom with those whose gender presentation makes them uncomfortable. But the law is really needed to protect the trans-community members themselves from violence and corrosive assumptions about “normalcy.”

Will things be better in twenty years? Answering an audience member’s question to that effect, the panelists were divided. But perhaps we can hope that we’re at least up to Trans 102 by then.

Were he born 10,000 years ago, John Culhane would not have survived to adulthood; he has no useful, practical skills. He is a law professor who writes about various and sundry topics, including: disaster compensation; tort law; public health law; literature; science; sports; his own personal life (when he can bear the humanity); and, especially, LGBT rights and issues. He teaches at the Widener University School of Law and is a Senior Fellow at the Thomas Jefferson School of Population Health.

He is also a contributor to Slate Magazine, and writes his own eclectic blog. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter if you’re blessed with lots of time.

John Culhane lives in the Powelton Village area of Philadelphia with his partner David and their twin daughters, Courtnee and Alexa. Each month, he awaits the third Saturday evening for the neighborhood Wine Club gathering.

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News

‘Surrounded by Sharks’: After Touring ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Trump Vows to Renovate Original

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July 1, 2025

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President Donald Trump toured “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday, the federal immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that boasts alligators as part of a natural escape barrier. Now, Trump is vowing to renovate the original Alcatraz, just off the coast of California, a former federal maximum security prison that he claims is, or will be, “surrounded by sharks.”

Before jetting off to Florida, Trump joked with reporters (video below) about detainees facing deportation who would have to navigate around the alligators in the Everglades should they try to escape.

Later in the day, Trump posted to his social media website about his new inspiration.

“Because of the Violence and Criminality I have seen due to the Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden, in particular allowing millions of people into our Country who shouldn’t be here, I wanted something representative to show how we fight back, and then, it happened,” the President wrote.

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“I saw a picture of ALCATRAZ looking so foreboding, and I said, ‘We’re going to look into renovating and rebuilding the famous ALCATRAZ Prison sitting high on the Bay, surrounded by sharks. What a symbol it is, and will be!’ Conceptual work started six months ago, and various prison development firms are looking at doing it with us. Still a little early, but lots of promise!”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere remarked, “the president says he’s looking into spending federal money, in part, to put sharks into the San Francisco Bay.”

If Trump actually wants Alcatraz to be surrounded by truly dangerous sharks, as Dovere notes he may have to bring them there. The ones currently surrounding the tiny island reportedly may not be especially dangerous, according to the Pacific Open Water Swim Co.

Other critics blasted Trump’s remarks.

Investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze remarked, “So we’re rebuilding Alcatraz based on… a vibe?”

“Trump saw a moody picture of a defunct prison and decided that’s the future of immigration policy, locking up desperate families on a shark-surrounded island like a Bond villain with zoning permits,” he added. “This cruel and reckless governance is nothing but a cinematic cosplay with real human lives at stake.”

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Another social media user wrote: “Trump wants to bring back Alcatraz. Not to house mob bosses or war criminals, but to make a ‘symbol’ out of locking up desperate migrants. Sharks and spectacle. This isn’t immigration policy. It’s a twisted cruelty straight out of a 1930s Germany. You don’t rebuild a prison for the camera unless cruelty is the point. That’s not ‘fighting back’, that’s feeding fear and hatred to your base and calling it leadership. History already wrote this playbook, and it ends in concentration camps, not justice. We are better than this, no?”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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Image via Reuters

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‘This Is Fascism’: Trump Sparks Fury After Calling to Deport U.S. Citizens

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8 hours ago

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July 1, 2025

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President Donald Trump ignited outrage after touring a new federal migrant mass detention site in the Florida Everglades—denounced by some as a modern-day concentration camp—and calling for the deportation of some U.S. citizens who commit crimes.

“I’d like to say it, you know, it’s a little controversial, but I couldn’t care less,” the President began. “We have a lot of bad criminals that came into the, into this country, and they came in stupidly—it was an unforced error, it was an incompetent president that allowed it to happen. It was an autopen, maybe, that allowed it to happen.”

“And it did happen,” he continued, “but we also have a lot of bad people that have been here for a long time, people that whacked people over the head with a baseball bat from behind when they’re not looking and killed them. People that knife you when you’re walking down the street. They’re not new to our country. They’re old to our country. Many of them are born in our country.”

“I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, you want to know the truth,” Trump declared.

READ MORE: Trump Pushes Census Do-Over to Exclude Non-Citizens — and to Immediately Redistrict House

The President’s remarks weren’t idle speculation or musings—they reflect a deliberate and dangerous shift in policy.

“The Justice Department is aggressively prioritizing efforts to strip some Americans of their U.S. citizenship,” NPR reported on Monday. “Department leadership is directing its attorneys to prioritize denaturalization in cases involving naturalized citizens who commit certain crimes — and giving U.S. attorneys wider discretion on when to pursue this tactic, according to a June 11 memo published online.”

Critics were aghast at Trump’s remarks.

“Citizens. I’m going to say it again. This is fascism. MAGA can cry all you want but this is exactly what every f—— dictator in history wanted. Wake the f— up,” wrote Fred Wellman, a graduate of West Point and the Harvard Kennedy School who is now the host of the podcast “On Democracy.”

“Trump claimed he’d focus on deporting immigrants with criminal records,” noted U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA). “Now, he’s indiscriminately targeting all immigrants. So when he says American citizens are next, we should take it seriously.”

“Someone, anyone, please tell me how this isn’t straight up fascist,” urged former U.S. Ambassador Luis Moreno.

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“The American experiment is predicated on the notion that we’re a place where people can disagree & live peacefully together,” wrote Oklahoma Democratic state Representative Forrest Bennett. “He thinks people who disagree with him are ‘bad.’ He’s counting on his supporters to value short term satisfaction over longterm preservation of rights.”

Referring to remarks Trump made in April, Professor of history and scholar of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat issued this warning: “‘The Homegrowns Will Be Next,’ is one of the more chilling authoritarian phrases I have heard. This is also why they want to increase ICE’s budget so much.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘If It Is the Last Thing I Do’: Musk Vows to Unseat Lawmakers Voting for Budget Bill

 

Image via Reuters

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Trump Pushes Census Do-Over to Exclude Non-Citizens — and to Immediately Redistrict House

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10 hours ago

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July 1, 2025

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President Donald Trump says he is aware of and supports proposed legislation that would require the federal government to perform a new U.S. Census, by excluding non-citizens. The revised count would be used to immediately reapportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, presumably also for the 2026 election, despite constitutional decennial requirements and the constitutional mandate that all “persons” be counted.

During his first term, Trump tried to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census, but courts struck down that effort. The Constitution is clear: it states the “whole number of persons in each state” must be counted. Courts have ruled this includes non-citizens, including undocumented immigrants.

Standing with his former presidential primary opponent, Governor Ron DeSantis, in Florida, Trump was told about the “Make American Elections Great Again” bill, which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

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A reporter described the bill to Trump, saying it would force “the U.S. Census Bureau to redo the census to actually get an account of how many Americans with proof of citizenship are in our country, redistricting some of the House districts.”

“I love it,” the President told reporters.

According to Greene, her legislation “will save America’s elections from ever being stolen again!” She added it will count U.S. citizens only, then “direct states to immediately begin a redistricting of all U.S. House seats … using only the population of United States citizens,” despite constitutional parameters that the census must count every person, and be conducted every ten years. Constitutionally, a new census is not scheduled until 2030.

“We want to bring our elections back,” Trump told reporters. “The election in 2020 was rigged—millions and millions of votes,” he baselessly claimed.

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“It had to do with COVID and a lot of things, but it really had to do with the crooked people. The Democrats are very good at cheating in elections,” Trump also alleged.

Governor DeSantis claimed that Florida was “gypped” in 2020 because the census added only one congressional district to his state.

Although the census was conducted when Trump was in office in 2020, DeSantis called it the “Biden census.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Stunning Incoherence’: Fox Host Mocked for Spinning Trump’s Work Visa Flip-Flop

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