Two transgender women stabbed in DC, leaving one dead

Rod McCullom reports the D.C. Metropolitan Police have offered a $25,000 reward for info. that will lead to the killer of a transgendered woman yesterday. The other women was injured in the stabbing, which occurred in broad daylight.

An update today from the Washington Blade:

The family of a 21-year-old transgender woman who was stabbed to death on a Northwest Washington street appealed Thursday for witnesses to come forward and help police identify a suspect in the case.

Police said they found Joshua Mack, who used the name Tyli'a "NaNa Boo" Mack, and another transgender woman suffering from stab wounds about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on the sidewalk in front of 209 Q St., N.W.

Mack was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later at Howard University Hospital, police said. A second victim, whom police did not identify, was taken to a nearby hospital and was in stable condition and expected to survive her injuries.

Friends and family members of Mack announced they were holding a candlelight vigil to commemorate her life at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 28 on the 200 block of Q Street, N.W., at the site of the murder.

Acting Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the D.C. police's Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said homicide investigators working on the case listed the incident as a "possible" hate crime.

"This determination is based on some information obtained during the early stages of the investigation that indicated some homophobic language may have been used during the attack," Parson said. "This determination is only preliminary and the final determination as to motive will be developed as the investigation continues."

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In Washington, pro-gay side files challenge: "Referendum 71 should only be on the ballot if it has qualified based on legally valid signatures."

Washington Families Standing Together, the campaign to approve Referendum 71 if it makes the ballot, filed a lawsuit today alleging that the Secretary of State is accepting signatures, which should have been denied, on petitions to put the measure on the ballot. Anti-gay forces want to reject the state's new law protecting same-sex relationships.

As of today, 125,631 of the 137,689 signatures submitted have been checked. Of those submitted, 110,797 signatures have been accepted a rejection rate of 11.81%. The anti-gay forces needs to submit 120,577 verified signatures. WAFST's lawsuit lays out the problems with the signatures and signature collection. The group "seeks an order declaring that the petitions and signatures submitted in violation of Washington law cannot be included in the count toward placing Referendum 71 on the ballot."

The statement from WAFST is after the break.

Here's the statement from Anne Levinson, the Chair of WAFST:

We respect the referendum process and the public’s right to vote, but we have been increasingly concerned that, along with other issues our observers have noted with signatures being accepted that in the view of observers should have been rejected, the Secretary of State has accepted thousands of signatures that were not in compliance with State laws related to fraud in the signature-gathering process.

Because of the limited number of signatures turned in, failure to enforce these laws could well lead to a measure being qualified for the ballot that should not be, and that measure has the potential to strip away important protections from thousands of families all across the state. There are domestic partners in every county of the state. They are same sex couples and heterosexual couples where one or both partners is 62 years or older. These couples should not have to worry about whether a partner can take sick leave to care for a loved one who is ill. A firefighter should not have to worry about whether her children will be taken care of if something should happen to her while fighting a fire. These are basic rights and protections that all families should have. Those trying to qualify Referendum 71 for the ballot do not think that families different than theirs should have these protections, so they are trying to overturn the law.

We expect a strong vote in support of the domestic partnership law if it is on the ballot, but we should not put people through the hardship of a statewide campaign and have them go through months of additional worry needlessly. Referendum 71 should only be on the ballot if it has qualified based on legally valid signatures. In order to ensure that it is not put on the ballot in error, we needed to file a legal challenge at this point.

We have waited because we wanted to give the process a chance to work, but we did not want to wait so long as to interfere with the Secretary of State’s ability to produce election materials in a timely manner. This motion will be heard on an expedited basis early next week. You can read the pleadings online:

http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/initiativesReferenda/Pages/R71_Litigation_State.aspx

Meanwhile we need to move full speed ahead with the campaign – the first ballots go out in about 6 weeks!

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DADT Update: Complete freaking mess

You might be surprised to learn that not only has there been zero progress towards thinking through how they might repeal the law - oh I'm sorry, did I say repeal? I meant "change" - but now we learn that that effort to make the destruction of two gay military careers a day "more humane" hasn't been going anywhere either.

Perhaps it's time to ask the big gay groups, and all the "good gays" who attended the White House cocktail party, why we're not seeing any action? After all, they told us they simply had to attend, to give the president a piece of their mind, I believe they told us. It seems not to have worked. Read More...

The wacky "ex-gays" are at it again

The "ex-gays" - the wacky folks who think you can "cure" homosexuality with prayer (and who think abstinence is equivalent to cure) - recently issued a press release claiming a huge court victory. Not one to trust the religious right when they're breathing, I decided to look up the case, and what a surprise, they lost. This is a comment tactic of the religious right, one that won't surprise any of you who follow the Republicans and their tactics, they simply lie about everything, hoping some of it will stick. You can read this City Paper story to get the actual details - again, they lost the case and now are claiming a victory. Read More...

Deconstructing the anti-marriage equality website, brought to Maine by Maggie Gallagher and Frank Schubert

Jeremy Hooper at Good As You did us all an enormous favor. He burrowed through the website of the anti-marriage equality campaign in Maine and came up with ten glaring issues. Jeremy concluded that there's no doubt this website, like the campaign, is a production of the Maggie Gallager from NOM and Frank Schubert, who ran the "Yes on Prop. 8" campaign in California. Those two are trying to do in Maine what they did in California last year:

After poking around Stand For Marriage Maine's newly spruced up website for a few hours, a few observations have come to mind:

(1) The National Organization For Marriage's fingerprints are all over this thing! Some of the copy is lifted directly from past NOM press releases, and most every bit of information (and stock phrases like "whether we like it or not") are pulled right out of the Maggie Gallagher playbook. So make no bones about it: There's all kinds of out-of-state influence here.

Also, as Jeremy has noted before, the other side is using stock photos from a company called "Monkey Business." In other words, they're not using real Mainers. Maggie Gallagher and Frank Schubert probably don't know any real Mainers besides the Catholic Bishop and the extreme haters Michael Heath and Bob Emrich.

Meanwhile, our side's first ad features real Mainers. And, I think it's helpful for everyone to realize a couple things: 1) this ad was done by our allies, not the actual campaign, which is why there isn't a specific "vote No" message; and 2) there are a lot of real Mainers using their real names in this ad. Maine is a small state. A couple of our readers in Maine wrote to tell us that they knew people in the ad. That's happening all over the state. Also, a couple of the people were filmed at a restaurant call "Becky's." In Greater Portland, everyone goes to "Becky's." It's an institution. Becky herself is an institution. Having her on our side really matters in Maine:

Our ActBlue page for No on 1/Protect Maine Equality is here. It's safe, easy and the money goes directly to the campaign. Read More...

Idaho Statesman profile of Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach

Dan Popkey from the Idaho Statesman has an interview with Boise native, Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, who is being kicked out of the military because of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The article, which was printed earlier this week, has the background on how Fehrenbach was outed and the subsequent legal battle to save his job:

Fehrenbach, 40, was notified in September that he would be discharged, costing him a $46,000 annual pension and the dignity of retiring on his own terms, as his Air Force parents both had. If discharged early, he'll get an $80,000 lump sum.

At first, he planned to go quietly with an honorable discharge. Shaner, angry that there would be no prosecution, wouldn't go away and was pressing the Air Force for a dishonorable discharge.

But the prospect of President Barack Obama fulfilling a campaign promise to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," prompted Fehrenbach to fight. In April, a board of five officers recommended an honorable discharge. Fehrenbach's goal was to continue to serve. With two more years, he'd reach 20 years and qualify for full retirement.

In mid-May, Fehrenbach finally revealed to his family that he was gay. A few days later, on May 19, he appeared on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC. Since that night, Fehrenbach has become a symbol of injustice for those who condemn the military's expulsion of gay servicemen and women.

Fehrenbach's discharge is pending. Some 13,000 service members have been pushed out under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and being outed by an unreliable source with an ax to grind has not been a mitigating factor.

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