from the
Washington BladeAbout 35 transgender activists and their supporters walked in picket lines on Thursday outside the headquarters of the D.C. Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to draw attention to what they say is an unacceptably high rate of violence against transgender people in the city.
Participants in the two protests, which organizers called a Transgender Day of Action, presented a list of demands to District Police Chief Cathy Lanier and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Mechan calling for immediate steps to address the problem.
“This past summer we were able to report 20 incidents where transgender people were beaten, stabbed, shot — and this is something that really concerns us,” said Ruby Corado of the D.C. Trans Coalition, who spoke to the gathering through a bull horn.
“The call that we want to make is that people remember that this is happening in your own back yard,” she said. “There’s no way that people in this city can ignore that this is happening to their own brothers and sisters, and we need to take action.”
Corado and others who spoke at the protests have said existing city laws and police department policies that prohibit discrimination against transgender people are among the strongest in the in the nation. But the activists say the city in general and police in particular haven’t adequately implemented those laws and policies.
“This is coming after the terrible outbreak of anti-trans violence in this city this past summer,” said Dana Beyer, executive director of the transgender advocacy group Gender Rights Maryland.
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/11/18/trans-activists-hold-protest-outside-police-u-s-attorney-offices/">Click Here To Read More
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