Well done Texas!

by Guest Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:11 pm

A trans student in Texas has now been allowed to wear a tuxedo for his yearbook portrait after a federal lawsuit convinced the school to live up to its own non-discrimination policy.
After both a federal lawsuit and an online petition, La Feria high school reversed its decision demanding student Jeydon Laredo to wear a blouse or a drape if his portrait was to appear in the year book.
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) attorneys met with attorneys from the school district on Friday to come to a formal agreement.
SPLC attorney Alesdair Ittelson said: “We are very pleased that the school district has recognized Jeydon for who he is and will allow his photo in the yearbook along with all his classmates.
“This is as a signal to other school districts that transgender students should be recognized as important members of their communities rather than ostracised and subjected to discrimination. We applaud Jeydon’s courage in standing up for his rights.”
Attorneys for the school district provided written confirmation that Jeydon’s tuxedo will now appear in the yearbook.
La Feria also agreed to include gender expression as a protected category in its non-discrimination policy, which previously prohibited discrimination “based on the student’s gender, the student’s expression of characteristics perceived as stereotypical for the student’s gender, or the student’s failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity.”
Mr Laredo said: “Ten or 20 years from now, I may not be friends with all the people I’m friends with now, and if my picture isn’t in the yearbook, I’m afraid they won’t remember me.
“I want them to remember me, but also remember me as I really am.”
Last month in Texas, a 17-year-old male cheerleader said he was kicked off his school’s team for kissing a boy.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/11/17/us-texas-school-reverses-ban-against-trans-student-wearing-a-tuxedo-in-graduation-photo/

From this side of the pond Texas has always come across as being very RW, so this is a sign of a positive move forward Cool

....Do you guys think that maybe in the future gay people will be able to marry there or do you think that it will never happen?

by Ben Reilly Mon Nov 18, 2013 5:07 pm

I of course am here at Ground Zero -- when Bush spoke to a group of people trying to convert Jews to Christianity in the hopes of bringing about the Biblical apocalypse, that was less than 40 miles from me.

This guy:

... actually LIVES within 30 miles of my house.

That said, liberal Democrat Wendy Davis, expected to run for governor next year, trails her right-wing opponent by just six points, far closer than most would have predicted. And in last year's elections, Obama won in Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and El Paso, five of our largest cities. I believe things are changing here in Texas. In 2009, Gallup identified Texas as a "competitive" state in national elections after McCain beat Obama here by only 2 percentage points: http://www.gallup.com/poll/114016/state-states-political-party-affiliation.aspx

With one of the largest Hispanic populations in the country, a group that here tends to vote Democratic but in Texas doesn't vote in very large numbers, plus the more progressive attitudes of the younger generations, I would be very scared about Texas if I was a right-winger. If they lose Texas, our Electoral College system would essentially guarantee that they'd never win another presidential election.

Texas has 38 electoral college votes and has gone Republican for a long time. With Democrats always getting California's 55 electoral college votes and New York's 29, Texas going Dem would mean 122 E.C. votes from just three states, with a candidate needing 270 E.C. votes to win the White House.

Well done Texas!

Well done Texas!

Re: Well done Texas!