Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 19:48:45 +0000 From: Clare Howell Subject: IYF13 MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Editor: Clare Howell, clare@gpac.org . TRANSWOMAN RESERVIST FILES SUIT AGAINST TENNESSEE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD . SEXUAL MINORITIES ROUND TABLE IN OREGON . MEDIA WATCH: TELEVISION Contact: Laury Weaver, lauryw1@mindspring.com TRANSWOMAN RESERVIST FILES SUIT AGAINST TENNESSEE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD ======================================= [Nashville, TN: 4 Jul 98] TRANSEXUAL WOMAN Laury Weaver, a Major in the Tennessee Army National Guard (NG), has filed a lawsuit against the Guard alleging sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Weaver, a decorated veteran with 28 years of active and reserve experience in the Guard, alleges that, from August 1997 to June 1998, she has been subjected to continuous harassment and has been denied work from active duty assignments. She is beginning her transition, but is still performing her military job as a man. She was informed that compliants had been filed against her, but she has been unable to find out the nature of the compliants and who filed them. She has, to date, received eight reprimands for noncompliance with military clothing regulations. She maintains that she has been in strict compliance with all clothing regulations while on duty. She says the harassment began last August when she was recognized in female clothing while off duty by a fellow Guard officer. She contacted her Congressmember, Bart Gordon, but his office has been no help to Ms. Weaver. There is no legal protection in Tennessee for discrimination against a person because of sexual orientation or gender expression. Said Ms. Weaver, "I enjoy my job and feel that what I am doing has a positive impact on [unit] readiness and, most importantly, on the individual soldier's preparedness in the guard. All I want is to be able to do that job without harassment." ### Contact: Lori Buckwalter, It's Time, Oregon! transgal@aol.com SEXUAL MINORITIES ROUND TABLE IN PORTLAND ========================================= [Portland, OR: 27 Jun 98] EARLIER THIS MONTH, Portland's Sexual Minorities Round Table (SMRT) brought together the sexual minorities community (gay, lesbian, bi, trans) and the law enforcement community to reaffirm a partnership agreement that commits the city to protect and defend the city's sexual minorities. The Chief of Police, the Mayor, and the Multnomah County Sheriff all signed the agree- ment to accept responsibility for the protection of all Portland's citizens, especially those who are most vulnerable to hate crimes because of sexual orientation or gender identity. SMRT helped conceive the original partner- ship agreement which was signed in Oct, 1994. SMRT is a forum for members of the sexual minority community and the law enforcement community to discuss crime trends and public safety concerns, police/sexual minorities conflicts, and police policies and procedures that affect crime or fear of crime within the sexual minorities community. ### MEDIA WATCH: TELEVISION ======================= [New York, NY: 1 Jul 98] FORD MOTOR COMPANY'S recent "Ray and Charlie" television ad campaign features a spot where the loser of a bet must dress in women's clothing; it's played as a joke. The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and GenderPAC wrote a letter to Ford protesting the ad. It said, in part, "Please realize that representations like [the Ray and Charlie ad] trivialize our lives and identities, and only make it harder for us to gain access to safety and equal rights... As you well know, these short spots leave an indelible impact on impressionable minds, and we urge you to rethink the inherent message that this one has about transgender people." On the 19 Mar 98 telecast of ABC's "Politically Incorrect", host Bill Maher ridiculed Harvard's Alex Myers, a transgender- identified man. Maher laughingly dismissed Myers as a confused lesbian. GLAAD and GenderPAC responded with a letter of protest. In part, it stated, "We can appreciate [another guest's comment] that Myers, as a transperson electing not to have surgery or hormones, sounded like a lazy transexual... This is different than Maher's invalidating Myers' gender identity altogether... Mr. Maher's comments help cement the impression that we are silly, deviant, or just weird. As you are no doubt aware, transpeople face real problems and real discrimination, as the eight transmurders in recent years... remind us." ### Subscriptions. Please send: subscribe iyf-online or: unsubscribe iyf-online to: MajorDomo@apocalypse.org For prior press releases, check the GenderPAC website at: http://www.gpac.org (c) 1998 InYourFace Our online news-only service for gender activism.