From: [email-masked] (Kevyn Jacobs) Subject: UDK Editorial: Transgendered biases can be deadly Cc: [email-masked]
To: Kansas Queer News <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 14:03:20 -0600

FROM THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS - LAWRENCE
AUGUST 24, 1995 EDITORIAL PAGE
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Transgendered biases can be cruel and deadly 

On Aug. 7, a routine car accident in Washington, D.C., turned into a demonstration of intolerance and disrespect for human life. Tyra Hunter was a passenger in a car when it was broadsided by another car at a four-way stop. When fire department personnel arrived at the scene Tyra and the driver had been pulled from the car and were lying on the ground. As a crowd gathered, a male firefighter began treating Tyra for her injuries. That is, until he cut open her pants leg and noticed she had male genitalia. Tyra was a male-to-female transsexual.

At that point, according to eye witnesses, the firefighter stood up and backed away from Tyra, who was semi-conscious and gasping for breath. One witness quoted him as saying, "this ain't no bitch," as he began joking with the other fire department personnel at the scene. Another witness at the scene heard one of the firefighters say, "look, it's got a cock and balls." While the firefighters stood around making jokes about her, Tyra's treatment was discontinued temporarily.

People at the scene, frustrated with the firefighters' behavior, began shouting for them to help Tyra. Finally, some other firefighters went to work at treating her injuries. She later was transported to D . C . General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. 

According to the Washington Post, the accident victim was 24-year-old Tyrone Michael Hunter. Tyra's family, friends and coworkers said that she had lived full-time as woman since she was 14. 

A task force called Together In
Tyra's Memory was formed to demand an independent investigation, suspension of the personnel involved and diversity and sensitivity training for firefighters. The D.C. Fire Department has announced that it is continuing its investigation and says it plans to have some sort of sensitivity training for staff but refuses further comment. 

Unfortunately, the sort of treatment Tyra received isn't an isolated incident. The 1993 murder of Brandon Teena, a female-to-male transgendered person in Falls City, Neb., was another highly publicized case. After arresting Brandon on a misdemeanor charge, sheriff's deputies were seen around town joking about how the popular young man was "really a woman." Word got back to two of Brandon's buddies, who then raped and killed him. Other victims of transphobia suffer as the result of ineptitude and insensitivity on the part of local officials every day, with the media often choosing to gloss over the inherent bigotry that feeds into these occurrences.

No one should be denied adequate emergency services--not transgendered people, not bisexual, gay or lesbian people, not African-American or poor people--no one. Making bigoted, offensive jokes is one thing. Doing it at the expense of a person's life is quite another. There should be no place for insensitive public servants like the firefighter who might have saved Tyra Hunter's life but chose to stand around and make jokes about her instead.

Chris Hampton is a Lawrence graduate student In higher education.