Transgender

The brutal beating of Chrissy Lee Polis at the Rosedale McDonald's rightly calls attention to the systemic stigmatization of transgender individuals living in Maryland ("Transgender Advocates See McDonald's Beating as a Turning Point" April 30). Yet the devastating health effects of this discrimination go well beyond physical attacks. The estimated prevalence of HIV infection among male to female transgender Americans is between 14.7 percent and 27.7 percent, vastly higher than the general U.S. population.

In Kevin Rector's blog posting, "LGBT inmates report sexual victimization at much higher percentages" (May 20), he assumes that "other" sexual orientation is transgender. Sexual orientation refers to one's inclination in sexual and romantic partners; gender identity refers to whether one identifies as a man, woman, or other gender. This distinction isn't just a matter of semantics; transgender women face a significantly higher risk of assault, in prison and outside of it, than their cisgender LGB peers, who in turn are at higher risk than their straight cisgender counterparts.

In Kevin Rector's blog posting, "LGBT inmates report sexual victimization at much higher percentages" (May 20), he assumes that "other" sexual orientation is transgender. Sexual orientation refers to one's inclination in sexual and romantic partners; gender identity refers to whether one identifies as a man, woman, or other gender. This distinction isn't just a matter of semantics; transgender women face a significantly higher risk of assault, in prison and outside of it, than their cisgender LGB peers, who in turn are at higher risk than their straight cisgender counterparts.

More and more these days, it seems as if the most interesting TV projects are coming from new and different places. "House of Cards,"  which Netflix is making in Baltimore, leads the parade. But DirecTV is getting in the game, too, and this week debuts a six-part mini-series about a transgendered contract killer played by Chloe Sevigny ("Big Love," "Boys Don't Cry"). "Hit & Miss," which premieres at 10 p.m. Wednesday on DirecTV's Audience Channel is a British import created by Paul Abbott, who is usually praised for "Shameless"and "State of Play.

Though it won't be part of his legislative agenda, Gov. Martin O'Malley told reporters this morning that he will back a bill to extend employment, housing and other rights to transgender people. "I support it wholeheatedly," O'Malley said. "I do support it. It won't be a part of the legislative package, there are only a few things in the legislative package. " Dana Beyer, of Gender Rights Maryland, said the group did not expect O'Malley to introduce this year's bill -- but she's hoping the governor will mention it during the Feb. 1 state of the state address.

I confess that I haven't read every article related to the use of restrooms by transgender people, but I need to make a few comments. If someone is a transgender female, I presume that this person will be dressed as a woman. If so, it is obvious to me that this person could not enter the men's room to go to the bathroom. In the ladies' room there are booths, and I would never have any idea of what goes on there. How could someone even know if it is being used by a male dressed as a female?

The windows are wide open in the messy apartment, the afternoon sky darkening fast. Chrissy Polis can't stand the Essex neighborhood outside, where everyone knows who she is. But she doesn't know how to get out, or where she'd go if she did. "I just want to move because I want to see other things," she says. There was a time when it seemed people from all over the country were talking about the 24-year-old. Many wanted to help her; others condemned her. Polis became an unwitting symbol of the transgender community and the struggle for transgender rights when she stepped into a Rosedale McDonald's one April evening.

Regarding the quote from the article in The Sun on February 20 "We just don't want them turning our children into what they are. It has to do with morals" ("Transgender bill stirs fear"), obviously the speaker knows nothing about transgender people. They don't choose to be this way, they are born this way. They don't go around trying to convert people into changing their gender. They know how difficult their life is as a transgender person. Patricia Elliott

It sounds good, like something all of us would want to join: Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government. But my perusal of the organization's website reveals little more than obsessive concern with transgender people being in society - and having to use, as all of us must at times, public restrooms. The organization suggests that transgender people are just a bunch of perverted, cross-dressing men who want access to women's bathrooms and locker rooms. Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government has been fighting state and local efforts to outlaw specific discrimination against the transgendered.

There was Jana, and then Chrissie and others. And then there was Tyra. The names were among those on a long list of local transgender people who succumbed to violence or drug abuse or homelessness, said Robyn Webb, who rattled them off at a candlelight vigil Friday for the latest victim, Tyra Trent. While Webb, 54, never knew Trent, she understood her struggles and knew of her death. The 25-year-old, born Anthony Trent and known as Tyra, was killed last month. Her body was found Feb. 19 in a vacant, city-owned home in the 3300 block of Virginia Ave. in Northwest Baltimore.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high temperature near 85 degrees. Tonight is is expected to be partly cloudy, with a low temperature around 60 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Parkville pair face more than a dozen charges in sex 'slave' case : A Parkville couple accused of treating a 15-year-old girl from North Carolina as their personal sex "slave" and filming and distributing videos online of their sexual interactions with her have each been indicted on more than a dozen state and federal sex abuse charges.

The windows are wide open in the messy apartment, the afternoon sky darkening fast. Chrissy Polis can't stand the Essex neighborhood outside, where everyone knows who she is. But she doesn't know how to get out, or where she'd go if she did. "I just want to move because I want to see other things," she says. There was a time when it seemed people from all over the country were talking about the 24-year-old. Many wanted to help her; others condemned her. Polis became an unwitting symbol of the transgender community and the struggle for transgender rights when she stepped into a Rosedale McDonald's one April evening.

I confess that I haven't read every article related to the use of restrooms by transgender people, but I need to make a few comments. If someone is a transgender female, I presume that this person will be dressed as a woman. If so, it is obvious to me that this person could not enter the men's room to go to the bathroom. In the ladies' room there are booths, and I would never have any idea of what goes on there. How could someone even know if it is being used by a male dressed as a female?

Regarding the quote from the article in The Sun on February 20 "We just don't want them turning our children into what they are. It has to do with morals" ("Transgender bill stirs fear"), obviously the speaker knows nothing about transgender people. They don't choose to be this way, they are born this way. They don't go around trying to convert people into changing their gender. They know how difficult their life is as a transgender person. Patricia Elliott

Transgender people would be protected from discrimination in Baltimore County under a measure approved by the County Council Tuesday, making the county the fourth local government in Maryland to adopt such protections. Council members did not add a heavily debated amendment proposed last week that would have specifically exempted bathrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms. Instead, the council left the bathroom issue open to interpretation in the legislation, amending the measure so that the protections do not apply to "distinctly private or personal" facilities.

Tuesday night, the Baltimore County Council has a chance to send a powerful message about equality and fairness to all Marylanders when it votes on a bill to extend the county's anti-discrimination laws to cover transgender people. In the county where transgender woman Chrissy Lee Polis was savagely beaten in a McDonald's because of her gender identity, this should be a no-brainer. But it has instead become embroiled in an emotionally driven but largely irrelevant debate over access to public restrooms.

Transgender people would be protected from discrimination in Baltimore County under a measure approved by the County Council Tuesday, making the county the fourth local government in Maryland to adopt such protections. Council members did not add a heavily debated amendment proposed last week that would have specifically exempted bathrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms. Instead, the council left the bathroom issue open to interpretation in the legislation, amending the measure so that the protections do not apply to "distinctly private or personal" facilities.

Opponents of a proposal to protect transgender people from discrimination in Baltimore County urged the County Council on Monday to defeat the measure, saying they fear the bill could have unintended consequences. At a council meeting, about 15 people spoke against the legislation, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, the workplace and public places. The meeting was the second one in a month that drew a crowd interested in the issue.

Jenna Fischetti picks a seat at a Baltimore County Starbucks where she can see who's coming and going. As a transgender woman, the 47-year-old is always on guard. "My head's on the swivel," said Fischetti, a freckled brunette. When she slips into a public restroom, she tries not to talk. If she makes eye contact with other women, she smiles and nods. For Fischetti, using the bathroom is just one small part of a daily struggle for social acceptance. She says she lost her job after she began living as a woman.

In response to the recent coverage of gay marriage and transgender rights and the hearings in Annapolis, I am quite upset to think our elected officials are confusing the roles of the church and state. The Constitution requires civil liberties for all. Allowing the church to define the rules based on religion is not upholding the Constitution. This requires our government to keep church and state separate and to recognize the rights of all regardless of race, color, sex and religion.