Equality Texas, the statewide LGBT equality group, says the death of Jennifer Gale points to critical problems faced by the homeless, particularly women and trans people. Gale is the transgender woman and perennial political candidate whose body was found outside a church in the state capital this week. Marti Bier, an aide for openly gay Austin City Councilwoman Randi Shade, sheds some light on the issue in Equality Texas’ press release:
“Something Jennifer would never talk about, but was a reality for her, is that she is a trans woman living in a transphobic society. Homelessness in the trans community is a really big problem, and one that goes ignored. There are no laws in Texas protecting transgender people, whether from job discrimination, housing discrimination or hate crimes. There was really nowhere for Jennifer Gale to go to protect herself from the cold last night. The Salvation Army (the only shelter in town that takes in women) would not let her in there unless she was grouped with the men (which includes sleeping with, and showering with, other homeless men). They would make her use her male birth name and completely disregard, and disrespect, her identity as a trans woman. There is so much to be learned from Jennifer Gale, and so much to be worked on in our community.”
(UCAGHC) Equality Texas that is only part of the problem that causes her death. This is a tragedy we allow to happen in the gay community and one of the main reasons why the GLBT community need to bring our forces together and become a stronger voice and protect our own.
To die without dignity outside on the ground like that for someone who has been working a big part of her life trying to help others in the society and gain equality for people like her. We really need to take a look@US, Jenifer Gale I am so sorry we did not help you enough in Texas. United Community against Gay Hate is willing to bridge the gap in the community we live in and within the gay community of Dallas.
There is much work ahead and in 2009 we are looking forward to creating forums to address the division in the gay community that most of us don’t want to talk about. It’s time for us to create new dialog about issues in the transgender community before we allow this to happen in our city.
There are no laws in Texas protecting transgender people, whether from job discrimination, housing discrimination or hate crimes.
I was at the service today with Kelli Busey (Transgender Advocate) and I seen a community that is not to different from ours. Jennifer’s death is teaching us a very important lesson, let us not miss the meaning of a very important issue that we need to address in our GLBT community of Dallas.
https://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/?SecID=278&ArID=227266
I have read many comments from Look@US and due to the fact that this individual is clearly a leader in the LGBT community I thought I would take a few moments to help this kind soul. I’m a grammar nut, that’s why they call me Grammar Gal, therefore I can help Mr. Look@US with a few of his lexical blunders.
In your first paragraph you say, “the GLBT community need”. This statement needS an S. Remember, third person present simple regular verbs take an S at the end.
We do not want to put prepositions at the end of clauses. We especially don’t want to make this faux pas with non-identifying relative clauses which you do when you say, “in the community we live in”. Saying, “in the community in which we live” would sound much more erudite.
You correctly use the quantifier much with the uncountable noun “work”, but you failed to remember that we can not use this quantifier in a positive construction. Remember to use “much” only in negative and interrogatory structures. In positive constructions you can use the quantifiers “a lot of” or “lots of”. They mean the same thing.
I am guessing that you mistakenly used the past participle of the verb “to see” when you wanted to use the past simple. I ascertain this to be the case because you refer to a specific moment in the past. I’m sure you are well aware that this is the case and that we frequently use the past participle in the perfect tenses to talk about actions which took place in the past but without specifying when.
I hope this helps Mr. Look@US! Are there any volunteers to help this hero of ours form a coherent thought?
Grammar Gal are their any comments you would like to offer about Jennifer Gale a transgender person who died outside in freezing weather on the streets of Austin? She lobbied for gay rights and social issues in Dallas as well.
I am not sure if you read the story, it didn’t look like that from your last comment.