More sure than ever, I know why I support Hillary..

[AGirl]

In response to the death of Lawrence King, (Hillary Clinton mention the difference between sexual orientation and how people express their gender identity, she states the word "transgender", she has a better and more compassionate understanding of the transgender people)

Go HilL!!!

The Democratic candidates both released statements on the 15-year old’s death. Said Mrs. Clinton:


I was deeply saddened by the recent death of 15-year-old Lawrence King who was killed at his school in Oxnard, CA. No one should face intimidation or violence, particularly at school, because of their sexual orientation or the way they express their gender identity.

We must finally enact a federal hate crimes law to ensure that gay, lesbian and transgender Americans are protected against violent, bias-motivated crimes. We must send a unified message that hate-based crime will not be tolerated.

Obama also used the murder to rally for stricter laws, saying,


It was heartbreaking to learn about Lawrence King’s death, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. King’s senseless death is a tragic example of the corrosive effect that bigotry and fear can have in our society. It’s also an urgent reminder that we need to do more in our schools to foster tolerance and an acceptance of diversity; that we must enact a federal hate crimes law that protects all LGBT Americans; and that we must recommit ourselves to becoming active and engaged parents, citizens and neighbors, so that bias and bigotry cannot take hold in the first place. We all have a responsibility to help this nation live up to its founding promise of equality for all.

[SoFlaJet]

1. sorry

but supporting a candidate because of sexual preference is just as wrong as gender and race

[AGirl]

2. what?

[maddiejoan]

3. Huh???

[mtnsnake]

14. WTF?

:wtf:

[SoFlaJet]

18. wrong reply wrong thread

sorry

[JVS]

20. LBGT issues are very much a legitimate reason to pick one candidate over another.

And frankly, I wish Obama were stronger on these issues. It's one of the few areas where I see criticism of Obama in favor of Clinton as being correct.

[Political Heretic]

23. *** THIS IS AN OBAMITE POLICE ACTION *** You are being a moron

Please stop or stop talking.

[maddiejoan]

4. Good for her!

She GETS it --and that's why I won't ever give up on Hillary Clinton :)

Straight up nuthin' but high admiration from this trans-woman!!

[AGirl]

6. I stumbled across this accidently as i was researching about L. King..

And i am pleasantly supprised..very happy that she mentioned the word transgender..

[book_worm]

5. I thought both statements were strong

and good for both of them.

[maddiejoan]

7. Only one of them gets the full issue

The vast majority of the media missed it as well, and even some LGBT groups didn't outwardly comment on it.

Lawrence King was transgendered. Hillary acknowledged that, and I couldn't be happier with HRC right now.

I don't fault Obama at all --that was also a strong statement, but as a transgendered woman, you have no idea how powerful it is for me to hear a Presidential candidate even acknowledge this reality.

[AGirl]

8. I am transgender too.

And I believe it is long over due she mentioned the word, transgender and that some people express their gender identity differently than their birth sex. I think this is a fundamental issue that needs to be mentioned, not just simplying saying LBGT without really acknowledging the T.

[maddiejoan]

11. This is very big to me.

so very big, and obviously to you as well :)

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention.

[AGirl]

15. You are very welcomed, my dear. I wish I can tell every trans person.

[Shakespeare]

12. So...spelling out "transgender" somehow makes her statment better?

hooooooookay, then.

She leaves out bisexual Americans, in that case. If you're going to pick nits, make sure your candidate can stand up to the scrutiny.

[maddiejoan]

19. No, Shakespeare

THIS does.

"No one should face intimidation or violence, particularly at school, because of their sexual orientation or the way they express their gender identity."

[Shakespeare]

21. Sorry, but that bit of wording doesn't make her more understanding or a better candidate.

Obama also says "It’s also an urgent reminder that we need to do more in our schools to foster tolerance and an acceptance of diversity."

Sorry, but you're engaging in a really empty struggle on semantics if you're suggesting that Obama's statement--which mentions transgender Americans--is in some way inferior or less sensitive. Clinton omits reference to bisexual Americans, many of whom on this board might feel slighted. But do I think her message is any less sensitive than Obamas for that oversight? Not at all.

This is an excellent example of how both sides here on DU fight viciously to condemn the other candidate, when in truth there's almost no daylight between them on most issues. We really, really need to stop tearing each other down.

[maddiejoan]

24. You don't get it.

That's fine.

I'm not tearing anybody down.

I said Obama's statement was strong and I meant it.

It's NOT as strong as Hillary's and does it not demonstrate the understanding of the issue at hand.

If you knew anything about how under-reported the deaths and bashing of transgendered women is you would understand why Hillary's statement touches me more deeply than Obama's.

AGAIN --both are fine strong statements -- only one of them demonstrates a deeper understanding of what motivated the murder of Lawrence King.

[Shakespeare]

26. Yes, I DO get it.

I know more than you can possibly imagine on the persecution that transgender Americans have to deal with, so kindly put your assumptions aside. I'm glad it touches you--but it does not mean she has a deeper understanding of the issue.

[maddiejoan]

28. What issue do you think I'm talking about?

Because I'm talking about Lawrence King's murder.

[Shakespeare]

29. Are you confused?

I never thought we were talking about anything BUT King's murder.

[maddiejoan]

30. Then I would have to conclude

that you don't understand what I'm saying, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt here.

[Shakespeare]

34. Then you would be wrong. n;t

[Chovexani]

46. I'm bisexual. I do not feel slighted.

Please stop speaking for me and mine and using us in your games of oneupsmanship.

I am not T and I don't presume to speak for them. However, transfolk are even more voiceless in this society than us Bs. I've heard a lot of heartfelt frustration from the Ts I count amongst my friends and allies. When you are a beleagured minority whose only visibility is as "freaks" on the Maury show or dead "she-male" prostitutes on CSI and the evening news, it must be maddening.

To hear a Presidential candidate finally acknowledge their reality must be so empowering. AGirl was not trying to take anything away from Obama. However, words are powerful, and though they were basically expressing the same sentiment, Clinton's language was empowering in a way that Obama's wasn't. It's a very subtle difference, but it is there.

It's hard to explain to someone who isn't a beleagured, invisible minority. The only time a presidential candidate ever mentioned my then-religion, it was to say that it was not a real religion and therefore not deserving of consitutional protection (that would be the Cokehead-in-Chief, speaking about Wicca in 1999).

[Shakespeare]

9. They say exactly the same thing. How is Hillary's statement "better?"

Both mention transgender Americans.

[maddiejoan]

13. No they don't

One says LGBT.

one spells it out and mentions hate crimes against those who express their gender-identity.

The difference may elude you --but it doesn't elude me.

[Shakespeare]

16. And Hillary omits bisexual Americans.

That didn't elude me in the least.

[Xithras]

10. OMG, Hillary supports discrimination against BISEXUALS!!!

No not really, but as a bi male the difference jumped out at me and I couldn't resist the joke :evilgrin:

[maddiejoan]

17. I noticed that too

and was going to mention it as a snark-- but seriously --Do you know how HUGE it is for a transgendered woman to finally hear a Presidential candidate not only say the word 'transgendered' but also discuss gender-identity hate crimes?

[Xithras]

36. Oh yes, absolutely.

As a bi man, I'm fully aware that I have it relatively easy when it comes to how I'm treated by bigoted heterosexuals. The fact that I fell in love with, and married, a woman makes my sexual orientation easy to disguise. Most people assume I'm straight unless I tell them otherwise. I know full well what people say when they think that one of "those people" isn't around, and know how disgustingly common anti-GLBT opinions and remarks really are. I understand that the transgendered aren't so lucky, and that your differences aren't so easy to hide when the bigots go looking for someone to bash. It's refreshing to see ANY politician taking these dangers seriously, and it was nice to see Hillary actually say the word "transgendered" out loud with cameras around.

My comment wasn't meant as a hit on Hillary, but as a snark about the Obama supporters who have been latching onto every little "flaw" to launch an attack. I'm an Obama supporter myself, but many of these attacks are petty and stupid. The "Hillary discriminates against bisexuals" comment was simply a play on what they've been doing. It meant as a joke, nothing more.

[maddiejoan]

38. I gotcha the first time :)

I was gonna make the same snark --little known fact I guess --sometime even transgendered women are bisexual.

I should know --I am one ;)

[Xithras]

45. Oh, sorry. Misread your post.

And yes, I do know that there are bisexual transgendered. I dated a bisexual transgendered woman about a decade ago...she was actually the one who inadvertently outed me to my fundie parents (not her fault). When my mom met her, she figured out in about 5 seconds that my new girlfriend was TG, and let's just say that it didn't go well. Before that, I'd introduced women I dated to my parents (who lived very close at the time), but avoided introducing them to men. She helped me open myself to others by showing me those things she had no choice but to learn herself.

[stahbrett]

22. I don't agree with the whole hate crimes concept personally

If someone purposely kills another person, and a jury finds them guilty of murder, then the punishment should be the same regardless of the reason that the murder was committed. We should not be in the business as a country of saying that some classes of people are more or less worthy of being a victim. If my neighbor kills me because he does not like the color of my sweater today, he should be punished just as severely as he would be if he killed me because he found out that I was gay, lesbian, transgender, Jewish, Muslim, Democrat, etc.

[maddiejoan]

25. You can take your sweater off

Hate Crime is domestic terrorism.

People engaged in hate crime do so in order to throw fear into a community.

It's not about 'special rights' for a victim.

All murders have different scales of punishment depending on motive.

[AGirl]

27. Also, gays and transgender already have a lot to fear for at school and in workplaces and everywhere

else. Hate crimes only add to that fear, hopelessness and marginalizatoin.

[stahbrett]

32. Don't get me wrong - I don't want the current hate crimes to be punished less severely

I just want the crimes that are the same except they aren't considered hate crimes to be punished more severely.

If a classmate of Lawrence King was killed on the same day because he/she kept screwing up the curve on tests by getting A's on all tests, I'd want them punished just as severely as the killers of Lawrence King should get punished.

[stahbrett]

31. replace "sweater" with foot size

I do understand your logic, I really do. And repealing hate crime laws would not be the top of my list of things to do if I was in charge of everything.

But philosophically I just have a problem with having a different punishment based on the exact reason the crime was committed. I'm not talking about the differences used to determine whether a killing is manslaughter, negligent homicide, second-degree murder, first-degree murder, etc. I'm talking about cases that fit in any of those categories should be punished identically. If two different cases are first-degree murder, and one victim was killed for being Jewish, and one was killed for being ugly, the punishments should be the same.

[maddiejoan]

35. we will have to just disagree then.

[stahbrett]

37. Agreed - just don't hate me for it! :-D

The people committing these despicable crimes should never see the light of day - I think we can probably agree on that.

[maddiejoan]

42. Never hate

we're ultimately on the same side.

I don't know if you have ever been 'bashed' physically in RL just for "who you are".

I can tell you that I have.

[stahbrett]

44. When I was a kid - yes, basically for being a runt (nt)

[Mike03]

33. Clinton seems to probe the depths in the quotes you provided

whereas Obama delivers what is expected.

Maybe she has more compassion and vision than Obama. I hope dearly there is a place for her in the new administration.

It's too bad these two can't unite now, because they are both so valuable to the overall Dem vision.

[maddiejoan]

39. Thank you

again --not saying Obama's statement wasn't strong. It was.

But it's awfully nice to actually have someone say the word 'transgendered' and recognize that Lawrence's murder was motivated out of a hatred of a visible gender non-conformity.

[zulchzulu]

40. I thought both statements were balanced...maybe you should look at DOMA

The Clinton's "Defense Of Marriage Act" is directly responsible for dozens of anti-gay, homophobic initiatives in elections that have been a gift for the hateful, a cherished trophy for homophobes and a divisive issue that makes the murder of Lawrence King in part a reaction to the pathetic legislation.

Hillary Clinton's participation in the "Defense Of Marriage Act" (which paradoxically was signed when she was being cheated on her her signing husband) is directly linked to homophobia in the United States.

Her kind words in this election year do not jibe with her actual record. That's pretty much what she is all about.

[IndianaGreen]

41. May I remind you that Barney Frank, a Hillary supporter, dropped the transgender from ENDA

and caught a lot of hell about it from LGBT community.

[Mike03]

43. Boys don't cry

I think some kind of mass Ascension of consciousness or maybe just the trauma of having a loved one confront these sort of issues will elevate the understanding of people. People don't learn overnight. It literally took a movie for me to understand the difference between being a transvestite and being a man trapped in a female body or vice versa, but once I understood it, the floodgates opened, and I "got" it and there was no going back.

People who get it have some emotional component that separates or distinguishes them from individuals who know only how to "create the impression" that they understand.

True compassion is like being run over by a train.