Taking Pot Shots At Trans Rights

“I was sitting in my basement.
I just rolled myself a taste
Of something green and gold and glorious
To get me through the day.” — I Got Stoned And I Missed It, Shel Silverstein

“"I have always loved marijuana. It has been a source of joy and comfort to me for many years. And I still think of it as a basic staple of life ….” — author, Hunter S. Thompson

Another day, another … reason to go get stoned.

It’s too damn bad I stopped buying that stuff back in the mid 80’s. It’s not been an especially good weekend. We just reached a new and ignominious milestone in the War in Iraq. 4000 deaths.

A new friend of mine I met during our precinct convention (or Texas Two-Step caucus as the media likes to tag it) Emailed me today to say she couldn’t make it to next weekend’s senate district convention as a delegate. It turns out that she was notified that her grandson was one of those reported killed in Iraq this weekend. After the initial shock of Billy’s news, my thoughts then immediately went out to my own nephew who’s over there right now. Another fresh, innocuous Army face doing the honorable thing on the front lines … I can’t imagine what he’s thinking.

On top of that, two friends – one a former co-worker, and another one of the delegates from my precinct, are losing jobs at the end of the month.

Maybe there’s hope on the horizon. It seems there’s a decriminalization bill for small amounts of marijuana that is making it’s way through the processes in the U. S. House of Representatives. We can all just catch a buzz and fuggeddaboudit!

And guess who spoke out in favor of this bill …? Rep. Barney Frank, the top congressional GLBT (and I add the T though I fully realize we have no representation up on the Hill) member on the Hill. Yep, the same Barney Frank who knew we didn’t have enough support for a fully inclusive Employment Non Discrimination Act because, well, you know … we can’t have transgender people working in jobs around children and stuff. Especially not with the almost-daily reports of transgenders molesting kids and stuff … wherever the hell that raft of case histories came from.

Or maybe they weren’t there after all. Probably just all the pot smoke ….

“But you've got to understand. I want to be president. I want to lead. I want to set– Do you want your little kid to say, "Hey, Daddy. President Bush tried marijuana. I think I will?" — the Texas Gov. George W. Bush in taped interview with confidant Doug Wead

“Am I high? Just look in my eyes.
If you could see them from the other side,
You’d still be wonderin’ “Am I High?”” — Am I High?, Asleep At The Wheel

Oh yeah, back to Barney … he explained it this way: "Many elected officials are hesitant to support any proposals that might be viewed as weakening our drug laws, but I believe this is a common sense idea that will give some people who are suffering a measure of relief."

In fact, Barney even gave high-fives to GOPpers supporting the bill as well. GOP maverick Ron Paul of Texas, and conservative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) are supporting the measure. That’s pretty impressive. Indeed, it does have some common sense to it, even if it is a pretty controversial topic.

"Do you really think people should be prosecuted for smoking marijuana? I don’t think most people agree with that.” Actually, I’d agree with him on that. Pot is not a dangerous, addictive drug in the vein of opiate, amphetamine or cocaine based drugs. The question is, has the party chair done a “whip count” to poll and see how many of the other Reps are supportive of this? Did they listen to the worried freshmen whom may be frightened about supporting such a political hot potato?

Who’d have thunk it, hmm? We’re living in a day – even in the same congressional session – where we could see gay rights and marijuana legalization with realistic chances of passage!

And as for transgenders? Sorry! Not a snowball’s chance in hell, babies!

“It's Public Enemy, Number One!
Women Cry For It - Men Die For It!
The Sweet "Pill" That Makes Life BITTER!
Adults Only!
Drug Crazed Abandon!
Sin - degradation - vice - insanity!” — Movie Trailer soundbites from “Reefer Madness” (1936)

“Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.” — conservative pundit, William F. Buckley Jr.

What this clearly communicates is even if you’re a fully law-abiding transgender, you’re still lower than a pot-smoker who may be breaking the law. Ain’t that ducky?

It’s Barney’s way of saying “If you break a law because of pot, you can get a job – hell, we’ll make it legal, so you can be legit! But you transsexuals? We ain’t hiring! Back out to the shadowy streetcorners with ya, with the other hookers and lowlifes where ya belong!”

It’s kinda sad. I had a dream that some day we’d be at least as good, maybe even considered a little better than -potheads. Oh well, it was a nice pipe-dream, I suppose. We still haven’t even risen to the level of child molesters yet! They often keep their jobs – even in religious organizations and churches.

But don’t let them catch you transitioning from one gender to the other! Horrors! You’ll be tossed out with little hesitation!

Very few studies have been allowed to be compiled on support from the public for equal employment opportunities for transgenders. However, they have shown a consistent result: the majority of respondents support trans inclusion in employment legislation. In the North Carolina study that HRC contracted (and buried shortly thereafter), a slightly higher percentage supported trans inclusion in the workplace over sexual orientation!

And yet … there’s not the support for us transgenders on the Hill. Barney Frank says so. We’ve not done any education or lobbying on Capitol Hill for trans rights, said Barn. Done a piss poor job, according to his opinion. So it must be fact, right? The dude’s bitchin’, he wouldn’t shaft us.

He’s been the transgender community’s hero for years! No one has worked harder! That’s what we’ve all heard from … from somewhere. I don’t remember where. Or maybe it didn’t happen at all … I don’t know. Hey, what do you expect? Stoners are more lucid and employable than us trannies.

On the pot legalization bill, Barney noted that, “it’s one area where the public is ahead of the elected officials.”

Actually there have been a few studies on equal employment opportunities for transgenders. The consistent result has shown a majority of the public support trans inclusion in employment legislation. Oh, I said that already? I forgot. Hey-y-y! Barney was right! The public IS ahead of the elected officials! Oh, wow ….

“A drunkard wants another drink of wine, a politician wants a vote.
I don't want much of nothin' at all, but I will take another toke.” — Long-Haired Country Boy, Charlie Daniels

"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone ... but they've always worked for me." — author, Hunter S. Thompson