David Paterson accepts award from transgender rights group

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund honored former New York Gov. David Paterson at its Sixth Anniversary Benefit at the Chelsea Art Museum in Manhattan on Monday, May 23.

Here is a video of Paterson's acceptance speech in its entirety.

Paterson to ban discrimination against transgender New York State employees

Boy in Bushwick has learned Gov. David Paterson will sign an executive order tomorrow that will ban discrimination against transgender state employees.

The governor is scheduled to sign the order tomorrow morning at the LGBT Community Center in lower Manhattan. Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, praised the move.

"This executive order will ensure that hard-working transgender employees of New York State can work without fear of discrimination, and provide for themselves and their families," he said. “We applaud [Gov.] Paterson for taking this important step for transgender equal rights.”

Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania currently ban discrimination against their public employees based gender identity and expression. The federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act remains stalled in Congress, but Dru Levasseur of Lambda Legal told the New York Times he feels the state will once again be at the forefront of what he described as states "that are taking the lead on workplace fairness."

Transgender woman sues Orlando McDonald's for discrimination

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund announced earlier today it has filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Rights against an Orlando area McDonald's after its manager allegedly refused to hire Zikerria Bellamy because she is transgender.

Bellamy, 17, applied online for a shift manager position in July. The teenager said the franchise's manager learned she is transgender and left a homophobic voice mail on her cell phone a few weeks later.



Florida law does not specifically address discrimination based on gender identity, the state's administrative agencies have concluded transgender Floridians are protected under the Florida Human Rights Act's prohibitions on sex and disability discrimination. Lawmakers last month also introduced the Competitive Workforce Bill, which would add both gender identity and sexual orientation to the Florida Civil Rights Act.

McDonald's has yet to respond to Bellamy's allegation.

Transgender advocacy organization to host hate crime forum in Brooklyn

Lesbian Sues NYC Restaurant After Bouncer Allegedly Kicked Her Out of Restroom

Boy in Bushwick blogged extensively in July on lesbian New Yorker Khadijah Farmer's claim against the Caliente Cab Company bouncer who allegedly kicked her out of a women's restroom inside the restaurant while she, her girlfriend and a friend had dinner after gay Pride. Farmer has now sued the West Village restaurant alleging discrimination because her masculine appearance with 'societal norms' of gender identity.

Farmer's lawyer, Michael Silverman of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, told the Times the lawsuit is important because it could potentially set a legal precedent for cases involving sex stereotyping. The city's human rights law includes gender identity or expression but the legal argument surely matters little to Farmer as she seeks justice for what she said happened to her inside the restaurant's restroom. Caliente Cab maintains it did nothing wrong but its position that Farmer simply wants money is absurd at best. The way in which the bouncer allegedly mistreated Farmer, especially after gay Pride, remains extremely unfortunate considering the throngs of LGBT people from across the world who descend upon Manhattan each June to attend the parade. The idea of gender identity and expression may seem a far too academic concept which many people may fail to understand. Humanity and dignity, on the other hand, are basic rights to which everyone is entitled.

LGBT New Yorkers Boycott Caliente Cab Company

The arguably inevitable boycott of the Caliente Cab Company restaurant in the West Village continues more than a month after a bouncer allegedly confronted lesbian Khadijah Farmer while she used the eatery's restroom. The Queer Justice League picketed the restaurant on July 15. The group plans to hold a second protest on Sunday to renew their calls that LGBT New Yorkers boycott the Caliente Cab Company until Farmer receives a formal apology.

Farmer's case continues to receive widespread coverage in New York's mainstream, LGBT and even Spanish media. Her lawyer, Michael Silverman of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, has filed a complaint with the city's Commission on Human Rights on his clients behalf. He is also considering a lawsuit against Caliente Cab Company after negotiations with their counsel produced little progress. This case remains a sad irony in part because the alleged discrimination took place hours after more than 500,000 people took part in the city's annual Pride parade in Manhattan. The restaurant continues to disregard the serious allegations Farmer has made against it. Activists are right to demand action against the eatery and to show discrimination has no place in New York.

New York Restaurant Allegedly Throws Lesbian Out After She Used the Women's Restroom

Manhattanite Khadijah Farmer, her girlfriend and their friend were among the more than half a million people who packed the city late last month to attend New York's annual gay Pride march. She told reporters, however, their day turned sour after a bouncer at the popular Caliente Cab Company escorted the trio from the West Village restaurant after he mistook Farmer for a man while she used the women's restroom

"The bouncer burst into the bathroom," Farmer told reporters at a press conference earlier today outside the Caliente Cab Company on Seventh Avenue South. "He started banging on the stall door... it was horrifying."

The restaurant declined to respond to Farmer's allegations despite their past support of a number of local LGBT organizations. Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Executive Director Michael Silverman represents Farmer. He told reporters he and his client may consider legal action against the Caliente Cab Company if the restaurant does not respond to their demands -- adopt and enforce a policy which bars discrimination based on gender identity, expression and sexual orientation; train staff to comply with various New York public accommodations law and compensate Farmer herself. This case remains highly ironic due to the fact it allegedly took place after New York's annual gay Pride parade. The Caliente Cab Company remains clearly on the defensive as it faces reporters' questions about why the bouncer allegedly targeted Farmer and the overall nature of the restaurant. Answers to these questions will almost certainly continue to unfold over the next few weeks if and/or when the restaurant decides to respond to these allegations.



Khadijah Farmer, 27, speaks to reporters outside the Caliente Cab Company restaurant in New York's West Village during a July 2 press conference. She alleges a bouncer escorted her, her girlfriend and another friend from the restaurant after he said she was too masculine to use the women's restroom. [Photo courtesy of 1010 WINS]

Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund Celebrates Second Anniversary

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund has secured settlements for Helena Stone, who reached a significant legal victory with the MTA last October after police officers repeatedly arrested and harassed her after she used a women's restroom inside Grand Central Terminal, and other transgender New Yorkers who have endured discrimination. This blogger attended TLDEF's second anniversary celebration last night in Lower Manhattan. This organization's profile continues to grow within New York as it enhances it's work on behalf of transgender New Yorkers.



From Left; TLDEF Executive Director Michael Silverman, TLDEF board members Pauline Park, Todd Robichaud and Dinh Tu Tran