Always be ready for problems
Author:
It's been more than X amount of years I began warning the girls to find a lawyer before they found themselves facing harassment from the police or anyone else. Trying to think of who one could call when in the back of a squad car, jail, or at the very least pulled over on the side of the road is not a good situation. Back then finding a lawyer already clued in and sympathetic to one's situation was a crap shoot. Picking one out of the phone book was better than a ninety percent chance of ending up with a lawyer who was just as disgusted or more so than the police or the person who is harassing them. The other part of the equation was being dressed as opposite of one's birth gender on their driver's license was against the law in virtually every single state. It came under the broad term of being in disguise to do criminal activities. Yep, look it up. Every policeman, state trooper, sheriff was gung ho to enforce that one particular law. Stopping one whether walking or driving and asking for ID was NOT against the law. Well..., yes it was but that is a constitutional law and no one followed it. If they knew it they conveniently ignored it. Sadly, I'd go as far to say none of the girls knew it either. The lawyers they might have to obtain...? Nope or they didn't care.
Anyway, I got lost here in posting this nice piece of work by a lady who is up to date on the laws and called the police. Nice reverse of what things used to be as the police were protecting her rights.
Transgender woman says she was harassed over restroom at restaurant
http://www.wistv.com/story/38495213/transgender-woman-says-s...
Know your rights, have numbers in your phone you can call for help or protection. Looking it up later is always too late. Always be prepared for the worse. If it doesn't happen it's a beautiful day. If it does, you weren't caught off guard.
People this isn't advice only for those caught up in the boy-girl gender blender but for everyone. I'm not jaded but again I am. We worked from Detroit to Corpus Christi and hundreds of places in between. Been to the Atlantic and the Pacific, the Great Lakes and the Gulf, Canada, and Mexico. I met the dregs of humanity and the best of humanity. It's hard to tell which is which by looking. Be prepared.
Love all of you.
Stay Safe
Life is a gift. Treasure it until it's time to return it.
always
Barb