Transphobia in Baltimore

A transgender woman was brutally beaten while trying to use the bathroom at a McDonald's in Baltimore, MD. An employee recorded the beating on a camera (though he did not intervene). This comes on the tails of the Maryland trans* community's defeat of HB 235 (a bill meant to protect individuals from discrimination based on gender identity but which would, in fact, legalize gender identity discrimination in public accommodations; that is, bathrooms).

FOX News, predictably, reports the story with the charming headline "Smoking Gun: 'Woman' Beat Up At McDonald's Was a Male Cross-Dresser."

If this is not a hate crime, I'm not sure what is.

Monica at TransGriot notes that it's kind of funny how it seems the only people assaulting anyone in bathrooms are cisgender and not "men in dresses", no?

It's important to note that HB 235 was a bill pushed by the cisgender LGB folks of MD in an attempt to compromise (previous bills attempting to outlaw gender identity discrimination have failed in MD). I suppose the thinking was, "If we can get SOME law out there that will protect trans* folks at least sometimes, that will be good enough." Thankfully the bill was killed, because it's clear as day from incidents like this that gender identity discrimination in restrooms is NOTHING to compromise on.

The LGBTQIA community has no room for compromises when it comes to basic human rights.