Trump Administration winds back Obama-era protections for transgender prisoners

[filghy2]

Just came across this report. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/14/17351636/trump-transgender-prison-lgbtq

Basically, it looks like the default position will be that transsexuals in federal prisons will be put into male facilities, with exceptions only in "rare cases".

[Tiffany Anne]

"But her emails..."

[Stavros]

'Obama made it, we destroy it.'
The politics of hatred and revenge, because they have nothing else to offer.

[johncock0]

Just came across this report. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/5/14/17351636/trump-transgender-prison-lgbtq

Basically, it looks like the default position will be that transsexuals in federal prisons will be put into male facilities, with exceptions only in "rare cases".

This doesn't surprise me at all. This Administration and the Republican Party is actively seeking to oppress transgender US citizens.

They started with banning transgender bathroom use for students.

They Banned Transgender Citizens from joining the military making a false claim from Trump that the reason transgender citizens want to be in the military is cover their medical procedures. Most transgender women I know don't want to go the masculine way to transition. Also claiming that trans ppl are too mentally unstable to serve.

In the coming weeks, the administration will launch its next attack also on trans rights by announcing the revocation of a landmark regulation that protects transgender people from discrimination in health care.

Fosta-Sesta puts also puts some trans back into the streets if they don't have a back-up plan.

Job Bias

In Short: Trump administration has withdrawn federal guidance protecting transgender schoolchildren, employees, military, insurance, and homeless people and now this prison crap.

The list will go on. This Administration will continue to stomp/crush and oppress them from their rights as long as he or a republican president are in the White House.

I do question for those who voted for trump what is something that they feel proud of that is benefiting them from this vote. Just curious.

Trump and his Administration are like a disease for the transgender community!

[Ben in LA]

Yet many in the community - including some trans girls - voted for that moron.

[filghy2]

Your post reminded me of the thread you started 2 years ago on the Breitbart article on transsexuals supporting Trump. http://www.hungangels.com/vboard/showthread.php?99116-Trannies-for-Trump&highlight=trannies+trump

Out of curiosity I googled the four names mentioned in the article to see what they were saying now.

Caitlyn Jenner has clearly seen the light and turned against Trump. http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/377741-caitlyn-jenner-trump-admin-set-transgender-community-back-20-years

Rachel Francon seems to have disappeared since mid-2017, as has her facebook page 'Genders United for Trump.

Theryn Meyer has an active twitter page, but seems to be avoiding comments on Trump (though some negative comments about the Alt-right) https://twitter.com/thetherynmeyer?lang=en

Tara Sophia/Sophia Eris - also gone very quiet after her twitter account was suspended last year https://twitter.com/TabletopGirls/status/953923475189780480 https://twitter.com/TabletopGirls/status/953923475189780480

[SanDiegoPervySage]

Yet many in the community - including some trans girls - voted for that moron.

I don't feel bad for the ones that did.

[Ben in LA]

I don't feel bad for the ones that did.
Neither do I. They voted for who they wanted and won't get any sympathy from me.

[mildcigar_2001]

1. Transsexual or otherwise, don't commit a crime and get sent to prison.

2. My understanding of the Obama administration policy was someone could merely claim to be trans and then request transfer to a female prison. This would lead to chaos. There is a South park that touches on this very point. If you want to get outraged on someone's behalf, why not the female prisoners would be getting folks with male equipment locked in with them?

3. This faux outrage needs to stop. Save the outrage for when there is real oppression. Cry "wolf" too many times, and people won't listen to you when you really need help.

4. Once again, if you are a transsexual worried about being thrown into the general prison population then don't commit a federal crime. Problem solved!

[Paladin]

DOD regs from the obama administration clearly stated that only fully transitioned persons would be able to serve.

Otherwise it would be chaos.

[Stavros]

1. Transsexual or otherwise, don't commit a crime and get sent to prison.
4. Once again, if you are a transsexual worried about being thrown into the general prison population then don't commit a federal crime. Problem solved!

Prison in the USA is a profitable business not a public service. The Obama administration tried to reduce the number of people in prison which are now increasing again as Attorney General Sessions believes even the most trivial crimes merit incarceration and that is where your 'don't break the law' excuse falls flat.

Most transgendered Americans lead normal lives and don't break the law. But many transgendered teenagers live dysfunctional lives. They may have had to leave home where they were unwelcome, they may have mental health issues, they may become involved in drugs and prostitution, they become vulnerable to life on the streets where they are more likely to get into trouble, charged with a crime and at some point be sent to prison. Is Prison meant to help convicted criminals reform and lead better lives, or is it just a social dustbin into which vulnerable people can be thrown without any support at all, least of all for their rights?

At highest risk are transgender women who have reported alarming rates of assault in federal and state prisons and local jails: more than 1 in 3 have been sexually victimized according to PREA data. In a national survey of transgender adults (https://www.transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS%20Full%20Report%20-%20FINAL%201.6.17.pdf), respondents who were incarcerated reported physical and sexual assault rates six to 10 times higher than non-transgender prisoners.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/14/us-bureau-prisons-policy-change-endangers-transgender-prisoners

[mildcigar_2001]

For better or worse prison exists to punish people for their crimes, and to provide a deterrent for others to prevent them from also committing crimes.

By the age most prisoners reach prison their characters (or lack thereof) are already formed. To break criminals out of the cycle there needs to some force as religion to change people in the long term.

But once again my message to the transsexual community is avoid committing crimes if you didn't want to go to prison. I have little sympathy for dysfunctional people (transsexual or otherwise) that make other people their victims.

We need to get away from politically correct nonsense of the Obama era.

If you can't do the time don't do the crime, and if transsexuals get treated particularly badly in prison the they need to try especially had to be law abiding citizens.

[trish]

Politically speaking, prison exists to punish people - yes, but not always for committing crimes. Too often it’s for being the wrong color, or having the wrong opinion, or even using the wrong restroom. It functions to intimidate, subjugate and oppress. But in the U.S. its raison d'être is to make a profit: civil forfeiture, kids for cash, mass incarceration. Within its borders the U.S. has 4.4% of the world’s population. How does a nation that claims to prize freedom above all else justify incarcerating 23% of the world’s incarcerated people? How does a nation that prizes individual freedom above all else justify the way it treats individuals who identify differently?

[SanDiegoPervySage]

Prison is supposed to rehabilitate not solely punish. And when you have a lack of resources for many jails/prisons, rehabilitation often fails, whether or not that particular institution made rehabilitative efforts.

[filghy2]

Within its borders the U.S. has 4.4% of the world’s population. How does a nation that claims to prize freedom above all else justify incarcerating 23% of the world’s incarcerated people?

And how well has that worked in deterring crime? If our law and order crusader is correct then I'm sure he can produce lots of stats showing that the US has lower crime rates than other developed countries.

I'm surprised he hasn't extended the logic of his argument further,eg:

Worried about the widening gap between rich and poor? Just work harder at getting rich.
Worried about not being able to afford health care? Just work harder at staying healthy and avoiding accidents.
Worried about gun violence? Just don't go out unless you are armed to the teeth.
Worried about racism? Just have your skin whitened like Michael Jackson.

[mildcigar_2001]

Putting people in jail has worked fairly well against preventing crime. Crime rates across the nation are down substantially since the 1970s.

A prime example of this is New York city. Under Mayer Giuliani's get tough on crime policy violent and property rates plunged. Under the current Mayer NYC becoming unsafe again.

Almost any one in the United States can work their way into the middle class (at least) if they work hard enough. The important point is that you have to be willing to work.

Look at Venezuela for what socialism can do to a country. Venezuela is sitting on the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and the country is starving to death.

If you think too many people are in jail, look at the Southside of Chicago (that should convince most people that a lot more violent criminals need to be put in the can).

My point is life should be made hard for convicted criminals (obviously is I'm the HA forum I like TSs, but I'm not eager to make things easier for the relatively e subset that are criminals). Save your sympathy for TS victims of crime!

[filghy2]

Crime rates across the nation are down substantially since the 1970s.

That's true (contrary to what Trump has been suggesting), but there are a number of factors that may have contributed. Crime rates have also fallen in most developed countries. Researchers have found only a small effect from increased incarceration. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/what-caused-the-crime-decline/477408/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2015/05/28/whats-behind-the-decline-in-crime/#769262266f61

[mildcigar_2001]

Thankfully, in our society there is a generally a finite amount of criminals (the less criminals on the streets equals less crime).

It is disingenuous to suggest that locking up criminals does no good. It's hard to mug someone in Central park if you are on Riker's Island.

[Stavros]

Thankfully, in our society there is a generally a finite amount of criminals (the less criminals on the streets equals less crime).
It is disingenuous to suggest that locking up criminals does no good. It's hard to mug someone in Central park if you are on Riker's Island.

But if you look at Boston as an example, you find that reducing crime is as much about community policing as it is just locking people up. Your President during his campaign used the example of Chicago to argue for tougher penalties for crime and more arrests because it suited his concept of 'Broken America', and feeds the 'lock 'em up and throw away the key' zombies who never seem to ask why people break the law in the first place. But if you go the Boston route, you must fund a police service that replaces confrontation with conversation, where the police are part of the community, not at war with it. This is a man who thrives on confrontation, who has no concept of community, and merely looks at what Obama did and says, 'reverse it'. Like reversing your car into the street without looking in the rear view mirror to see if there is anyone there -or reversing into a brick wall.

[Paladin]

Politically speaking, prison exists to punish people - yes, but not always for committing crimes. Too often it’s for being the wrong color, or having the wrong opinion, or even using the wrong restroom. It functions to intimidate, subjugate and oppress. But in the U.S. its raison d'être is to make a profit: civil forfeiture, kids for cash, mass incarceration. Within its borders the U.S. has 4.4% of the world’s population. How does a nation that claims to prize freedom above all else justify incarcerating 23% of the world’s incarcerated people? How does a nation that prizes individual freedom above all else justify the way it treats individuals who identify differently?

That's only the prisons we Know about.

[nycguy1]

the chickens have come home to roost. keeping people locked up decade after decade into senior citizenship and even beyond makes zero sense for humanity or any given society (obviously it makes all the sense for prison-service-based-economies):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/05/02/the-painful-price-of-aging-in-prison/

LOOK at the picture of the old man with a walker and grandma in a wheelchair. WOW. i can only imagine they will stick me up and burglarize my home and run away with it all. yeah. they are a real threat to society.

[mildcigar_2001]

Once again, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

A lot of folks respond to this thread should think about the victims of crime.

For example, if you gruesomly murder someone when you are age 30, don't complain that you are still in prison at age 80.

Society needs to send the message that if you commit a crime that you are going to serve out your full sentence; that you don't get a get out of jail free card just because you turn 65.

I have little sympathy for the perpetrators of crime. If you rape or murder someone when you are young and healthy, don't come looking for forgiveness just because now you are old and frail.

[SanDiegoPervySage]

Most people incarcerated aren't in there for rape and murder. Not everything requires a full sentencing. The reason prisons and jails have been overcrowded is largely due to the war on drugs with over the top sentencing. Punishment alone doesn't deter crime. The death penalty doesn't deter murder.

Nobody is saying forget the victims, but the punishment approach with no focus on rehabilitation doesn't work. Prisoners need educational, vocational, mental health, job placement services, etc. When they don't get the help they need, of course they are at a greater risk of recidivism. Like mentioned before, man prisons have a lack of resources, including medical. They can't afford to have doctors of any type there full time, just nurses. A doctor may visit a couple times a stilfor a few hours. Now personally, I I'm conflicted about murderers and rapists getting out early even when they are old but they are a small percentage of all offenders.

[Stavros]

A lot of folks respond to this thread should think about the victims of crime.
For example, if you gruesomly murder someone when you are age 30, don't complain that you are still in prison at age 80.
Society needs to send the message that if you commit a crime that you are going to serve out your full sentence; that you don't get a get out of jail free card just because you turn 65.
I have little sympathy for the perpetrators of crime. If you rape or murder someone when you are young and healthy, don't come looking for forgiveness just because now you are old and frail.

I think the point is to ask what is justice, if it means a man with three minor felonies can because of the 'third strike and you're out' rule spend the rest of his life in prison?
In the US, the average annual cost of life imprisonment is $31,286 though it varies in specific states, in New York State the annual cost is around $60,000 per inmate. In Europe, whole life tariffs are considered to be inhumane, and only imposed in the most serious cases where the convicted is considered too dangerous to be released. There is also the case of those who are convicted of crimes they did not commit (I didn't do the crime, but I did the time), as well as those in prison for offences which did not involve violence against the person. Lastly, unsatisfactory as it may seem, prison policy is not about the victim, but society's judgement of the criminal, and in the US where we are led to believe Christianity is the dominant religion, it is in those states apparently dominated by 'Evangelical Christians' that there is a significant lack of Christian love and forgiveness, fundamental though it is to the Christian faith.

[blackchubby38]

Once again, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

A lot of folks respond to this thread should think about the victims of crime.

For example, if you gruesomly murder someone when you are age 30, don't complain that you are still in prison at age 80.

Society needs to send the message that if you commit a crime that you are going to serve out your full sentence; that you don't get a get out of jail free card just because you turn 65.

I have little sympathy for the perpetrators of crime. If you rape or murder someone when you are young and healthy, don't come looking for forgiveness just because now you are old and frail.

You can still have sympathy for the victims of violent crimes and want to see the perpetrators punished to fullest extent of the law, while at the same time think there are parts of the criminal justice system that need to be reformed. Especially when it comes to the war on drugs, prostitution, and other non-violent crimes.

There are many people who absolutely belong behind bars. But for the others who happen to find themselves on the wrong side of law, after they have paid their debt to society, they should be given the opportunity to become productive members of society again.