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Today was an adventure. I apologize for a long entry if it turns out so, but I'll try to make this short.

A few days ago, TBT posted an article about TG inclusion in the Tampa Human Rights Ordinance and how an extreme anti-GBLT group planned to try to change the votes. I stood in front of my GSA and presented my thoughts: I wanted to go to the meeting and maybe speak, but not as a member of any club. I wanted to speak from my heart.

Someone, I won't say who simply to protect their identity, got me in touch with Zeke Fread, a GBLT advocate who mobilized a force enough to take on Kemple.

Let's review--Kemple is an anti-GBLT, pro-christian, angry old man. If the Tampa City Council meeting were a video game, he'd be the big baddie.

Well, Sara and I talked and arranged a time that we were going to go down there. We wanted to be early. We wanted to be prepared. With help from our link and Zeke Fread, we were able to get information that was great, accurate, and actually made us far more prepared than the other group.

Well, after I was heading home on Tuesday, David Leonard called my cell phone. I didn't pick up, since I didn't recognize the number and wasn't expecting a call. He left a message, I called back, etc (which by the way, he was very pleasant and polite). We arranged the interview, and on Wednesday, we recorded at 11am. We finished around noon. On the way back home, I missed the broadcast at 5pm, but I caught it online, which I linked you all to.

So I was tired, went to bed around 1-2am, and woke up at 6. I got ready, and Sara picked me up and we drove to Downtown Tampa. We got there at almost 8am, and we ended up walking the wrong way at first, thanks to the signs... We got there with quite some time to spare. We walked in, walked out, met people, then went back into the chambers and met a handful of people.

Which of course you could nearly gag on the evil that emanated from Kemple (seriously) what with all the glaring he did. We all introduced each other and got comfortable... More news and people filed in and before I knew it, the room was full.

TG inclusion was item 43 on the agenda, and the council swiftly dealt with everything, moving most of the items from 1-41, then a brief talk and vote on item 42, and then onto us.

When they called for speakers, there were so many... They could only allow 2 minutes and 40 seconds for each speaker. It was a turn-taking thing, and, well, it was pretty fun.

If people post the footage, I'll link it because... Some of it was comical. Really.

Near the end, though, two hours of debate, I decided... I'm going to speak, so I got on line. I was tired of the anti-GBLT community, mostly claiming to be ministers and pastors, talking about how "men will dress like women" and go into womens' bathrooms to harass young girls.

I spoke about how I am 20, a college student, and have been living as a male for more than five years. I mentioned how I'd been compared to a dog, a lemming, and others; I said I was a human being and that I needed human rights. I mentioned that I, nor any other TG person that I know... None of us had any interest in going into bathrooms to harass others and how this issue was truly about being able to find work properly. I said the issues of homosexuality and being transgender are related in some ways, but the council members are smart enough to know this. I spoke about how being TG is not my choice, but being not sexually active is my choice. I think I even mentioned how I am considering moving into Tampa.

It was strange, and I was nervous. I was shaky, but I tried to be as eloquent as possible.

A few minutes later, all of our side finished speaking... The council members spoke, including Scott, Mulhern, and Miranda. Saul-Sena was absent for some reason, so it was only six council members.

After some time and amazing speeches, they voted. It was 5-1, and only Miranda opposed, based on the fact that it could be used wrongly based on the wording--but aren't all laws like that?

We cheered and left, and avoided bumping into camera crews and everything.

Sara and I went shopping... We ate lunch, and I went to class. It was a long, amazing day.

Now discrimination based on gender identity is protected in Tampa...

I'm still extremely happy, and hey, if you're an employer and in Tampa and you're hiring, I'm going to find you and I'm going to get hired!

This is a great addition to the Tampa Human Rights Ordinance. It'll protect people for generations if left on the books... :9

By the way, here are some videos and articles.

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And the video from Wednesday: [link]

Edit: Some of the videos will give trouble loading and playing--just make sure you try both IE and Firefox and that nothing big is really running. I uploaded a PDF of the two pages in the TBT with a quote and an article.

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Today is the TG Day of Remembrance, and it seems so fitting.

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