Magazine: 2016-08-11 edition (PDF)
By Metro Weekly Contributor
on
August 11, 2016
The Metropolitan Police Department is asking for the public’s help in solving the fatal shooting of a transgender woman in Northeast D.C.
Dream Johnson, 28, was reportedly walking along Benning Road NE, between the Carver Langston and Kingman Park neighborhoods, when she was shot in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 5.
According to a news release from the Metropolitan Police Department, officers from MPD’s Sixth District were flagged down in the 2000 block of Benning Road NE for an unconscious woman. When they arrived, they found a female victim -- later identified as Johnson -- suffering from gunshot wounds.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered lower federal courts to revisit pro-transgender rulings after siding with Tennessee in a 6-3 decision upholding the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
In its June 30 ruling, the Court found the law did not discriminate based on sex or transgender status -- and while it did not address other laws affecting transgender Americans, it opened the door for states to impose even broader restrictions on transgender rights and legal protections.
As reported by CNN, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Amy Coney Barrett wrote in concurring opinions that courts should not be required to closely scrutinize laws alleged to discriminate against transgender people.
Despite pleas from LGBTQ advocates and allies, the Trump administration will officially shut down the national suicide prevention hotline’s support services for LGBTQ youth.
Previously, callers to 988 -- the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline -- could select from a menu of options to reach counselors with experience serving specific groups, such as veterans, Spanish-language speakers, or LGBTQ youth. The latter could be reached by pressing "3" from the menu options.
But effective July 17, that option will no longer be available to LGBTQ youth.
