Lauryn Farris, a leading voice for transgender advocacy in San Antonio, has died, according to an San Antonio Express-News report. Farris was remembered for working on the Alamo City’s nondiscrimination ordinance and for fighting the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature’s failed 2017 push to bar transgender people from public restrooms. She died on July 27 following a…
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledges to revive bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender kids
Apparently, Gov. Greg Abbott isn’t done trying to ramrod culture war issues through during the special session he called of the Texas Legislature. Texas’ Republican governor told a radio interviewer Monday that he’ll soon try to stop transgender minors from obtaining transition-related medical services, the Texas Tribune reports. Such a move would revive a push…
Transgender Woman Identified as Victim in San Antonio Barbershop Killing
San Antonio Police have identified 20-year-old Helle Jae O’Regan as the victim of a fatal attack at the Diesel Barbershop on Bandera Road near Loop 1604 on May 6. O’Regan and two other barbershop employees were inside the business preparing for their reopening on May 8. Police arrested 42-year-old Damion Campbell on May 7 accusing…
Graphic Video Shows Trans Student From Alpine, Texas Being Beaten By Classmate
The beating of a transgender student by a classmate from Alpine High School was captured on a cell phone video that has gone viral. Despite the video evidence, the student who precipitated the attack has not been disciplined. In an interview with KOSA-TV in Odessa, the 15-year-old student, who wants to remain anonymous, said his…
Texas GOP Primary Ballot Proposition Challenges Rights of Parents With Trans Children
When Texas Republican voters go to the polls for the March 3 primary election, they will have the opportunity to reply to 10 propositions including one that seeks to control the rights of parents with transgender children. The GOP’s proposition raises false alarms about what some have inferred to be the abuse of transgender children…
Another Trans Woman Found Dead in Dallas
The body of a transgender woman was found floating in White Rock Lake in Dallas on June 1 marking the fourth case of violence against trans women in the city in the last eight months. All four victims are African American. The latest casualty is 26-year-old Chynal Lindsey, a resident of Arlington. At a press…
Local Gender Affirmation Project Will Assist with Updating of ID’s
A partnership of three organizations will begin offering gender marker and name change clinics that will help gender nonconforming individuals update their government ID cards, driver’s licenses and other documents to align with how they identify. The program, dubbed the Gender Affirmation Project, is being organized by Pride Center San Antonio in conjunction with the…
SXSW Premiers Film That Tells Story of Young Trans Wrestler From Texas
A short documentary film about a transgender boy on the wrestling team at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas had its world premier on March 8 at the South by Southwest Conference and Festival in Austin. The film, Mack Wrestles, which was produced by ESPN Films, tells the story of Mack Beggs, who in 2017…
Republican State Rep. Files Bill Legalizing Discrimination Against Trans People and Married LGBT Couples
State Representative Bill Zedler (R-Arlington) has filed a bill, dubbed the “Free to Believe Act,” that would legalize discrimination against transgender people and married LGBT couples. In an email to its supporters, Equality Texas warns the bill, HB 1035, “would legally protect discrimination in healthcare, in social services, in the workplace, in access to housing,…
Alamo City Opera’s ‘As One’ Will Dispel Every Misconception You Have About Opera
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Starring Liz Bouk and Jose Rubio, the contemporary opera As One tells the story of Hannah Before and Hannah After, the sole protagonist on her journey of self-realization and transition. Since its premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2014, the 75-minute chamber opera has become one…