Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called a special session, largely so he can push once again for the removal of transgender people from from participation in human society (i.e. Senate Bill 6).

With the anti-transgender SB 6 stuck in the mud in the Texas House, Rep. Ron Simmons of Carollton has taken a cue from the North Carolina "compromise" and introduced HB 2899, which would prohibit cities and counties from passing non-discrimination ordinances which extend rights beyond what is protected by state law. The bill would also nullify all local non-discrimination laws already in place.

Last week I notified you about the attempt by anti-transgender Montanans to create a referendum on the existence of transgender people.

Tennessee Sen Mae Beavers attempted to re-introduce a measure which would have required schools to restrict bathroom and locker room based on sex at birth. She even had a proposed an amendment to the bill which she thought would allow "accommodations" for transgender and intersex students.

Rep. Carl Glimm (R-Kila) has introduced a bill written by the Montana Family Association which defines sex as "a person's immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth." As such it would restrict transgender people to public restrooms and locker rooms designated for the sex assigned to them at birth.

John Howie is chef and owner of Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar in Seattle and a few other restaurants, including a concession at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks play.

After it was disclosed on Monday that Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and his fiance, the singer Ciara had moved their wedding out of North Carolina because of HB2, a reporter uncovered the fact that the Chef had donated $1000 to the Washington transgender hate group Just Want Privacy, which failed to qualify a similar law for the November ballot.

Education Secretary John B. King Jr. spoke yesterday at the Education Writers Association national conference in Boston. He was asked about the laws in North Carolina and Mississippi restricting the rights of transgender Americans.

Asked about the laws King called them hateful and said gender identity should be protected.

He said the laws send a problematic message to students and he is calling on state legislatures to repeal them.

My hope is legislators will realize they've made a terrible mistake.

--Sec King

The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women has initiated a statement which was signed onto by over 250 anti-sexual assault and domestic violence groups saying that the bill does nothing to reduce assault but rather puts transgender people at an even bigger risk of violence.

On Monday the US Commission on Civil Rights called the "bathroom bills" recently passed in North Carolina and Mississippi "discriminatory and potentially dangerous."

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory recently signed into law H.B. 2, legislation blocking local governments from passing anti-discrimination rules that grant protections to gay and transgender persons. The law also repeals existing municipal anti-discrimination laws which protected LGBT people from bias in housing and employment. Critically, the new legislation also forces transgender people to utilize public bathrooms and changing facilities based on the sex issued on their birth certificates, and not according to their gender identities. This jeopardizes not only the dignity, but also the actual physical safety, of transgender people whose appearances may not match societal expectations of the sex specified on their identification documents.

In Mississippi, Governor Phil Bryant recently signed HB 1523 into law. The new statute is far- reaching and allows people with “religious objections” to deny wedding services to same-sex couples. It also clears the way for employers to cite religion in determining workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom access. The physical safety concerns for transgender people are the same as in North Carolina.

Once upon a time, I lived in Kansas. At the time the governor was Bob Dole. I was stationed at Fort Leavenworth and worked at the United States Disciplinary Barracks.

To the present:

The Brownback administration has decided that it will not be sufficient to require that transgender people be forced to use the restroom that accords with the sex listed on their birth certificate...since currently one could have the gender changed on a Kansas birth certificate by presenting medical documentation that displays that an anatomical or physiological change has occurred.