• Arizona Candidates Support Non-Binary Rights

    Earlier this year, I had my California birth certificate corrected to state that I’m non-binary (meaning I’m not a man or a woman). When I went to my local Arizona Motor Vehicle Department to get my FAA-compliant ID that we’re all required to get by 2020, they denied my application even though I brought all the requisite documents. By law, the Arizona Department of Transportation only acknowledge two genders: male and female. The system cannot process an application with “X” for the sex or gender.

    Contacting the Candidates

    Arizona needs to update its laws to acknowledge that non-binary people exist. As of this date, seven states and Washington D.C. will issue non-binary birth certificates and/or driver’s licenses. I may have been the first person to present a non-binary ID, but I will not be the last.

    I contacted all 176 candidates running to represent Arizona in the U.S. Congress and to serve in the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives (via email, their website, or Facebook), told them about this situation, and asked them two questions:

    1. If elected, would you support a bill that would require the State (or federal government) to have a non-binary option on all identifications that specify sex or gender?
    2. If yes, would you be willing to sponsor such a bill?

    Followed up with each candidate up to three times over the last three weeks or until I received a response.

    The Results

    I received “yes” answers to question #1 from 36 candidates (20% of candidates contacted), and only 50 of the 176 candidates I contacted gave me any type of response. I was delighted by the number of candidates who said they support changing the laws to acknowledge non-binary persons. Here’s the list of everyone who would support a bill to add a non-binary option to government IDs:

    U.S. House of Representatives
    District 3: Raul Grijalva (Democrat, Incumbent)

    Arizona Senate
    District 2: Andrea Dalessandro (Democrat, Incumbent)
    District 5: J’aime Morgaine (Democrat)
    District 7: JL Mealer (Republican)
    District 9: Victoria Steele (Democrat)
    District 10: David Bradley (Democrat, Incumbent)
    District 11: Ralph Atchue (Democrat)
    District 13: Michelle Harris (Democrat)
    District 15: Kristin Dybvig-Pawelko (Democrat)
    District 16: Benjamin Carmitchel (Democrat)
    District 20: Douglas Ervin (Democrat)
    District 27: Rebecca Rios (Democrat, Incumbent)
    District 29: Martin Quezada (Democrat, Incumbent)

    Arizona House of Representatives
    District 1: Ed Gogek (Democrat) and Jan Manolis (Democrat)
    District 3: Andres Cano (Democrat) and Beryl Baker (Green)
    District 4: Sara Mae Williams (Green)
    District 5: Mary Robinson (Democrat)
    District 8: Carmen Casillas (Democrat) and Linda Gross (Democrat)
    District 10: Kirsten Engel (Democrat, Incumbent)
    District 11: Hollace Lyon (Democrat)
    District 13: Thomas Tzitzura (Democrat)
    District 15: Julie Gunnigle (Democrat) and Jennifer Samuels (Democrat)
    District 18: Denise “Mitzi” Epstein (Democrat, Incumbent) and Jennifer Jermaine (Democrat)
    District 19: Lorenzo Sierra (Democrat)
    District 21: Gilbert Romero (Democrat)
    District 22: Valerie Harris (Democrat)
    District 23: Eric Kurland (Democrat)
    District 24: Jennifer Longdon (Democrat)
    District 28: Kelli Butler (Democrat, Incumbent) and Aaron Lieberman (Democrat)
    District 29: Richard Andrade (Democrat, Incumbent)

    In addition to these 35 supporters, a number of candidates responded to my emails by saying they would support such a bill, but because of the circumstances related to their race, they could not publicly support such a bill at this time. I respect people in this situation, and I will follow up with them after the election if they win.

    Commitment to Sponsor a Bill

    “Arizona Flag” by Gage Skidmore from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

    Of the 35 candidates who would support this bill, 31 of them said they would sponsor such a bill.

    The main reasons given by those who would not commit to sponsoring a bill were either because they commitments related to other issues to pursue or because they would be a freshman official and they did not know enough about the process to sponsor a bill yet.

    Other Responses

    Here are some additional responses I received to my inquiries from candidates who said “yes” and “no” to supporting a bill for non-binary rights:

    Kelli Butler: “Thank you for spearheading this effort! I was a co-sponsor of HB2492 last session and hope to win my election so I can co-sponsor the bill again. This is an important step for equality and respect for all and I was extremely disappointed that the bill never received a hearing.” (Democrat, District 28)

    Hollace Lyon: “My first, ‘gut’ reaction to your story was, ‘Just because one doesn’t declare a sex, doesn’t mean they aren’t a person!’” (Democrat, District 11)

    Julie Gunnigle: “I am very concerned about what this means for non-binary citizens and their fundamental right to travel (not to mention the bigger picture of equal treatment by their government).” (Democrat, District 15)

    John Fillmore: “I do not think I can support this.” (Republican, District 16)

    The responses from these candidates give me hope for the next legislative session in Arizona, that we’ll be able to pass a bill that will acknowledge that non-binary persons exist, similar to the bill that died in committee last year.

  • At Phoestivus last year, I asked my friend and Arizona Representative Ken Clark to introduce a bill that would allow people in Arizona the option to select “nonbinary” as their gender on their driver’s licenses. A few weeks later, HB2492 was born.

    Rainbow by Benson Kua from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

    Currently, all persons must identify as “male” or “female.” You have to pick one, and you can’t leave this field blank. I had to go to the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) last year to update my photo. I asked if I could have “X” (abbreviation for nonbinary) on my driver’s license instead of “M” or “F” for my gender, and the clerk said the system didn’t allow her to do this. I asked if I could leave this field blank, and she said the system wouldn’t process my new license unless it had a selection for the person’s sex.

    When I contacted the Arizona Department of Transportation about adding the option for nonbinary to the driver’s license application, they said they couldn’t do this unless the law changed. Hence, I had to go to Ken for help.

    A new law went into effect in California this year, where you can have the state re-issue your birth certificate to indicate that you are nonbinary. I was born there, so I’m going through the process to get a nonbinary birth certificate. And I want my driver’s license to match.

    Photo by Jay Chatzkel Photography
    Used with permission

    HB2492 was assigned to the Transportation Committee, chaired by Representative Noel W. Campbell. So far, this bill has not been added to the committee’s agenda. If the bill isn’t heard by the committee, it will die and never reach a vote by the Arizona House. If this bill dies in committee, we’ll have to wait until next session to introduce it again.

    If you want the Transportation Committee to hear HB 2492, please contact Representative Campbell:

    And please, spread the word!

    If Arizona doesn’t change its law and allows people to be legally recognized as nonbinary, the State is essentially telling me that I and people like me don’t exist. My fingers are crossed that the Transportation Committee will at least hear HB2492.

    Please help me, and other nonbinary people, make this happen. Contact Representative Campbell and tell him to add HB2492 to the Transportation Committee’s agenda.

  • Undeniable Recap of 2017

    2016 was bad. I felt as if that year couldn’t end soon enough.  But it’s as if 2017 started the year saying, “Hold my beer” and it went downhill from there. I had a lot of challenges this year including reconstruction at Castle Carter after my condo flooded, death of my childhood coach, being in a car accident, studying for the California bar exam, and processing my gender identity.

    My jar of happy memories

    Thankfully, I started a new tradition of keeping a jar next to my bed where I wrote notes about things that happened in my life that made me happy or giggle. Even on bad days, I could look over at my jar that was filling with notes and be reminded that life doesn’t suck all the time. It was a joy to go through them while I wrote this post. Here are my top 5 events/activities from 2017:

    Me and my skateboard

    1. I got a Skateboard at CMWorld
    Content Marketing World always does an excellent job taking care of its speakers. I look forward to this conference every year and I’m proud to be part of Team Orange. When they announced that Casey Neistat would be one of the keynote speakers, I started tweeting at them that I wanted an orange skateboard as my speaker gift. (They usually get us each a wireless mouse/laser pointer.) Shortly after I checked into my hotel room, the hotel dropped off a big box for me. It was a mini orange skateboard! I love this thing, not just because it’s awesome, but because it made me feel like part of the CMWorld family. Once I finish my marathon in 2018, I’m going to take a skateboarding lesson and learn how to ride it properly.

    I love this tattoo

    2. “Don’t Be What They Made You” Tattoo
    I saw Logan in the theater. When I heard this line, I instantly knew I wanted it tattooed on my wrist. A few months later, Hollis at Iconic Tattoo made it a reality. This is a daily reminder and inspiration for me.

    3. “But I’m still your Tranpa”
    Accepting that I’m non-binary made me feel like I was a baby queer all over again. I felt especially vulnerable a few months ago and sent an email to trans entertainer and advocate Buck Angel, just an open invitation for lunch the next time he’s in Phoenix. He responded and signed it “Tranpa.” I wrote back and said, age-wise, we’re more like cousins. (We’re only about 7 years apart.) He responded, “Hahaa but I’m still your Tranpa ❤️.”

    This warmed my heart. It matters to talk to people who “get it.” Buck is someone I reach out to when I experience dysmorphia or feel like I live in a world that wasn’t made for me.

    Still smiling after running 20 miles – and rocking some mad hair

    4. Running with David
    I’m training for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon 2018. After getting a DNF at my last marathon attempt, I decided to hire a coach, David Roher. He lives on the east coast, so we communicate over email, text, and phone. He gives me my assignments and tracks my workouts via Strava, plus we talk about nutrition, stretching, injuries, and life in general.

    David always has a word of encouragement when I need it – often to remind me that I have the ability to do any assignment he gives me and not to push myself too hard. When I finished my 20-mile training run a few weeks ago, I was pleased with my pace and by how good I felt at the end of it.

    5. Ethics and Ice Cream
    I had a flash of brilliance at the beginning of August to do a continuing legal education seminar looking at what Arizona lawyers were being disciplined for during the last few years to look for patterns and commonalities. I pitched the idea to do this for ASU CLE and call it “Ethics and Ice Cream.” They loved it and we scheduled the event for about a month later. I recruited fellow lawyer and comedian, Matt Storrs, and we reviewed all the Lawyer Regulation reports since 2015 and pulled off a successful event.

    This event made this list, not because I created a CLE, but because I put this idea into action and made it work.

    As I read all the notes in my jar, I noticed there were at least six notes that mentioned hugs or being the “little spoon.” Besides giving me a warm fuzzy trip down memory lane, these notes reminded me how important the people in my life are to me.

    Rosie Dog – Go check out her Instagram

    Firsts in 2017
    Flying in/out of a city in one day (for Ungagged Las Vegas)
    Standing ovation for singing “O Holy Night” at the Community Church of Hope Christmas Show
    Love and Complements Rally
    Interview on The Out House Podcast
    Foods: Almond butter (meh), Vegan gourmet shreds (cheese-like, not bad), Cashew milk ice cream (best non-dairy ice cream), Almond milk yogurt (not food), Cashew yogurt (not food), Pumpkin seeds (so good), Spirulina (meh)
    Events: ICON, Law Launcher, TBD Law, BlogHer

    Minions make me smile

    Celebrity Sightings
    Tom Green
    Joseph Gordon Levitt
    Chris Guillebeau
    Casey Neistat
    Paul Risser
    Minions

    In Memoriam
    George Seivert
    Don Rickles
    Andrea Esquer
    Laurel Graver
    Dorian Kreiling