the knives have no handles the forks are all tines

1.5M ratings
277k ratings

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna
so-i-did-this-thing
so-i-did-this-thing

FLORIDA TRANS PALS, IT IS TIME TO PLAN

Especially if you are on HRT!

HB1421 is a bill that severely affects access to gender affirming care, including for adults. It outlines goals to:

1) Prohibit changing gender markers on birth certificates

2) Require that gender affirming care only come from physicians (not nurse practioners) who take on liability insurance for 30 YEARS after they provide care to a patient

3) Require informed consent forms at every single appointment, including distributing literature to dissuade patients

4) Ban transition care completely for minors

5) Make it so providers who accept state funds cannot provide gender affirming services (this is the big one that stands to affect anyone who takes medicare/aid, is a university, etc.).

6) Make it so providers who accept state funds cannot reimburse for gender affirming services.

We are facing a return to the Harry Benjamin days, or worse, an effective ban unless you are fortunate/wealthy enough to find a willing provider.

If it passes, this bill would take effect July 1, 2023. That is not a lot of time.

I would not count on any Rx or refill request to be honored after this date if the prescribing and dispensing sources no longer are allowed to grant care or decide to drop care because of the penalties.

July 1, 2023. Unless we hear otherwise, that is your clock.

This sucks, but there is comfort in seeing a clear date to plan around and the worst case is no longer completely unknown. It begins July 1.

--------------------------------------------

YOUR HOMEWORK, DUE ASAP:

--------------------------------------------

1) Get any and all your HRT appointments in now, including picking up your meds and doing bloodwork promptly.

2) If you think you will be living in FL come July, start looking now for providers where physicians - not NPs - provide the care. Get an appointment on the books for July. Be prepared to go in person for everything after July 1, because I believe telemed will also be shit-canned. Here is a map of informed consent providers.

3) If you are an old like me, also dig up your HRT permission slip from your therapist. Fuck, make a packet of all your transition documents, including Rx history.

4) If you are on private insurance, start budgeting now to prepare to pay out of pocket.

5) Create a simple spreadsheet of all your HRT dates (pls forgive, my experience is with shots on a 2 week cycle, so this is pretty easy for me to do) and plan out how long your current supply will last. Then, forecast how long all your upcoming refills before July 1 will last. Update it every time you pick up and take your meds. Refer to it for decisions like moving or finding backup providers.

6) Subscribe to the bill to get notified of changes asap

7) Follow this site to keep tabs on other very scary bills happening in Florida, including a bathroom ban and a child custody bill that is effectively kidnapping

8) If you need to change your birth certificate, do it now, pay the rush fees and write RUSH on the envelope. The Department of Health has the most up-to-date forms. Processing time for rush I last saw was around 18 business days.

9) Now that your own oxygen mask is on, so they say, boost mutual aid and recruit allies to assist in any way possible.

-----

Do try to continue seeing your current provider as long as possible, as they likely will need your support. Talk to them frankly about their plans if the bill passes.

Now. I am just a little guy and not a legal expert, but the aggressive enactment date on this bill makes me feel like everyone should plan now instead of waiting to see if it passes.

Be safe, plan, and then get a little rest. Do not lose hope - this bill could still fail.

so-i-did-this-thing

You also need to be tracking SB254.

This bill:

1) Allows the courts to take custody of children receiving, or AT RISK (deliberately broad, probably targets kids with trans parents) of receiving, gender affirming care (this is the focus of the bill). Allows non-affirming family to basically kidnap kids.

2) Requires informed consent at every appointment, and in-person (kills telemed). This one clarifies that consent is not needed to renew an Rx.

3) Requires gender affirming care only come from physicians, not nurse practioners.

4) Bans all gender affirming care for minors.

5) Prohibits state and local employers from reimbursing their employees for gender affirming care.

There's likely more I have missed - they are packing so much into these.

Again, July 1, 2023 looks like the effective date.

Because we have both a House and Senate bill with similar goals, because Florida is already a shitshow, and because other states have passed similar bills in whole or part, I continue to plan as if these bills will pass here, and so should you.

so-i-did-this-thing

I have not prioritized how to plan for moving out of Florida, because it is out of the reach of most of the community, but I have a little time now.

If you can move and don't know where to go in the US, I highly recommend giving Erin a follow on her substack - she maintains a national map of anti-trans legislation. Here is the current snapshot:

image

My spouse and I are also taking things like climate change into consideration -- we don't want to live in flood plains or too near the coast, for example, due to the increase in tropical activity.

If you can move, it's spreadsheet time again. Working backwards from whatever date you expect your HRT runs out (or whatever is your "drop dead" deadline to flee), plan things like:

  1. Home repairs
  2. Moving logistics (diy vs hiring)
  3. Selling unneeded items (give yourself as much time as possible to maximize $$$)
  4. Boosting credit (quickest wins tend to be paying down cards and asking for credit limit increases - do not open new lines of credit)
  5. Packing schedule
  6. Contingency plans if you can't move all your stuff at once (I am giving my mom keys to my storage unit so she can get things moved once I am settled)
  7. Keeping pets safe and calm during travel
  8. When utilities need to be shut off, mail forwarding, etc. (don't forget things like Kickstarters that might be going to an old address)
  9. How to maximize storage of your vehicle - I recommend etrailer.com for getting roofracks, hitches, and cargo carriers. (I have doubled the storage in my tiny Prius.)

Tip: If you start packing early, be sure to pack smartly:

  • Try to use plastic bins vs cardboard boxes to keep out pests and prevent the boxes from disintegrating
  • Put silica packs in your containers to absorb moisture
  • Use lots of smaller boxes vs a few large boxes for heavy items
  • Always expect items to shift, so protect anything fragile
  • Avoid packing things that will mold or otherwise be ruined without good airflow
  • Label your packing containers (I write on the lids with sharpie) and keep an inventory of what is in each

There's lots of sites that have to-do lists as you get closer to the move, but the above aren't talked about as much.

Again, I hope this is unnecessary and that these Florida bills fail, but at this point in the US, every trans person should really have a "what if I have to move asap" plan prepared.

so-i-did-this-thing

I've been watching the notes and wanted to dig into a couple of key points to help y'all with your planning.

As it currently stands with these bills:

  • Floridians could still get care out-of-state. Until there is a bill banning crossing state lines, we have some flexibility.
  • Prescription renewals would not require in-person consent. So, telemed should still work here if your provider is still offering services.
  • Online pharmacies like Amazon and Honey stand to be an option if local pharmas stop being allowed to provide trans HRT because they take state funds.
  • A lot of telemed providers not based in Florida are working out how they would choose to deal with these bills. I believe some, like QMed, plan to ask you to verbally confirm you are not physically in Florida at the time of your appointment.

Trans people are very resourceful. I will not speak to DIY other than to remind folks that not all HRT is equal -- testosterone is a controlled substance in the US with felony penalties.

Also a reminder that, when you travel, many meds require them to be in their pharmacy bottle / packaging with the label. Be very careful about putting meds in cute travel containers outside of your home - if the bathroom ban passes, there will be more opportunities for the police to harass us.

There is a lot of anti-abortion playbook stuff going on in these anti-trans bills, but again, Florida is not criminalizing getting care outside of the state. Use this to your advantage if your local providers shutter and as you plan for a possible July 1 enactment date.

Again, these bills could fail, they could get amended, or they could pass as-is. We don't know, so keep tracking them and adjust your plans accordingly.

so-i-did-this-thing

I've been quiet because there isn't much to say beyond the fact that the bills are progressing through committee, despite all the compelling testimony against and all the flat-out lies for.

I had an appointment with my healthcare provider today and they wrote me a 6-month Rx for T instead of the usual 3. This is the max refill allowed, so make your own refill requests accordingly.

We do not know yet what will happen to active HRT prescriptions written by NPs should the bills go into effect July 1 (remember: the bills will only allow physicians to prescribe). Aka, uncertain if NP prescriptions with outstanding refills will be grandfathered in or not.

I see the owner of my clinic July 6 and will ask him various logistics questions. By that point, the bills will have either failed or passed in some form. I will pass on what I learn to my pinned post.

Remember that telemed for T is also threatened on the national level, since it is a controlled substance. So, regardless if you are in Florida or even trans, as long as you live in the US and are on T, you should be making plans to find a local provider. This also goes for ADHD meds, to add salt to the wound.

I hope everyone's plans are going well and I'll post again in early July, unless something major happens.

so-i-did-this-thing

NEW BILL TO TRACK

This is becoming a monster post, but I want to add another important bill to track.

SB1342 uses vague language to define sexual battery against a child:

A person 18 years of age or older who commits sexual battery upon, or in an attempt to commit sexual battery injures the sexual organs of, a person less than 12 years of age commits a capital felony

“Injuring the sexual organs” could easily be interpreted as allowing a child to be on puberty blockers. Which means doctors providing gender-affirming care, and the child’s affirming guardians, could be subject to this criteria.

It gets worse.

A capital felony is punishable by death in the state of Florida. And instead of a unanimous vote by jurors, only 8 of the 12 would be needed to condemn someone:

If at least eight jurors determine that the defendant should be sentenced to death, the jury’s recommendation to the court must be a sentence of death. If fewer than eight jurors  determine that the defendant should be sentenced to death, the jury’s recommendation to the court must be a sentence of life  imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

This is bad shit and a perfect example of how these bills are connecting the dots in the greater genocide picture. Follow the bill here.

Also, in case you need help convincing folks how bad things are getting, here’s Equality Florida’s travel advisory for the state.

so-i-did-this-thing

SB254 has been presented to the governor and will be signed within the next 15 days. Its effective date has been changed from July 1 to "effective immediately".

This means we have lost 4-6 weeks of prep time.

The dimmest of silver linings is that when HB1421 merged with SB254, the birth certificate ban was dropped.

Here is a link on an analysis of the impact of SB254. It contains full text of the 2 images provided below:

image
image

The bathroom bill is also on DeSantis' desk, which will make it a second-degree misdemeanor if a trans person does not leave a bathroom when ordered to by a cis person.

I have no new advice beyond what I have already said upthread. Check immediately with your provider about interruptions to your care. Even if you are not on HRT, an LGBT+ clinic may be experiencing difficulties at this time.

Be safe and look out for one another. I wish we didn't have to do this.

dduane

Anonymous asked:

I wanted to ask if you've ever considered adding a tip jar to your online store, or getting kofi or something? I own all the ebooks of yours/PM's that I'm interested in reading (for now??) but I'd still like to contribute to your projects and such when I can. I'm not sure if that's even feasible for your type of enterprise, but I thought I'd mention it and demonstrate interest. Anyhow, thank you as always for Young Wizards. :)

dduane answered:

You’re very welcome. :)

…If you’re in the contributory mood: there are two ways. The store has its own “buy me a coffee” thing at https://bit.ly/BuyACuppa. Hit the “buy a $2 coffee” button as many times as you like. Or as an alternative, there’s a PayPal-Me link on that page that you can use if you feel so inclined.

And thanks again. It’s nice to feel supported. :)

sunrisenebula
anistarrose

the uncommon allergy haver to anticapitalist pipeline

anistarrose

in January 2023, companies became required to label sesame on all products it was present in, and undergo rigorous cleaning procedures to prevent sesame contamination, after it was declared the 9th "major" food allergen in the United States.

so, instead of considering this a mandate to give a single shit about people with sesame allergies, almost all American companies decided to just add sesame flour to all their relevant products. because apparently that was cheaper.

it's almost impossible for me to find hot dog and hamburger buns without sesame now. and I am one of the lucky ones. I'm someone who just so happened to notice the label updates, not get caught unawares and have a severe allergic reaction. I'm someone lucky enough to be surrounded by multiple choices of supermarkets, and someone with the incredible privilege to have parents who'll help me search the shelves, and cover those costs that my allergies rack up. not everyone with allergies/other intolerances has all or any of those privileges to begin with.

most food allergies will never be prevalent enough that under capitalism, it will be profitable to give them the level of accommodation that they deserve. I speak from experience with a wide portfolio of hypersensitivity quirks when I say that the rarer the food allergy, the worse it gets.

and here's the thing: I can live without hamburger buns, with only superficial decreases in my quality of life. but sesame isn't my only rare allergy, and ever since this legislation hit, I've been lying awake at night, afraid of what I might lose access to next.

I've been lying awake at night wondering what I'll have to do to live, to obtain enough safe food to survive, if any of my other allergies get this same treatment. and I reiterate. I am one of the privlidged ones.

what these companies have done is completely legal. what these companies did has also cut off up to over a million people from what were previously safe, affordable staples of their diets. a system that has any incentive not to accommodate the dietary needs of any population is not a system that can be allowed to exist. this is the uncommon allergy haver to angry, fuming anticapitalist pipeline.

seananmcguire
doberbutts

Anyway with anti-sodomy laws back on the discussion table I'm going to repeat that you can personally be squicked out by the consensual sex someone else has, but saying that their consensual sex between willing, active, adult participants should be illegal and is indicative of some sort of moral failing is L I T E R A L L Y a major facet in extreme homophobia and absolutely has gotten people killed.

You don't have to like their business but as long as everyone involved in the encounter is saying yes, it's also really not your business.

This is the precident you are helping further by digging your heels in and saying 'but I think it's gross and makes them bad people'. This is what happened last time that was the reasoning for law, and what is being threatened to happen again.

doberbutts

"but Jaz, how would they enforce it"

Easily.

People would report you to the police for any hint of it. Whether real or imagined. You held hands with someone of the same sex. Someone started a rumor that they saw you kissing. You bought a sex toy and the vendor automatically reported you. You clicked a web page or picked up a magazine that had a different suspected deviant on it and the shop owner or internet service provider automatically reported you. You had certain mannerisms. You hung out to much with a specific friend. You seemed too close to a family member. Literally anything.

In some cases people would literally peep through windows, listen at the door, even wait across the street for your guest to come over and then call the police to kick the door down and catch the two of you in the act.

Never forget that the Stonewall riot was started by one such raid where police stormed a gay bar looking to arrest as many "sodomy" and "public indecency" suspects as possible.

That's how. By encouraging people to barge into other people's private, consensual sex lives and make reports to the authorities. By encouraging people to lay traps so unsuspecting gay people could stumble into them. By encouraging people to stalk and harass anyone who showed any sign of 'being a pervert' in the name of 'protecting neighborhoods from predators'. By weaponizing the real concern for predatory behavior against people who were engaging in consensual intimacy in a way they happened to not like.

By doing exactly what I've been continuously saying is bad behavior that has gotten countless LGBT people jailed and killed.

We're not turning this against our own community. Homophobes and transphobes have already made it plenty clear they don't care how good or respectable we are, they just want us all dead.

autogynocrat

"how would they enforce it"

well in 2012 a guy named snowden let us know they're basically wiretapping us at all times and have gigantic collections of all our metadata and we have been living in a nice little surveillance state since 2001's patriot act

butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway

My uncle used to hang out in those public parks after dark where gay men would solicit sex - from each other, from sex workers, and (when they were particularly unlucky) from undercover cops.

Having sex with a partner in your home was dangerous because it was too identifiable. Your neighbors, your landlord, your family, your friends, any one of them could happen to notice if you brought a boyfriend or a one night stand home, and this was before we had any right to privacy in our homes.

So anonymous sex in the park was SAFER for gay men. As long as you didn't draw the short stick and snag a cop. A cop who would, just as they often do today with sex workers, happily have sex with you before cuffing you, walking you into the station through every reporter in town, and splashing your name and face across the morning paper with a sodomy charge. Then your life was effectively over. And they would leverage that to make you tell them names, give up others to have their lives ruined in the hopes of salvaging what was left of your own.

My uncle came a little too close one day, nearly got caught up in a raid at the park he was at with some friends. He illustrated children's books for a living. If he was caught he would never work again. So he fled. Borrowed some money from my mother and *fled the country*. He only came back once a year, long enough to fulfill visa requirements. He only came back with his boyfriend in 2005 when my mother assured him that things were safer.

If the enforcement of these laws could ruin lives like that back then, how badly do you think it could go for us in the era of unprecedented near total surveillance? Our memories need to be long enough to remember that these laws and the methods used to enforce them are not hypothetical. They have already happened and ARE already happening. There is precedent, there are known mechanisms, and there are known ways to gum up the works too.

knitmeapony
what-even-is-thiss

Whenever someone (especially a bigot) says something like they want the world to be like a Norman Rockwell painting or use Norman Rockwell paintings as some sort of shining example of a perfect world I’m reminded that he also painted this:

image
skookworks

image

Rockwell also painted this.

dsudis

More info (and various early versions) of the latter work, for anyone who like me had never seen it before.

thenarator
hater-of-terfs

I'm having to take a mental health course for work and every time it defines mental illness it always includes "impairment of work performance," (they, without fail, always put work performance first on the list) "relationships, or participating in usual activities" and I really feel like we're not going to get anywhere with mental health awareness if we keep obstinately refusing to acknowledge the importance of people's internal realities and experiences - you know, the actual mental health part

When you tell people the important thing is not how they feel, but how they externally function, they will bury their feelings and focus on appearing outwardly mentally healthy until they destroy themselves from the inside out

Mental health isn't important because it makes people more productive. It's important because people deserve to live happy and fulfilled lives. Telling people that their happiness is only relevant insofar as it impacts their productivity is so harmful