Subject: [iyf] IYF-Protest at Creating Change
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 07:29:02 -0500
From: owner-iyf-online@gpac.org

MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Editor: Clare Howell, clare@gpac.org

1,500 AT 'CREATING CHANGE' PROTEST POLICE HARASSMENT
====================================================

[Oakland, CA: 13 Nov 99] MORE THAN 1,500 GAY, LESBIAN,
bisexual, and transgender conference-goers and local
activists marched on the Oakland Police Dept. Saturday
night to protest a police officer's abuse of a trans-
gender woman. The activists and organizers were
gathered at Creating Change, an annual conference
sponsored by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
(NGLTF).

	The young woman was assaulted near the conference
site. She reported the crime and the responding police
officer assailed her, saying, "I am tired of having to
do all this paperwork. You guys have been told not to
be on the corner of 14th and Broadway. I am tired of
your shit..."

	Said NGLTF's Executive Director, Kerry Lobel,
"What happened last night is a classic case of blaming
the victim. Transgender people are not paperwork. 
Creating Change is about transformation. I hope this
event transforms the Oakland Police Department into
a caring, sensitive department..."

	The protesters demanded that the Oakland Police
investigate the incident and provide sensitivity 
training to police officers.

	GenderPAC's Riki Anne Wilchins, who attended the
conference and helped organize the protest, commented, 
"We've been making the point that gender-based 
oppression is everyone's issue. It's great to see such 
a show of support from the queer community."

		###

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