Texas Transwoman Ticketed for Using Female Restroom

[Carolyn Marie]

Even in Texas, this seems like a rare occurance. It's a dang shame, and it sounds like the hospital administration is embarrassed, as well they should be.

http://www.jdjournal.com/2012/05/04/transgender-ticketed-in-texas-for-using-ladies-restroom/

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Risu]

The article was rather poorly written as well. It mixed pronouns at random which didn't help the consistency of the article.

This is very sad but its not surprising if it comes from Texas or Tennesee.

[Guest Ney'ite]

Uggh - this is just ridiculous. I was happy to see someone post a comment saying to please change the title and to fix referring to her as a him in the beginning of the article.

Hopefully she will get her name / gender taken care of legally, at least with her driver's license, maybe even get a Passport.

[Guest Kelly-087]

I won't support this person.

Honestly. She had a letter written after the fact of the ticket. It get's suspicious as they've apparently been transitioning since 2006 yet has had no name or gender change, and while I'm no expert they don't appear to have done HRT (Ever notice how the skin looks after HRT? I don't see it on them)

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

People might flame me, don't care. I don't want some radical associating me with a child molester, and it's better to distance ourselves.

[Guest Gwendolyn Elizabeth]

Here is a longer article form the Dallas Voice

http://www.dallasvoice.com/trans-womans-ticket-spur-10108479.html

Dallas county does have public accommodation laws that cover gender identity, but they exclude places, like Parkland Hospital, that are government funded.

Given the local activists in this area, i suspect it will not be long before the Parkland had a written policy protecting us

[Guest Lauren S]

I won't support this person.

Honestly. She had a letter written after the fact of the ticket. It get's suspicious as they've apparently been transitioning since 2006 yet has had no name or gender change, and while I'm no expert they don't appear to have done HRT (Ever notice how the skin looks after HRT? I don't see it on them)

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

People might flame me, don't care. I don't want some radical associating me with a child molester, and it's better to distance ourselves.

I'm with you, Kelly. I did a little research and found the same information for myself. I will offer no sympathy to someone that would be so disgusting as to harm children in such a way. The link below should tell you all you need to know about this person's character. I am very disappointed to see this person representing us in the media and I can only hope that people have sense enough to realize that we are not all like that.

https://www.oag.state.tx.us/criminal/cj_fugitives/detail.php?id=2519

[Guest Nova Maria]

This is unacceptable behavior, but I think it adequately illustrates the importance of legal aspects of transition. I cannot thoroughly stress the importance of taking steps for name, drivers license and passport change. Having accurate identification can be vital to a trans person if he or she is ever in such a tragic situation as this.

[Guest LauraAlice]

I am just glad I live in Travis county. I honestly doubt anything like this would happen in Austin.

[Michelle 2010]

I won't support this person.

Honestly. She had a letter written after the fact of the ticket. It get's suspicious as they've apparently been transitioning since 2006 yet has had no name or gender change, and while I'm no expert they don't appear to have done HRT (Ever notice how the skin looks after HRT? I don't see it on them)

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

People might flame me, don't care. I don't want some radical associating me with a child molester, and it's better to distance ourselves.

Good detective work Kelly. Just out of curiosity what made you do a background check? Nothing in the article hinted of a shady character. Last offense was exactly one year ago... too close for comfort... You a LEO?

Hugs

Michelle

[Guest Kelly-087]

I won't support this person.

Honestly. She had a letter written after the fact of the ticket. It get's suspicious as they've apparently been transitioning since 2006 yet has had no name or gender change, and while I'm no expert they don't appear to have done HRT (Ever notice how the skin looks after HRT? I don't see it on them)

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

People might flame me, don't care. I don't want some radical associating me with a child molester, and it's better to distance ourselves.

Good detective work Kelly. Just out of curiosity what made you do a background check? Nothing in the article hinted of a shady character. Last offense was exactly one year ago... too close for comfort... You a LEO?

Hugs

Michelle

Not quite. I have sort of worked with them on the medical side.

I read through some of the comments on another article and followed them up, and found that this person (keeping gender neutral here) was convicted of such crimes.

It's too suspicious for me. Thanks for the compliments though

[Carolyn Marie]

I won't support this person.

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

The link below should tell you all you need to know about this person's character..

I understand how you feel. But I have a different take on it. ...if the person who called the police didn't know her background, then what relevance does her prior conviction have to what happened in that hospital? She isn't accused of molesting children in the restroom. She wasn't ticketed for being a felon, she was ticketed for using the wrong restroom. Seems like completely separate issues to me, unless her conviction taints her credibility for you, in which case I totally understand.

One thing I've learned over time, is that few things are black and white.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Kelly-087]

I won't support this person.

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

The link below should tell you all you need to know about this person's character..

I understand how you feel. But I have a different take on it. ...if the person who called the police didn't know her background, then what relevance does her prior conviction have to what happened in that hospital? She isn't accused of molesting children in the restroom. She wasn't ticketed for being a felon, she was ticketed for using the wrong restroom. Seems like completely separate issues to me, unless her conviction taints her credibility for you, in which case I totally understand.

One thing I've learned over time, is that few things are black and white.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

It's not so much their conviction. It's more that they're a sex offender that has been transitioning for 6 years, didn't have a carry letter then had one written AFTER, and still hasn't changed their name. All of those things I find far too suspicious. I respect your opinion.. I make no assumptions they were there to molest children in the bathroom there, but I can't help but feel that things really uncomfortablly don't line up.

[VickySGV]

As uncomfortable as it may seem, the person has been accused of a crime and has NOT plead guilty nor been found guilty by a trial jury. U.S. law CLEARLY and UNEQUIVOCALLY declares this person is innocent of a crime at this point in time in ANY of our 50 states. Having been involved with the enforcement of laws of a U.S. state for three decades, the facts surrounding one crime do not have a bearing on the facts of a newly alledged crime which has not been proved in a court of law. At this point in time we are discussing an innocent person.

[Guest Kelly-087]

As uncomfortable as it may seem, the person has been accused of a crime and has NOT plead guilty nor been found guilty by a trial jury. U.S. law CLEARLY and UNEQUIVOCALLY declares this person is innocent of a crime at this point in time in ANY of our 50 states. Having been involved with the enforcement of laws of a U.S. state for three decades, the facts surrounding one crime do not have a bearing on the facts of a newly alledged crime which has not been proved in a court of law. At this point in time we are discussing an innocent person.

I'm not talking legal.. Im talking social. No one can prove they didn't have any other intention than to use the bathroom. But fingers will still be pointed at the rest of us because of this person.

[Guest Shari]

Hi everybody,

I have to agree with Kelly. Yep, her prior offenses have no bearing on the ticket, but I don't think our support has to include people who have harmed children. It's bad and we should distance ourselves from it.

Shari

[Guest ~DeeDee~]

I am just glad I live in Travis county. I honestly doubt anything like this would happen in Austin.

Ditto

[Drea]

There are many people who end up getting citations every day instead of warning because they have a history.

This person isn't exactly someone who I would choose to be used as a champion for achieving rights.

[Bulldog1948]

I won't support this person.

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

The link below should tell you all you need to know about this person's character..

I understand how you feel. But I have a different take on it. ...if the person who called the police didn't know her background, then what relevance does her prior conviction have to what happened in that hospital? She isn't accused of molesting children in the restroom. She wasn't ticketed for being a felon, she was ticketed for using the wrong restroom. Seems like completely separate issues to me, unless her conviction taints her credibility for you, in which case I totally understand.

One thing I've learned over time, is that few things are black and white.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

It's not so much their conviction. It's more that they're a sex offender that has been transitioning for 6 years, didn't have a carry letter then had one written AFTER, and still hasn't changed their name. All of those things I find far too suspicious. I respect your opinion.. I make no assumptions they were there to molest children in the bathroom there, but I can't help but feel that things really uncomfortablly don't line up.

Just curious. How do you know when she had her "carry letter" written. I don't think that you can just leaglly change your name overnight especially in Texass.

[Bulldog1948]

By the way. Are you positive that this is the real paul witherspoon or could there be another person with the same name/ it's been known to happen. Would also need to know a lot more real facts in this case.. Do you have anything new to post that is factual?

Mike

[Bulldog1948]

I won't support this person.

And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

The link below should tell you all you need to know about this person's character..

I understand how you feel. But I have a different take on it. ...if the person who called the police didn't know her background, then what relevance does her prior conviction have to what happened in that hospital? She isn't accused of molesting children in the restroom. She wasn't ticketed for being a felon, she was ticketed for using the wrong restroom. Seems like completely separate issues to me, unless her conviction taints her credibility for you, in which case I totally understand.

One thing I've learned over time, is that few things are black and white.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

Carolyn Marie, I agree that things are often times not all black & white.

Mike

[Guest Kelly-087]

I won't support this person. And this would all be well and fine. If they didn't have felony convictions for molesting two teenage girls.

The link below should tell you all you need to know about this person's character..

I understand how you feel. But I have a different take on it. ...if the person who called the police didn't know her background, then what relevance does her prior conviction have to what happened in that hospital? She isn't accused of molesting children in the restroom. She wasn't ticketed for being a felon, she was ticketed for using the wrong restroom. Seems like completely separate issues to me, unless her conviction taints her credibility for you, in which case I totally understand. One thing I've learned over time, is that few things are black and white. HUGS Carolyn Marie

It's not so much their conviction. It's more that they're a sex offender that has been transitioning for 6 years, didn't have a carry letter then had one written AFTER, and still hasn't changed their name. All of those things I find far too suspicious. I respect your opinion.. I make no assumptions they were there to molest children in the bathroom there, but I can't help but feel that things really uncomfortablly don't line up.

Just curious. How do you know when she had her "carry letter" written. I don't think that you can just leaglly change your name overnight especially in Texass.

I believe I read it in another article. Maybe just in comments, I probably shouldn't spout it as fact. They haven't changed their name at all. Which I find very odd for someone transitioning for six years. Legally they are still Paul Witherspoon not Paula, despite claiming to be transitioning since 2006 or so.

[Carolyn Marie]

At the risk of reopening this somewhat heated discussion, I feel obligated to post this update:

http://www.nbcdfw.co...-149923975.html

It does clear up some things: she was convicted of sex crimes, and her I.D. hasn't been changed. One important issue, given that she is a convicted sex offender, is whether there are parole restrictions on where she can go and who she can come into contact with. If she violeted those restrictions by being in the women's restroom, then she's got more of a problem than a small fine. If there are no parole restrictions, then it really is irrelevant, IMO.

Carolyn Marie

[JJ]

What is relevant about it to me is whether she is actually transgender or masquerading as trans in order to be where her targets are. The fact that this happened years ago does not mean it isn't still happening-there is a reason sex offenders have to register for life. It is tragically almost incurable. They just get much smarter over time.

I think if she can demonstrate that is is trans-ie therapy going back for a period of time, or HRT or something, since she claims to have been transitioning for 6 years. In 6 years most transwomen can learn to pass-certainly enough to not raise the level of alarm she evidently did. Sexual predators will do anything to pursue their victims. And that includes masquerading as trans.

This whole situation is very, very difficult. It could still be either way from what I have read so far. Having dealt with sexual predators I wouldn't put anything past them. And after 6 years of transition I would question her apparent lack of accomplishment. Not only has she not reached a point to pass she appears not to be on HRT and has made no efforts to change her documents. But that is all circumstantial. I just don't know. If she is an active predator she would certainly avoid the potential loss of sexual function from HRT I believe.

If she was on HRT, if she had made any document changes or appeared to pass after 5 years of transition then I would say the sex offender status was irrelevant. In this case though I'm just not sure what is going on

Time will perhaps provide more information -perhaps not. But if there are no other indications she is trans but a brief consultation with a Dr. and wearing women's clothing when caught in a women's restroom I'd be skeptical. However I am also really not in a position to know or judge so that is just an opinion.

Johnny

[Drea]

It might be, that being a convicted felon and/or sex offender, a legal name change might be prohibited.

And I have seen people who haven't progressed any further in similar periods of time. There are some who don't work at their presentation. Also some people claim periods from their earliest start when they didn't get serious till much later.

Having said that JJ make some good points. With someone with such poor presentation and such as bad history, I re-iterate what I said before, this person isn't exactly one that should be help up as a poster child for anti-trans descrimination.

[KathrynJulia]

Having been a former LEO, the officer may have had knowledge of her prior acts or may have been informed of them when he ran her through the National Crime Information Computer or the State Computer and decided that a ticket was in order. This is a paper trail of these people. I bounced a molester more times than I care to remember because he hung around the Bus Transfer Station two blocks from a Junior High School. It was a probation violation for him, but he didn't care. That was where their were young girls waiting for the bus. These people don't get better, only harder to catch. All you have to do is interview one beaten and molested child and you are forever harden to these people. I had three so I'm at the point where I hate them with a passion. Kathryn