NACCS Lesbian BiMujeres and Trans Caucus Resolution

This photo was taken by L* at the memorial service for Ruby Ordeñana in the Mission on March 23. We are now at the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies conference, in San Jose.


NACCS Conference
Spring 2007--San Jose, California
Lesbian, Bisexual Mujeres, Trans Caucus Resolution

Title: Resolution to Support The Gwen Araujo Community Award and to draw attention to the recent brutal murder of Ruby Ordeñana, March 2007.

WHEREAS the NACCS Northern California Foco is presenting a Community Award to Gwen Araujo and her mother Sylvia Guerrero, who worked hard to support AB 1160, the “Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act” which amends jury instructions to state that the use of the so-called "panic defense'' is inconsistent with California's comprehensive hate crimes law.

We the Lesbian, Bisexual Mujeres, Trans Caucus wish to recognize and
acknowledge the importance and timeliness of this award considering two recent murders of TransMujeres, most notably the brutal murder of Ruby Ordeñana in San Francisco on March 16, 2007.

WHEREAS the murder of transpeople is part of the violent systemic policing of non-conforming gender expression in families, schools, work places, and communities.

We the Lesbian, Bisexual Mujeres, Trans Caucus acknowledge the necessity for a letter to be drafted by the NACCS Board which will strongly state the necessity for education, resource materials, and demand respect for Trans self-determination in life and in death.

WHEREAS this resolution will not have by-law implications, it will incur a small monetary burden: cost of mailings.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The Lesbian, Bisexual Mujeres, Trans Caucus shall work with the Board to write this letter and have it published in Noticias de NACCS as well as have it sent to the City of San Francisco, the San Francisco Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office, the Nicaraguan consulate, and local media.

Submitted by the Lesbian, Bisexual Mujeres, Trans Caucus

--March 22 Community Flyer about the death of Ruby Ordeñana

Community Mourns Murder of Latina Transgender Woman
Requests Attendance at Vigil to Demand Change

San Francisco, California (March 22, 2007) - A Nicaraguan transgender woman, Ruby Ordeñana (aka Ruby Rodriguez) 24 years old, was murdered on Friday, March 16, 2007. Her body was found on the corner of Cesar Chavez and Indiana Streets in the Mission District of San Francisco. The murder is currently under investigation by the San Francisco Police Department. Community United Against Violence (CUAV), EL-LA, San Francisco LGBT Community Center, TRANS Project, allies, and community members will hold a community vigil in her honor on Friday, March 23, 2007 at 6:00PM, on the corner of 24th Street and Mission Street in the Mission District.

Organizers request that the community bring a white candle to the vigil. There will also be an additional altar set up on Cesar Chavez and Indiana Street, and community members are encouraged to bring flowers, photographs, cards and good wishes to this site. Let us not forget Ruby. She was an exceptional woman who was intent on improving her life. Ruby participated in various support groups and language classes, and idolized Chicana singer Selena.

This murder comes at the heels of at least two other violent deaths of transgender women of color in the San Francisco Bay Area over the past six months. Transgender people, particularly low-income transgender women of color, are disproportionately poor, homeless, criminalized and imprisoned as a result of systemic discrimination in
our daily attempts to access safe housing, healthcare, employment, and education.

Unfortunately, Ruby's murder is not an exception, but an everyday fear for many transgender people who are targeted and brutalized by institutions and society at large. Our communities mourn Ruby's death and ask for a renewed commitment to real safety for transgender communities. It is vital that the Mayor's Office, the San Francisco Police Department, and the District Attorney's Office work to end the cycles of criminalization, poverty, and violence in transgender communities and communities of color.