The 18-year-old victim, Luke Fleischman, who was born male but identifies himself as gender neutral and goes by the name of Sasha, remained hospitalized in San Francisco with severe burns on Thursday and was listed in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. The SF Gate has reported that on November 7, 2013 an Oakland, CA boy has begun surgery to repair second and third degree burns he suffered after being set on fire at his high school this past Monday. Richard Thomas was charged with aggravated mayhem, felony assault and a hate-crime "enhancement" after telling a police officer he committed Monday's attack "because he was homophobic," according to the criminal complaint. Thomas stood in a glass cage in Superior Court out of view of observers and told Judge Gregory Syren that his relatives were trying to hire a lawyer to defend him against the charges. Outside the courtroom, Thomas's mother, who gave her name only as Ms. Jackson, denied that her son was homophobic or that he meant to hurt anyone. "My son is not a hateful person," she said. "He's not homophobic. He was joking, and he didn't know it would go that far." "I am very sorry, very sorry for my son's actions," Jackson told reporters, adding that her son, too, was remorseful and was drafting a letter of apology to the burn victim. "I did not raise him that way."
Tiffany Woods, a liaison between the transgender community and Oakland police, said Fleischman identified as gender neutral or "agender" and was a "well-liked kid." Trevor Cralle, director of the Maybeck High School in Berkeley, where Fleischman is a senior, described the teen as a "wonderful, exceptional student."
"The intentional and callous nature of the crime is shocking and will not be tolerated in our community," Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said in a statement.
Meanwhile, police would like to interview passengers on the bus who left before police arrived, particularly two men who helped extinguish the burning clothing. Lead investigator Anwawn Jones can be contacted at 510-238-3326. "We are asking the good Samaritans to contact the Oakland Police Department, and we also want to recognize their heroic efforts," said Oakland Police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson.
Assembly Bill 1266 would, require that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.[The bill will] help so much at schools, and it will make it so much easier to graduate and be who we are and be accepted and understood...It's just going to make it so much easier. Vote
There are many theories, but no one knows exactly what makes
someone transgender. Recently, however, some people are focusing less on
what makes a person trans, and more on how to best address the needs of
trans folk. Theories of both psychological and biological
causality have been forwarded and it is quite likely there are different
causes for different individuals. Lately, strong research suggests that
an incorrect amount of miss-timed secretion of male hormone during
stages of fetal development may create a transgendered individual -
whether male or female. Biologically, nature will produce a female
unless male androgens are supplied at the right times and in the right
amounts. There are physiological and mental gray areas between male and
female "absolutes". Additionally, there are some theories arguing a
genetic model of causality. And while it is controversial, allowing teens to begin transitioning can be very beneficial. In fact, studies
have found that adolescents who started hormone therapy as teens, had
fewer psychological problems than people who started transitioning in
adulthood. So while we might not know what causes someone to be transgender, we
are learning more and more about how we can help make the transition
easier.