Connecticut Lawmakers Give Transgender Inmates a Win

The state of Connecticut is lost.

To be clear, the state has earned the praise of the American Civil Liberties Union, which, in pretty much 99 percent of cases, means they’ve done something wrong and nonsensical, in the view of normal people.

So what ACLU-approved insanity has Connecticut engaged in?

They’re allowing criminals to legally determine where they want to be housed, based on twisted thoughts about gender.

I’m going to point out again that liberals hate hard science, like biology.

From the Associated Press:

In addition to housing, it also gives inmates the right to be searched by a correction officer who matches their self-identified gender, to be addressed in a manner consistent with their gender identity and have access to commissary items, such as clothing, that matches their gender identity.

“This is a really big deal,” said David McGuire, executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut. “It is, in our mind, the most protective transgender policy and law in the country.”

It’s not going to be as simple as simply picking a facility. There are some guidelines.

The inmate must be diagnosed as suffering from gender dysphoria – the mental disorder that makes people reject their actual biological gender. Also, if prison officials determine there is a problem, the placement can be changed.

This particular piece of nonsense was tucked in with a larger bill to deal with the rights of pregnant inmates.

That directive was formed, in part, in response to a 2014 case involving a transgender Connecticut teen, who ended up being held for a time at an adult prison for women because the state could not figure out where to place her, said Mike Lawlor, the governor’s undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning.

It is designed to dovetail with state law that bans discrimination in public places on the basis of gender identity or expression and the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, Lawlor said.

Guess what else happens with this new law?

Connecticut tax payers get to foot the bill for the hormone therapy of inmates dealing with this particular mental illness, as the state and medical professionals fail them, by allowing them to exist in their delusion, rather than prescribing anti-depressants and requiring therapy to help them cope with their delusions.

What isn’t addressed is if citizens of Connecticut will also be required to pay for the expensive cosmetic surgery required to complete the illusion of being something these patients/inmates are not, and will never be – the opposite sex.

Jennifer L. Levi is the transgender rights director for GLAD – GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders is hoping this will serve as a model for madness other states.

“There are many states for which transgender people are basically serving double sentences,” she said. “One for the underlying crime for which they’ve been convicted of and the other just for being transgender.”

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated there are 3,200 transgender inmates in the nation’s prisons and jails.

So how many would classify themselves as that before they entered the system?

Here’s the problem: If they’re in jail or prison, it’s because they did a bad thing and our system of law enforcement determined they needed to be punished, in accordance with our nation’s laws.

Prison isn’t supposed to be a windfall. It’s supposed to be uncomfortable. It’s supposed to be a situation where you’re forced to think about why you’re there and the changes you want to make, should you ever see the outside world, again.

Things that are logical for prison life would be rehabilitative measures like G.E.D or trade school courses, anger management or other therapy sessions.

Also, the basic care measures, like dental or medical needs.

What is utterly illogical would be cosmetic fixes or those things not expressly needed to reasonably maintain health and well-being.

Hormone therapy for transgenderism would not qualify, nor should it.

Prison isn’t for your comfort or social justice experimentation. Prison is for your punishment, and if possible, rehabilitation.

Connecticut may be fine with it, but most states don’t want to victimize their citizens all over again. They’re already paying for the basic housing and upkeep of inmates.

At what point should we expect commonsense to kick in, and our lawmakers to insist that if you have a certain lifestyle outside of the basics that you wish to keep up, then don’t do things that will pull you away from that life? Don’t break the law. Don’t engage in criminal behavior. Don’t go to jail.

Why is that so hard?