Christy Pérez

2 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Christy Pérez |C. Dreams

After two or three phone interviews with Walmart, they hired me for a clerical position at a distribution center. It would have paid about $19 an hour. I got an offer letter, and the company’s career center showed I’d been scheduled for orientation a couple of weeks later. But before that date came, I got a notification that they’d be moving forward with other candidates. I’d “failed” the background check.

4 weeks ago | filtermag.org | Christy Pérez |C. Dreams

Georgia is weighing legislation that would make it more difficult for people on the state’s sex offender registry (SOR) to get off it, as well as to relocate—whether attempting to move in from out of state or move from one part of the state to another. Personally I’m more interested in getting out of Georgia, but that’s beyond the scope of HB 430. The bill pertains to registrants trying to move to a new county, potentially as they’re getting off the SOR.

1 month ago | filtermag.org | Christy Pérez |C. Dreams

Several states are currently considering proposals that would make them the first to fully decriminalize sex work. But alongside this is an even bigger push to heighten criminalization of human trafficking—a charge which has a very different connotation with the public, but is often used to prosecute the same people for the same activities. On March 14, Rhode Island became the latest state to introduce a sex work decrim bill.

1 month ago | filtermag.org | Christy Pérez |C. Dreams

On March 10, the Supreme Court stated that it will review the constitutionality of a state ban on conversion therapy for minors. The case was filed by the right-wing Alliance Defending Freedom, on behalf of a Christian therapist in Colorado, and the Supreme Court’s willingness to hear it is a harbinger of what’s to come. Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, is an unscientific practice that purports to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

1 month ago | filtermag.org | Christy Pérez |C. Dreams

Georgia senators have proposed legislation that would prohibit the state prison system from providing medically necessary gender-affirming treatment to people in custody. This would include cutting off prescribed hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) for anyone already receiving it. Senate Bill 185 was introduced February 18 by no fewer than 21 Republican sponsors, and on February 26 received a favorable report from the Committee on Public Safety. The bill will next be reviewed by the full Senate.