In the first one, the Mayor of Jersey City who has all but announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Governor next year has decided the city should offer health benefits for transgender employees. That is remarkable in and of itself but more so that a candidate for statewide office would obviously determine such a stance would not be a detriment to his candidacy and perhaps be a benefit.
The other story was featured on The View, a program I have tried but barely watch as I find CNN more interesting. I can barely remember to change the channel to watch Wendy Williams an hour later who is a lot more fun. This family enrolled their epileptic teenage daughter in a school for disabled children with a policy to dispense prescribed medication to students while at school. Having met all the requirements of the statewide medical marijuana law and with the mother registered as a caregiver and dispenser under the law, rather than sneaking the med into their child's lunch as others do they registered with the school but were denied all requests for alternative provision of this medication that has allowed their child relief from her symptoms and the ability to communicate for the first time. It's tragic the the obstacles still presented based on fear and myth rather than facts.
Fulop: government can change minds on transgender issues
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop
Mayor Steve Fulop announced on Sept. 22, 2015 that the city
will expand health-care options for transgender workers. Reena Rose
Sibayan | The Jersey Journal
(Jersey Journal file photo)
Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal
By
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on September 22, 2015 at 4:11 PM
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on September 22, 2015 at 4:11 PM
Fulop, who said the transgender civil-rights movement "far, far predates Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox" — two of the community's most high-profile members — said the city's action isn't just about changing its health-care policies but about "changing minds as well."
"For most of history the fight for transgender rights has been a lonely one, and it's also been one in which government has been on the sidelines at best and even sometimes on the wrong side," he said. "That's something that must change today and Jersey City wants to be an example of that."
The mayor, who is expected to join a long list of Democrats running for governor in 2017, called transgender-focused medical care "as essential as heart bypass or cholesterol medication."
The city is the first in the state to offer medical benefits catered to transgender individuals, according to LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.
Andrea Bowen, outgoing head of Garden State Equality, and a transgender woman herself, said she hopes more cities follow Jersey City's lead. That could result in an increase in the number of doctors with knowledge of transgender medical care, she said.
"It's revolutionary, what's going on right now," she said today.
OPINION: Why Jersey City will provide transgender-related health care
More and more cities nationwide are offering their transgender workers expanded healthcare options, including gender affirmation surgery, also known as gender reassignment surgery. Jersey City joins Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
In 2012, only five of the 136 cities whose policies were reviewed by HRC for its annual Municipal Equality Index offered that kind of health care, while in 2014, 42 out of 353 cities did, according to Xavier Persad, HRC's legislative counsel.
Persad said offering these types of benefits is a low-cost way for cities to become more competitive when recruiting top officials and sends a message about equality.
"Cities have realized the value of treating their employees fairly," he said.
Today, Fulop said the changes will cost the city $100,000 to $500,000 more annually.
"Of course there is a cost," he said. "The most important thing about it, though, is the message and hopefully that this becomes common practice far beyond the borders of Jersey City."
Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
* * * * *
N.J. family in medical marijuana dispute with school appears on 'The View'
Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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on September 21, 2015 at 2:30 PM, updated September 22, 2015 at 2:08 AM
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on September 21, 2015 at 2:30 PM, updated September 22, 2015 at 2:08 AM
TRENTON — The parents of a 16-year-old girl with
epilepsy who have sued her New Jersey school district to allow her to
consume medical marijuana oil on school grounds took their battle to daytime television Monday by appearing on ABC's "The View."
In a live interview, Lora and Roger Barbour of Maple Shade explained to co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Paula Faris how their homemade cannabis oil has succeeded in controlling their daughter Genny's seizures and even improved her speech.
Lora Barbour wept as she recalled the day in April when Genny walked up to her father and said, "I love you." It wasn't just the feelings behind the words that moved them, but their oldest daughter's ability to speak more than one word at a time. "It brought us to tears," Roger Barbour said.
RELATED: N.J. lawmakers send bill to Christie allowing students to use medical marijuana in school
The Barbours' appearance comes a week after their latest legal loss. State Administrative Law Judge John S. Kennedy denied an emergency motion seeking permission for Lora Barbour to come to The Larc School in Bellmawr every day at lunchtime to give her daughter her midday dose of oil, mixed with a soft drink. "There are no doctor's reports from (Genny Barbour's) treating physician that would establish that her lunchtime dose of marijuana is medically necessary," according to the opinion by Kennedy, who has twice ruled against the family's request this year to have the school nurse administer the dose. The judge said the Maple Shade district and the Larc school were obligated to adhere to state drug-free school laws.
"The judge got it wrong," Roger Barbour said, arguing that the state medical marijuana provides "exceptions if you have a license." His wife is Genny's registered caregiver who is legally protected from arrest from possession edible marijuana.
"It's a handicap school, and they give medicine to all of these children," Lora Barbour said. Compared to the pharmaceuticals and their potentially dangerous side effects, marijuana "is safer than any of these drugs."
The Barbours have sent Genny to school half-days since April to ensure she receives the oil four times a day as her doctor has recommended. Her seizures occur about every five days now, instead of several times a day before she started on cannabis oil, they have said.
"We even asked if we could sneak it in her lunch," Lora Barbour told the TV show hosts. "That's what most parents do."
"We went in really naïve to the school...we filled out your medication policy form. They said no," Roger Barbour said. "We are trying to advance this through the courts."
Roger Barbour, an attorney, is appealing the case in state and federal court on the grounds that his daughter is being denied her education because of her illness.
A bill passed in June by the state legislature and awaiting action by Gov. Chris Christie would require school districts to set policy allowing children who are registered with the state medical marijuana program to allow for its edible use on school grounds.
Goldberg said The View reached out to the governor's office and was told, "The governor does not comment on pending legislation. Yeah," she said in a sarcastic tone eliciting laughter from the audience.
Yale University School of Medicine Professor Sheryl Ryan, sitting in the audience next to Genny and her 13-year-old sister Marlee, said cannabis oil in this case "seems like a reasonable use." But the American Academy of Pediatrics has generally opposed medical marijuana, saying there is no science to support it.
What about the families who resorted to medical marijuana as a "desperate measure? There is your science," Goldberg replied.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Monday joined the Barbours public fight to press the governor to sign the edible marijuana at school bill. Referencing Christie's statement during the Republican debate last week in which he said he supported medical marijuana, the ACLU-NJ tweeted:
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
In a live interview, Lora and Roger Barbour of Maple Shade explained to co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Paula Faris how their homemade cannabis oil has succeeded in controlling their daughter Genny's seizures and even improved her speech.
Lora Barbour wept as she recalled the day in April when Genny walked up to her father and said, "I love you." It wasn't just the feelings behind the words that moved them, but their oldest daughter's ability to speak more than one word at a time. "It brought us to tears," Roger Barbour said.
RELATED: N.J. lawmakers send bill to Christie allowing students to use medical marijuana in school
The Barbours' appearance comes a week after their latest legal loss. State Administrative Law Judge John S. Kennedy denied an emergency motion seeking permission for Lora Barbour to come to The Larc School in Bellmawr every day at lunchtime to give her daughter her midday dose of oil, mixed with a soft drink. "There are no doctor's reports from (Genny Barbour's) treating physician that would establish that her lunchtime dose of marijuana is medically necessary," according to the opinion by Kennedy, who has twice ruled against the family's request this year to have the school nurse administer the dose. The judge said the Maple Shade district and the Larc school were obligated to adhere to state drug-free school laws.
"The judge got it wrong," Roger Barbour said, arguing that the state medical marijuana provides "exceptions if you have a license." His wife is Genny's registered caregiver who is legally protected from arrest from possession edible marijuana.
"It's a handicap school, and they give medicine to all of these children," Lora Barbour said. Compared to the pharmaceuticals and their potentially dangerous side effects, marijuana "is safer than any of these drugs."
The Barbours have sent Genny to school half-days since April to ensure she receives the oil four times a day as her doctor has recommended. Her seizures occur about every five days now, instead of several times a day before she started on cannabis oil, they have said.
"We even asked if we could sneak it in her lunch," Lora Barbour told the TV show hosts. "That's what most parents do."
"We went in really naïve to the school...we filled out your medication policy form. They said no," Roger Barbour said. "We are trying to advance this through the courts."
Roger Barbour, an attorney, is appealing the case in state and federal court on the grounds that his daughter is being denied her education because of her illness.
A bill passed in June by the state legislature and awaiting action by Gov. Chris Christie would require school districts to set policy allowing children who are registered with the state medical marijuana program to allow for its edible use on school grounds.
Goldberg said The View reached out to the governor's office and was told, "The governor does not comment on pending legislation. Yeah," she said in a sarcastic tone eliciting laughter from the audience.
Yale University School of Medicine Professor Sheryl Ryan, sitting in the audience next to Genny and her 13-year-old sister Marlee, said cannabis oil in this case "seems like a reasonable use." But the American Academy of Pediatrics has generally opposed medical marijuana, saying there is no science to support it.
What about the families who resorted to medical marijuana as a "desperate measure? There is your science," Goldberg replied.
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Monday joined the Barbours public fight to press the governor to sign the edible marijuana at school bill. Referencing Christie's statement during the Republican debate last week in which he said he supported medical marijuana, the ACLU-NJ tweeted:
Good @ChrisChristie is talking the talk. Now let Genny have her meds and stay in school. http://t.co/pxDHY7ra2f pic.twitter.com/Uv05nos5Op
— ACLU of New Jersey (@ACLUNJ) September 21, 2015
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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