Oregon transgender woman takes seat on Democratic National Committee
Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian
on January 17, 2013 at 2:32 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2013/01/oregon_transgender_woman_takes.htmlLaura Calvo says she was at a low point in 1996.
She had suffered severe leg injuries after she was bit by a dog while working as a sheriff's deputy in Josephine County, and she said she was then forced into early retirement after agency officials found out she was struggling with gender identity issues.
"I got told I was a freak and couldn't work there anymore," said Calvo. "My life went to hell quickly."
Calvo had been a sheriff's deputy for about 15 years and a paramedic in San Francisco before that -- where she had been one of the first responders following the shooting of Mayor George Moscone and councilman Harvey Milk. Now she was struggling to put her life back together.
Flash forward to 2013. Calvo, 56, has long since transitioned to becoming a woman and her depression lifted. She turned into an activist in the LGBT community and then the Democratic Party. And this weekend, she'll head off to Washington, D.C. to attend President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony and take her new seat on the Democratic National Committee.
