Arizona Transgender Woman Monica Jones on trial for refusing “Project Rose”

[DriftingCrow]

http://www.transadvocate.com/arizona-transgender-woman-monica-jones-on-trial-for-refusing-project-rose_n_13049.htm
Kelli Busey, Transadvocate

An undercover officer engaged her in a conversation which led to her being charged with "manifesting prostitution", AKA walking while trans.

Ms. Jones was offered a deferral if she enrolled in the Catholic/police/university "Project Rose" and successfully completed it.

[She] is fighting back refusing the plea and religious programming despite being repeatedly harassed by police.

[suzifrommd]

Shocking and frightening.

"Join our religion and we'll forget about this little arrest."

Sounds like something better befitting the Spanish Inquisition than 21st century America. Frightening how little progress Catholicism has made in the past 600 years, and how little the first amendment's prohibition of establishment of religion really seems to mean to folks in Arizona when all is said and done.

[Vicky]

Makes me wonder how many of the cops on that detail have STD's.  Find the right trick book, and I would bet is has names that carry brass and iron. Problem is that they are men, and boys will be boys.

[amZo]

Hmmm... "manifesting prostitution?" Sounds kinda like "manifesting an argumentative thread?" 

Probably an 'inside baseball' joke for most...

Anyway, she should win her case, a crime should actually be required to take place before it's a crime. Hope she takes it to the Supreme Court to rule these laws unconstitutional.

[Eva Marie]

a crime should actually be required to take place before it's a crime

I agree with this, but States and communities have now criminalized a persons supposed intent when no crime has actually been committed, sort of like in the Minority Report movie.

I have a friend that often works carpentry jobs after his day job, which means some very late nights in some seedy neighborhoods to make extra money. He was coming home from one of these jobs late one night and had stopped at a red traffic light, with his windows down because it was hot. A woman walked up to him and propositioned him. He is quite the jokester and said "how much" which got him landed in jail - the lady was an undercover police officer working a sting operation. He didn't even have a penny in his pocket so there was no way he could have been serious. He is also married, has a family, and is deeply religious and his wife is a very strong lady that would peel back his skull if she caught him doing anything like that for real.

His crime? Saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong circumstance. He had supposed "intent" where none actually existed, and he spent a night and most of the next day in jail with his family having no idea where he was.

Meanwhile, while the cops were hassling this guy actual criminals continued to roam the streets.

[Jill F]

Arizona?  Why does that not surprise me? 

[moonbear]

I read about project rose in a vice article.. Religious communities do more harm than good.

[Cassandra]

That's messed up, and it's why I don't like most religions.