It saddens my heart that you and your kids are having to put up with what you have described.
Would it be possible for you to give some more specifics on this harassment as well as what state you reside in? I might be able to give you some idea legally what options you have and what law enforcement and the Courts have the ability to do on your behalf. Law enforcement today has become sensitive to things like you have outlined as there have been a flurry of cases where they did not arrest the party undertaking the harassment and they later committed an assault or worse on the person being harassed. Today, they tend to arrest the perpetrator and let the Court figure it all out.
You need to insure that you have all of the facts you can possibly obtain from these incidents......i.e. names of those harassing, dates of the harassment, location of the incidents, what threats were made, how were your kids directly threatened, what threats were made while your kids were present, sworn statements that you and your kids are in fear for their safety and, perhaps most important, are there any independent parties who heard or saw the harassment or threats being made willing to provide a sworn statement or appear in Court on your behalf.
I assume the matter of the restraining order is being heard by a magistrate. Have you also filed a criminal complaint with the county prosecutor? Harassment is a crime which normally has two or three different degrees. Even if you can only get them on a second or third degree harassment charge and they are found guilty, or they plea it down to that level, the perpetrator(s) will have that on their record for the rest of their lives. That in itself can be a far bigger problem for them moving forward than any small fine the Court could hit them with.
Also, you have the ability to file a civil suit against the perpetrators. If you choose to do this I would not file that action until after the criminal case has concluded as oftentimes the judge hearing the criminal case will dismiss those charges if they see you also have a civil action pending. Depending on the facts surrounding the case, a civil action could bring you both actual damages (if you show them) and punitive damages. Depending on the facts, you could include as defendants in your civil suit both the church and the apartment complex owner, since management of the complex worked for the owner. Yes, you are rolling the dice on this suit, but you are also making the defendants spend what could be a lot of money in legal fees. As for you, depending on where you live, you might be able to find a a non profit legal defense fund or group which will take your case and pursue it aggressively on your behalf......and do so at no charge. If you choose that track you should listen ONLY to their legal advice.
Of course, all of this is totally up to you and your ability to prove the assertions you make to support the civil action. You may be a transgender person, but that does not mean that the laws of the land do not apply to you the same as they would anyone else. The best place to hit these people and entities that go out of their way to illegally harass and endanger transgender people is in the wallet. The only way to put a stop to this is if transgender people step up and say "no more!"
Finally, please remember that if you do get the restraining orders from the Court that the sheet of paper it is written on does no stop bullets, knives or fists. Be careful and watchful for you and your kids. Best of luck and I hope you are able to put these disgusting people in their place!
