Posted on 02/11/2014 6:20:10 PM PST by rickmichaels
TORONTO - Authorities are holding a British comedian and transgender woman who lived in Toronto for a time in a men’s prison in Milton.
Avery Edison, who has legally been a woman since 2009, was detained Monday at Pearson International Airport when she tried to enter the country to see her girlfriend, Romy Sugden, of Toronto.
After holding her for nearly 12 hours, Canada Border Services officers transferred Edison to Maplehurst Correctional Facility for men, Sugden said.
“Speaking with the officials at the prison was a very upsetting and fruitless experience,” she said. “They refused to refer to Avery as anything but ‘he’ or ‘him.’ They told me because ‘his’ genitals were male, ‘he’ would be in a men’s prison. That was Ontario law.”
Sugden said Edison overstayed her student visa on her last visit. She decided to go back to the U.K., where she lives, in September but wanted to return Monday for a visit.
“When she came back here, she knew it was possible she’d be deemed inadmissible,” Sugden said, not imagining Edison would end up in a men’s jail.
Sugden said a prison manager told her Edison is being kept out of the jail’s general population.
“I’m sure you can understand what would happen to her,” she said. “I think they recognize they don’t want to have a killed or badly beaten transgender woman on their hands. They have enough PR savvy for that at least.”
Calls to Canada Border Services Agency and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney requesting comment were not returned by press time.
Greg Flood, spokesman for Ontario’s Ministry of Correctional Services, said he could not speak directly about Edison’s case, citing privacy concerns.
“The ministry is currently reviewing the situation and having discussions with the Canadian Border Services Agency regarding the status of the individual,” he said in an e-mail statement to the Toronto Sun.
Sugden visited Edison at the Milton jail Tuesday afternoon and described the short visit as “very emotional.”
“She’s holding up well — she’s a strong person,” Sugden said. “She’s in good spirits considering the circumstances.”
She said she has retained a lawyer to help get Edison transferred to a woman’s facility.
“We’re not asking for immigration laws to be bent or broken. We’re not asking for a visa ... Right now, we just want a woman out of a men’s prison.”
NDP MP Randall Garrison has called on Canada’s Conservative government to ensure Edison is transferred immediately to a women’s correctional facility.
A rally is planned at Queen’s Park Saturday at 2 p.m. to demand that the government free Edison.
“It’s not just her,” Sugden said. “I imagine a lot of trans people have similar experiences. Canada is just better than that.”
Avery Edison
I hate when the media refers to these creatures by their desired gender as opposed to their true gender. Does it have a Y chromosome? It does? It’s a freaking male! Knock it off with the stupid sh*t, and put the dope in the men’s prison, desire to be woman doesn’t change anatomy.!!
Apparently his anatomy still says so too. His chromosones will always say that.
“Sugden said a prison manager told her Edison is being kept out of the jail’s general population.”
Probably the smart move here. Edison is a biological male, no matter what he claims to be inside. At the same time, he’s going to be chum in the water if they throw in gen pop. Keep the guy in protective custody or whatever until they clear this mess up. If all Edison is guilty of is overstaying a visa, then it shouldn’t take long to clear the matter up.
As a person who has to put up with wondering if the women’s bathroom is going to be a ‘safe place for transgendered persons’ because I’m on a college campus, I can’t see putting ‘her’ in a woman’s prison.
I understand why she might feel she belongs there, with hormone therapy and living as a female, and all, but she has male genitalia. You wanna go transgender, get all the work done or stay out of my bathroom.
Affirmatively participating in another person’s delusion will not cure their mental illness.
Wiki: "Kosilek is incarcerated in Norfolk, Massachusetts, at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk, a medium security male prison. Kosilek has been diagnosed with gender identity disorder and identifies as female...On October 20, 2006, Kosilek married a woman named Jessica, she is transgender and imprisoned in a different state. The marriage is unofficial and involved the women coordinating to say their vows at the same time." I believe after the surgery he/she/it will be moved to a women's prison.
Prisons should be based on genetic tests alone, and not personal preference.
I self-identify as a male lesbian. I demand to be placed in a women's prison! < /sarc >
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.