Two words - Jane Doe.
When I voted in 2010, let me say up front that Dannel Malloy was not my first choice. However, he seemed like a decent enough guy, so I voted for him anyway. Over the years, I had my occasional pet peeves with him - but then again, who doesn't? I voted for Barack Obama twice, yet on occasion he'll do something that I regard as boneheaded. I like what the late Ed Koch had to say on the subject: "If you agree with me on nine out of twelve issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on twelve out of twelve issues, see a psychiatrist."
Yes, there are blunders. But then there are mind-numbing, jaw-dropping, super-blunders. And these deserve our immediate attention.
For those of you not in the know, Jane Doe (not her real name since Jane is underage) is a transgender teenage female. Simply put, her life has been crap. Not "my daddy won't let me shop at Izod" type of crap. I'm talking Mommy shooting heroin type of crap. You get the picture.
She winds up going from place to place once her mother is found unfit, until she is found to be a "problem child" (!) So they do what any responsible caregiver would do. They haul her ass to prison. She didn't have to commit any prisonable offense. Being "bitchy" is good enough for them, thank you.
She stayed in prison for three months.
What, you say, is their problem? Didn't anybody shout from the rooftops?
Oh, yes, people knew. Dannel Malloy knew. Joette Katz (director of Department of Children and Families) knew. They just didn't say anything.
While Jane Doe sat in prison, Malloy and Katz dithered. Ultimately Jane Doe was released, but not until a horrific experience.
Malloy would have us believe that the system worked. I'm sorry, governor, but it didn't. The Orwellian system hasn't changed a bit. Joette Katz works breezily along, destroying children and families as she goes.
You see, this isn't a transgender issue. This isn't an LGBT issue. This is an issue for every troubled child who is unsure where she or he will wind up. In short, you aren't doing your job.
And that is why I won't be voting for you, Governor Malloy.
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