Three Wins Today, July 27, 2025
Yesterday I saw the Great Elephant Migration exhibit in Beverly Hills. It’s still there till August 1, and it’s in the garden area on Santa Monica Blvd, so you can go anytime.
The premise behind the exhibit is to connect us across boundaries and across cultures. The elephants were created by a group of indigenous people in India out of lantana branches, cause they’re invasive. I first learned about this exhibit ten months ago on CBS Sunday Morning and have been waiting to go ever since.
And here is my favorite photo of me with the elephants
Remember, wins are personal as much as they are local, national and international. And personal wins and joy also helps us have hope and fight harder.
On that note, here are some more universal wins.
Wed, July 23 - Hong Kong High Court Judge, Russell Coleman, ruled it should no longer be a crime for all trans people to use the public restroom of their chosen gender. Up until now, only children under 5 could use a restroom for the gender not assigned at birth. In 2022, a trans man named K filed a lawsuit to make it possible for trans people who have not medically transitioned to use the public restroom they are most comfortable with.
After a very long, and frankly, incredibly respectful opinion, Judge Coleman said:
Because I do not think there can be a remedial interpretation, I also make a declaration that those two provisions which together create the criminal offence be struck down.
He also says that how they chose to remedy this situation is not for the court, but rather the legislature.
In a statement (that has been translated from Chinese to English), K said:
Today, my transgender friends who are still undergoing gender transitions and I can openly use public restrooms without fear of being denied. This is a progressive step towards a more gender-friendly environment in Hong Kong, and we hope that the judicial system in Hong Kong will gradually become more inclusive in the future.
Congrats to the trans community in Hong Kong, for this massive step forward!
Wed, July 23 - In a 2-1 decision, the Federal Appeals court for the Western District of Washington ruled that the birthright citizenship injunction does qualify for the SCOTUS nationwide exception because:
The district court below concluded that a universal preliminary injunction is necessary to provide the States with complete relief. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction in order to give the States complete relief. States’ residents may give birth in a non-party state, and individuals subject to the Executive Order from non-party states will inevitably move to the States.
Basically, it doesn’t work that someone is a citizen in one state, but if they move, they wouldn’t be considered a citizen in the new state.
Essentially, SCOTUS tried to find a loophole so they could stop birthright citizenship without getting into the constitutional weeds where it’s very cut and dry, and they lost.
Shout out to the Seattle Times for their reporting!
Wed, July 23 - Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J Pérez, wrote a letter in support of the Philadelphia immigrant community. He said:
As the son of immigrants, I have found recent events particularly heartbreaking. Today, I write to express my prayerful solidarity, and that of our local Church, with you. You are not alone. The Church is a community of faith, and the divine person of Christ, who was forced to flee his homeland as a child, holds you in his compassionate arms.
I might be Jewish, but even I know this is what Christianity is supposed to be all about.
Shout out to The Philadelphia Inquirer for their reporting!
I know these stories are all from last Wed, I’m saving so many wins a day that I’m just a bit behind, which is a really good problem to have. If you really want me to focus on wins from the last couple days I can, but you didn’t want to miss these did you?
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
I saw the elephant exhibit last October when I was visiting New York City and it was great. Glad to see it made it to the west coast.