You did a reasonably good job with this article until you got to the second to the last paragraph. It is offensive to trans people, like myself, to refer to them by their former names and identities and to not use the pronouns that conform to their gender identities. It is completely irrelevant to this or any other article about this issue what Amanda’s old name was. Plus, Amanda is not “the former Mitchell Simpson, who now identifies himself [sic] as a female named Amanda.” Saying that she merely “identifies [her]self as a female named Amanda” implies that she isn’t “really” a woman and her name isn’t “really” Amanda and that, instead, she is just pretending to be a woman named Amanda and deceiving the public in the process. Amanda IS a woman, regardless of what her past might have been, and her name IS Amanda, regardless of what her former name might have been. Why does this matter? It matters because the beliefs that we aren’t really who we say we are and are just deceiving people are responsible for the discrimination, harassment, assaults and, yes, even murders of trans people that happen all too often in this country. (Recent surveys indicate that anywhere from 50% to 97% of trans people have been the victim of employment discrimination because of their gender identity. The risk of murder for a trans person, especially a trans woman of color is approximately 12 times that of the general population.)

I suggest you read the media guide prepared by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamantion (GLAAD) on transgender terminology and reporting. You can find the media guide here: http://www.glaad.org/Page.aspx?pid=376. It contains much useful information for anyone who wants to write about trans people and the issues we face.