TV Schedule

Gay Anti-discrimination Bill Passes Without Protection for Transgendered Community


  3. sarahperine
  4. related topics
This was one of the weakest political efforts I have ever witnessed. The Human Rights Campaign (for LGBT equality) lobbied for less than the original bill. HRC admitted it would be an easier bill to pass without coverage for Transgenders. I'm very confused and disheartened. We cannot choose the people in our community to protect. Our community is what it is. All need protection, not just a few groups. It seems to me that politicians and many members of the queer community have forgotten Gwen Araujo and Brandon Teena, amongst many other celebrated transgendered individuals who have been horrifically murdered in hate crimes.
sarahperine

12 responses // Gay Anti-discrimination Bill Passes Without Protection for Transgendered Community

  • It's sad how one group can be excluded because of political pressures or lack of acceptance in society.
    byalex
  • http://current.com/items/87006461_screwball_politics
    You have to understand...
    Congress has been really busy. Really really busy. So they may not have had as much time for this gay rights bill as they may have wished.

    Sigh.
    Tori
  • Congress has many more important things to do, than worry about special interest groups, the laws already on the books protect all people, when you murder someone you get charged with murder, if you beat them battery. Why do gays, blacks, mexicans, just about everybody but white heterosexual males need special laws? Come on people get real, its attitudes that need changing. This is just another example of congress not focusing on real issues. Lobbyist really suck.
    Smegma
  • I just called his office, all should do like wise.
    Smegma
  • maybe they should send rupaul to the senate.
    phukna
  • Tori said that Congress is busy. As this may be true, they had time to pass this protection for gay and lesbian how hard and how much time would it take just to extend that protection to transgendered people? We are who we are and we can't change that, just like gays and lesbians can't deny how they truely feel and just like transgendered can't deny who they are on the inside. They need just as much support and protection as anyone else, if not more. It's a shame that congress limited this protection to exclude them, especially in a modern society where this is becoming more and more accepted. Look at the 70s when gays and lesbians were outcasts of society and now look at today and tell me how many gay and lesbian friends you have. Sure there's still gonna be prejudice people who commit hate crimes but like i said why shouldn't this bill protect transgendered? What was their reasoning?
    Alyxandra3088
  • Ugh. I am so frustrated with the HRC for dropping their support for the inclusion of gender identity in the ENDA. In addition to completely selling transgendered people out, it undercuts protection for the rest of the LGBT community as well.

    Let's face it--there are a lot of non-trans people who don't conform to gender norms, and creating a bill where a butch lesbian or femme man could be fired, not because of who they sleep with, but because of the way they present themselves, makes the ENDA completely toothless.
    sgwhites
  • I need some help here what crime could happen to a transgendered person that is not covered by existing laws? I definitely think they should have all the rights anyone has, I can only see marriage issues, health benefits from companies and things such as that.
    Smegma
  • They key here is protection from being fired. Without the ENDA, it isn't illegal to fire someone for being gay in many states--the issue here is that gender expression isn't included. So, a transgendered person born biologically female, who is a transman that has a male haircut, wears male clothing, etc. and presents as male could be fired for not adhering to female standards of appearance--long hair, skirts, makeup, etc. This can also affect non-trans people who don't present themselves in a gender typical manner.
    sgwhites
  • sgwhites -well put. This just boggles my mind. Smegma -er...nice name ;) -Protection is needed for the same reason that legislation has been needed to protect groups in the past. The KKK was not about to take anyone's "suggestions" to stop killing, beating, harassing, discriminating against African Americans. Special laws are often needed to protect human rights for those in society who are not being treated equally as humans. The laws already support straight white males... we just need to make sure everyone else is covered.
    sarahperine
  • http://www.senate.gov
    Take action! Demand that your Senators stand up for those who cannot do it themselves!
    Take action! Demand that your Senators stand up for those who cannot do it themselves!
    The ironic part is that Congress removed protections for transgenered people, because they believed the bill would not get passed with the inclusion of that language,

    Here's the laugh riot: President Bush has already said that he is going to VETO the ENDA.

    Therefore, if he is going to VETO the ENDA anyway, why not DO THE RIGHT THING and be fully inclusive, especially to those who are most vulnerable?

    CONGRESS: GROW A BACKBONE!
    bully2

Add your response

Login/Registration is required to add a response.