Reps. Frank and Pelosi throw transpeople under the bus
2007-09-29 23:38 -
The very same day that the Matthew Shepard Act passed the Senate, extending protection against hate crimes to crimes motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity, the Democratic House leadership was gutting transgender rights from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
In 31 states in the United States, it is legal to fire someone merely for his or her sexual orientation. In 39 states in the United States, it is legal to fire someone due to his or her gender identity. A Federal ENDA would prohibit this type of outrageous discrimination from occurring in all 50 states.
Rep. Barney Frank, who is both an out gay man and a transphobe, claimed that it would be impossible for a trans-inclusive ENDA to pass, and has moved to separate the bill into two separate bills – one in which sexual orientation would be protected, and the other in which gender identity would be protected (with the latter being infinitely stalled and never being brought for a vote). All but one of the major LGBT lobbying groups have withdrawn their support for a non-trans-inclusive ENDA.
Rep. Frank has made numerous statements demonstrating his ignorance and contempt such as “There are workplace situations – communal showers, for example – when the demands of the transgender community fly in the face of conventional norms and therefore would not pass in any Congress. I’ve talked with transgender activists and what they want – and what we will be forced to defend – is for people with penises who identify as women to be able to shower with other women.” and his concern about “[...]
schoolteachers, and what happens when the kid comes back from summer vacation and teachers change gender. We just lost enough Democrats and we couldn’t be sure of the Republicans.”
Rabid transphobic voices in the gay community are whitewashing the history of Stonewall and claiming that transgender people do not deserve protection because we have not fought as hard as they have for rights. If a non-trans-inclusive ENDA passes, will gay rights organizations stand behind transpeople to continue the fight for equal employment for transgender Americans, or will they proceed to divert the entirety of their resources into issues such as marriage, etc. and ignore transpeople?
Recent order of magnitude estimates have it that about 1% of Americans are transgender, and that approximately 10% of Americans are lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Gender identity affects many more people than the ancient, grossly incorrect “1 in 30,000” figure sometimes reported in the media. And transgender Americans and bisexual and gay Americans have thus far stood side by side in crusading for equal rights. I feel extremely betrayed by those in positions of power, supposed allies, who have cast aside one group in favor of another for the sake of political expediency.
Thankfully, Congressman Adam Schiff, the representative for Pasadena, cosponsored the original trans-inclusive bill and has pledged his continued support for it. But many other congressmen and congresswomen (and, ironically, the Human Rights Campaign) sadly need to be persuaded in order for them to truly understand the meaning of human rights.
Please call your representative in Congress and/or take 5 minutes to sign these petition to tell Congress that transgender people do matter:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/transgender_inclusive_ENDA/
http://www.nosubstitutes.org/
I do not think that I can believe in a country dominated by those who wish to allow my rights to be stripped away simply due to who I am.
Thanks,
Liz
P.S. also, incidentally, I was on British TV last week when I talked to Lucy Parker’s grandfather Kevin on camera about 2/3 of the way through the recent documentary that aired about her journey to Thailand for SRS.
P.P.S. A quote I’m stealing from a friend:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did NOT only give protections to African-Americans and Hispanics – with a “promise” to work real hard for protecting Asian-American and Native Americans “at a later date”. That’s what they are proposing to do this time.
P.P.S. http://cbs5.com/video/?id=26888@kpix.dayport.com&tr=y&auid=3016956 is a very moving and courageous stand by the mayor of San Diego in favor of gay marriage. I think it’s definitely worth watching the 5 minute length – it pretty succinctly sums up a lot of what I feel as well. Love is love, and that’s all that should matter.
Heyyy, I don’t know if you remember me, but we went to… Kindergarten —> third grade together? (If I’ve got the right person)
My name’s Katherine Loh and I’ve got a picture of us somewhere from chinese new year. XD
— kloh Oct 30, 03:08 PM #