Tag Archives: transgender issues

By a vo e of 235-184, he House of Represen a ives has approved he Employmen Non-Discrimina ion Ac , which is he first na ional gay righ s legisla ion in he his ory of he Uni edS a es. hirty-five Republicans crossed par y lines to suppor ENDA..

Unsurprisingly, Republican legislators are trying a number of tactics to stall today’s ENDA vote, including a lengthy debate of a procedural issue (requiring a vote) and a call to adjourn for the day, which failed. Many reps have made impassioned speeches on both sides of the issue. Dennis Kucinich struck early by voicing strenuous objection to the removal of the …

HRC head Joe Solomonese appeared on Michelangelo Signorile’s radio show yesterday to defend the Human Right Campaign’s decision to push for ENDA without transgender protections. It’s a tough interview. Listen below.

It was nice while it lasted. Led by the HRC, the coalition of progressive and labor organizations supporting a trans-inclusive ENDA has significantly unraveled. Joining the HRC in an open letter to Congress in support of a trans-less bill: the NAACP, the National Education Association, the National Employment Lawyers Association, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Leadership Conference …

OK, first some background for non-Gothamites: Jeffrey Epstein, 54, is this billionaire New Yorker playboy financier who is fighting charges that he hired numerous underage female hookers masseuses. Epstein is being defended by Alan Dershowitz and last month it was reported that Epstein was about to plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for a 15-month prison sentence. Epstein’s story …

ENDA comes to a vote in the House on Wednesday, when Republicans (and a few Democrats) will argue to send it back to committee, which would effectively kill it for the current session. If ENDA does indeed pass, Rep. Tammy Baldwin will then propose an amendment reattaching transgender protections. Wednesday promises to be nerve-wracking. I will be following the vote …

Here’s the video of Matt Foreman’s Friday appearance on Logo to speak about ENDA and Barney Frank.

NGLTF director Matt Foreman will appear on Logo tonight to discuss Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), transgender inclusion and the new Baldwin amendment. Tune in tonight, Oct. 19, for an interview with CBS News on Logo’s Jason Bellini and Matt Foreman streaming online at approximately 6:30 p.m. (EST) followed by a television segment on CBS/Logo News at approximately 7:57 p.m. Logo …

The trans-less version of ENDA passed its first legislative hurdle yesterday when the House Committee on Education and Labor voted 27-21 to approve the bill. Four Democrats, including presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich voted against the bill in protest of the removal of transgender protections, but with the votes of four gay-friendly Republicans, the measure passed. Republicans voting yes: Reps. Michael …

“The removal of protection for transgender people, in addition to allowing continued discrimination against transgender people, would open the door to the court’s weakening of statutory protections under ENDA for all members of the LGBT community. Over the past two decades, many federal courts—including the U.S. Supreme Court—have adopted astoundingly narrow constructions of anti-discrimination statutes. We would be foolish—and irresponsible—to …

Khadijah Farmer, the butch lesbian who was thrown out of Caliente Cab Company, a West Village restaurant, when she was mistaken for a man in the ladies restroom, is now suing the restaurant. Although Farmer is not transgender, the suit was filed on her behalf by the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, who contend Farmer is the victim of …

Congressman Barney Frank will appear on the Michelangelo Signorile show today at 5:15pm (Eastern) to discuss the ENDA debacle. Tune in to Sirius OutQ, channel 109. Related: I’ve been working on an ENDA link farm because I can’t post or react to the avalanche of ENDA-related news items and opinion pieces. But I see Andy Towle has beaten to me …

“For reason yet to be understood, most gay people exhibit sex atypical traits most clearly when we are very young. Many gay boys — the vast majority in some studies — report that they identified strongly with girls when they were very small. Many even thought of themselves as more female than male. The opposite seems true for most lesbians. …

“It is one thing to pass laws that don’t cover groups that haven’t really organized or come into public consciousness yet — of course that is going to happen. But it is something else to deliberately cut out another, more politically vulnerable group that is asking to be included and just as much in need of protection just to get …

Citing “betrayal, distrust, and anger”, Donna Rose, the only transgender member of HRC’s board of directors has resigned over internal dissent regarding ENDA. In a lengthy statement on her personal website, Rose asks for others to join her. Rose: “I call on other like-minded board members, steering committee leaders, donors, corporate sponsors, and volunteers to think long and hard about …

Via HRC Back Story comes word that HRC has signed the Leadership Conference On Civil Rights’ letter (PDF) calling for a trans-inclusive ENDA. HRC joins 16 progressive organizations including the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU. October 1, 2007 The Honorable George Miller,Chairman Committee on Education and LaborU.S. House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman …

Major national LGBT rights groups are among over 90 progressive organizations calling on Congress NOT to approve the current version of ENDA, which has been stripped of transgender protections. NGLFT: Please call your Congressperson right now. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask to be connected to your representative. When a staffperson answers, say: “Please tell the representative that …

Reflecting the disunity I spoke of in the post below, 12 LGBT rights groups have signed onto a letter decrying the removal of transgenders from ENDA, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Empire State Pride Agenda, Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, P-FLAG, the National Stonewall Democrats, and …

Over on AMERICAblog, John Aravosis’ readers are discussing a trans-free ENDA. I brought up the issue yesterday, but I think Aravosis’ talking points are worth taking a look at. Kill ENDA if gender identity is not includedThe main argument here is that we shouldn’t leave a portion of our community behind. We’d never pass ENDA if it only included lesbians …

Facing the sort of blistering scorn evidenced by the above graphic, there is rumor that Democratic leaders may drop trans people from the pending ENDA legislation. From the Washington Blade: House Democratic leaders are strongly considering dropping anti-discrimination protections for transgender persons from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, after an internal Democratic head count on Wednesday found that the …