As the New York times reports, the House of Representatives passed ENDA (the Employment Nondiscrimination Act), the version that did NOT include a gender identity provision (covering transgender people) by a 235-184 vote, well short of the 260 needed to override the threatened veto by President Bush. Senator Kennedy plans on introducing it in the Senate, but with the current session about to adjourn, there likely won't by any action until 2008, if then. Here are some excerpts from the Times' story:
The House on Wednesday approved a bill granting broad protections against discrimination in the workplace for gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, a measure that supporters praised as the most important civil rights legislation since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 but that opponents said would result in unnecessary lawsuits.
The bill, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, is the latest version of legislation that Democrats have pursued since 1974. Representatives Edward I. Koch and Bella Abzug of New York then sought to protect gay men and lesbians with a measure they introduced on the fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the brawl between gay men and police officers at a bar in Greenwich Village that is widely viewed as the start of the American gay rights movement.
“On this proud day of the 110th Congress, we will chart a new direction for civil rights,” said Representative Kathy Castor, a Florida Democrat and a gay rights advocate, in a speech before the vote. “On this proud day, the Congress will act to ensure that all Americans are granted equal rights in the work place.”
The House bill would make it illegal for an employer “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to the compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment of the individual, because of such individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.”
“What should have been one of the most triumphant days in our movement’s history is not,” said Matt Foreman, the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “It’s one of very mixed reactions.”
Foreman's quote came right after one from HRC president Joe Solmonese's statement that the passage of ENDA was "a significant step forward for our community."
I believe there is some truth to that, but the bigger question is how big a step back has the conflict over the exclusion of transgender protection been to the unity of GLBT activist groups.
A giant sized one, I'm afraid, but only time will tell how much damage has been done.
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The gays eat their own. They are immoral for this fact.
ReplyDeleteThe sad part, is that they have nothing to show for it, other than they cannot be trusted.
My name is Lyssa. I am a woman, a lesbian, and trans. And all I have to show for today is that gays can legally discriminate against me and mine.
Sadder, older, wiser...
I am also deeply saddened by the gender identity exclusion of the law.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lyssa, there is much "transphobia" within the gay community (though not as much as in the straight community). This needs to stop. The more united we all are, the more successful we will be.
On the other hand, I don't blame gay people for the gender identity exclusion. I blame the right-wing and fundamentalist fear-mongerers who have loads of money to back their bigotry (and to use scare tactics on politicians), and I blame the layperson and general public's misconceptions on what it means to be trans. Unfortunately, trans people are misunderstood, and still seen as "more extreme" than gay people. I don't know why, and it isn't right.
It was an extremely difficult compromise for many gay groups, but I do believe in incrementalism for social change. This is still a step in the right direction, and it will pave the way for broader social change, and one that is inclusive to trans people.