Jim, Brenda, Erica and I live in Rockville, Maryland until this weekend. After the move to our new home, we will still like in Montgomery County. A law passed recently banned discrimination against transgendered folks and I was happy to see it! I have felt for a long time that transgendered people have been the red-headed step child, so to speak, of the civil rights movement. Well, the religious right just couldn't let this one pass without a fight. Read below...
365gay.com had this story on their website today. If you'd like to read the whole story, please go to: http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/03/031708mar.htm.
(Rockville, Maryland) A group of registered voters in Montgomery Co., Maryland has filed suit against the County Board of Elections alleging improprieties in the certification of a ballot measure to overturn a gender identity anti-discrimination law.
Last November the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a law to ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.
A socially conservative group collected signatures to have the measure overturned and earlier this month the Board of Elections certified the petitions, placing the issue on November's ballot.
The voters group opposing the referendum is made of transgender county residents, parents, several clergy, a law enforcement officer and some business owners. The lawsuit is being supported by Equality Maryland, the state's largest LGBT rights organization.
The suit says that there were errors in the way the signatures were collected and that the county should have been more careful in verifying the names were legitimate.
The lawsuit also notes that the certification of the petitions has prevented the gender identity anti-discrimination law from going into effect...
What frustrates me about this story is that I have no doubt that the people collecting signatures for the petition made inflammatory statements to ensure they'd get the signatures they needed. It just galls me to hear supposedly religious people talking about how transgendered people are perverts for simply trying to be who they are. Unfortunately, it's all too easy to degrade transgendered people and make them into monsters to get your point across when you're a person who believes that anyone different from them is evil. God forbid that they really talk to a transgendered or gay or lesbian or bi person to find out what the truth is! As a lesbian, I'm outraged by these people. As a Christian, I'm embarrassed by them.
I am hopeful that Equality Maryland will win in court. Maybe a few losses will make the people who commissioned this petition think twice about trying to deny basic, human rights to GLBT people.
One day, maybe they'll learn to leave people alone and mind their own business. Won't that be a reason for us to party?!?!
In the meantime, I intend to use my voice whenever and wherever I can to stand up for those who are predominantly quiet for fear of violence or ridicule. I refuse to let my friends be second-class citizens.
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