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- GWEN SMITH
Friday, July 04, 2008
CONGRESS
HEARD
about
transgender
issues
last
week.
It
was
not
the
first
time
trans
issues
were
discussed
in
D.C.,
of
course.
Transgender
people
and
their
allies
have
been
taking
part
in
organized
Lobby
Days
for
well
over
a
decade,
and
the
issue
of
transgender
rights
has
come
up
—
in
one
form
or
another
—
for
decades.
I’m
sure
if
you
did
the
research,
you’d
find
at
least
50
years
of
references
in
the
congressional
record,
stretching
back
to
Christine
Jorgensen’s
initial
return
to
the
United
States
in
1953.
It’s
not
that
the
topic
was
broached
that
is
important
here.
What
stands
out
is
that
last
week’s
hearing
marks
the
first
substantive
hearing
expressively
on
transgender
workplace
discrimination.
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.),
a
longtime
supporter
of
transgender
rights,
spoke.
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.),
who
supports
us
when
it’s
politically
expedient,
also
took
the
microphone.
Shannon
Minter
—
fresh
from
his
big
California
marriage
victory
—
was
there,
as
were
many
others
from
across
the
country.
It
was
a
big
deal,
and
a
big,
big
step
for
the
transgender
community.
The
meeting
was,
essentially,
in
support
of
transgender
rights
in
the
workplace
at
a
federal
level,
and
helped
lay
the
groundwork
for
another
go
at
an
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act,
which
has
been
bouncing
around
Congress
for
many
years
and
has
yet
to
pass.
For
those
who
somehow
missed
it,
a
trans-inclusive
ENDA
had
its
transgender
protections
stripped
out
of
it
late
last
year
when
it
hit
the
House
floor.
I
won’t
rehash
all
the
issues
surrounding
this,
except
to
note
how
darkly
humorous
it
was
when
I
read
the
Human
Rights
Campaign’s
press
release
touting
this
recent
congressional
hearing.
WILL
WE
SEE
a
trans-inclusive
ENDA
pass
now
that
we’ve
had
this
hearing?
In
the
short
term,
no.
This
may
have
changed
some
minds,
but
no
one
is
going
to
vote
on
a
transgender
rights
bill
in
the
midst
of
an
election
year.
Perhaps,
depending
on
whom
our
next
president
is,
we’ll
see
a
vote
then.
Will
we
again
see
transgender
rights
stripped
from
such
a
bill?
Maybe.
Will
transgender
people
continue
to
see
difficulties
in
the
workplace?
Certainly.
Most
transgender
people
have
faced
workplace
difficulties.
I
lost
a
job
due
to
my
transgender
status
and
have
had
to
fight
my
way
into
the
workplace
since.
A
decade
since
my
transition,
I
still
face
challenges
related
to
workplace
discrimination
—
and
others
have
had
it
far
worse
than
I.
Women,
minorities,
the
disabled
and
others
still
face
challenges
in
the
workplace.
Legal
protections
alone
do
not
solve
the
problem
and
no
law
causes
discrimination
to
not
happen
in
the
first
place
—
it
only
allows
for
recourse
in
case
it
does
occur.
But
this
meeting
generated
two
things
of
great
value. For
one,
it
is
a
step
toward
protections,
and
those
protections
can
and
will
help
all
transgender
or
gender-
variant
people.
Even
though
there
will
likely
be
challenges,
employment
protections
would
be
a
great
win
for
all
of
us.
Secondly,
that
we
had
such
a
meeting
is
a
testament
to
the
hard
work
of
many
who
have
come
before.
Our
community
has
had
to
go
from
being
somewhere
out
on
the
fringe
of
a
fringe
to
a
group
that
merits
a
Congressional
hearing.
This
does
not
occur
without
a
lot
of
blood,
sweat,
toil
and
tears
from
many
people.
The
groundwork
began
decades
ago,
perhaps
as
far
back
as
Jorgensen,
but
certainly
as
early
as
Stonewall.
IT
SEEMS
fitting
that
such
a
meeting
would
happen
so
close
to
the
anniversary
of
the
Stonewall
rebellion.
We’ve
grown
in
all
facets
of
life,
going
from
invisibility
to
a
known
group.
Even
the
word
“transgender”
was
all
but
unknown
when
ENDA
was
introduced,
while
a
non-inclusive
bill
today
illicited
heated
response
from
all
quarters.
Knowing
what
the
climate
was
for
transgender
people
just
five
years
ago,
shows
how
fast
we
are
moving
—
imagine
how
unlikely
such
an
event
would
have
been
in
that
period
between
9-11
and
the
Iraq
war,
let
alone
in
the
years
before.
We
still
have
a
long
way
to
go
until
we
see
true
equality,
but
we
should
not
forget
that
we’ve
made
great
strides.
Something
encouraging
happened
on
Capitol
Hill
last
week.
Now
it
is
up
to
all
of
us
to
turn
it
into
something
that
will
last.
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