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AMY CAVANAUGH
Friday, September 12, 2008
The
Maryland
Court
of
Appeals
ruled
this
week
that
Montgomery
County’s
transgender
anti-discrimination
measure
need
not
face
public
referendum
and
must
go
into
effect.
The
court
on
Tuesday
reversed
a
decision
by
Circuit
Court
Judge
Robert
Greenberg,
who
had
said
that
Equality
Maryland
missed
the
deadline
to
challenge
petition
signatures
obtained
by
the
conservative
Maryland
Citizens
for
a
Responsible
Government.
That
group
petitioned
to
have
the
anti-discrimination
measure
put
to
voters
on
the
Nov.
4
ballot,
but
Equality
Maryland
countered
in
court
that
some
of
the
petition
signatures
were
improperly
obtained.
Jonathan
Shurberg,
the
lead
attorney
for
Equality
Maryland,
argued
the
case
alongside
Natalie
Chin,
a
Lambda
Legal
staff
attorney.
“The
bottom
line
is
that
the
court
said
a
petition
sponsor
shouldn’t
be
allowed
to
cut
corners
and
circumvent
legal
requirements
to
get
a
referendum
attacking
minority
protections
on
the
ballot,”
said
Chin.
“We
are
very
happy
that
this
duly
enacted
law
can
take
effect
and
protect
a
vulnerable
group
of
Montgomery
County
residents.”
The
measure
that
Montgomery
County
officials
passed
last
year
prohibits
“discrimination
in
housing,
employment,
public
accommodations,
cable
television
service
and
taxicab
service
on
the
basis
of
gender
identity.”
Chin
noted
Tuesday
that
the
court’s
full
written
opinion
had
not
yet
been
released.
“We
have
no
details
of
the
decision
yet,
but
everything
has
been
fast
tracked
and
it
should
come
out
shortly,”
she
said.
“We
feel
confident
that
we
stopped
the
referendum
from
going
forward,
but
we’ll
have
to
wait
to
understand
the
practical
effects
of
the
decision
when
it
comes
out.”
Local
groups
celebrated
the
ruling,
which
marked
the
apparent
end
of
a
months-long
fight
to
keep
the
referendum
off
the
ballot.
“We’re
thrilled
that
the
rhetoric
perpetuated
by
the
Citizens
for
a
Responsible
Government
has
come
to
an
end
and
the
law
can
go
into
effect,”
said
Dan
Furmansky,
Equality
Maryland’s
executive
director.
Furmansky
said
Equality
Mary-land
was
ready
to
explain
to
voters
why
the
anti-discrimination
measure
was
needed,
“but
it’s
better
that
our
transgender
brothers
and
sisters
have
these
long
overdue
and
vital
protections
immediately.”
Jody
Huckaby,
executive
director
of
PFLAG,
said
that
the
ruling
sent
the
message
that
“opponents
of
equality
are
not
above
the
law,
and
our
transgender
loved
ones
are
not
below
it.”
“The
anti-transgender
campaign
in
Montgomery
County
was
based
on
bigotry
and
fueled
by
misinformation,”
she
said
in
a
statement.
“It
was
being
forced
onto
the
ballot
with
no
regard
for
state
law
or
the
fundamental
rights
of
our
transgender
neighbors
and
allies.”
Chin,
who
called
the
ruling
a
“really
important
decision,”
said
the
case
could
set
a
precedent
for
the
state
and
country
in
terms
of
achieving
transgender
anti-discrimination
rights.
“Montgomery
County
was
the
first
county
to
try
to
take
rights
away
from
transgender
people,
and
these
kinds
of
referendums
are
popping
up
around
the
country,”
she
said.
“We
hope
it
will
set
a
precedent
to
fight
these
referendum
efforts
in
the
future.”
Montgomery
County
Council-member
Duchy
Trachtenberg
(D-At-Large),
a
sponsor
of
the
transgender
anti-discrimination
bill,
issued
a
statement
Tuesday
calling
the
court
ruling
a
“victory
for
justice
and
equality
under
the
law.”
She
also
chided
the
campaign
waged
by
the
Citizens
for
a
Responsible
Government
against
the
anti-discrimination
law.
“We
said
that
this
fear-mongering
tactic
never
belonged
on
the
ballot,
and
…
the
court
agreed,”
Trachtenberg
said.
“The
voters
are
spared
an
expensive,
wrenching
process
that
would
have
given
further
amplification
to
the
worst
politics
of
hate
and
personal
attack.”
Dana
Beyer,
an
Equality
Maryland
board
member
and
Trachtenberg’s
legislative
aide,
said
Tuesday
she
was
“both
thrilled
and
relieved.”
“It
was
an
important
victory,”
said
Beyer,
who
is
transgender.
“Not
just
for
the
residents
of
Montgomery
County,
but
to
send
a
message
to
the
American
people
that
we’re
serious
about
providing
equality
for
all,
and
that
we’re
willing
as
a
community
to
stand
up
and
fight
any
attempts
to
discriminate
against
any
segment
of
our
community.
I’m
looking
forward
to
building
on
this
victory
and
expanding
protections
on
a
statewide
basis.”
State
Del.
Heather
Mizeur
(D-Montgomery
County)
also
welcomed
the
court’s
decision.
“Today’s
ruling
throws
the
question
off
the
ballot
and
throws
discrimination
out
of
the
county,
blocking
this
mean-spirited
end
run
around
the
democratic
process,”
she
said
in
a
statement.
“This
is
not
just
a
victory
for
our
GLBT
community,
but
for
fairness,
justice
and
equality
for
all
in
Montgomery
County.”
But
not
everyone
celebrated
the
ruling.
Maryland
Citizens
for
a
Responsible
Government
called
the
decision
“a
loss
for
democracy,
a
loss
for
Montgomery
County,
and
a
loss
for
common
sense”
in
a
statement.
Ruth
Jacobs,
the
organization’s
president,
noted
that
opponents
of
the
anti-discrimination
measure
were
evaluating
their
legal
options.
“The
MCRG
is
considering
a
legal
challenge
to
ensure
that
voters
have
the
chance
to
be
heard
on
this
issue,”
she
said.
Amy
Smith,
an
attorney
with
the
Alliance
Defense
Fund,
also
said
the
case
might
not
be
over.
“We’re
very
disappointed
with
this
court’s
ruling,
which
suggests
that,
in
America,
every
citizen
does
not
have
a
voice,”
she
said
Tuesday.
“Today’s
court
decision
sends
a
clear
message
that
groups
with
narrow,
extreme
political
agendas
can
disenfranchise
the
voters
of
an
entire
county.
We
will
work
closely
with
MCRG
toward
the
goal
of
putting
this
issue
back
into
the
hands
of
the
voters.”
But
for
Basic
Rights
Montgomery,
a
coalition
of
community
leaders
and
organizations
that
were
ready
to
fight
the
anti-discrimination
measure,
Tuesday’s
ruling
meant
the
group
could
begin
working
toward
the
enactment
of
statewide
protections.
“Basic
Rights
Montgomery
was
a
campaign
established
to
defend
the
law,
so
given
that
the
law
is
no
longer
in
peril,
our
energies
and
efforts
will
move
into
the
realm
of
passing
a
statewide
anti-discrimination
law,”
Furmansky
said.
Eric
Anthony,
who
last
week
succeeded
Opel
Simmons
III
as
Basic
Rights
Montgomery’s
campaign
director,
said
that
plans
for
the
future
of
the
campaign
were
“to
be
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