By REBECCA ARMENDARIZ
Oct 4 2007, 11:07 AM |
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A transgender advocacy organization and its allies plan to picket the Oct. 6 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington, D.C., according to a press release from the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition.
"We are very disappointed and angry that any civil rights organization
claiming to advocate for our rights can turn their backs on us when the
going gets tough," said Ethan St.Pierre, board chair of NTAC. "It amounts to a betrayal, since HRC earlier promised to support only an inclusive ENDA."
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is the keynote speaker for the event.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights authored and circulated a petition protesting a new version of ENDA introduced by gay Rep. Barney Frank that limits the bill to sexual orientation, excluding trans people. He introduced a second bill that would bar employment discrimination based on gender identity. HRC announced this week that its board does not support the sexual orientation-only version of ENDA but that it would not actively oppose it. A coalition of more than 100 gay and trans rights groups objects to the two-bill approach.
The Human Rights Campaign has not signed the petition or joined the coalition. The lone trans member of its board, Donna Rose, resigned in protest Wednesday.
HRC's National Dinner will take place Saturday at the Washington Convention Center.
For more information, visit the web site for the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition.
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