It's been a great week for transgender civil rights. In Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said no to the lies of Daddy Dobson and company and signed SB 200. Now the New York State Assembly has finally passed AO6584 or GENDA, a bill first introduced in 2003. GENDA, or the Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act, bans discrimination against transgender people in New York State in housing, employment, credit, public accomdations and other areas of everyday life.
The bill had a record 74 sponsors, made it to the floor for a vote this year and passed the Assembly by a whopping 102-33 vote.
Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle said, "Transgender New Yorkers are in constant fear that they will lose their jobs, be kicked out of their homes, or simply be denied service in a restaurant. It goes without saying that these members of our community should be able to go about the business of living their daily lives openly and without fear."I believe the recent settling of the Khadijah Farmer case in New York may have had an effect on the positive outcome of GENDA in the Assembly this time. It not only highlighted some of the BS we go through, but put a name and a face to the types of discrimination that we've been verbalizing about for over a decade now.
GENDA still has to go through the GOP-controlled Senate, and you know the Republican Party's sorry history of the last 40 years when it comes to passing needed civil rights law.
During a seminar in last year's Southern Comfort conference, there was a transwoman from NYC that was so terribly frustrated with the pervasive sense of apathy that she broke down and cried during her comments.
ReplyDeleteIf trans persons and their allies want to get positive legislation supporting their basic rights, they are going to have to get up off their behinds, and get busy doing the necessary lobbying in Albany to get the legislation passed. I know there are at least two or three trans persons living in New York. Get organized, and be a part of the process for goodness' sake! Look how far Colorado has come since the infamous Referendum 2. If we can do it, New York can do it, too.
Let me just say that the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) and the GENDA coalition that they organized, has been the driving force to get GENDA passed in the New York State assembly. They have held conferences around the state this year to get people out, visiting and calling their representatives. The Equality and Justice Day event they hold in Albany each spring brings over a thousand LGBT people into the capital to lobby. They are one LGBT organization that truly does include the T.
ReplyDeleteThey have come a long way since 2002 when they backed the SONDA bill(Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act), which did not include Gender Identity and Expression.
So New York is organized and groups like ESPA, NYTRO, NYAGRA, LITAC, and TransJustice are working everyday for Trans rights in New York.
Did y'all ever get the whole "2 NYAGRAs" problem sorted out?
ReplyDeleteI sure wish you the best of luck in getting this measure shoved through your Reprehensible, er, Republican Senate, in New York State. Ain't easy to move pachyderms.
I won't comment about the fact that it should've passed with SONDA in the first place.......so, they finally came back for you 9 years later?
It's also interesting to note that the gender inclusive civil rights bills have passed with wide margins, while the gay only bills not only have closer margins, but leave a bad taste in people's mouth because folks are left behind.
ReplyDeleteIs that really true Monica? Have the gender inclusive bills all passed with greater support? It would be interesting to see the stats on that nationwide. Does the Task Force breakdown the voting percentages?
ReplyDeleteESPA did a state-wide poll this year that found that 78% of the voters in New York State would support GENDA and equal rights for Trans folks. This probably had an impact on getting GENDA through the assembly as well as the Khadijah Farmer case.
So, I think that things are looking a bit brighter in New York State. We now have a democratic assembly, and a governor who is very friendly. Now all we need is to get the senate over to the correct side of the aisle.
Eileen,
ReplyDeleteSee Rebecca Juro's June 4 Bilerico Project post entitled 'The Incrementalists Dirty little Scxcret'