Netherlands Passes Groundbreaking Trans Identity Law!

In the Netherlands, trans rights advocates are celebrating a major win in that western European nation with the passage of a Gender Identity Law that does not require sterilization, court orders or genital surgery as prerequisites to change gender markers on documentation. 

It passed with a lopsided 51-24 vote of Dutch lawmakers in The Hague on Tuesday, and when the new law takes effect July 1, Dutch citizens aged 16 and older will only require a statement from an expert attesting to the trans person's desire to do so to match their gender identity.

The move to do so was driven by a report on the human rights of trans people in European states which called out The Netherlands over their previous unjust law and demanded a modification of it.
  
Despite the major win, there were trans rights groups who felt that the proposals pushed by Justice State Secretary Fred Teeven and enacted into law didn't go far enough.  Some parties wanted to lower the age consent threshold for SRS from 16 to 12.  Teeven said that he considered that too early and pointed out that boys in puberty often wrestle with their identity. 

"This law is a victory for transgender people in the Netherlands," the chairpersons of Transgender Network Netherlands and COC Netherlands say in a statement. "There is an end to all the humiliating situations that transgenders still daily deal with because the sex designation on their paper is different from the gender in which they live."   

There were elements of the Dutch trans community who pushed for an Argentinian style Gender Identity Law provision in which you don't need a doctor's statement to change identity documents.

Human Rights Watch also hailed the new law as a positive step.

“The new law is an important step toward equality for transgender people in the Netherlands,” said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “It puts people in a much stronger position to change their gender identity without intrusive and abusive medical requirements.” 


It's a huge improvement from the previous status quo in which a transperson seeking to change their documentation to match their gender identity not only had to be sterilized, but undergo genital surgery or other unwanted gender modification operations, followed by having to get judicial permission to do so.

That created situations in which Dutch transpeople who objected to the sterilization, genital surgery requirement or judicial intervention chose to live their lives with official documents that didn't correspond with their current gender presentation.    That created problems for them as they applied for jobs, tried to access healthcare, traveled and otherwise had to use that documentation to officially identify themselves.

Since the law had already passed the other Dutch parliamentary chamber, all it needs is King Willem-Alexander's signature to become official.

The new law when it goes into effect in July will go a long way toward solving some of those problems  .

TBLG Rights Bill Fails In Brazil

The eyes of the world's TBLG community were turned toward Brazil yesterday as Senator Ana Rita as promised brought PLC 122 to a vote.  

It was a TBLG human rights bill that had been stalled by fundamentalist religious forces for 12 years as increasing number of trans and gay people have died in the country or faced escalating levels of horrific anti-BTLG violence.

It didn't go well.  29 senators voted against it, on 12 in favor and 2 abstained.    The defeat also erased the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity from a review of Brazil's penal code.  

PLC 122 would have prohibited discrimination or inciting violence on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation and it went down to defeat as evangelical leaders like Silas Malafaia gloated  

“You can swear, we’re hahahaha plc122 [the bill outlawing LGBT discrimination] is dead, hahahha try something else and wait a few years hahahaaha, if God laughs at the wicked, imagine me, hahahaha.”

“Our chances to add the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity into the penal code are now near impossible,” said Luiz Henrique Coletto, Vice President of the Secular Humanist League of Brazil (LiHS), in a statement to LGBTQ Nation.

“This means that we have no nationwide federal protection against discrimination of, and violence against LGBT people,” he added. “The vote was a clear demonstration of anti-LGBT prejudice in Brazil.”

The Brazilian Forces of Intolerance won this round, but TBLG activists in Brazil, despite the disappointing defeat are continuing the fight and considering other options.

They have been successful in the Brazilian court system, and will go in that direction to obtain the human rights they so desperately need.  With Brazil set to host both the upcoming World Cup this summer and the Olympics in 2016, local activists are calling upon the world to do more to financially support indigenous Brazilian LGBT rights organizations.

They are also calling upon the United States, the European Union, the UN, the OAS and other international human rights actors to pressure President Dilma Rousseff and Brazilian legislators into getting thei nation to live up to the various human rights agreements they have signed.


Said attorney Paulo Roberto, a member of GADvS (Group of Lawyers for Sexual Diversity), to LGBTQ Nation, “Brazil is in violation of international resolutions and statements where it signed a commitment to protect GLBT citizens, both at the level of the United Nations and Organization of American States.”

“Furthermore,” he added, “If this country is not safe for our own people considering anti-gay violence, how can it be safe for people coming for the world cup and the Olympics?”

Indeed.  If it's not safe for its TBLG children, sooner or later it won't be safe for you ostensibly cis and straight Brazilians either.

Brazilian Senator Calling For TBLG Discrimination Bill Vote

As anyone who has attended TDOR's or been paying attention over the last few years can tell you, violence against transwomen in Brazil has alarmingly spiked in the last few years.   In just this year alone there were 292 Brazilians lost to anti-TBLG violence with the vast majority of them being trans women.  

A bill has been proposed in Brazil, PLC 122 to ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.  It would also criminalize incitement of violence against TBLG Brazilians and punish violations of those offenses with up to three years in prison. 

However, the evangelical lobby in the country is throwing a nasty cup in the legislative Kool-Aid.   As they do everywhere else around the world when they don't get their way, they are having a hissy fit.   They are threatening to punish legislators who vote YES for passage of PLC 122 and President Dilma Rousseff who is up for re-election for a second term in the Brazilian national elections slated to happen on October 5, 2014.  

According to reports published in LGBTQ Nation, nervous legislators were preparing to cave to the evangelical phobes and shelve the bill until after those elections to appease them.

Never mind the fact that according to Grupo Gay de Bahia, 44% of the worlds' LGBT murders occur in Brazil, and one is committed against a Brazilian BTLG person every 21 hours.   The 292 murders this year were an unacceptable increase over the number committed in 2012, and the 2012 BTLG murder numbers were a 21% increase over the number of anti-TBLG murders that occurred in 2011.  

Senator Ana Rita of the ruling Labor Party plans to defy the government and call the vote for Wednesday despite instructions from President Rousseff and Brazilian Minister of Institutional Relations Ideli Salvatti to delay the vote on the sorely needed anti-TBLG discrimination measure until after the October elections.

Brazilian TBLG people are pushing back against the evangelical wing pressure by organizing a protest in Sao Paulo later today and planning to be in Brasilia for the PLC 122 vote on Wednesday.   

Human rights organizations are also making their voices heard and calling for it to happen, stating that the Brazilian TBLG community has waited a dozen years for their government to be drum majors for justice.

They also pointed out Brazil will be hosting the World Cup this summer and the Summer Olympics in Rio in 2016, and need to do so not only for its LGBT citizens, but visitors coming here to attend those two major international sporting events. 

“The anti-discrimination law will send a powerful message that gays, lesbians, bisexual and trans people in Brazil are fully protected by Brazilian law,” said Andre Banks, Executive Director of All Out to LGBTQ Nation.

It'll not only send that message should PLC 122 pass to TBLG people inside the fifth largest nation on the planet, but around the world as well.

And that law needs to happen.

Naomi Testifies At Philippine Congress Hearing

Y'all know I have much love for my transpinay sister Naomi Fontanos, who is the Executive Director of GANDA Filipinas.

Was thrilled to hear she spoke at a December 5 (Philippine time) Philippine House of Representatives hearing as a resource person.  It was for a Committee on Women and Gender Equality (CWGE) hearing on proposed national anti-discrimination measures.   Multiple bills have been filed in the Philippine Congress to protect the human rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters in that nation

I'm exceedingly proud of Naomi, our transpinay and transpinoy sisters and brothers, and our allies there who have worked tirelessly for years to make this day happen.  

Let's hope and pray the arc of the moral universe is bending toward justice and human rights for our trans cousins in the Philippines.   Let's also hope that their testimony legislators heard opened hearts and minds, leads to legislative passage and heralds the beginning of a marvelous 2014 human rights wise for all of us around the world. 

Here's what Naomi had to say about it courtesy of her FB page:

Spoke at Philippine Congress in a hearing on anti-discrimination legislation and was overjoyed that more than one bill to protect the rights of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Filipinos had been filed in the House of Representatives.

I was happy, too, that representatives from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other agencies expressed their full support to end all forms of discrimination in the Philippines. This, certainly, did not happen overnight and is the product of the hard work of activists and allies who came before us. I am grateful to them for making this moment possible. I also want to thank activists of the present time who work tirelessly and sometimes anonymously but always lovingly to make sure that those who will come after us will have, hopefully, a better quality of life.

Dios mabalos sa indo gabos! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! Thank you all so very much!

***

 Your trans cousins here in the States and around the world hope that the better life you're working towards for you and future generations happens sooner rather than later.

Newfoundland And Labrador Adding Gender Identity To Provincial Human Rights Act

Thanks to two years of lobbying by trans advocates in Newfoundland and Labrador and NDP MHA Gerry Rogers, Minister of Justice Darin King announced on November 7 that he would be introducing an amendment to the 2010 Human Rights Act during this House of Assembly session that would add gender identity and expression to the prohibited grounds of discrimination in the province.  

“Discrimination in any form is wrong. This amendment is important to enhancing public education and dialogue around issues of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgendered and Queer community in the province. Creating a climate of understanding and mutual respect is important to this government and we must all strive to ensure that each person, regardless of their gender identity or gender expression, feels a part of their community.”
- The Honorable Darin King, Minister of Justice

While the government's position was that discrimination against trans people in Newfoundland and Labrador because of gender identity or gender expression was covered under sex in the Human Rights Act, the community and MHA Rogers insisted otherwise. 

MHA Rogers has been personally lobbying the Department of Justice along with trans community members to point out the language was needed, and she is happy that it's finally being done. 

“This is a real victory for advocates of trans rights, “said Rogers. “I’m so happy that all the hard work is paying off and that trans people will now be protected by our Human Rights Act.” - See more at: http://www.nlndpcaucus.ca/nr110713GIRights#sthash.jGhdwD3P.dpuf

is a real victory for advocates of trans rights, “said Rogers. “I’m so happy that all the hard work is paying off and that trans people will now be protected by our Human Rights Act.” - See more at: http://www.nlndpcaucus.ca/nr110713GIRights#sthash.jGhdwD3P.dpuf

"This is a real victory for advocates of trans rights," said MHA Rogers. "I'm so happy that all the hard work is paying off and that trans people will be protected by our Human Rights Act." 

The amendment adding the gender identity and expression language to the Act will not only clarify and strengthen it, but make Newfoundland and Labrador the fifth Canadian jurisdiction to do so after the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. 

Now if the Canadian Senate would get busy doing the right thing and pass C-279 the federal Trans Rights Bill. 

Moni's Thoughts About The Trans Inclusive ENDA Passing The Senate

The renaissance of the trans human rights movement in the late 80s early 90's led to our first lobbying foray into Washington DC in 1994.  One of the things we asked for at that time was to have trans people covered in ENDA by adding gender identity language in the bill which the GL community and Gay, Inc. either ignored or was openly hostile to.   

In 1996 a non-inclusive sexual orientation only version of ENDA reached the final vote stage in a GOP controlled Senate and failed 50-49

It took a lot of work and lobbying by myself and a cross section of transpeople since 1994 to get us included in ENDA.  Many of those people who took up that cause are no longer here on this planet or are retired from the movement.  There were some bumps and bruises along the way as we continued the make the argument that ENDA would pass with transpeople in it and 'incremental progress' is unacceptable. 

Yesterday I cried a little when I saw the trans community's nearly two decades of lobbying work vindicated when S.815, the trans inclusive ENDA passed on a 64-32 vote with the support of 10 Republican senators, 2 independents and 52 Democratic senators.

Sen Bob Casey (D-PA) didn't vote because he is away with his wife in Boston who is having surgery to repair a heart valve according to a Washington Post story..

Who were those GOP Ten?    Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH.), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Kirk (R-IL), John McCain (R-AZ.), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-PA).

Sens. Hatch and McCain were in the Senate during the 1996 ENDA vote and voted NO at that time.  

The 32 ENDA NO votes were all GOP senators, so keep that in mind when they run for reelection in 2014, 2016 or 2018.

We still have much work to do.  It can't become law until it passes the Teapublican controlled House and receives President Obama's signature. 

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is too 'scurred' of the Tea Party to let that bill hit the House floor for a vote it could probably pass because he desperately wants to keep that speaker's gavel.

But before we roll up our sleeeves to do that, we take a moment to savor this legislative win before rolling up our sleeves for the tough battle ahead. 

Trans Inclusive ENDA Faces Key Senate Votes Today

According to my sources on Capitol Hill and the Senate Democrats page, the moves will be made today for final passage of S. 815, the trans inclusive Employment and Non Discrimination Act (ENDA)  

According to the Senate Democrats page, at 11:45 AM EST, there will be two roll call votes in relation to the following:

Toomey amendment #2013 (broadens the number of groups covered under the religious exemption) (60-vote threshold) and (the committee-reported substitute amendment will be agreed to by unanimous consent)

Motion to invoke cloture on S.815, ENDA, as amended 
(TransGriot update: Passed on a 64-34 YEA vote) 

If cloture is invoked, there will be a third roll call vote at 1:45 PM  EST on passage of S.815, ENDA, as amended.

(ENDA passed the final vote 64-32!)

Will history be made today?   You may wish to tune into C-SPAN 2 to find out.

ENDA Passes Key Senate Cloture Vote

By a 61-30 margin, the US Senate passed a procedural cloture vote on the trans inclusive Employment and Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) that shuts off the chances of a Republican filibuster and allows debate on the legislation to begin on the Senate floor.

It also increases the changes that ENDA will pass when it comes up for its final vote sometime on Wednesday.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) was one of the first people to speak on behalf of this legislation. 




As soon as I get the list of who voted YEA and NAY, I'll add that to this post.   I already know my Texas Senate idiots both voted NAY.

US Senate Vote On Trans Inclusive ENDA Happening Later Tonight

For the first time since November 2007, a vote is scheduled to be taken on The Employment and Non Discrimination Act  (ENDA) later this evening.  

The passage of ENDA by Congress and its subsequent signing into law by President Obama would make it illegal to discriminate against someone in hiring or employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity

This trans inclusive version of the bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)  in the Senate and has the public support of all 53 Democratic senators, both independent Senators and four Republicans.  Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) are ENDA co-sponsors, while Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) voted for it in committee.  Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) has indicated he is 'inclined to support the bill' and has a gay son and it true, it would bring the bill to the 60 vote threashold needed to cut off GOP-Tea Party attempts to filibuster it.

The trans community has long and bitter memories of being cut out of ENDA in 2007 by then Rep. Barney Frank in controversial circumstances.  The trans free bill passed the House 235-184 but subsequently died in the Senate    In 1996 another trans free version of ENDA was voted on in the Senate and failed 50-49.

This cloture vote will pave the way for that to happen, with the final vote scheduled to happen sometime on Wednesday.  

We'll have to see what transpires (pun intended) in tonight's vote, but hope we get to witness history.  

What's Happening With C-279?

Well, so much from the Canadian Senate returning to work on September 17 and getting busy passing Bill C-279.  Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided on August 19 to ask Governor-General David Johnston to prorogue Parliament, a request that was granted a few days later. 

So what does that mean for us peeps south of the 49th parallel?   According to the Canadian Parliament’s website: “The principal effect of ending a session by prorogation is to end business. All government bills that have not received Royal Assent prior to prorogation cease to exist; committee activity also ceases. Thus, no committee can sit after a prorogation.”

Translation: Canadian MP's and Senators will not return to the business of legislating until after Canadian Thanksgiving on October 14.

So what effect does that have on Bill C-279, which was at Third Reading stage in the Senate before the Conservatives slowed down the legislative works long enough for them to get out of Ottawa for their summer break without it getting passed?

It basically resets the process for it in the Senate (which was probably the intent of the Conservatives when they stalled its passage) at First Stage, so C-279 has to go though the entire legislative process in the Senate again.

MP Randall Garrison is still hopeful C-279 will pass the Senate and become law, but we'll have to wait until after Thanksgiving to find out if the Canadian Senate thinks the human rights of its trans citizens are worth protecting.

DC's Jones Birth Certificate Bill Signed Into Law

The JaParker Deoni Jones Birth Certificate Equality Amendment Act of 2013, that seeks to modernize DC's laws and make it easier for trans and intersex residents of the District to request a birth certificate that reflects their current personal information, has been signed into law by Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray (D).

The bill was amended after its initial committee approval and the initial council vote on June 29 to explicitly include intersex people to it.  It also allows physicians and any medical professional to sign off on changing gender markers. 

The bill received final council approval in July and was signed by Mayor Gray into law August 6.  It will become law after the mandatory 30 day Congressional review.

With Mayor Gray's signature the District of Columbia now joins the federal government and 23 states in protecting trans identities and allowing birth certificate changes without surgical intervention.  The Jones Birth Certificate Bill is according to DC Trans Coalition social policy organizer Andy Bowen, who spearheaded passage of the bill the strongest in the United States.

And it's also a fitting memorial to Deoni Jones.      

ENDA Passes Out Of Senate Committee 15-7

The Employment and non Discrimination Act navigated a major hurdle yesterday by being successfully passed out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on a 15-7 vote.

In case you're keeping score for the 2014, 2016 and 2018 election cycles, all of the Democratic senators on the committee and three Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK) , Mark Kirk (IL) and Orrin Hatch (UT) voted YEA. 

Voting NAY (big surprise) were Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (TN), Mike Enzi (WY), Richard Burr (NC), Johnny Isakson (GA), Rand Paul (KY), Pat Roberts (KS) and Tim Scott (SC)

The ENDA bill moves now to the Senate floor, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to push for its passage in the fall.  

C-279 Vote Stalled By Conservatives At Third Stage

Well, it was only a matter of time before the Conservatives in the Canadian Senate showed their anuses and did so as Bill C-279 was on the verge of passing.  

For those of you new to this story, C-279 is a  Canadian federal trans rights bill would add gender identity to the list of  grounds protected from discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act and under the hate propaganda section of the Criminal Code.  

It passed successfully out of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights on June 10, but with it being only a tantalizing two hours of debate, an affirmative vote and Royal Assent away from becoming law the fun started in the Conservative dominated Senate chamber to slow its roll toward that happening. 

First Conservative lesbian senator (why am I not surprised) Nancy Ruth added an amendment to C-279 on June 13 that adds "ethnic origin, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation” to the bill citing the specious reason 'that it was time to do so'.  

“This bill will add the category of gender identity to section 318 of the Criminal Code, but one of the categories missing in that enumerated ground is the category of ‘sex,’” Ruth said on the floor of the Senate

“We had a chance 10 years ago when we put ‘sexual orientation’ in that section of the Criminal Code. This is the time to add now the category ‘sex’ for the women of Canada.” 

You've been in the Canadian Senate since 2005 and you haven't been concerned about that issue until a bill that protects the rights of transpeople in the Great White North is about to pass.   Transphobic much? 

If Ruth’s amendment were to pass which was unlikely according to Sen. Mitchell since it didn't have support,  the bill would have to go back to the Conservative dominated House of Commons and pass again.  If the amendment was defeated and the bill subsequently passed, C-279 would move on to royal assent stage and become law.

But first it has to get a vote, which Conservative Senator and Government Leader Marjory LeBreton isn't allowing to happen according to Liberal Senator Grant Mitchell, the senate sponsor of C-279. 

“The real disappointment that has become clear in the last few days is they are not going to allow it to come to a vote. The bill will not be voted on, amended or unamended,” he predicted in an Xtra.ca interview.

“They are not calling a vote because the leadership in the Senate doesn’t want to have a vote. Because the prime minister voted against it, probably,” he said.

“I deeply care about this,” said Senator Mitchell. “My caucus deeply cares about this. It is a betrayal of democracy that elected MPs representing 65 percent of the popular vote supported this bill and the Conservative leadership in the Senate won’t even allow a vote.”

So do trans Canadians, who were hoping they would have something to really celebrate on Canada Day.

Even if they don't allow a vote on C-279 before the Senate goes on summer break June 28, it would return to the order paper at the third reading stage in the fall unless Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogues Parliament.  If that happens, because it is a private member's bill, C-279 would start all over again in the Senate at the first reading stage.

Well, as Dr. King once stated, we must accept finite disappointment, but we must never give up infinite hope.

You will see that day my Canadian trans cousins when your human rights are protected by your federal legislature far sooner that it will happen south of the 49th parallel. 

It just won't be before July 1 as you'd hoped.

Amended Trans Human Rights Bill Passes Delaware House

Yesterday in the Delaware House SB 97, the Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act ran into a speed bump on its way to passage and out of the House for Gov. Jack Markell's signature.

After House Minority Leader Daniel Short (R) brought trans oppressor Nicole Theis of the Delaware Family Policy Transphobia Council into the debate on the House floor to spread her patented brand of 'bathroom bill' hate, an amendment to it was introduced by the House sponsor, Rep Bryon Short (D-Claymont).

The amendment passed on a 25-16 vote.  It clarifies the definition of gender identity and ensures a person cannot claim a gender identity that is not their own to access a locker room or other sex-segregated facility.

The amended trans rights bill then passed the House on a 24-17 vote.   Three Democrats voted NAY along with the  entire Republican House delegation against your human rights Delaware transpeople.

Reps. William Carson, John Mitchell, and W.Charles 'Trey' Paradee are the folks who will forever go down in trans infamy as the ones who stood on the wrong side of human rights history along with (surprise, surprise) the Republican Party, so punish them all accordingly at the polls next November. 

The amendment to the bill means that since there are now two different versions of SB 97 that passed,  the bill will return to the Delaware Senate for them to approve the amendment that passed in the Delaware House before it can go to Gov. Jack Markell (D) for his signature.

Delaware House To Vote On Trans Rights Bill Today

All eyes in the trans community will be turned towards Dover, DE and the First State today as the 41 members of the Delaware House are poised to debate and vote on SB 97.
The bill sponsored by African-American state Sen. Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington) passed the Delaware Senate June 6 on an 11-7 vote and favorably out of the House Administration Committee last Tuesday on a 4-1 vote.

The Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Bill would add gender identity to the existing list of protected nondiscrimination categories, including race, age, religion and sexual orientation. It also allows for enhanced penalties under Delaware's hate crimes law for targeting someone based on his or her gender identity.

The Democrats have a 27-14 edge in the Delaware House, and the bill also has the support of Atty General Beau Biden (D) and Gov. Jack Markell (D), who has indicated he would sign SB 97 if it passes.

If the bill passes, Delaware would become the 17th state to pass a statewide trans rights law.

21 votes is the magic number were looking for today, and I'm crossing my fingers and saying my prayers along with trans Delawareans in hopes that there will be more good news to celebrate trans human rights wise before the end of the day.

C-279 Passes Favorably Out Of Committee

The trans rights news is also wonderful coming out of the Great White North as C-279 passed another critical step in becoming Canadian federal law.

After hearings on June 3 and June 10, it passed favorably out of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.

It moves back to the Canadian Senate floor for another two hours of debate and a final Third Reading vote that its Senate sponsor, Sen. Grant Mitchell is hopeful the bill will pass.. 

If it passes Third Reading,C-279 goes to the Governor General for Royal Assent and becomes Canadian law. 

I am in admiration of you trans folks who live in Canada.   You are living in a nation that is about to pass a law that codifies your human rights as a trans person. That IS something for Canada to be proud of and it's something I wish my nation would replicate on our side of the border

I will keep hoping and praying that C-279 becomes a reality and you have something to really celebrate when Canada Day happens July 1..

Washington DC Proposing Legislation To Ease Trans Birth Certificate Guidelines

More positive news out of Washington DC in that the District of Columbia is working on legislation that would make it easier for trans people to obtain new birth certificates reflecting the people they are now.

“D.C.’s law as it currently exists makes it really hard for trans people to get their vital records in line with who they really are,” said Andy Bowen of the DC Trans Coalition in an interview with WRC-TV

Under the old rules to get a birth certificate change not only required genital surgery, but public notification for several days via classified newspaper ads.  The new ones would simply require a certified statement from a medical doctor and issue a new birth certificate rather than amending the old one.  

Too bad Washington DC's proposed approach isn't universal across this country.   Would make things a lot easier documentation wise for transpeople.   

The DC  Council Judiciary Committee has already approved the legislation and it will come before the full DC City Council in the next few weeks where it is expected to easily pass. 

Trans Rights Bill Passes Delaware Senate

Well, that was quick.   Senate Bill 97, the trans rights bill introduced late last month by Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington) that would add gender identity and expression to the state’s anti-discrimination and hate crimes laws was passed on an 11-7 Delaware Senate vote on June 6.

Senate Bill 97 would specifically ban anti-transgender discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations and works contracting and insurance.  It has the support of Atty Gen. Beau Biden (D) .and Governor Jack Markell (D).

It also has determined opposition from the Delaware Family Policy Transphobic Bigotry Council.

According to the Washington Blade, of the eleven senators voting YES on SB 97, one Republican, state Sen. Catherine Cloutier (R-Heatherbrooke,) joined the ten Democrats voting in favor of the bill's passage. 

Of the seven senate NO votes, two Democrats, state Sens. Bruce Ennis (D-Smyrna,) and Robert Venables, Sr., (D-Laurel) joined the Republicans voting to continue oppressing trans people in the state.

State Sens. Brian Bushweller (D-Dover) and Senate Minority Whip Gregory Lavelle (R-Sharpley) abstained, while Sen. Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown) was absent.

Keep that in mind Delaware transpeeps when November 2014 rolls around.

“This bill lets people know that Delaware will welcome you and that, in keeping with our highest ideals as Americans, we will not tolerate discrimination or violence against a person based on their race, color, religion, sexual orientation or now based on their perceived gender,” Sen. Henry said after the vote.

SB 97 now moves on to the Delaware House Administration Committee which is scheduled to hold a June 12 hearing on the bill.   Advocates arre confident it has the votes in the Delaware house to pass and get Gov Markell's signature.

C-279 Passes Senate Second Reading!

Transpeople around the world are watching along with our Canadian trans cousins as C-279, the Trans Rights Bill passed another step in its nerve wracking journey through the Canadian Senate to become law in the Great White North.  

After more spirited debate on May 23 in which the Conservative opponents of the bill did their best to flush it out of existence with 'bathroom bill' and trans predator rhetoric, C-279 passed Second Reading in the Canadian Senate on May 29 and was referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights the same day.

The committee is scheduled to meet today at 4:00 PM EDT and on the committee's agenda is a hearing on C-279.   The bill if it becomes Canadian law would add gender identity to the list of protected grounds under the Canadian Human Rights Act and under the hate crimes section of the Criminal Code.

The persons who are scheduled to testify in front of the Standing Committee On Human Rights this afternoon are:

• Greta Bauer, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (University of Western Ontario)
• Ryan Dyck, Director of Research and Policy (EGALE Canada)
• Ian Fine, Secretary General (Canadian Human Rights Commission)
• Randall Garrison, M.P., Sponsor of the Bill in the House of Commons (House of Commons)
• David Langtry, Acting Chief Commissioner (Canadian Human Rights Commission)

If the meeting happens and you wish to watch and listen to what is transpiring in this hearing, you can click on this link 

While this bill is a step closer to becoming Canadian law, it still has to get out of this committee, to the Senate floor for two more hours of debate and a final vote.   If C-279 passes Third Reading, it would then go to Governor General David Johnston for Royal Assent, which would make it Canadian law.

So keep crossing your fingers, rubbing your good luck charms and saying your prayers for our Canadian trans cousins and hoping that by the end of this month, they will have a federal law protecting their human rights in their home and native land.
.     

MD 235 Gets Worse

The alleged trans rights bill (In) Equality Maryland is pimping will get a hearing in Annapolis on March 9.    The Maryland House of Delegates Health and Government Operations Committee will hold that hearing on HB 235 at 1 PM EST

(In) Equality Maryland and GINDA sponsor Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk isn't budging on the Maryland trans community's request that the bill be strengthened by adding public accommodations language to it, and the trans community inside and outside Maryland isn't going to stop fighting it until it does or it's dead.

Now comes the news that the white trans toms supporting this bill want to name GINDA for the recently murdered African American transwoman Tyra Trent.

''When I looked at what this bill was about, which was housing and employment, and knowing what I had read about Tyra, she had had a history of trouble with the law and had been selling her body on the street to make ends meet,'' says Brackett. ''I can't wonder if we had a proper [law] protecting employment for transgender persons, her life might have been different.''
Oh really?

Or is it about the fact that since African American transpeople inside and outside the state are part of the group of trans folks leading the charge against this jacked up bill, you and you wallowing in privilege friends are engaging in this pathetically transparent attempt to rename the bill for Trent in order to give you and your vanilla flavored (In)Equality Maryland friends some PR cover?

Naw, Sharon.   Ain't gonna work.    You and your vanilla flavored trans sellouts didn't give a rats anus about the African American trans community in Maryland when you conspired with (In) Equality Maryland to craft this jacked up GINDA bill.

Now because you've encountered fierce resistance that you could have avoided with an honest dialogue with the African-American trans community before introducing this bill, you want to do your usual bit of using the deaths of Black transpeople for your nefarious purposes.

To quote Maya Wilkes, my fave character from the dearly departed show Girlfriends, "Oh HELL no!"

Until HB 235 fixes its fatal flaw, I would urge the Trent family to not allow their child's name and memory to be desecrated by being attached to an unjust bill that doesn't address and fix the problems that led to her death in the first place. .  

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