Here’s an essential public hearing everyone should know about in terms of making sure Massachusetts is a state that truly stands for civil rights for all.
Transgender rights activists are preparing to state their case for legislation that would protect transgender people from discrimination and hate crimes as a bill moves through the State House.
The bill, scheduled for public hearing March 4, follows the model of 13 other states that have legislation specifically protecting the civil rights and safety of transsexuals, said Daniel Glasser, aide to Rep. Carl Sciortino, a Medford Democrat who sponsored the bill.
The transgender rights bill is the first piece of statewide legislation to address transgender rights, though some Massachusetts towns and counties have ratified similar anti-discrimination laws, Glasser said.
Rep. Byron Rushing, who introduced the bill with Sciortino in Jan. 2007, said it is important for Massachusetts to explicitly include transgender people in the state’s anti-discrimination laws.
“Transgender people represent a category of people who have been discriminated against, but are not always covered by the existing discrimination laws,” he said. “This bill is a way to make sure Massachusetts maintains its record of consistently protecting people who are victims of discrimination.”
Unfortunately, since the election I’m working on is actually on Tuesday, I won’t be able to attend this – but it’s imperative the bill passes, so I urge everyone to a) call their state reps and senators and b) if you can, show up to the hearing, which is public and likely open for public comment. Mass Resistance and their folks will very likely be at this event, so it’s important that we show a strong show of force so our elected leaders know this is an issue that Massachusetts citizens care about deeply. It’s very important that, in Massachusetts, no one is left behind.
This is from their latest email. Delightful, aren’t they? Emphasis mine.
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p>I know that MFI distanced itself from MassResistance during the marriage debate, but the over-the-top language used in that email sounds suspiciously Brian-Amy-esqe…
I don’t know if the fact that it isn’t satire makes it more or less funny, but it definitely makes it a little bit sadder.
‘it would be funny if it weren’t true’.
School children would be taught that they can change their gender if they want.
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p>Is that true they’d be taught that?
But if a student was being harassed/bullied for being too feminine or too masculine that would be against the rules.
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p>Young people who identify as the opposite sex, would be given the freedom to use the bathroom they identify with – but that is rare, and it is very clear. This isn’t some game where kids will be changing their “genders” all the time.
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p>It’s really important for everyone that discrimination based on how you express your gender (feminine —- masculine, it’s a wide range) you are not discriminated against.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is a pretty big issue. If this is going anywhere, it sure seems to me like an awful lot of education is still needed. An awful lot.
This isn’t some game where kids will be changing their “genders” all the time.
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p>OK, so they won’t be letting kids just make fun of the whole thing or mock it. Who decides each case? What are the criteria? And what will the curriculum say about the permanence or changeability of their genetic sex?
That is more than qualified to handle these issues. These cases are rare, and they will be able to tell whether or not a student is genuine in their need. Without being an expert in the field it would be speculative to say what criteria is needed or what curriculum to follow. I would expect that we as opposing groups would sit at the same table and develop this through voicing our needs and listening to the advice of experts, one school board at a time, with guidance from the state.
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p>We are in uncharted waters, but there is no need for panic. Change is not always worth fearing, it is the way of nature itself.
what is the change we shouldn’t fear?
allowing people to make choices that concern themselves only, free from the intrusion of society dictating whether or not they should be allowed to do it. you know, freedom.
Never heard of that. Must be covered by the ADA, though. I wonder if they thought of that.
“Gender Identity Disorder”. Ug. What assholes.
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p>What is so goddamned threatening to them that they have to called transgendered people diseased??
of course, they are using the best scare-tactic language they can find. however, some (certainly not all!) trans people don’t want to jettison the option of using the medical diagnosis GID because without it it can be difficult to attain insurance coverage for related health care treatment. i hope some transfolk weigh in with the nuances, but that is how i understand the debate. so, it is doubly noxious that MFI is using GID diagnosis to cast aspersions on all treans and gender-variant people. But what do we expect from a “Christian” organization, compassion?
to do is get away from the stigma that having a “disorder” is akin to being a wickedly diseased, flawed and potentially dangerous person. As Laurel has already noted, not all (and maybe even not most) trans people want to completely change GID as a clinical term, because that’s often their access to hormone treatment, etc. That said, we, as a society, ought to be able to handle the fact that someone who is trans is still perfectly normal. The same can be said of lots of other disorders that people attach stigmas to that shouldn’t exist. Everyone deserves respect and equal opportunity in this country, period.
to keep the door open for treatment than to use the term “disorder”. The word definitely has negative implications.
Maybe it could be framed similarly to pregnancy which often requires treatment without it being considered a disorder.
I’ve been wondering what might be a more neutral term. How about Atypical Gender Identity?
My only fear is that if we change it, insurance agencies will try to avoid payment. Labels have a funny way of doing that – just look at how many Civilly Unionized couples there are in New Jersey that have been denied insurance, or had to move mountains to get it, because they didn’t get to use the term “married.” And that was when, in the law, it was declared they were to be treated equally.
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p>So if there was a way to make that kind of a change, without risking treatment or making transgender people go through even more hurdles to get it, then I’d favor it. But ultimately, we’d have to be wary about such changes and pay close attention to make sure insurance companies wouldn’t try to pull one over us – which is a tall order when, historically, transgender people have recieved even less protections than gay and lesbian people.
This is a tricky issue because in order for trans people to get prescribed the hormones they need to transition they need to be diagnosed with said “disorder.”
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p>what is important to remember is that trans and gender varient people have a lot of trouble getting jobs and are at the highest risk for violent crimes towards them, and a host of other issues.
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p>Please check out http://www.masstpc.org for more information.
The issue as I understand it from Massachusetts Family Institute is as follows:
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p>I’m not sure how this effects children, but it looks scary on paper I guess. I’m sure that sexual predators have much easier avenues than this to find their prey. MFI’s solution to simply squash this bill is irresponsible and does not eleviate our need to resolve the problems this bill addresses. This quote says it all for me:
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p>This is the same exact thing they said about gay marriage, and in my opinion all they are thinking of is their disapproval of GLBT people, not the human suffering this bill tries to end. How small a group is does not factor into their civil rights.
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p>I’m gay, not transgender, nor do I know anyone who is more than as an aquaintence. I say I support this bill simply because I believe it is the right thing to do.
here is the human suffering. (click on the triangle) real people are being killed simply for being themselves. and all mfi can talk about is bathrooms. shows you where their mind is – always in the dark and violent places.