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According to this article in the New York Times Gov. David A. Paterson plans to extend antidiscrimination protections to transgender state employees, a decision that signifies the broadest inclusion yet of transgender people in state policy, according to several people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Mr. Paterson will carry out the decision through an executive order, to be signed on Wednesday, that will require state agencies to include transgender individuals in their nondiscrimination policies, these people said.
Though state antidiscrimination law includes gay men and lesbians, it is silent on the issue of transgender people. And while Mr. Paterson’s order will not have the sweep of a statute enacted by the State Legislature because it will apply only to state agencies, gay and transgender rights advocates said it would be a first step toward including gender identity and expression protections in state law.
Advocates for transgender people have succeeded in winning broad antidiscrimination protections in a number of cities throughout the state, including New York, Buffalo, Albany and Rochester. But efforts to add similar protections to state law have so far fallen short. The Assembly has passed a transgender antidiscrimination bill, but the Senate has refused to vote on the issue.
People with direct knowledge of the governor’s executive order described it this week, though the governor’s office has not yet formally issued it.The governor’s office declined to comment.
While supporters of transgender legal protections said they were encouraged by Mr. Paterson’s order, they noted that New York was not a pioneer in extending such rights.
“It has been a long road, and I think New York is behind,†said Dru Levasseur, a transgender rights attorney for Lambda Legal. “So this will bring New York up to par with other states that are taking the lead on workplace fairness.â€
Twelve states and the District of Columbia have broad laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender expression or identity, according to gay and transgender rights groups. In addition, more than 100 cities and counties across the country provide similar legal protections. These laws protect not only people who have had gender reassignment surgery or who live as a member of the opposite sex, but also men who are discriminated against for appearing overly feminine or women for appearing overly masculine.
Much like the antidiscrimination laws that have been broadened over the years to include gays, lesbians and bisexuals, transgender antidiscrimination laws have gradually multiplied in jurisdictions throughout the country since Minneapolis became the first city to have such a law in 1975.
“I’ve been working on transgender law for eight years, and when I started there was only one state, Minnesota, that had protections for transgender people statewide with an overall nondiscrimination law,†said Lisa Mottet, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s transgender civil rights project.
Still, gay rights groups have found that a high percentage of transgender people report discrimination at work. According to a new survey of 6,450 transgender people conducted by the task force, 97 percent reported mistreatment at work.
Two weeks ago, the State Senate defeated a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed in New York. The 38-to-24 vote to kill the bill was a stingingnging rebuke to gay rights advocates in New York.
New York State has about 300,000 residents who identify as transgender, according to one survey conducted by the State Department of Health.
Mr. Paterson will carry out the decision through an executive order, to be signed on Wednesday, that will require state agencies to include transgender individuals in their nondiscrimination policies, these people said.
Though state antidiscrimination law includes gay men and lesbians, it is silent on the issue of transgender people. And while Mr. Paterson’s order will not have the sweep of a statute enacted by the State Legislature because it will apply only to state agencies, gay and transgender rights advocates said it would be a first step toward including gender identity and expression protections in state law.
Advocates for transgender people have succeeded in winning broad antidiscrimination protections in a number of cities throughout the state, including New York, Buffalo, Albany and Rochester. But efforts to add similar protections to state law have so far fallen short. The Assembly has passed a transgender antidiscrimination bill, but the Senate has refused to vote on the issue.
People with direct knowledge of the governor’s executive order described it this week, though the governor’s office has not yet formally issued it.The governor’s office declined to comment.
While supporters of transgender legal protections said they were encouraged by Mr. Paterson’s order, they noted that New York was not a pioneer in extending such rights.
“It has been a long road, and I think New York is behind,†said Dru Levasseur, a transgender rights attorney for Lambda Legal. “So this will bring New York up to par with other states that are taking the lead on workplace fairness.â€
Twelve states and the District of Columbia have broad laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender expression or identity, according to gay and transgender rights groups. In addition, more than 100 cities and counties across the country provide similar legal protections. These laws protect not only people who have had gender reassignment surgery or who live as a member of the opposite sex, but also men who are discriminated against for appearing overly feminine or women for appearing overly masculine.
Much like the antidiscrimination laws that have been broadened over the years to include gays, lesbians and bisexuals, transgender antidiscrimination laws have gradually multiplied in jurisdictions throughout the country since Minneapolis became the first city to have such a law in 1975.
“I’ve been working on transgender law for eight years, and when I started there was only one state, Minnesota, that had protections for transgender people statewide with an overall nondiscrimination law,†said Lisa Mottet, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s transgender civil rights project.
Still, gay rights groups have found that a high percentage of transgender people report discrimination at work. According to a new survey of 6,450 transgender people conducted by the task force, 97 percent reported mistreatment at work.
Two weeks ago, the State Senate defeated a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed in New York. The 38-to-24 vote to kill the bill was a stingingnging rebuke to gay rights advocates in New York.
New York State has about 300,000 residents who identify as transgender, according to one survey conducted by the State Department of Health.
Below is an article written by David Tuller for The New York Times about his mother, a fiesty woman who just turned 80 years old. She is also a passionate activist for her son and the GLBT community. In part, Mr. Tuller says:
After I came out to her during my college graduation ceremony, she joined Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and started marching in gay pride parades. In 1987, we got arrested at the Supreme Court, along with hundreds of others, while protesting a ruling the court had made the previous year upholding a Georgia sodomy law.
My mother is older now, of course, but she hasn’t yet slowed down. She now lives in Manhattan, still works full-time at a major firm and says the challenge keeps her sharp. She maintains a rigorous exercise regimen; she shops weekly at the local farmers’ market; she devotes time to organizations promoting peace in the Middle East and elsewhere; she donates generously to the causes and candidates she believes in.
In 2006, while stumping door-to-door before the midterm elections, she tripped and broke her wrist in Columbus, Ohio. “I sacrificed my hand in service to my country,†she joked at the time. Undaunted, she signed up again for last year’s presidential campaign, heading to the battleground state of Pennsylvania for more door-to-door campaigning. We spoke or e-mailed most days to discuss and debate the latest polls and speeches.
She hasn’t escaped the wear-and-tear of time. Besides cancer, she has experienced significant hearing loss. She has battled a serious case of glaucoma, now under control. She has suffered through bouts of excruciating back and neck pain. But she has learned how to make lemonade from everything.
“I really think having these passions takes you outside of yourself and animates your life,†she says. “It makes you want to take care of yourself so you can keep on going. I still look forward to the next adventure.â€
After I came out to her during my college graduation ceremony, she joined Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and started marching in gay pride parades. In 1987, we got arrested at the Supreme Court, along with hundreds of others, while protesting a ruling the court had made the previous year upholding a Georgia sodomy law.
My mother is older now, of course, but she hasn’t yet slowed down. She now lives in Manhattan, still works full-time at a major firm and says the challenge keeps her sharp. She maintains a rigorous exercise regimen; she shops weekly at the local farmers’ market; she devotes time to organizations promoting peace in the Middle East and elsewhere; she donates generously to the causes and candidates she believes in.
In 2006, while stumping door-to-door before the midterm elections, she tripped and broke her wrist in Columbus, Ohio. “I sacrificed my hand in service to my country,†she joked at the time. Undaunted, she signed up again for last year’s presidential campaign, heading to the battleground state of Pennsylvania for more door-to-door campaigning. We spoke or e-mailed most days to discuss and debate the latest polls and speeches.
She hasn’t escaped the wear-and-tear of time. Besides cancer, she has experienced significant hearing loss. She has battled a serious case of glaucoma, now under control. She has suffered through bouts of excruciating back and neck pain. But she has learned how to make lemonade from everything.
“I really think having these passions takes you outside of yourself and animates your life,†she says. “It makes you want to take care of yourself so you can keep on going. I still look forward to the next adventure.â€
Our friends at Immigration Equality issued the following statement regarding Representative Gutierrez’s recently introduced immigration bill:
Earlier today, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced an immigration reform proposal in the House of Representatives that does not include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) families. We pushed hard for inclusion in this bill, and we are deeply disappointed. However, I want to be clear: this is not the comprehensive immigration reform package which will move through the House. And, there are many reasons to remain optimistic about our inclusion in comprehensive immigration reform down the road.
First, it is important to note that Congressman Gutierrez remains a co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) and the LGBT-inclusive Reuniting Families Act (RFA) in Congress. In the weeks and months leading up to the introduction of the Gutierrez bill, Immigration Equality pushed for inclusion of our families. When it became clear that this was not to be, we asked for the Congressman to continue to work for an end to immigration laws that discriminate against LGBT families, and we have every expectation that he will do so.
Second, this bill is not the large-scale, comprehensive immigration reform bill that is expected in Congress early next year. That bill is currently being written, and a number of our champions â€" including Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Congressman Mike Honda and Senator Patrick Leahy â€" continue to work to ensure that bill includes our families.
Third, some LGBT families will benefit from other provisions in this bill: for starters, those who have fallen out of status because they cannot be sponsored by their partners; LGBT detainees, who are too often victimized and discriminated against under our current system; those who need a path to citizenship in order to keep their family intact; and queer teenagers who have grown up and come out in this country but who have no future without a change in the law.
Immigration Equality will not rest until Congress passes LGBT-inclusive immigration reform. We continue to push â€" every day â€" for passage of the Uniting American Families Act, the Reuniting Families Act and every other possible victory for our families. Our strategy has been â€" and remains â€" to pursue every available avenue for success.
The bill introduced today is, for all of us, disappointing. But the immediate future remains hopeful. There are many more steps on our journey together â€" and fef in the Congressional process â€" and we remain confident that, in the end, our champions will stand with us, and immigration reform will include our families, too.
Earlier today, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced an immigration reform proposal in the House of Representatives that does not include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) families. We pushed hard for inclusion in this bill, and we are deeply disappointed. However, I want to be clear: this is not the comprehensive immigration reform package which will move through the House. And, there are many reasons to remain optimistic about our inclusion in comprehensive immigration reform down the road.
First, it is important to note that Congressman Gutierrez remains a co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) and the LGBT-inclusive Reuniting Families Act (RFA) in Congress. In the weeks and months leading up to the introduction of the Gutierrez bill, Immigration Equality pushed for inclusion of our families. When it became clear that this was not to be, we asked for the Congressman to continue to work for an end to immigration laws that discriminate against LGBT families, and we have every expectation that he will do so.
Second, this bill is not the large-scale, comprehensive immigration reform bill that is expected in Congress early next year. That bill is currently being written, and a number of our champions â€" including Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Congressman Mike Honda and Senator Patrick Leahy â€" continue to work to ensure that bill includes our families.
Third, some LGBT families will benefit from other provisions in this bill: for starters, those who have fallen out of status because they cannot be sponsored by their partners; LGBT detainees, who are too often victimized and discriminated against under our current system; those who need a path to citizenship in order to keep their family intact; and queer teenagers who have grown up and come out in this country but who have no future without a change in the law.
Immigration Equality will not rest until Congress passes LGBT-inclusive immigration reform. We continue to push â€" every day â€" for passage of the Uniting American Families Act, the Reuniting Families Act and every other possible victory for our families. Our strategy has been â€" and remains â€" to pursue every available avenue for success.
The bill introduced today is, for all of us, disappointing. But the immediate future remains hopeful. There are many more steps on our journey together â€" and fef in the Congressional process â€" and we remain confident that, in the end, our champions will stand with us, and immigration reform will include our families, too.
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