cool!

[chyzar.livejournal.com]

(sorry for cross-posting)



> HISTORIC TRANSGENDER EQUAL RIGHTS LEGISLATION
>
> For Immediate Release: Dated November 8, 2002
> From: The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition
> (NTAC)
> Contact Person: Vanessa Edwards Foster; Houston,
> Texas
> Contact Email: ntacmedia@aol.com
> media@ntac.org
> Contact Phone: 832-483-9901
> Website: http://www.ntac.org

> On October 30, 2002, Mayor Thomas M. Menino expanded
> anti-discrimination
> protection for over 589,000 citizens of Boston,
> Massachusetts plus those who
> visit and work there. Without any fanfare or press
> announcement, the mayor
> signed a gender-identity nondiscrimination ordinance
> overwhelmingly passed by
> the City Council a week earlier.
>
> "Gender identity and expression" is defined as "a
> person's actual or
> perceived gender, as well as a person's gender
> identity, gender-related
> self-image, gender-related appearance, or
> gender-related expression whether
> or not that gender identity, gender-related self
> image, gender-related
> appearance, or gender-related expression is
> different from that traditionally
> associated with a person's sex at birth." This
> definition covers such gender
> variation as transsexuals in all stages of
> transition, cross-dressers, drag
> queen and kings, and the intersexed.
>
> Addressing such concerns as employment, public
> accommodation, lending,
> housing, credit, insurance, and education, the
> ordinance adds gender-identity
> or expression to the list of protections for those
> who reside, visit, and
> work within the city. It's also noted as being one
> of the most comprehensive
> nondiscrimination languages in the country,
> especially on public
> accommodations.
>
> "By passing this ordinance, Boston has affirmed its
> commitment to ending all
> forms of discrimination," said Cole Thayer,
> cofounder of the Massachusetts
> Transgender Political Coalition.  Thayer was one of
> a large coalition of
> local and national groups - such as the National
> Transgender Advocacy
> Coalition (NTAC), the National Gay & Lesbian Task
> Force (NGLTF), and even the
> Human Rights Campaign (HRC) - that participated in
> training and in directly
> working and in testimony for passage of the
> ordinance.  
>
> "The City Council has proven to be open to learning
> about discrimination,"
> added Thayer, "it has unmistakably shown that it is
> dedicated to protecting
> the rights of all who don't conform to rigid sex
> stereotypes."
>
> At least one council member had a difficult time
> with the extension of equal
> rights to transgenders. In a column written for the
> South Boston Tribune last
> summer, Councilman James M. Kelly said, "I can't
> support this ordinance
> because cross dressers have the option of dressing
> as they please after work,
> out of school, after their job on the construction
> site, and away from the
> locker room." In voting against the ordinance, Kelly
> remarked, "We're solving
> a problem that doesn't exist."
>
> Council member Kelly's logic completely overlooks
> the Peter Oiler v. Winn
> Dixie case where a Louisiana truck driver fired by
> Winn-Dixie for
> cross-dressing on his own time. In September, a The
> 5th Circuit Court judge
> ruled that indeed an employer may terminate an
> employee simply for the way
> they dress (in this case cross-dressing) away from
> the job.
>
> But despite the concerns of council member Kelly,
> the City Council voted 9 to
> 1 to pass the ordinance with one abstention and one
> absence.
>
> "The sense of community that came from the amount of
> support received was
> overwhelming," said Ethan St. Pierre, a board member
> of NTAC who testified
> before City Council for the measure. "I felt very
> empowered to be a part of
> and to witness such a historic event."
>
> Gunner Scott, also an MTPC, added, "I am very happy
> and excited by the
> support that was shown throughout this process from
> both community members
> and Boston City Council members. Both the Boston
> City Council and Mayor
> Menino have demonstrated that discrimination will
> not be accepted or
> tolerated in Boston for all its citizens. This is a
> great step forward for
> transgender folks in Massachusetts."
>
> Transgender activists are celebrating the Boston
> victory in a year that has
> so far seen transgender-inclusive
> anti-discrimination laws passed in 12
> cities and towns, including New York City,
> Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago and
> Buffalo.
>
> -30-
>
> Founded in 1999, NTAC - the National Transgender
> Advocacy Coalition - is a
> §501(c)(4) civil rights organization working to
> establish and maintain the
> right of all transgendered, intersexed, and
> gender-variant people to live and
> work without fear of violence or discrimination.