Party Of No Looking To Stick It To Transgenders
May 17th, 2010 by Babe
Who the hell is your candidate of choice? Once again the Republicans (that’s the Party of No folks!) are looking to block the upcoming the bill to provide employment protection for gay and transgender workers in the United States.
As reported by the Washington Post, many Republicans say they would back the legislation only if the transgender rights portion is dropped. Their main concern with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is the possibility of transgender people in sensitive positions such as teaching in school.
To make matters worse, the Traditional Values coalition raised the alarm in a recent statement that said: “Your children will be trapped in classes taught by drag queens and transgender activists.”
“If you include transgender rights, I think that just pushes the envelope too far,’’ said Representative John Campbell of California, a Republican who voted for Frank’s bill in 2007. “It is seen by the populace as a very extreme procedure.’’Campbell is not the only previous supporter to object. Republican Representatives Jeff Flake of Arizona, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania also say they don’t support the current version because it includes transgender rights.
While gay rights such as protection from hate crimes or workplace bias are becoming increasingly accepted by the public, transgender rights lag. Opponents deride laws that include transgender rights as “bathroom bills,” over concerns about males who identify as a female demanding the right to use the women’s bathroom.
Democratic representative, Barney Frank says he’s committed to keeping transgender rights. The Massachusetts Democrat, who has been openly gay since 1987, has pushed for employment protections since he was a state representative in the 1970s, when some people didn’t want to think about gay people, Frank said. “To some extent, the transgender community is in that same situation, where the very mention of it makes people uncomfortable,” he said.
Three years ago Frank included transgender rights in the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. But he wound up removing that provision in order to get the legislation passed in the House, a move that divided the gay rights community. That bill died in the Senate.
Twenty-one states offer employment protections for gay workers, but eight of those — including Massachusetts — do not extend such coverage to transgender people.
Technorati Tags: Republicans, gay, transgender, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, transgender, drag queens, California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, bathroom bills, Massachusetts, gay, transgender rights, gay rights
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