Transgender Families at the White House

Photo: some of the NCTE participants standing in front of Sasha and Malia Obama's play area.

Today NCTE got to focus on inclusion and acceptance of transgender people and that was a wonderful thing. We do a lot of meaningful work that involves listening to and telling stories about the discrimination and violence our community faces but it’s important to also celebrate what is right in our lives.

Today, I went with a group of children and parents to the White House Easter Egg Roll. Different people that went with NCTE went in in different shifts (there were five total time slots), but the group I was in included a family with a trans child and members of my family who have always accepted me.

It was great to hear about a child picking out a very special outfit for this occasion, one congruent with a child’s sense of self and gender. Talking with the child’s mom, she said you would have thought they had gone shopping in Paradise. We all need those moments when the world seems absolutely perfect.

When I came out to my brother and sister-in-law more than a dozen years ago, long before they had kids, one of their first comments was that I was going to be a great uncle to their kids. I think I helped make good on that today by taking the kids to the White House.

The kids participated in the Egg Roll, wielding their wooden spoons very effectively, including tossing one egg over the fence. We saw Spongebob and Clifford the Big Red Dog and, of course, the Easter Bunny. We found the jungle gym that has recently been installed for the new, young residents of the White House and listened to Bob Marley in the distance.

Of course families aren’t perfect and with the kids today came the usual challenges of standing in lines, being hungry, dealing with siblings stepping on each other’s shoes. But there was also the beauty of families that accept transgender people in their midst exactly as we are. Family is, after all, not about who you can leave out but about who you can come home to with all of the exciting and tear-filled moments of school and life and the world out here.

The Obama Administration extended invitations to all kinds of children, recognizing that the America we live in has families that are very diverse. NCTE was proud to help bring transgender children and trans-affirming families to the White House on this special day.

The phone's ringing off the hook!

Starting at a little after 8 in the morning up until about 6 in the evening, the phone has been ringing, ringing, ringing and the caller ID says, "US Capitol". We've requested literally hundreds of meetings with members of Congress for people coming from around the country to our 09 Lobby Day and congressional offices are responding to set up meetings with trans people and our families, friends and allies.

A few people have asked us if there is still time to sign up ... absolutely! There's still plenty of time for us to fax a request for you and we've been faxing daily so please register.

So keep our phones ringing! It's making us feel popular. :)

Gainesville Victory

From Mara Keisling:

March 24, 2009
Gainesville, Florida: NCTE congratulates the wonderful advocates at Equality is Gainesville's Business who organized and executed a highly professional and effective campaign to counter yet another organized anti-LGBT fear mongering effort. With 100% of the city ballots counted, the discriminatory Charter Amendment One has been soundly defeated by a vote of 58% to 42%.

Charter Amendment 1 was an effort by national rightwing organizations to repeal the city's new anti-discrimination law that would-and now will-allow gay, bi and transgender people to work and live based on their qualifications.

Equality has won. Truth has won. The LGBT-obsessed Right Wing Lie Machine has fallen way short again.

And residents of Gainesville and the amazing people at Equality is Gainesville's Business ROCK.

Lobby Day--are you going to be there? April 26-28

As of today, we have people registered for Lobby Day who together represent 65 different congressional districts, from 25 states plus the District of Columbia.That is amazing. We have also filled 75% of our room block at our host hotel. This is going to be a powerful experience.

And we do need all of these voices and many more to help educate Congress about why it is so vital to pass and send to the President legislation that will ban employment discrimination, will work to prevent hate crimes and much more. They need to hear from us.

A cheer goes up in the offices here each time another registration comes in because that strengthens the message we are taking to Capitol Hill in April. We hope to hear from you, too!

A Picture from a New Perspective--Inside the White House

This picture represents something you have probably never seen before. There are lots of pictures of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial (in the distance), quite a few shot across the South Lawn of the White House and even some shot from inside the White House. But this one comes from a distinct view point. It was shot Wednesday afternoon from within the East Wing of the White House by a transgender person. I took that picture while waiting with a handful of cabinet secretaries, a score or so of Congressmembers, at least two Olympic gold medalists, and a who’s who of feminist, women’s rights and civil rights leaders including one of my heroes, Dr. Dorothy Haight.

I suppose pretty much everyone thinks it’s cool to be invited to the White House—especially now that so many of us have such hope for what the White House can mean for Americans again. And, of course, I know that there are invites, and then there are invites. Maybe mine on Wednesday, to attend the signing of an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls, wasn’t an invite to meet personally with the President one on one to help him figure out global warming or to discuss the urgent needs of transgender people, but that a transwoman had been invited to such a significant moment for American women is still a very hopeful sign. I am proud to have attended and more proud to have been invited.

In his comments at the signing, the President talked about FDR’s Labor Secretary Frances Perkins—the first-ever woman cabinet member. By way of showing how far women in America had come, he noted that she had said about her pioneering appointment, "I had a kind of duty to other women to walk in and sit down on the chair that was offered, and so establish the rights of others long hence and far distant in geography to sit in the high seats." From twenty or so feet away from the President of the United States as his guest, I almost felt like he was reminding me of the steps transpeople are taking.

At NCTE, we do not pretend that our having been invited to send me to a mostly ceremonial, albeit significant, moment is akin to Perkins being the first woman in the cabinet. I was not, to say the least, in the high seats. But, imagine, this week a transperson was invited as a transperson to the White House. And bigger, more significant firsts have already happened this year. A transgender man, Diego Sanchez, was the first openly out transperson to become a staffer on Capitol Hill, standing on the shoulders of at least one other transperson who worked for a Senator in a district office. And this year a transgender person, Shannon Minter, argued for the second time before the California Supreme Court and was named Lawyer of the Year by California Lawyer magazine, standing on the shoulders of numerous trans lawyers who had mentored him. And this year, other firsts have happened and will continue to happen, and in years hence, these firsts will stand as foundations on which new, taller firsts will stand.

In the mean time, of course, trans people around the country and the world continue to face horrible disrespect, discrimination and violence, and I know my invitation to the White House this week is only one tiny step toward lessening those years from now.

I know more of us will be invited again soon, and next time hopefully to witness the signing of a Hate Crimes law or ENDA or maybe the much needed Executive Order protecting transgender federal employees.

I took that picture from the White House on Wednesday knowing that soon lots of trans people will take lots of pictures from the White House. And soon after that, or eventually, trans people will be in the White House often enough that pictures will seem unnecessary: we'll be sitting in the high seats.

Q Street Reception

Last night, Mara and I attended the Q Street reception, held in the Longworth House Office building. It was a gathering of LGBT people to honor the LGBT Equality Caucus, which is led by three openly gay/lesbian members of Congress—Representatives Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin and Jared Polis—and has more than 70 other members of Congress. We listened to politician after politician get up and speak to a crowded hall about the importance of LGBT rights, of gender-identity inclusive bills, of the need to overcome oppression in all its forms.

For me, it was a reminder of how far we have actually come—I was a resident of Massachusetts in 1987 when Barney Frank’s sexual orientation became public knowledge. I had just come out as a young queer person the year before and it had a huge impact on me that one of us could be here in Washington. The controversy then, of course, was much greater than it would be now. And that’s my point—it’s good to be reminded from time to time that things have changed and that the courage of an individual to speak out makes an impact on generations to come. And it was good to catch the excitement about a world that is safer and fairer for LGBT people, including trans people. We have a long way still to go, but we’ve also come a long way.

Telephonic Briefing on Schroer Court Victory

Please join Diane Schroer and members of her legal team from the ACLU including her lead lawyer, Sharon McGowan, in a discussion of their recent success in fighting transgender employment discrimination. Last week a federal court ruled that the Library of Congress violated Title VII prohibition against sex discrimination when they rescinded her job offer learning that she would transition.

Join us for a telephonic briefing on this case and what it means for transgender people across the country this Sunday, September 28, 2008 at 8pm Eastern time.

This call is free for everyone, but is limited to the first 200 people and you must register for your password at www.accuconference.com/customer/Registratration/index.aspx?pkRegQG=cff4305c-fdb7-44a0-80b3-09ef474e37c8

If you have a question for Diane or her legal team, please submit them in advance via email at questions@nctequality.org.

You can read the full court decsion and all of the legal filings at www.aclu.org/lgbt/transgender/2469res20050602.html and see Diane's testimony from this summer's Congressional Hearing on transgender workplace discrimination at www.youtube.com/user/NCTEquality.

Feel free to share this information invite friends and allies to join us.

ENDA Update

Summary:

We do not expect that any additional action will be taken by Congress on any version of ENDA before the end of the year. Still, there is quite a bit of work happening in DC and around the country to make sure that when ENDA does come up again in 2009 or 2010, there will be support from a majority of Congresspeople and there will be no question about introducing and supporting the transgender-inclusive bill that is so strongly supported by the LGBT community. Many people are working towards the same goal: Secure the unequivocal support of at least 218 members of the U.S. House and 60 members of the Senate for an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that protects all LGBT people.

In addition to important work happening in DC, individuals and local action teams across the country are doing grassroots organizing in particularly significant districts and states. People are developing closer relationships with their representatives as well as candidates who may become new members of Congress. While much of the work underway is primarily not high profile, publicly visible work, it is laying the groundwork for future action as we get closer to bill introduction.


Nothing Will Happen in Congress This Year.

Barring something totally unknown, there will not be any more voting on any ENDA this year. There simply is so little time left on the legislative calendar and so many significant issues, that it is a virtual certainty that no more LGBT bills—certainly not ENDA—will be considered until at least 2009. The Senate will not take up either the broken ENDA that passed the House of Representatives or the inclusive version supported by the LGBT community. And the House of Representatives will not be considering any additional ENDA bills this year.

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t work to be done this year and scores of organizations and thousands of individuals are doing it. In DC, NCTE and others will continue to work with Congressional allies as we strengthen the community’s position for the 111^th Congress that starts in January. We outline below some of the great work being done this year in preparation for future action and how people across the country can get involved.

When Will ENDA be Considered Again?

Other than knowing that it will not be this year, there is no way to know for sure when ENDA will be considered again in either the House or the Senate. It would be reasonable to guess, though, there is little likelihood of action early next year. There are still too many unknowns to forecast accurately. How many pro-equality members of Congress will there be next year? Who will be the President and how much, if at all, will he support ENDA? And probably most importantly, how hard will we all work and how much absolutely solid support will we have by the time we need it? So in addition to the remainder of this year, it is likely that the community will have at least some months next year before decisions are made about which ENDA is introduced and possibly moved toward passage.

What is Happening?

Much great work has already been done and more is yet underway. Below is a summary of some of the great work being done already.

Congressional Hearings. In June, as most people in the community know, a hearing was held in the U.S. House around transgender employment discrimination. Rep. Rob Andrews from NJ, chaired the hearings with support from a host of other members of Congress, especially including Reps. Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin who testified effectively and eloquently about the need for job protections. Congressman Frank was also a real driving force overall, showing tremendous commitment to having these hearings and making sure they went well.

Local Action. NCTE and a coalition of other national, state and local organizations have been working to identify and support local action teams in various districts and states across the country. Local action teams are made up of trans people as well as allies who develop ongoing relationships with their representatives and educate them about the need for employment protections for all LGBT people. They are also educating the public in their districts using letters to the editor, op-eds and other kinds of outreach. We have been initially focusing on particular members of Congress whose support is specifically pivotal to passage of ENDA, but individuals pitching in and local action teams are important in every part of the country regardless of who your members of Congress are. Please let NCTE know if you want to be part of this.

Survey of the Prevalence of Transgender Discrimination. Within the next two weeks, NCTE, in collaboration with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will be launching the first-ever academically sound national survey of the prevalence of discrimination in all its forms. Trans people around the country will be surveyed and the results used, among other things, to educate Congress on the need for the unified inclusive ENDA. We are frequently asked for “numbers” by Congress and soon we will have them. Please watch for this survey and take the time to complete a questionnaire. It really matters and will help get ENDA passed.

Surveying Voters in Target Districts. One national organization, working with NCTE and others, is about to begin surveying voters in targeted districts on the issue of a fully-inclusive ENDA.

Influencing Congressional Campaigns. When LGBT people and allies volunteer with campaigns or work with organizations who endorse candidates, they have a great opportunity to educate the candidates who are current and prospective members of Congress. That is happening all over the country. If you do volunteer work on any campaign for any candidate in any party, please remember to educate the candidate on the importance of job protections for all LGBT people. Ask the campaign to clearly state there support on their website. Here is what some candidates have placed on their websites in support of the unified ENDA bill [Note: this should not be interpreted as an endorsement by NCTE of any candidate for any office]:

“I support the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (I support the version of ENDA that includes gender identity).” Chellie Pingree, Democratic nominee in the first District of Maine.

“. . . I support federal legislation that would prohibit discrimination in employment practices because of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identify. This is not only about workers’ rights – it’s about human rights and human dignity. I believe in tolerance and understanding and strongly oppose employment discrimination on the basis of race, age, disability, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation.” Jared Polis, Democratic Nominee in the 2^nd District of Colorado.

“In Congress, I will champion pro-equality legislation such as the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act and a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), since all Americans deserve equal protection under the law.” Dennis Shulman, Democratic Nominee in the Fifth District of NJ.

NCTE’s Role.
The National Center for Transgender Equality is doing the work of educating the public and Congress in order to pass the comprehensive Employment Non-Discrimination Act that will protect all LGBT people from discrimination and the financial and emotional ruin that it can cause. We are doing our own work as well as supporting and coordinating the work of a lot of other great trans people and allies—individuals and organizations. We continue to be proudly at the center of the UnitedENDA coalition.

What Can You Do to Help Pass ENDA?

Right now the answer is easy. Educate your members of Congress and candidates for Congress that transgender people, like other LGBT people, need federal discrimination protection. Visit the local office of your member of the House of Representatives and your two U.S. Senators. To learn who your members of Congress are and how to contact them, go to our website at http://www.nctequality.org/Visit_Legislators.html. While you are on that website, download a copy of NCTE’s publication “Making Your Voice Heard: A Transgender Guide to Educating Congress.”

You should also work for the candidate of your choice and educate them about transgender people and our lives.

Furthermore, you can work with and support your local or statewide transgender or LGBT organization that is doing important work to pass an inclusive ENDA.

Finally, support NCTE’s work by making a donation at http://www.nctequality.org/donate.html

Selective Service Registration and Veterans Identification

After a long researching and editing process, my first two NCTE resources are coming out this week. They are both related to the broader topic of military identification documents.

First I analyzed the Selective Service, which is something that people might not think about in terms of trans issues, but as a gender-based system, it turned out to be really relevant. Registration requirements are entirely based upon birth-assigned sex, which is problematic for trans people and particularly for trans youth. I will say, though, that I was pretty impressed the Selective Service System (SSS) had protocol for transgender people pretty well laid out and in a decently visible part of their site (their FAQ). Still, the language they use is bad. They refer to “individuals who have had a sex change” which reinforces the incorrect idea that a person’s body defines their gender. Plus, “ individuals who have had a sex change” just plain misses the point since non-operative trans people could just as easily get caught up in Selective Service issues as anyone else.

The biggest challenge for moving forward with the Selective Service-related advocacy will be to get the SSS to treat trans women and men as any other women and men. Of course, this poses its own tough questions like how can young trans folks indicate to the SSS that they live full time as their gender when they often do not have access to surgeries or the ability to change their identification documents? This also, of course, fits neatly into the larger questions progressive people are pursuing around issues like women and gender non-conforming people in military service and conscientious objection.

Another area I analyzed was veterans-related documentation, which is very different. It is a much larger issue and encompasses more individual challenges and problems ranging from access to gender-specific care at Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare facilities to the fair distribution of partner benefits for trans people (including those who are legally married). The main concerns my work addressed were how to get up-to-date military discharge papers (DD 214s and 215s) and change the Department of Defense and VA databases. The biggest problems turned out to be vague and difficult-to-track down policies, surgical requirements, and varying interpretations of regulations referring to “spouses.”

NCTE has been working with other non-profits such as Service Members Legal Defense Network and Transgender American Veterans Association on a trans military working group, which is divided between people working on veterans issues and those on active duty-related issues. We hope to pursue future changes through these collaborative efforts.

Both of these new resources can be found at the links below and I hope people take advantage of them and find them useful. If you have any further questions about their content, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at ncte@nctequality.org.

Transgender People and the Selective Service

Transgender People and Veterans Identification

[Edit: The Veterans Identification Resource has been taken down for further edits before the official launch.]

The hearing continues

Listening to the testimony before Congress is an amazing experience. It is heartbreaking to hear the stories of jobs and families lost and the pain that transgender people have been through. At the same time, however, it is incredibly liberating to see trans people taking such a powerful stand for our community, speaking directly to members of Congress about the need for employment protections.

On the eve of the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we can reflect on how we've come from the days when people of diverse gender expressions fought discrimination with fists and beer bottles. Now we are advocating for ourselves in the halls of Congress. May the work we're doing now honor those who began the struggle because we need to be in the streets and on Capitol Hill.