Tweet
File this under “Pay attention to your enemy’s new talking points.”
Check this out from Focus On Teh Family/CitizenLink‘s California’s ‘Gender Identity’ Law Goes on Trial‘s opening paragraph:
A trial to determine the constitutionality of a California law that provides special status based on “gender identity” is set to begin April 14 in Sacramento.
You would think from the headline and first paragraph that this is a law that specifically and only deals with gender identity or expression, trans people, or crossdressed/transgender predators using the bathrooms/locker rooms. Oh no, it certainly isn’t. From the next paragraph of the article:
SB 777, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2008, prohibits teaching or any activity that “reflects adversely upon” or “promotes a discriminatory bias” because of sexual orientation or gender.
To cast this bill as a gender identity bill is to intentionally change the focus of the bill. Here’s what SB 777, per Equality California, was written to do. 
Pay close attention to the Why Is This Bill Important? section :
PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED LAWUnder existing law, Education Code Section 220, students are protected from discrimination in all publicly-funded educational institutions based on actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or association with a person who has any of these characteristics. However, other nondiscrimination provisions in the Education Code, which govern programs and activities that are also covered by Section 220, vary in the types of protections they explicitly provide. Senate Bill 777 would correct such inconsistencies by referencing a single, comprehensive nondiscrimination standard throughout these various laws.
BACKGROUND
AB 537 (Kuehl), the Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000, created an expansive law banning discrimination in schools against individuals who are members of specified categories known as “protected classes.” This law applies to all publicly-funded educational programs and activities and includes a prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and association with another person who is protected under these categories.
Despite the broad protections created by AB 537, there are several additional nondiscrimination statutes in the Education Code that vary in the lists of protected classes they cover. For example, a provision relating to charter schools prohibits “racial, sex or ethnic discrimination.” Another statute prohibits the adoption of instructional materials that contain matter reflecting adversely on persons because of their “race, sex, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, handicap or occupation.” Such inconsistencies lead to deficiencies in protection for students and confusion for teachers and school personnel who are responsible for implementing and complying with the law.WHY IS THIS BILL IMPORTANT?
Students in California report significant harassment because of actual or perceived sexual orientation. Data from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS, 2000-2001), the largest study of students in California schools, shows that every year over 200,000 students are harassed because they are gay or lesbian or someone thought they were. This harassment is linked to higher levels of academic, health and safety risk.
This law went into effect on January 1, 2008. This is what Focus On Teh Family is telling their flock is the negative effect of the law:
The effects of the legislation are playing out in schools across the state. In one Northern California school, a boy was forced to change clothes in a boys’ locker room where a girl was dressing.“Of course, that would have a significant impact on kids, particularly kids going through puberty,” said Robert Tyler, founder of Advocates for Faith and Freedom. “It’s a perfect example of how ridiculous this law is.”
So, take note of this: Focus On The Family is using gender identity as their new anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights and protections talking point. I believe this is a trend for future culture war battles — the battles will be cast in terms of gender identity, transgender, and of course the crossdressed/transgender bathroom meme. Focus On Teh Family used the terminology of gender identity this time to argue against a bill that is a LGBT civil rights bill…
…Much as the crossdressed/transgender bathroom meme was unsuccessfully used in Gainesville a few weeks ago in an attempt to erase the rights of the entire lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
In the wrong kind of way, trans is the new gay in the culture war‘s battle against basic civil rights and protections for the whole of LGBT people.
27 Comments
It is a known fact that the religious right, want to divide the LGBT. Many LGBs did that work for them in the fall of 2007. Mark my words there are some that will be ready to do it again and the religious right know this.
Sure the Ts are an easy target when there are many LGBs that are willing to let us Ts get thrown under the bus. HRC proved it. OK, OK, all you pro HRCers, yes they said a few weeks ago that they wouldn’t support any non-inclusive legislation. Typical play on words, they didn’t say they would oppose any non-inclusive legislation either. This basically green lights the religious right to begin the dividing and then sit back and watch us waste our money trying to keep the LGBT together.
Lets hope the whole LGBT community doesn’t fall for this shit again.
I absolutely agreeTrans will absolutely be the new gay. And the fundies will become more and more obsessed with talking about public restrooms.
It promises to be stupid as all hell.
Even if that story is true, by the way, of the boy dressing with a girl in the room… uh… what exactly are they saying would be the supposedly traumatizing effect?
For what it’s worth.Although I’m just a simple artist and not a political activist, I for one have absolutely no intention of throwing transgender people under the bus.
The traumatizing effect……would result from all the crap that is poured into our childrens’ minds in the name of their “faith.” Generating artificial fear is their stock in trade.
agreedI agree that HRC exposed a huge crevice for the right to drive a wedge into. CA, I think, seems in danger of backsliding on several important protections.
It is greatly appreciated, And it doesn’t take much to be an activist. There isn’t any how to be an activist manual, or if there is, it is buried in the pages of the Homosexual Agenda, which BTW, I have never been given a copy.
A letter or a phone call to your congress critter is the least you could be doing though.
Thank you again, HUGGS
perhaps but….That might be true in some policy areas but recent lesbian and gay policy advances are slowly removing one of the big areas where trans people have faced discrimination under the law, marriage.
Off topic but: “Focus on Family” narrator charged with luring teenage girl for sex on the netDoes this count for anything?
http://coloradoindependent.com…
The REAL traumatizing effect Is when these kids discover that their parents were full of shit when they enter the real world.
This is the one thing I will never understand about the Fundies. The worst thing you can do to your children is lie to them. It is one thing if the want to teach their children that homosexuality is wrong or against their view of the bible. (Something I totally disagree with) And then when the children get older they can make up their own minds. Even if they(the fundie’s children) turnout to believe there is nothing wrong with LGBT people, the big lies about being pedophiles and the other horrid crap they dream up or project will have an impact. Mom, why did you tell lies about people just because you thought what they do is wrong? This leads to, What else did you lie to me about?
This is happening everyday. And they claim to be the one who are protecting the children, all at the same time lying their asses off to their children.
This is why…… I talked about a new strategy in my last diary here. http://www.pamshouseblend.com/…
They cannot win the fight as easily — and don’t know that their lies are much weaker in this arena.
Here we can attack them, and we can win, and we can do it in ways that will show them for the liars they are.
So bring it.
Not letting go of you, HappyCatYou or anyone else. We’re all in this together, and screw what fauxgressive transphobic bigots think.
Here’s one gay boywho’s not going to buy it this time. All of us or none of us.
Exposing their lies, This is the most important part in this fight, or war, which ever you prefer. The more posts that are written exposing the lies, the better.
I don’t know if you got to listen to the debates and testimony in the House in Vermont, but the argument against Marriage Equality was all wrapped in religion. All the whacko garbage that the AFA, CWA, FotF, etc send out in their action alerts wasn’t even used because it is all known to be garbage. All the E blasts that they send out are for fleecing the sheeple out of their money.
And while I agree with you that the tactics for fighting these assholes is pretty much on the mark. The best way to beat them is to cut off their funding and that means exposing their lies.
Wouldn’t it be nice to inform all their supporters that their fears they place in their E blasts are not even mentioned during testimony for why they oppose marriage equality? I think it would be absolutely marvelous.
Case and point. Focus on the Family touts protecting the children. The Queers are bad and want to to bad things to your children. They spread that crap here in Colorado and since ENDA and Hate crimes laws went into effect, there hasn’t been any mention or claim of their fears really happening. In fact, one of their top dogs just got busted for soliciting sex on line from a 15 year old. Who is the danger to children?
Pastors, Priests and Ministers have been caught doing more harm to children then the LGBT community has. This stuff is finally getting exposed.
The key is exposing their lies. And it is happening, just not as fast as we all would like it to be.
Oh, and good luck on running for office. I wish you the best,
Your sister, HappyCat.
Thanks Keori!We need many more allies like you!
As a recent immigrant to California I’m really startled at the apparent backward trend we’re starting to see here. I always thought CA was supposed to be the leader in this fight.
As HappyCat said we T folk are pretty easy targets. On our own we have very little economic or political power. We depend on our LGB brothers and sisters for their love and support. Without it we’d be in some seriously deep kimchi.
Thanks for hanging in there with us! I do believe that together we can make a better world.
Big Hugs!
Gwen
Well thank you, Just as long as you don’t have a hold of my tail MEOW!
This is the payoff
This is the payoff for the decades of transphobia-as-unquestionable-political-dogma foisted on teh entirety of the community – as well as the legal system – by the overpaid gay ‘leaders’ in DC and in the various states that established legal frameworks that ensured the T would stand alone…
and as a separate, undefended-by-gay-dollars target.
Fear the “different”Our trans friends are definitely the newest boogeyman of the right wingers.
Brian Camenker and his ill ilk over at MassResistance gave up on teh gheys a while back when the writing on the wall got a little too hard to ignore, so he moved on to the trans community. He loves to take pics and caption them offensively (usually something like, “these are all MEN dressed as women!”). It’s a simple tactic, but probably effective on some level.
We need to nip this stupid bathroom nonsense in the bud.
Anyone have a good analysis of the Gainsville win?
clarificationI didn’t mean to imply that the anti-trans sentiment was new, just that Camenker and his ilk have stepped up the rhetoric more lately as their anti-LGB battles are lost.
Flying by the seatof my pants and learning as fast as I can to help as well…
Running through my headis my daughter’s favorite song from HSM:
We’re ALL in this TOGETHER!!
I have every second of all 3 of these memorized; my autistic daughter Jean watches them OVER AND OVER…
3 mistakes the wingnuts made in Gainesville, imoThe first was going after removing GLB people’s protections as well as trans people’s. Gainesville added sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination law in 1998. This obviously united the entire GLBT community against their reactionary attempt.
The second mistake was that they tried to remove the ability of the local government to make laws in this area. This attempt at dis-empowering the local government surely added more than a few No votes to the issue.
And the third, I think, is that they tried to do this in a college town with a large number of eligible young voters. We know that young people are much more tolerant of GLBT issues. Their influence played a very large part in defeating Amendment 1.
Seconded.Enthusiastically.
ThanksThat was an interesting analysis.
To use item #1 on a larger scale, it seems we need to convince / explain to / remind LGB and allies that the T is part of the soup, and leaving out a vital component is wrong.
I’m not sure how to use #2 as a motivating factor — that seems likely to be a location by location dependent item.
And #3, though not as directly replicable on a state-wide level, can still demonstrate to power of young people (young VOTERS) and acceptance, and the need to motivate them.
Thanks!
How is the inclusion not obvious?Homphobia and transphobia are both inextricably linked by misogyny. They’re two sides of the same coin. People who are homophobic will be transphobic as well, because both GLBs and Ts bend and break all the heteronormative, binary/cisnormative gender rules and roles.
GLBs who exclude Ts are assisting in their own oppression by not standing up for EVERYONE suffering from societal misogyny. They are punishing Ts for living the same gender nonformity in which they themselves revel! Such an attitude is, on its face, an anti-gay position, and this shit needs to stop. We are ALL oppressed by heteronormative binary gender bigotry, and we all need to stand TOGETHER to fight it.
How on earth is this not obvious to some people? It’s so plain and easy to see, and it pisses me mightily to hear GLBs say that Ts aren’t part of our community. We don’t have the luxury of time to fight amongst ourselves. We have enough to do fighting the christian hate machine.
I’m not sure what you were replying to…I don’t see anything in my comments that you were replying to.
But I totally agree with your statements. I can’t think of any way someone who’s homophobic is not also transphobic.
Those people need the most convincing of all, but it’s also sort of expected: if they’re prejudiced already, it seems likely it would extend to other sexual minorities.
Like you said, it’s the GLB’s who are anti-T that make no sense.
But it’s also the straight allies of the LGB’s who are anti-T (or just non-T) that need convincing. They will be easier to bring on board, especially if we explain it like Keori has above (messing with “gender rules and roles”).
HRC forgets their history!This is what pisses me off the most about these gd bastards in the HRC, sitting in that palatial HQ they built a few years back and think they’ve arrived in DC!
I would like to remind “Uncle Joe” Solomanese that if it wasn’t for the street queens like Sylvia Revera and Marsha P Johnson there wouldn’t BE a gay rights movement!
Furthermore, from the onset, it’s always been rich white gay men up front and only begrudingly allowed woman supposedly equal status because the dykes raised enough of a stink for full inclusion.
And now just like every other minority in this country, now that a certain few have totally assimilated (they think!) into the upper echelons of society, that the work of equality is over just because they’ve arrived…. well to that I say to the HRC that they’re full of steer dung!
Look at the cost of going to an HRC gala, even in the smaller cities… does everyone have an extra hundred dollars or more and a nice expensive suit or coture gown and mix with the hoi polloi of gay and lesbian politics? I sure as hell don’t!
As far as this transsexual lesbian’s is concerned, I have had no job for two years (mainly due to transphobic employers!), and have to beg money to pay what little bills I have like electricity, heating, car insurance, etcera… let alone drive for two hours to hob nob with politicians who have no idea that transfolk like me face summary unemployment when we announce transition!
I’m part of the TLBG spectrum gdammit — I am just as human as you are Joey-boy, and to stab us in the back just because we aren’t politically expedient to add to ENDA or it’s state and local equivalents, means you don’t care about transfolk whatsoever!
I hereby proclaim that in the unlikely even I win the Mega Millions lottery, HRC will not receive one penny from me. They’re just like every other lobbying firm in DC — they care only about a certain few and step on those on the bottom who need them the most.
The “bathroom bill” meme works on two levelsand what scares me is how nobody’s talking about it. Yes. They’re trying to isolate the T from the T from the LGB. But nobody seems to notice how easily this can bait the transgender community into ironically doing the same thing to it’s own less popular elements. They’ve chosen to make “cross-dressers” or “men in dresses” their bogeymen. Well, I’m an actual cross-dresser, and while I’m mad at them, I’m really worried about our response. I’ve already heard angry rumblings about how transsexuals “aren’t like those ‘transvestites’”…
I’ve got no illusions; I know that the political “transgender” movement is dominated by transsexual concerns. I’d just like to say: Don’t forget about us part-timers. We need to pee too!