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This is Part 2 of 2. Waking Up Too God Awful Early To Subcommunity Erasure was Part 1.
~~Autumn~~
To my mind, this says [Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC)] would have supported the sexual orientation only bill voted on last time, but she is not sure whether she can vote for the current bill and will have to “consider” it. This is exactly the type of “supportive non-support” that got gender identity pulled from the [Employment Non-Discrimination Act] last time. This should not be tolerated in 2009 or else we will wind up back in 2007.-Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss
For those who aren’t following Bilerico, Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss — an Associate Professor of Law and Society at Ramapo College — is running a campaign Facebook for an Inclusive ENDA. On Bilerico, she’s listing a ENDA Targeted Legislator of the Day as a means for targeting our federal legislators who have not either co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA – S1584) or confirmed yes votes on ENDA — some of those who have confirmed have only confirmed their support privately.
Prof. Weiss also has her own blog: Transgender Workplace Diversity. [Did I mention that she's a transgender woman whose working not only for transgender workplace civil rights, but for broader lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community's workplace civil rights?] In that blog she explains the ENDA legislation, with heavy emphasis on how legally, a fully inclusive ENDA will impact transgender people.
Earlier this week, the ENDA Targeted Legislator Of The Day was North Carolina’s Senator Kay Hagan. In response to that post by Prof. Weiss, a transgendernews reader sent a e-letter to Senator Hagan — of whom she is a constituent — about the Senator’s position on a fully inclusive ENDA. Sen. Hagan’s staff sent a response, and it’s below the fold.
[Below the fold: Sen. Hagan, in Prof. Weiss's opinion, is giving us "'supportive non-support' that got gender identity pulled from the bill last time."]Sen. Hagan’s response to an inquiry about a fully inclusive ENDA (dated October 6, 2009):
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009. I greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue.The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (S. 1584), or “ENDA,” was introduced in the Senate on August 5, 2009, and referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on which I sit. The legislation was also introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year, but neither bill has been voted on yet. Similar proposals have been introduced dating back to 1975, though none have had enough support to pass both bodies of Congress.
ENDA seeks to prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, and would allow individuals to file claims against an employer who discriminates based on these factors. For employers, employment discrimination would include refusing to hire an individual, terminating an individual’s employment, or adversely affecting an employee’s status based on that person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Additionally, it would prohibit discrimination in employment agencies, labor unions, or training programs. The bill would exempt religious organizations and the United States Armed Forces from these provisions. ENDA also includes several clarifications regarding its implementation. For instance, it would not prevent employers from enforcing policies that do not intentionally violate the bill as long as the policies are applied uniformly. The bill also would not infringe on an employer’s ability to take action against an employee who is charged with sexual harassment. Further, under the bill, employers would not be required to build new facilities, nor would they be prohibited from enforcing a dress code.
I oppose discrimination in the workplace, and I support looking for ways to eliminate these unfair practices. Additionally, I supported legislation to address employment discrimination during my time in the North Carolina Senate, and I would have voted for the employment non-discrimination measure passed by the House of Representatives in 2008. I am committed to carefully considering all options and the potential impacts of implementing new laws or regulations, and I will be sure to take your concerns about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act into account as I review this legislation.
Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is truly an honor to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate, and I hope you will not hesitate to contact me in the future should you have any further questions or concerns.
When I forwarded the letter to Prof. Weiss, she sent me the following response (posted with permission):
To my mind, this says she would have supported the sexual orientation only bill voted on last time, but she is not sure whether she can vote for the current bill and will have to “consider” it. This is exactly the type of “supportive non-support” that got gender identity pulled from the bill last time. This should not be tolerated in 2009 or else we will wind up back in 2007. Those who caution against “alienating” our “allies” are indulging in the kind of DC horse-trading mentality that allowed and encouraged 2007 to happen…Our lives are too important and our wounds too deep. This statement by Hagan is “razzle-dazzle” and if we don’t stand firm we will be out in the cold.I suggest you all start thinking of actions to take to get Sen. Hagan firmly onboard.
This possible subcommunity erasure of trans people — by the possible removal of “gender identity” language — is what I’m referring to in the title to this particular piece. I’m concerned about how Senators (and Congressmembers), such as Sen. Hagan, don’t see civil rights as human rights issues, but see them instead as issues that are DC horse-trading issues. To say the least, I, like Prof. Weiss, am also concerned about the possible removal of fully inclusive language in ENDA — We have not won a fully inclusive ENDA yet, and we shouldn’t be complacent and believe we’ve already won this.
So, this is why the project the Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss began on Facebook (of which my Blogmistress Pam is a co-sponsor of) is so damn important. And, this is why you personally need to contact your Congressmember and Senators about ENDA: The human rights or our broad, LGBT community are exactly what’s at stake.
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Redux, not re-postOn part one of this diary I commented that, as if on cue, MSNBC did a piece that, in all but one insulting sense, erased the T.
Well, MSNBC just did it again – only this time with St. Joe Solmonese doing so in person, albeit in concert with Lady Andrea of Greenspan-on-the-Conflict-of-Interest (who initially couldn’t even get the name of HRC accurate, calling it the “Human Rights Coalition.”)
ENDA actually was mentioned – in passing. The only things that seemed to matter in the conversation, however, were DADT and DOMA.
The rest of the comment to the previous post…
is applicable to this one as well.
Bad reporting, not bad lawLet’s be clear that we are talking about bad reporting. The law is fully inclusive.
The issue here is Sen Hagan’s caginessCandidate Hagan ignored questions from me and other LGBT media about her support for ENDA and other pro-LGBT legislation and she wouldn’t respond or sit down for an interview. We were treated as hostile constituents, when in fact we wanted Dole out because surely a Dem would be more sympathetic.
She’s an example of a pol who doesn’t like to commit on record on anything that might appear controversial back home, even if she’s personally supportive.
Hell, HRC gave her a seal of approval by having her keynote its HRC Carolina’s dinner. With that, you’d think Hagan’s response to that letter would not be convoluted.
She needs to be reminded who helped her get elected since she tried to seek out LGBT votes through web ads, yet gave no firm support or promises for that vote. There’s no trust there, she hasn’t earned it and HRC’s endorsement of her as an ally is misplaced based on Hagan’s actual timidity.
Yes, but bad reporting can be dangerousWhether based on true ignorance, sloppiness or malice, a constant drumbeat of ‘G & L’, when something is actually fully-inclusive, perpetuates, among folks who aren’t policy wonks but who do occasionally get wind of intra-LGBT frictions, the Carpenterian/Aravosisist/Clarkian myth that ‘incrementalism’ is the only thing that works.
Now Pam, the HRC is the boss of us allafter all, they have been annointed official spokespersons for us all by Nobel Peace Prize Winner President Obama, who had them attend the monumental Rental Truck Equality extrvaganza and he will in fact address the HRC at a dinner that most LGBT’s could never affort to attend.
It’s jealousy, isn’t it, that you are not part of the ‘in’ crowd of the ‘right’ kind of LGBT’s, the kind that are never T’s and always are willing to compromise away someone’s rights for a bigger piece of the pie for themselves.
You, on the other hand, have those inconvienient Dallas Principles that you stand by….
Same ol same olFUCK the HRC. I’ve seen them do nothing but suck up local money and do nothing in return except tell the Trans community to sit down (in the back of the bus) and shut up.
We need a full frontal assault on HRC until they get serious about addressing ALL of our concerns. We are sick of their tokenistic bullshit.
Even worse than Hagan…Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who at one point co-sponsored an ENDA bill, gave a short response to someone that said she didn’t support “special rights.” Not only is she a danger to our health (care), she’s a danger to the LGBT community. She needs to be primaried.
Joe Solmonese has to resign before I would even consider supporting HRCScrewed me once in 2007, shame on you, Joe S. Your organization has been screwing me since I’ve known of its existence – even though it does do some token T stuff.
In New York, HRC’s state-level equivalent, the Empire State Pride Agenda, actually`changed its culture after the passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in December 2002. ESPA has my full support, and it supports trans inclusion in all bills currently before the New York State legislature.
I think Jill Weiss is doing a wonderful job taking charge of the trans-inclusive agenda on the national level with her ENDA advocacy.
Maybe after they let Joe go, they could hire Jill – She would be a great improvement. I know Jill, and she wouldn;t lie to me, or you.
Good one, AutumnThanks for putting this out there, Autumn. I’ve contacted Senator Hagan’s press secretary, and told him I am going to write a piece on Bilerico about this next week. He promised to get back to me by Wednesday to clarify.
I want to emphasize this is not just Sen. Hagan playing these cute little pushmi-pullyu games. The Inclusive ENDA Senate spreadsheet shows that there are 18 of these “I might vote for you if you’re nice to me but just don’t ask me” types. We have a few months, and the time to get started on playing “whack-a-mole” is now, not two weeks before the vote, when it will be too late.
My concern is that our community is totally ADD, marked by our insistence on acting on marriage and the 50-state plus federal strategy that it requires. We’re distracted right and left by marriage efforts in 18 states, and state referenda against marriage in 8 states, and DOMA and benefits for federal employees. We’re also spending a lot of time on DADT and the miliatary. The agenda is a hodge-podge, and getting people to focus long enough to make a phone call to their Senator about ENDA is nearly hopeless. I say “nearly,” because I do believe there is a core of people focused on this, and there is a chance to make ENDA happen. The House has almost fallen into line, and I do believe the House will vote in favor. We need to get the Senate in line, and I know all of you are working on that. I will also continue to work on it, and take every opportunity to tell people to focus on ENDA. Yes, by all means support other stuff. But if you can’t get and keep a civilian job, being married and having gays in the military is really not all that exciting.
You’re welcome.And too, we need to keep this in the forefront of our minds. This is important.