You can’t spell LGBT without TWhile our situations are different, the trans community is part of the LGBT movement and must be.  If we don’t include trans-inclusive language in ENDA now, we may never get it.  Our causes are one and the same and it’s time the LGBT movement become one cohesive structure so that we can all fight for our rights together, not separately.

I’m sorry to have to say it but Allyson totally blew itBigot Lafferty should not have been allowed to keep the discussion on teachers, the psycho stuff countered immediately with the fact that medical doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists are among the transitioned.  That the bill is an employment one that covers waitresses, nurses, construction workers, lawyers, doctors etc etc.  Instead Allyson weakly counters with just the limited number of teachers when teachers were Lafferty’s entire ball of wax. Allyson should have gotten her off teachers immediately.
The acknowledgment of the DSM announced revisions that transsexuality is cured with a completed transition should have been mentioned as should have that more than 300 studies around the world confirm the neurological intersexed basis of transsexuality.  Had Allyson done this Lafferty would have been thrown totally off message instead of bringing non ops in.  Yeah yeah, I know you all hate us that transitioned completely but this is hardball politics and the spokestrans clearly don’t understand the game.  This is a direct result of the past decade of denouncing actual transsexuals.  

Oh my God, WHO THE FUCK chose Allyson Robinson to represent the GLBT side of this debate?
PLEASE, for god’s sake, don’t EVER again put Allyson Robinson on ANY program to represent the GLBT side of any debate.
She was absolutely HORRIBLE.
She let that crazy Lafferty bitch completely control the debate and the message.  She basically sat there like a zombie and when she did speak up she was so fucking weak that I was screaming at the television.
This was a complete and utter FAIL for our side.

A non-inclusive ENDAwould make a mockery of the very principles ENDA is supposed to stand for and reinforce.  By omitting trans people, we would, in effect, be admitting that there are legitimate reasons to discriminate.  So what’s the point of our movement, then?

In defense of AllysonI think she kept her calm rather well. It did seem that Lafferty boggarted the conversation, Lafferty ultimately did harm to herself, particularly when she got crossed up with the bathroom claim.

i would wait.as ajlaska said, ‘you can’t spell lgbt without t’.  we wouldn’t leave the g out or the b out; we can’t leave the t out.  its unethical.  if anything, we should be looking for more folks that need employment protection to add to the list.

A point to considerWhile I appreciate Allyson’s demeanor and ability to represent transgender people as fair and reasonable, she did miss a great opportunity to paint Andrea Lafferty for the liar she is. Ms. Lafferty claimed that the American Psychological Association considers transgendered people as suffering from “profound mental disorder”. This is completely untrue, a total lie. From the APA website:
“Is being transgender a mental disorder?
A psychological condition is considered a mental disorder only if it causes distress or disability. Many transgender people do not experience their transgender feelings and traits to be distressing or disabling, which implies that being transgender does not constitute a mental disorder per se. For these people, the significant problem is finding the resources, such as hormone treatment, surgery, and the social support they need, in order to express their gender identity and minimize discrimination. However, some transgender people do find their transgender feelings to be distressing or disabling. This is particularly true of transsexuals, who experience their gender identity as incongruent with their birth sex or with the gender role associated with that sex. This distressing feeling of incongruity is called gender dysphoria.
According to the diagnostic standards of American psychiatry, as set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, people who experience intense, persistent gender dysphoria can be given the diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder. This diagnosis is highly controversial among some mental health professionals and transgender people. Some contend that the diagnosis inappropriately pathologizes gender variance and should be eliminated. Others argue that, because the health care system in the United States requires a diagnosis to justify medical or psychological treatment, it is essential to retain the diagnosis to ensure access to care.”
In other words, if the discrimination were gone, and the medical services were present to affect sex change if desired, there would be no negative consequences associated with transgenderism.
Secondly, if Ms. Lafferty wishes to claim that her objection to having transgender people teach America’s children because they suffer from “profound mental disorders”, then why isn’t she advocating for the firing of any teacher who suffers from depression, or anorexia, or CID? There are lots of people who undergo psychological therapy, many quite successfully, and go on to lead full, rich lives. Should they lose their jobs and financial ability to pay for the treatment they require, just because their illnesses are mental ones?
I am not equating these conditions with transgender expression, Ms. Lafferty is. I just wanted to point out how her scare tactics can be revealed for the hogwash they are.  

Kudos to AllysonI deeply admire Allyson and her commitment and passion to do a job that very few in the T community would even consider doing.
I say that if you don’t like it, such as the comment by CathrynP, then get up there yourself, instead of sitting back and throwing insults at those who have the courage to speak up for us. I’m surprised the vulgar comment was allowed to stay online.
Thank you, Allyson Robinson, for having the inner strength to help in facilitating change with not only our laws, but also the hearts and minds of the people, despite the sometimes overwhelming criticism’s you receive.

I wishAllyson would have interupted her like she was being interrupted. When that b*tch talked about transgendered being a “serious psychological disorder” she could have talked about the controversy surrounding that. The fact that the new diagnosis “Harry Benjamin Syndrome” Or “HBS” was gaining sway and how that diagnosis would talk about transgender being a body condition and not a psychological one.
Andrea was so ill-informed everything she said about trans people needed a re-set. Allyson was NOT a “man who turned into a woman”, she is a woman who decided to live authentically.
By the way, WTF was with her when talking about non-ops? Female from above the waist and male below? WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO INTERESTED IN WHAT’S BETWEEN OUR LEGS? NO!! I WON’T DATE YOU, ANDREA!!

A half dozen?I’m joining the ranks of… a half-dozen transgendered teachers?
Teaching is the most populous profession in America! I can’t possibly buy that claim.

I finally got a chance to see the videoFirst, kudos to Allyson for being calm and assertive, and civil.
I think that Andrea Lafferty should have been called out on her lack of Christianity.  This whole idea that “Christians” are opposed to ENDA is a lie.  The only Christians who oppose ENDA are Christians who don’t read the Bible.
Andrea Lafferty is not a Christian. Period.  I still think going after their credentials as Christian is an important part of the discussion.  Real Christrians support eqiuality.  Real Christians don’t lie about what the APA says.  Real Christians do not “cast the first stone.”

Passing ENDA is “part of the cure.”Well, looked at that way, then passing ENDA is supportive.  Mentioning the APA should be a positive thing.
Children should be informed on an age appropriate way, not shielded from people who are different.