Tweet
Update from Laurel: The bill has been sent form the Rules Committee to the Judicial Proceedings Committee. Press release below the fold.
There has been a very unexpected development in the Maryland’s HB 235 — the gender identity bill. The following letter was sent by the House of Delegates’ LGBT caucus to State Senate President Mike Miller (D-District 27):
March 31, 2011Dear Mr. President,
We respectfully request that you allow HB 235, Human Relations – Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity – Antidiscrimination to be passed out of the Rules Committee to allow for a vote in the Judicial Proceedings Committee. This bill received a supermajority vote of support in the House and was sent to the Senate before the crossover deadline. Please allow it to have a fair hearing in the Senate.
We believe that this bill is absolutely necessary for the civil protections of a subset of Marylanders who are most vulnerable to discrimination and prejudices. In that context, studies show that transgender individuals are victims of violent crimes, including murder, at a much higher rate than other groups.
This bill would offer limited protections with respect to employment, housing and financial security. In the hearing in the Health and Government Operations Committee we learned the transgender community has double the national average rate of unemployment (14%) and 90% face discrimination or harassment at work. With regard to housing, 11% report having been evicted for being transgender and 10% have been homeless.
In the hearing, there was testimony about all manner of abuse based solely on the discomfort that others have with the appearance or mannerisms of transgender individuals. No one in this country should be subjected to these mistreatments, but this defined group of people experiences them frequently in their daily lives.
We are simply asking for full consideration of this bill on behalf of these Marylanders. Please pass HB 235 out of the Rules Committee and into JPR for a hearing on this very important issue.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Maggie McIntosh
Anne Kaiser
Heather Mizeur
Peter Murphy
Luke Clippinger
Bonnie Cullison
Mary Washington
Cc:Senator Katherine Klausmeier
Senator Brian Frosh
Basically, the LGBT caucus in the House of Delegates has made an ask of Sen. Miller — they, as a group, are asking him to ensure that the gender identity bill goes to the Senate floor for a vote.
There are now seven lesbian and gay Maryland delegates that are now strongly on record in favor of cvil rights based on gender identity. No matter what one’s opinon is of HB 235, having seven lesbian and gay Maryland Delegates who previously weren’t on record as an LGBT caucus for cvil rights based on gender identity who now are on record as an LGBT caucus — well, that’s a positive for future legislative years.
For lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voters and their allies in Maryland this year, this is now an important time to contact one’s State Senator, as well as contact Senator Miller‘s office. Civil rights are a LGBT community issue that is deserving of our attention and efforts.
GENDER IDENTITY BILL MOVES OUT OF RULES COMMITTEEEquality Maryland celebrates overcoming significant hurdle to keep critical protections moving
ANNAPOLIS, MD, APRIL 5, 2011 – Today, members of the Senate Rules Committee, lead by Senators Kathy Klausmeier and Brian Frosh, voted to send House Bill 235, the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act, to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee where given the public commitments made by committee members, it is expected to pass. HB 235 would prohibit discrimination against transgender Marylanders in the areas of employment, housing and credit.
Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Executive Director of Equality Maryland
“With today’s vote, the Senate Rules committee stood up for fairness. Discrimination is unjust, regardless of who experiences it and should never be tolerated. With the Rules Committee vote, we’re one step closer in passing vital protections for Maryland’s transgender community. Currently, 1 in 5 transgender Marylanders are fired because of who they are. In these tough economic times, no one should live in fear that they’ll be discriminated against in the workplace.We are hopeful that after thousands of emails and hundreds of calls that HB 235 will continue to advance, but we will not rest until the final minutes of this legislative session. Equality Maryland is joined by our coalition of partners and activists throughout the state in launching a full court press on this critical legislation. We need to keep up the hard work as we look towards a potential floor vote. This bill is about people’s lives and livelihood. We are committed to doing all that we can o ensure that transgender Marylanders are provided job and housing protections this year. It is long overdue.”
21 Comments
What’s the Big Deal?This is.
It really is something quite unexpected, and if nothing else good comes out of this sorry mess, it will still have been worth it to get this very public commitment from what had been perceived as a GLB, not GLBT, caucus.
There’s so much secrecy about who “really” has what opinions in Maryland, we’re not even permitted to know who the roadblocks are to inclusive Trans protections. We’re just assured that they exist.
This public statement is a refreshing change.
What ever became of HB 285?
The “travesty” in MarylandWhile I really don’t like the bill because it does not include public accommodations, passage of the flawed bill may be just slightly better than nothing in some ways – as long as the pressure is put on for introduction and passage of the public accommodations piece as soon as possible (even if that means next session). I think the elected officials should be committing now to do whatever is necessary to pass the follow up bill.
this is an intentionally flawed and incomplete bill that should never have been introduced without the public accommodations language – and there is a legitimate fear that it might be used, on passage, as a rationale for allowing the worst kinds of discrimination – as restaurant owners and others will believe they can deny service to trans folk with impunity based on this bill’s legislative history. Public accommodations is not just about bathrooms. And the lack of public accommodations inclusion makes for a situation worse than “separate but equal.” There is no requirement for any accommodation at all.
“that you allow”Clearly, with this letter and that language, they perceive Miller to be the obstacle.
I’m not familiar with all of the politics behind this – and so maybe someone more so can answer this – but is it of note that Senator Madaleno is not on this letter? Is there some reason why he can’t align himself with the House LGBT Caucus for this purpose? Maybe so, but I’m curious.
I think we should all put pressure on them to let it out of Rules because if we don’t, there is no reason why a bill in later years WITH public accommodations couldn’t be subjected to the same trick. This bill being singled out of the large pack is very suspect and a bad precedence to stand for.
Our LGBT Caucus needs some cahones, so this is a good step. As they congeal as a group and get more experience and seniority, we might be able to expect more and more from them. Right now, they are just getting their sea legs.
CajonesReally?
Madaleno isn’t a delagate, he’s a senatorSince the letter of from the House of Delegates’ LGBT caucus, I presume he isn’t on it because he works in the other chamber.
I know, but my question was why couldn’t he join with them and sign the letter.
lazy and entirely inappropriate, but, well, i was lazysorry
Is that an EQMD update hidden at the top of the comments indicating it made it out of Rules!!?
It passed the House and is now being debated in the Senate, where it has a good chance of passage.
the press release is below the fold.
Ask him.
Joann, I think most of us agree with you,but that train left the station months ago.
At this point, the more realistic question is, what impact would failure for an ENDA+ bill without public accommodations have on other states and localities? If we can’t manage this, why would other jurisdictions imagine they can do even better?
I also disagree that there is a legitimate fear that lack of PA in this bill will be used as an excuse for discrimination. I don’t think anyone pays attention to these things, so restauranteurs are not sitting watching the Senate webpage and salivating that passage of this bill will allow then now to discriminate against trans people. if they haven’t been doing it before, they won’t be doing it now.
Senator Madaleno has beenworking behind the scenes, quite effectively, I may add. This letter was meant to come from the House, and decorum means that only delegates should be signatories.
Many people, from many different angles, having been applying pressure on Senators Miller and Frosh. And it can now be said they have been successful.
That, in and of itself, is a victory not only for the trans community (regardless of your feelings about HB 235), but for democracy.
Maryland Gay CaucusThe Maryland Gay Caucus has worked tirelessly on this legislation – and despite the schism in the community over the flaws in this bills (which I have noted numerous times and I agree with the concerns), it is unproductive to focus on this internal struggle now.
At the very least, if HB 235 fails, we know – for the first time – who are the allies are on the floor or the House – and it includes all members of the gay caucus.
Also, see this from the Sun: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.co…
“JPR Chairman Brian Frosh is a member of the rules committee and during the brief committee meeting he asked have the bill in his panel. He said afterward that he is a long-time supporter the measure and said he could hold a hearing as early as Thursday.
But the move might not save the bill this year. Frosh warned that he is unsure how many members of his committee support it. He also noted that many in the transgender community don’t like it. And he warned that it could be amended, which would mean that, if the measure made past the Senate floor, it would still need to be passed again in the House.”
Frosh says he supports the measure. If TransMaryland lobbies against the bill in JPR, TransMaryland will have given cover to Frosh, who had the chance to pass a comprehensive bill in years past, but didn’t. I strongly urge TransMaryland to reconsider its forceful opposition with regard to this bill.
That last logic of some people never jived with me.1) People do not sit and watch for trans-related legislation and then parse it out to see what they still can do.
2) If there are people who do that, then they did it with the 2001 bill and saw they can stick it to trans people already and were doing so. Maybe they’ll see a headline that says “Anti-Discrimination Trans Bill Passed” and think they need to be more careful. Most people won’t know how to parse out the nuances without consulting with an attorney.
But this premise is crazy anyway, I agree. That fear is not legitimate.
*I’m finding that many (not all) of the arguments made against a bill without PA are defeated by the very existence of the 2001 which excludes the trans community.
And we added the press release as a separate post……with contact information for Maryland State Senators to lobby them about the bill. The link to that post is here.
Lol, drawers? Seriously?Cojones is the Spanish term you’re looking for. Cajones is the plural of drawers, as in furniture drawers.
Now, they may keep their cojones in their cajones…
In any case, male genitals are not a prerequisite for courage. Their letter is a well-timed push, and well-timed pressure is often much more effective than brute force in politics.
I meant Cajones (drawers) then because to be nonsensical is better than to be offensive (I agree with you).
That’s funny.I didn’t realize she was saying, “drawers.”
Can we just go with the generic, “gonads”? Then nobody but the over-delicate will be offended.
Decorum.Ok I knew there was probably a reason. Since he can’t be a Caucus (of 1), I would love if he could join them. But I guess he can in spirit and action, if not in name or formality.
I’m glad they/we/whoever were effective with the pressure. Maybe they’ll think twice before trying another manuever like that with our bills.