I received a form letter today from Joe Solomnese, President of HRC, encouraging me to contact my congressman specifically. My response to Joe:

"Congressman Cantor has already heard from me on several occasions concerning the original bill, H.R. 2015, as well as the Baldwin Amendment to H.R. 3685, no thanks to you. GIVE US BACK OUR 'T!"

But seriously folks, we really don't need HRC to contact our representatives to Congress. Simply go to :

http://www.house.gov/writerep

Tell your representative that you support the Baldwin Amendment to H.R. 3685, and that you oppose any effort to pass this legislation without inclusion of gender identity.

Congressman Frank's recent comments with regard to the trans inclusive ENDA serve only to negate any advocacy in behalf of the transgender community in which he might have engaged in the past, and to express a level of ignorance that places him on a par with the most extreme of right wing religious zealots.

Congressman Frank is not a member of the transgender community and as such, is not entitled to determine how we go about changing public perception and dispelling the misconceptions concerning us as individuals, just as it would be inappropriate for him to presume to dictate similar policy in behalf of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans or any other group of which he is not a member himself.

The task of educating the public that we have, for a fact undertaken has been successful to a degree, but this effort of education through mass media and public outreach can only be successful up to a point. We have reached that point, and now this endeavor must be taken to the next level by assuring that transgender Americans can take their place alongside our friends, families, neighbors and colleagues, and reach out to them in the most effective way possible, as one American to another. It is only in this way that the idea can be conveyed that we have the same needs and concerns as any other American.

I would ask that each distinguished member of our House of Representatives, as they take their seat in tomorrow's session, look at the person to their left and to their right. I would venture to say with 100% certainty that a great many of them will be looking at a person who is, in some way, shape or form gender variant, and that person might share these very ideas with them, if they felt that they could do so without fear of losing their livelihood, their home, their family, their life.

Forty four years ago, the Civil Rights Act did not automatically and overnight put an end to racial discrimination. In fact, it was not an end to the struggle of African Americans to overcome prejudice, but it provided that community the opportunity to prove that they are entitled to the same rights and privileges as all Americans. This is all the transgender community asks of our representatives, as constituents. The transgender community is acutely aware of the challenges we face in overcoming ignorance one American at a time. Congressman Frank would presume to manage this task in our behalf. All we ask is that we be provided the tools. Let us determine how to do the job.


NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR DESTINY. I IMPLORE ALL AMERICAN MEMBERS OF TRANNYWEB TO WRITE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO CONGRESS IMMEDIATELY. TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE THAT AS A CONSTITUENT, YOU SUPPORT THE INCLUSIVE VERSION OF THE EMPLOYMENT NON DISCRIMINATION ACT (H.R. 2015) AND THAT YOU OPPOSE THE NON INCLUSIVE VERSION OF THE BILL (H.R. 3685). THIS ISSUE IS ABOUT TO COME OUT OF COMMITTEE FOR A VOTE WITHIN A WEEK. THE DEADLINE APPROACHES. DON'T DELAY. PLEASE WRITE TODAY!

http://www.house.gov/writerep

Good luck everyone! i am with you in spirit. Ani XXX

Thanks very much for taking the time Kristina. It's not important how people get there, as long as they do. Time is ticking away, and we are drawing closer to ENDA going to a vote.

I realize that the majority of people in this site probably have no aspiration of living fulltime, so maybe ENDA isn't so important to them, but this is bigger than just TS people. This is about Americans being denied the opportunity to simply provide for themselves and their families solely because of who they are. No different from denying this basic opportunity to a person because of their race or nationality. It's about equality. It's not about transgender Americans. It's about Americans who happen to be transgender.

It makes no difference whether you, yourself have any plans to transition. Every American is diminished by prejudice. We have less than a week to let our representatives know that we believe in equality for ALL Americans.

This really only takes a minute. This is a situation where apathy is literally killing people. Please take the time to share your views with your representative to Congress. Do it today. Do it now. Doing this does not in any way jeopardize your privacy. You will not be suddenly "outed" to your neighbors and colleagues.

http://www.house.gov/writerep

Remember, H.R. 2015 good, H.R. 3685 bad.

Don't all jump at once.

It would appear that few of the American members here recognize the importance of the trans inclusive ENDA, or what people in our community are doing for us in Washington as we speak.

Don't let these efforts go to waste.

Write your Representatives now. THIS IS ABOUT YOU.

Daily Update on ENDA from the
National Center for Transgender Equality
October 13, 2007



Daily Update


from Mara Keisling, NCTE Executive Director

Saturday, October 13

Obviously, I should probably share my take on what most of you have probably heard happened yesterday. In general, we rarely talk about specific things said at specific meetings by specific people. I'll adhere to that guideline here as well, but since so many others have talked about the meeting including at least one organization that began making media calls before the meeting actually occurred, I will give you my straight take on what it all means.

Nothing new happened in terms of which ENDA bill will be running.

For the last couple of weeks, we have been told that our allies in Congress were 1) intending to have a vote on the non-inclusive bill (H.R. 3685) that no one wants and no one thinks will become law, while 2) the inclusive bill (H.R. 2015) might someday get a vote if we could prove we have the votes. The offer made yesterday and apparently brokered by HRC (according to them) without input or knowledge from NCTE or any other LGBT organization is exactly the same: our allies in Congress are 1) intending to have a vote on the non-inclusive bill (H.R. 3685) that no one wants and no one thinks will become law, while 2) the inclusive bill (H.R. 2015) might someday get a vote if we can prove we have the votes. Sounds the same, doesn't it? If you feel confused, it's because there hasn't been a "new deal" put on the table. It has though apparently been officially brokered and announced by HRC this time.

HRC's "new deal" is entirely spin meant to undermine the unprecedented grassroots efforts of hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of individuals in order to allow movement of their vanity bill that no one including Speaker Pelosi or Congressman Frank says they really want. Even HRC claims they don't want it even though they support it. Of course House leadership says they will hold a vote when there are sufficient votes, but it is our position (and the position of actual members of Congress) that there were sufficient votes three weeks ago. Yet the bill was pulled from consideration then and we have been promised that no vote will be held-that's what started this crisis. We have had and we do have the votes to pass H.R. 2015 and ask for a vote on this unified bill now.

We sincerely appreciate the work that the Speaker has put into advancing all LGBT rights and we acknowledge and treasure her commitment to seeing this through until the passage of rights for all of us. But we strongly disagree with and oppose this strategy. We oppose H.R. 3685 and believe taking Committee action on this bad bill is extremely harmful to our collective effort to win civil rights for all LGBT people.

NCTE is willing to hold double secret negotiations also to get this point across if that will help.

Mara Keisling
Executive Director
National Center for Transgender Equality

PS - We still need you to call your U.S. Representatives and tell them you want HR 2015 only. Get your friends, family, neighbors, etc. to do the same. If you have called once, then do it again now.



The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization. For more information, please visit www.nctequality.org.

It does appear that the gloves are off. Even NCTE, who had made an earnest effort to work with HRC, is pointing the finger of blame where it belongs here.

However, now is not the time for pointing fingers. We have until Thursday to turn things around. Whether or not your representative to Congress sits on the Education & Labor Committee, the time is now to let them know that we mean business.

We really need to do this NOW! Apathy will kill us. It already is killing us. PLEASE write to your congressional representative. Tell them you support ONLY an inclusive ENDA (H.R. 2015) and that you oppose the non inclusive bill (H.R. 3685)!

TAKE A MINUTE AND DO THIS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.house.gov/writerep

Right on, Wendy. This bill enables our free gender expression in all walks of life, not just the workplace.

By helping to make transgender Americans commonplace, we dispel the misconceptions surrounding us in the best way we can....one American at a time.

Anyone who does not take this opportunity to let our representatives in Washington know that we exist and that we count will have only themselves to blame for continuing to live a closeted life of fear.

http://www.house.gov/writerep

Support H.R. 2015......Oppose H.R. 3685

TODAY!

ACTION ALERT on ENDA from the
National Center for Transgender Equality
October 15, 2007



House committee meets Tuesday to decide whether or not a version of ENDA that cuts out protections for transgender people will advance in Congress



Your Representative needs to hear from you TODAY

The House Education and Labor Committee is holding a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the strategy proposed by some House leaders to pass an ENDA that cuts out protections for transgender people. A committee vote on the bill is tentatively scheduled for Thursday.



A list of Committee members is available at http://edlabor.house.gov/about/members.shtml.



Your Representative needs to hear from you TODAY about your opposition to the flawed strategy of advancing a bill that leaves transgender people behind.



Call your Representative right now at 202-224-3121, even if you have already called him/her already about this issue. Tell him/her to oppose advancing H.R. 3685, the bill that leaves transgender people behind. Tell him/her to push for a vote on H.R. 2015, the transgender-inclusive ENDA, instead.



Please call today. You have been asked to do a lot in the last few weeks to support transgender nondiscrimination protections. The action you take today might make the difference.


The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization. For more information, please visit www.nctequality.org.


We need your support to continue this work. Click here to join our mailing list or to donate now. Thank you!

ACTION ALERT on ENDA from the
National Center for Transgender Equality
October 15, 2007



House committee meets Tuesday to decide whether or not a version of ENDA that cuts out protections for transgender people will advance in Congress



Your Representative needs to hear from you TODAY

**********************************************

The earlier version of this email had a broken link to the committee member list. It is so important that you call TODAY, that we are resending the email with the link now working. Apologies for any inconveniences.


~NCTE


***********************************************







The House Education and Labor Committee is holding a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the strategy proposed by some House leaders to pass an ENDA that cuts out protections for transgender people. A committee vote on the bill is tentatively scheduled for Thursday.



A list of Committee members is available at: http://edlabor.house.gov/about/members.shtml





Your Representative needs to hear from you TODAY about your opposition to the flawed strategy of advancing a bill that leaves transgender people behind.



Call your Representative right now at 202-224-3121, even if you have already called him/her already about this issue. Tell him/her to oppose advancing H.R. 3685, the bill that leaves transgender people behind. Tell him/her to push for a vote on H.R. 2015, the transgender-inclusive ENDA, instead.



Please call today. You have been asked to do a lot in the last few weeks to support transgender nondiscrimination protections. The action you take today might make the difference.


The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization. For more information, please visit www.nctequality.org.

PFLAG

« Act Now for GLBT Inclusion!Not Trans Inclusive? Then we’ll Oppose ENDA. »Jody Huckaby’s Comments from 10/1 Press Event
Yesterday (Oct. 1) PFLAG’s Jody Huckaby spoke as part of a group of GLBT leaders on the critical importance of including everyone in our community and family in the language of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The text of his comments is below:

On Friday morning, PFLAG sent out an action alert warning its members about the possibility that our transgender family members could be excluded from ENDA. Like Mara [Keisling] said, the response was
unlike anything we’d seen before. Our offices were flooded with calls. Parents, family members and friends of LGBT people contacted us to ask how they could help stop this from happening.

On Tuesday, before this news broke, our staff had delivered 12,000 postcards from our members encouraging Congress to support a trans-inclusive ENDA. It isn’t a surprise that the news that the bill might not be inclusive was a devastating blow to these advocates. One Ohio woman even called to tell us that she’d collected and turned in 600 of these postcards, but wanted them all back if transgender people were going to be taken out of the legislation!

It is not a “strategy” to leave some of our loved ones behind. A strategy would keep our family together, keep our families included, and finally keep them protected. This is an unacceptable tactic, and PFLAG — as part of the LGBT and ally community — is strongly united in opposing any plan to move forward with legislation that excludes a part of our family and divides our community.

SCEC

No Room for "Compromise" on Equality for All!
THERE IS NO ROOM FOR "COMPROMISE" ON ENDA
Workplace non-discrimination legislation must include sexual orientation AND gender identity

House Democratic leaders have expressed their intent to remove non-discrimination provisions covering transgender persons from the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

The professed justification for including some LGBT people and not others is that ENDA may not pass if transgender-inclusive language is part of the bill. This would mean that, even if the bill were to pass and become law, it would still be legal in the vast majority of states, including South Carolina, to fire someone from their job simply because of their gender identity and/or expression.

At South Carolina Equality, our work is focused on the elimination of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

We need you to let your U.S. Representative and the House leadership know that you support ENDA as it is written NOW - including gender identity. Our elected leaders need to know that supporters of LGBT equality do NOT support legislation that protects some community members and not others.

There is no room for "compromise" when the subject is equality for all.

With one click, you can take action now.

The Education & Labor Committee has announced their intent to move the non inclusive version of ENDA (H.R. 3685) to the floor for a vote in general session next week. All is not lost, however, as Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, one of the original sponsors of the inclusive version (H.R. 2015) has drafted an amendment to 3685 that includes gender identity.

Put on your letter writing hat yet again. Keep the pressure on your representative to support the Baldwin Amendment to 3685. It ain't over 'til it's over.

http://www.house.gov/writerep

I don't think it matters whether or not a TG/TS person is planning to live full-time or not. All of us will benefit from a law that says "Thou shall not discriminate against LGBT persons". Whether it is your job or simply being able to go out of your house or even dress at home in privacy, you will benefit from a reduction in anxiety by the presence of such a law. You have a right......use it....write your representatives in Washington and let them know: We are all free or none of us are free.

For those of you who wish to make a last minute email to your Congressman/woman, I am posting a copy of the one I sent to my Congressman. Alter it to suit the feelings you have in your own heart. It doesn't claim membership in the GLBT community so you will not be outing yourself. You will just be standing up as an American who believes in the Constitution, the True American Values. TODAY IS THE DAY! Write NOW> Use one of Robyn's links and it will take you only a few minutes. I chose to also contact both my US Senators to encourage them to speak out against the non-inclusive version of the bill.

*****

"The ENDA Bill, HR 2015 was written to be inclusive of all GLBT persons. The H.R. 3685 Bill is non-inclusive of TG/TS persons. This is not only an unacceptable change, it overtly targets TG/TG persons as being unworthy of the protection that other Americans are entitled to. It is like opening hunting season for bigots on one of the most abused groups of people in the world. Please speak out in opposition to the non-trans-inclusive version and vote for the trans-inclusive version's passage. It is time we began to openly accept transgender children in society. This will brand them with a scarlet T. If for no other reason than your longstanding support of equality, do it for the children and encourage others in Congress to do so. I never got over seeing 'WHITE ONLY' signs throughout the South in the sixties. I grew up in a world where black children were taught to think of black being inferior. Where black children chose white Barbie dolls over black ones. I don't want a country in which "NO T'S ALLOWED" signs are legal. If HR 3685 passes, it will be legal to discriminate in employment on the basis of gender identification. This means it will also be legal to discriminate against non-TG/TS persons and exclude THEM from jobs. We are all protected or none of us are.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual people see that fact and support the trans-inclusive bill at the possible cost of their own immediate protection. They clearly understand that we are all free or none of us are."