"This is an important victory for democracy, that it proves that the most marginalized community, if it speaks out forcefully and directly enough, can move its government, and that many people are responsible for making this happen. But now we're back in the normal flow, out of limbo, and we need to work to get this done. Further discussion will be for later."~Dr. Dana Beyer
Maryland's HB 235 (frequently referred to as the Gender Identity Bill) has moved out of the Maryland Senate's Rules Committee, and to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. From the Equality Maryland (EqMD) press release:
GENDER IDENTITY BILL MOVES OUT OF RULES COMMITTEE
Equality Maryland celebrates overcoming significant hurdle to keep critical protections movingANNAPOLIS, 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."
Let me state here that this is a time for action -- this is the time to contact Maryland State Senators about HB 235. The following is contact information for the members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee:
- James Brochin
- Jennie M. Forehand
- Joseph M. Getty
- Nancy Jacobs
- Victor R. Ramirez
- Jamin B. (Jamie) Raskin
- Christopher B. Shank
- Norman R. Stone, Jr.
- Robert A. Zirkin
To contact one's own Maryland State Senator about the importance of HB 235, Equality Maryland has a page where one can enter in one's zip code to find out who one's representatives are, and how to contact those representatives. That webpage is here.
Transgender civil rights are human rights -- that needs to be communicated to Maryland State Senators now.