Blog Posts for Transgender Rights Project
Know Your Rights: Transgender Rights in New England
We’ve come a good way towards establishing legal protections for transgender people in New England in the past several years. In 2011, both Connecticut and Massachusetts added gender identity to their anti-discrimination laws, joining Rhode Island (2001), Maine (2005) and Vermont (2007) in providing protections in employment, housing and credit, and, in all but Massachusetts, public accommodations (like restaurants, bars, parks, stores, hospitals, shelters, etc.). But there is still work to do.
MA Transgender Discrimination Survey
Do you have a story about unfair treatment you or someone you know has faced when accessing everyday places like libraries, hospitals, stores and restaurants, or when using public transit, city streets or sidewalks? Please take this 3 minute survey to tell us about your experience.
Into the Woods: Providing a Different Kind of Counsel at Camp for Transgender & Gender Variant Youth
The last time I went to summer camp was nearly 35 years ago. Beginning when I was seven and continuing into my early adolescence, I spent between four and eight weeks each summer at overnight camp. The experience of being among peers and away from home was formative and life-changing, as it is for thousands, probably millions, of children throughout the world. I’ll never forget those long summer afternoons surrounded by friends playing kickball for hours followed by dinner (grilled cheese and tomato soup washed down with a tall cup of bug juice), a night game of capture the flag, then milk squad, and staying up late ignoring the counselors’ warnings to “get to sleep.
The Definition Of “Gender Identity Or Expression” in CT Non-Discrimination Law
In a guest post at Pam’s House Blend, GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer L. Levi dispels concerns about the definition of “gender identity or expression” included in Connecticut’s new anti-discrimination law.
A Fortuitous Friday-night Phone Call Brings a Front-row Seat for CT’s Long-awaited Victory
I could hardly believe that the moment for which I’d waited nearly six years had arrived. H.B. 6599, Connecticut’s transgender civil rights bill, had passed the House of Representatives nearly two weeks ago and I’d been waiting impatiently for it to be run in the Senate. But each time I e-mailed Betty Gallo, our staunch lobbyist who’s been tirelessly working this bill for years, there was little to report. I sent her a short e-mail earlier in the day asking, “Any info on timing?” She quickly replied, “No.” Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about the bill when I left work that afternoon for my son’s baseball game. But when the call came from Jerimarie Liesegang, head of the Connecticut Transgender Advocacy Coalition (also a visionary, tireless and devoted advocate), I knew I needed to get there quickly.
My Afternoon on the Hot Seat, and Other Adventures in Transgender Advocacy
On Monday, I testified before the Connecticut Legislature’s Judiciary Committee in favor H.B. 6599, “An Act Concerning Discrimination,” which would add the phrase gender identity and expression in Connecticut’s non-discrimination laws. My prepared testimony was just about two minutes, but I spent the next hour on the hot seat, fielding questions from committee members about the bill and how, when adopted as law, it would be enforced. That is as it should be. It’s important to let those who are just learning about transgender people’s lives ask of all their questions and have them answered in a reasoned, thoughtful way.
It’s Tax Time: Good News/Bad News
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year. At least there is some good news for transgender tax payers this year. But still the same bad news for married same sex couples.
Know Your Rights: An Introduction to GLAD’s Legal InfoLine
Legal InfoLine Manager Bruce Bell begins a regular weekly blog post today.
Don’t let fear tactics undermine the Maine Human Rights Act’s vital protections
Ultimately it is the purpose of the Maine Human Rights Act to allow individuals the same opportunity to prove themselves in work and in public life, without barriers imposed by discrimination and prejudice.
In Honor of Transgender Remembrance Day
The following post was written for the Children’s Hospital blog by the father of a transgender child with whom GLAD has had the honor of working for some time.