In The Rainbow Times, U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) came out in strong support of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, currently on the docket in the state legislature. Senator Kerry called on Massachusetts voters to continue leading the nation on LGBT equality. The Transgender Equal Rights Bill adds “gender identity and expression” to the existing state non-discrimination policy. Senator Kerry emphasized the unjust discrimination and violence that transgender people often face just for being who they are:
“Discrimination against transgender people is widespread and ignoring it is simply not an option. It’s an especially serious problem in our schools, where we’ve all witnessed the tragic and sometimes deadly consequences of bullying. But discrimination against transgender people isn’t limited to certain age groups and certain environments. It’s everywhere.”
Earlier this month, the National Center for Transgender Equality co-led a citizen lobbying training with Gunner Scott, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) and Lisa Mottet, Transgender Civil Rights Project Director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The training brought community members and activists together in preparation for MTPC’s lobby day.
Read the full story here.
Read the factsheet explaining the bill produced by our friends at MTPC.
This truly great to see. Back in 2004, when Kerry was running for President, I led a group of ten trans activists under the banner of OUTForDemocracy-Transgender in a meeting with the LGBT Outreach reps of the Kerry campaign, the first time such a meeting had ever taken place with the campaign of a major party Presidential candidate.
At the time, the Kerry campaign refused to even do so much as acknowledge our existence or even sign onto the basic idea that all Americans should be treated fairly and equally. The one thing we got out of that meeting was the appointment of Mara, who was one of our meeting team members, to the DNC Steering Committee. Thing was, no one on the Kerry staff could explain to us how this appointment helped our community in any significant way.
OFD-TG took a vote soon after the meeting and decided that we could not in good conscience support or endorse Kerry for President. Shortly thereafter, Kerry came out against transgender inclusion in ENDA and in support of a Massachusetts state ban on same-sex marriage.
It’s interesting to see how times have changed, isn’t it?
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