New Resource: Preparing for Airport Security

While most transgender and gender non-conforming people get through airport security without any incidents, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) urges travelers to understand their rights before going through airport security with our new resource Airport Security and Transgender People.

The seasonal Holiday travel uptick can mean things are more hectic and potentially confusing for travelers and for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) than usual. Airport security practices do not allow transgender travelers to completely avoid invasive screenings or pat-downs. However, all travelers have a right to safety, privacy, and respect.

Transgender travelers should be familiar with specific protections they have at airport security including:

1. You can opt out of body scanning machines at any time. However, travelers who opt-out of body scanning machines will be required to undergo a thorough pat-down.
2. Transgender travelers have a right to a pat-down by an agent of the same gender as the traveler. This is based on your gender presentation. The gender on your identification documents and boarding passes should not matter for pat-downs.
3. Travelers have a right to request that a pat-down be held in a private screening area, and with a witness or companion of the traveler’s choosing.
4. You should not any time be subjected to personal questions about your gender, or be forced to lift, remove or raise an article of clothing to reveal a prosthetic item. Prosthetic items include binding garments and breast forms.
5. All children under age thirteen have a right to modified screening procedures.

NCTE recommends that individuals take simple steps to ensure a smooth experience at airport security including:

VICTORY: State Department Makes Additional Changes

The U.S. State Department has announced some small but important additional changes to its policy for updating gender on U.S. passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs). The changes make clear that any physician who has treated or evaluated a passport applicant may certify that he or she has had appropriate treatment for gender transition. The revised policy also clarifies language and procedures to ensure that individuals with intersex condition can obtain documents with the correct gender.

In June 2010, the Obama Administration announced a new policy for updating gender markers on passports and CRBAs. For the first time, the June policy enabled transgender people to a passport that reflects their current gender without providing details of specific medical or surgical procedures. Instead, applicants could provide certification from a physician that they had received “appropriate clinical treatment” for gender transition. This policy was the result of years of advocacy, and represented a significant advance in providing safe, humane and dignified treatment of transgender people.

The policy announced in June was a huge step forward, but it was not perfect. It contained rigid and unnecessary restrictions on which physicians could write supporting letters for applicants, and contained confusing provisions regarding people with intersex conditions. With input from NCTE and other organizations, the Department moved swiftly to clarify and improve the policy. The passport policy as it now stands represents a model that other federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, should move swiftly to adopt.

NCTE has prepared a revised resource that fully explains the new guidelines and outlines the ways in which transgender people can make changes to their passports and CRBAs. We are thankful for our colleagues at the Council for Global Equality, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Lesbian Rights for their wonderful collaborative work on this vital issue.

Two transgender judges to serve

This week, two transgender people achieved victories as judges. Phyllis Randolph Frye, a veteran transgender legal advocate, was appointed by Houston mayor Annise Parker as an Associate Municipal Judge. The City Council unanimously approved the appointment and she was sworn in yesterday. Phyllis’ contributions to the transgender community over the decades are numerous and groundbreaking. She truly has been a pioneer securing legal rights for transgender people and standing up for those who would not otherwise have a voice.

And in Alameda County, California, the vote count is finally done and Victoria Kolakowski was officially declared the winner of her race for Superior Court Judge. She will be the nation’s first out transgender person elected as a trial judge. She, too, brings decades of legal experience to her work.

“Both of these women achieved what they did because of their qualifications,” noted Mara Keisling, NCTE’s executive director. “Both are deeply dedicated to their profession. The people of the United States deserve the very best judges and that is what they got in both of these cases. What is important here is that Mayor Parker of Houston and the voters of Alameda County removed the artificial barriers that are put in place by anti-transgender discrimination and made their decision based on the qualifications of these two outstanding women.”

NCTE extends its congratulations to both Phyllis and Vicky. This is truly a victory as barriers fall and two deserving judges take the bench.

Victory in Employment Discrimination Case

Justin Tanis, Cole Thaler, Congressman John Lewis, Vandy Beth Glen and her friend David

Vandy Beth Glenn, represented by Lambda Legal, won her case in District Court after suing her former employer for firing her because of her transition. She worked as a legislative editor for the Georgia State Assembly, a job she enjoyed and where she put in long, dedicated hours; in 2006, she informed her supervisor that she would be transitioning from male to female.

Her supervisor spoke with Sewell Brumby, the General Assembly’s Legislative Counsel, who in 2007 fired Ms. Glenn because he felt that her transition was, according to court documents, “inappropriate, that it would be disruptive, that some people would view it as a moral issue, and that it would make Glenn’s coworkers uncomfortable.” He also said he was concerned about the reactions of Georgia state legislators, stating his belief that, “some legislators would believe that Glenn’s gender transition was immoral, unnatural, and ‘ultraliberal’.”

In 2008, Lambda Legal filed suit asserting that in firing Ms. Glenn, Mr. Brumby violated the Equal Protection clause of the constitution by treating her differently because she didn’t conform to sex stereotypes and because of her medical condition.  Late last Friday, July 2^nd, the Northern District Court of Georgia ruled that her rights were violated because she was discriminated against because she didn’t match how the Mr. Brumby felt someone born male should act. However, her claim of discrimination because of her medical condition was denied.

United States District Court Judge Richard Story in his decisions wrote, “This Court concurs with the majority of courts that have addressed this issue, finding that discrimination against a transgendered individual because of their failure to conform to gender stereotypes constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.” He also noted that, “…avoiding the anticipated negative reactions of others cannot serve as a sufficient basis for discrimination and does not constitute an important government interest.”

In September 2009, Vandy Beth Glenn testified before Congress about the importance of passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and met with her Representative, John Lewis, who is a strong supporter of the measure.

NCTE applauds the work of Lambda Legal on this case and thanks Vandy Beth for her courage and tenacity in standing up against the discrimination she encountered. This case shows why we need to pursue legal action at the same time that we are working to pass laws that make it clear that discrimination is unacceptable in the American workplace.

You can read more about the decision from Lambda Legal.

It’s Time to Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

NCTE fully supports the repeal of the deeply flawed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy used to discharge gay, lesbian and bisexual people from the US military. We stand in solidarity with those who want to serve openly, without fear that a revelation of their sexual orientation will end their careers.  We recognize, too, that military service is an important path for some to obtain education, jobs, housing and other important benefits.

While DADT is specifically focused on sexual orientation, not on gender identity, it very much impacts transgender service members. Differences in gender expression have been assumed by some to signify a lesbian or gay sexual orientation and so have triggered investigations and discharges. There are many active duty service members who identify as transgender; however, contrary to modern medical understanding, the military continues to wrongly consider gender identity as a mental illness that disqualifies people from entering or serving.

The movement to repeal DADT and the work to pass federal employment protections through the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) share a common root—a person’s right to pursue the career path they choose.  One of the freedoms Americans cherish is the right of individuals to determine the course of their own futures. Whether that path is military service or another way of earning a living, none of us should be curtailed from pursuing our dreams and goals because of the prejudice of individuals or institutions.

It is time to remove the barriers to full and open employment for all LGBT people in both the military and civilian sectors.

People are telling Congress: I WANT A JOB!

Jennifer Chavez is a 52-year-old Transgender women who lost her previous job within 2 months of letting her employer know that she was transgender. She has taken action to let her member of Congress know that she needs a job; we asked her if she’d let us know how it went. Here is her story:

I am a ASE Master certified auto repair technician with L-1 Advanced Driveability Specialist certification with 37 years experience in all facets of the industry, shops are in desperate need of a person with my skills, yet no one will hire me due to my transition.

I found out about ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and of all the organizations and people involved with trying to correct this social injustice, our loss of Civil Rights. I contacted my Senators and Congressmen to tell them of my hope that they support ENDA and discovered that Senators Saxby Chambliss, Johnny Issakson and Congressman Phil Gingrey all oppose us for various reasons, none of them logical. Their explanations are easily broken down when put to the test. When NCTE posted on Facebook that we should take our resume’s directly to their offices, I thought what a fantastic idea!

I composed a letter to Congressman Gingrey since the bill, H.B.3017, is in the house legislature at the moment, asking him once again to reconsider his opposition to ENDA and I included my resume, along with a copy of my voter registration card, my initial letter to him with his response and my response to that and a copy of my certifications and training so that he could see first hand who I was. I also asked for suggestions as to what I should do to find a job, and I delivered it directly to his office in Marietta, Georgia. I am awaiting a response.

Thank you, Jennifer, for taking action. The personal stories and actions of individuals make a huge difference in passing bills like ENDA.

We wish you the very best in your job search!