The following is the call to arms I rec’d from the friendly folks of the Alliance For Full Acceptance. Don’t forget that once one group of citizens gets excluded from the process, it’s that much easier to move on to the next group deemed “unfit” for whatever reason.
This is about civil rights, people!
Acceptance Without Exception
Insist on a transgender-inclusive ENDA!
Tell Congress you’re watching: You want a transgender-inclusive ENDA passed this year!
Last week, leadership in the House of Representatives announced they were moving forward with a nondiscrimination bill that would not have protections for transgender people. The outcry from the LGBT community was united, and intense. We stood together and said we would rather have no ENDA than a bill that left some of us behind.
You changed the course of Congress. On Monday, the House leadership announced that the committee vote that was scheduled for this week was postponed. But that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet. We need to make sure that every single member of Congress has heard from constituents, urging him/her to support a transgender-inclusive ENDA. We also need to make the specific request: oppose any effort to weaken the bill, including by stripping or modifying any of the transgender protections.
Call your Representative TODAY at (202) 224-3121 (or use direct numbers below) and ask him to “support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 2015, as originally introduced – a fully inclusive bill that provides workplace protections to gay, lesbian, bisexual, AND transgender individuals.”
If your Representative says he supports the bill or is a cosponsor, please follow up with:
“Thank you. I urge you to fully support ENDA (H.R. 2015) as introduced, and to OPPOSE any effort to weaken the bill, including by stripping or modifying any of the transgender protections.”
Talking Points
ENDA Must Contain Explicit Protections for Gender Identity
ENDA should protect the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community from unequal treatment in the workplace, especially those of us who are most vulnerable to discrimination.
The LGBT community is one community, and we want to move forward, together, in one bill.
Including explicit protections against discrimination based on gender identity not only helps transgender people; it also strengthens ENDA for the rest of our community by ensuring that an employer cannot fire or refuse to hire a gay employee for an “effeminate” walk or a lesbian employee for dressing “too butch.”
Despite advances in protecting transgender people on the state and local level, as well as in the private sector, it remains perfectly legal in 39 states to fire someone solely based on his or her gender identity.
Recent national surveys have found that 65% of people believe it should be illegal to discriminate against transgender people in employment.
About the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
This legislation would address discrimination in the workplace by making it illegal to fire, refuse to hire, or refuse to promote an employee simply based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. It would reinforce the principle that employment decisions should be based upon a person’s qualifications and job performance.
ENDA closely follows the model of existing federal civil rights laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, ensuring that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are treated in the same way as other groups protected under law – no better, no worse.
Most of America’s smartest business minds understand that a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity has nothing to do with their job performance. That is why 200 Fortune 500 companies include gender identity in their nondiscrimination policies.
Federal law has also been outpaced by the actions of state and local leaders. Thirty-seven percent of the country, including eleven states and more than 90 cities and counties, have passed protections for the transgender community.
TAKE ACTION
Representative Joe Wilson (R – 02)
DC Phone: 202-225-2452
DC FAX: 202-225-2455
Email http://www.house.gov/formwilson/IMA/issue.htm
Representative Gresham Barrett (R – 03)
DC Phone: 202-225-5301
DC FAX: 202-225-3216
Email http://www.house.gov/formbarrett/writebarrett.htm
Representative Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R – 01)
DC Phone: 202-225-3176
DC FAX: 202-225-3407
Email: http://brown.house.gov/writebrown/
Representative Bob Inglis (R – 04)
DC Phone: 202-225-6030
DC FAX: 202-226-1177
Email http://inglis.house.gov/contact.asp?content=sections/contact/write_inglis
Representative John M. Spratt, Jr. (D – 05)
DC Phone: 202-225-5501
DC FAX: 202-225-0464
Email http://www.house.gov/spratt/email_john.shtml
Representative James E. Clyburn (D – 06)
DC Phone: 202-225-3315
DC FAX: 202-225-2313
Email http://clyburn.house.gov/zip_code_verify.cfm
Thank you to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
and United ENDA for their assistance in preparing this alert. Stay cool. Support City Paper. City Paper has been bringing the best news, food, arts, music and event coverage to the Holy City since 1997. Support our continued efforts to highlight the best of Charleston with a one-time donation or become a member of the City Paper Club.