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Another Victory for Inclusiveness

Gay Legal Group Now Includes TGs



On Sunday, 3 August 1997, the Board of Directors of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA), meeting in San Francisco, voted unanimously to affirm Bisexual and Transgender incorporation in its by-laws.

In 1994 the International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy was invited to present two transgender workshops at the NLGLA's Lavender Law Conference in Portland Oregon and were represented by Sharon Stuart, Melinda Whiteway, JoAnna McNamara and Phyllis Frye. Following same, one transgender law student, JoAnna McNamara, was elected to the Board and ICTLEP's Executive Director, Phyllis Frye, was elected to an alternate Board slot. In 1995, the Board unanimously resolved that transgenders should be included in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and other lesbian/gay ordinances and statutes being offered around the nation. This was largely the work of Sharon, Melinda, JoAnna, and Phyllis plus BATLAW's Kim Stuart. In 1996, the NLGLA's Lavender Law Conference in New Orleans again presented several transgender workshops but also incorporated transgender panelists and issues into other legal workshop subjects. The ICTLEP Executive Director was elected to the Board.

In January of this year, the ICTLEP Secretary, Dee McKellar, was also elected to the Board of NLGLA. A proposal was offered by Phyllis Frye to insure that the Bisexual and Transgendered inclusive spirit of past NLGLA actions was not a fad but was actually an integral part of the by-laws. A committee was formed to study the matter as to the wording that would best work and its implications.

The by-law work was necessary because of evolution of the English language. Just as the word "men" no longer is understood necessarily to mean "men and women", and just as the term "gay" was deemed to not necessarily include "lesbians", the term "sexual orientation" no longer is understood to include transgender "gender identification" concerns and behaviors. Further, NLGLA Board considered transgendered and bisexual persons to be integral parts of the diverse gay and lesbian community and has openly operated in that fashion since 1994. After the committee report and a long Board dialog, including guest speakers from ICTLEP and from the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Melinda Whiteway and Shannon Minter, it was decided that this was not a changing of by-laws to initially include bisexuals and transgenders, but instead was a more complete definition of the original by-laws to incorporate both bisexuals and transgenders who have always been a part of the lesbian and gay community in all of its diversity. The method chosen was the Minnesota method of defining the lesbian and gay community to be diverse and to include, but not be limited to, lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgendered people. The vote was unanimous.