In a groundbreaking meeting, representatives of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community met with an Assistant Attorney General and members of the Office of Policy Development of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to discuss violence and bias-related crimes against differently-gendered people.
The meeting had been requested by members of the transgender community in a letter sent to Janet Reno following the bombing of the Otherside bar in Atlanta. Although the bombing was considered a "gay and lesbian" hate crime, the Otherside was also well-known by local citizens for its bisexual and transgender clientele.
Transgender activists Dana Priesing, Tonye Barreto-Neto and Riki Anne Wilchins were joined by the Human Rights Campaign's Kris Pratt, Bi-Net's Lorraine Hutchins, and NGLTF's Helen Gonzales. Declared Ms. Gonzales, "As far as we know, this is the first meeting of its kind, and a crucial step for all of us in helping those on the Hill -- and in the administration -- recognize the importance of crimes against the differently-gendered."
The meeting capped a week of extraordinary effort on the Hill beginning with National Gender Lobbying Day (May 5), during which gender activists from around the country gathered signatures from Congress members about violence against the differently-gendered. To date, three such letters are circulating the Hill. Signatories include Representatives Ed Towns (NY), Maurice Hinchey (NY), Ronald Dellums (CA), Caroline Maloney (NY), Mel Watt (NC), Bruce Vento (MN), William Clay (MO), Jerome Nadler (NY), and Barney Frank (MA). Those letters were presented to DOJ staffers.
Said Alex Beckles, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Ed Towns, the first Congress member to sign a statement on trans-violence, "Ed Towns feels strongly that no American -- be they gay or straight, black or white, or transgendered -- should be the target of violence or have to live with the fear of violence, and we were glad for the opportunity to sign on to such a letter."
In her opening remarks, Dana Priesing noted, "DOJ finds itself in the position of having to create policy for identities which didn't even exist 20 years ago. As people increasingly identify publicly as bisexual or transgendered, there are going to be more hate crimes based on these identities. One of the reasons we are here is to serve as a resource for DOJ, as it comes to grips with formulating policies dealing with hate crimes against these groups."
Tonye Barreto-Neto, a Florida Deputy-Sheriff and Exective Director of TOPS (Transgender Officers Protect and Serve) spoke at length on the problems of implementing hate-crimes legislation at the street level, saying "Even where the right statutes exist, officers on the street often lack sufficient training to recognize a trans or bi related hate crime when they see one. In fact, even when they recognize it and the proper authority exists -- as with gay bashing -- officers in the field are loath to write up such crimes because of all the greatly enhanced attention and work a hate crime brings with it."
The meeting ranged broadly from the verdict in the recent Chanelle Pickett murder trial and enforcement of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to a recently published survey on trans-violence. The meeting concluded by focusing on the three-fold challenge ahead. First is the uphill struggle to cover trans-violence under existing Hate Crimes legislation. At present, DOJ lacks the statutory authority to deal directly with violence based on gender-difference. Second is developing the proper policies to deal with such violence. And third is pushing policy and information back down to the street level, so that officers on the beat recognize and prosecute trans-violence just as they currently do with elder abuse or spousal assault.
Concluded HRC's Kris Pratt, "We feel violence is an area where we can work constructively with all members of the larger queer community. The next step is to seriously work the Hill on this issue, and see how deep and wide the legislative resolve against gender-based violence really is. Amending hate crimes legislation to include gender expression or identity will probably be an uphill battle, but one in which we're glad to participate."
Said Ms. Wilchins, "What's surprising is who didn't sign the letters... liberal Democrats who've been demonstrably gay-friendly. We need to approach every Congress member -- and especially ENDA sponsors -- to learn what we need to do to gain their recognition and support."