"Not only do we plan to participate in this nation wide protest against the HRCF, but we plan to hold the largest protest the HRCF has encountered." This according to Sarah DePalma, chair of It's Time, Texas!
This protest stems from actions taken by the HRCF to exclude transgenders from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). After a year long effort by transgender political organizations to produce a transgender inclusive bill, the HRCF succeeded in having transgenders removed from the legislation.
The actions of the HRCF follow the same pattern seen a year earlier when Chai Feldblum, the drafter of ENDA, acknowledged that transgenders were purposely omitted because the HRCF felt inclusion might cost them twenty votes. Transgender groups retaliated by securing twenty votes from legislators who agreed not to vote for ENDA unless transgenders were included.
In this most recent incident, the HRCF knew transgender inclusive language had already been drafted in the autumn of 1994 in response to a request from the ranking Republican Senator on the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, Jim Jeffords. According to Reg Jones, "The HRCF approached me in my capacity as an aide to Senator Jeffords to introduce ENDA in the same format as last year's bill that did not address transgender concerns, and the HRCF rejected any amendment to include transgenders." The HRCF later asked Reg Jones to recant his statement which he refused to do.
In response to this blatant discrimination, It's Time, America!, Transsexual Menace, and Transgender Nation agreed to join forces and stage informational protests and pickets at HRCF fund raising events throughout the nation. Protests have already taken place in New York City, Atlanta, Houston, and Philadelphia.
The goal of the Dallas protest, according to Ms. DePalma, is to show the HRCF everything is bigger in Texas, including the ability to organize and stage effective protests.
"We staged an effective protest in Austin when the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby excluded us from hate crimes legislation. I expect this will be many times larger and much more organized." she said. "We are making arrangements for car caravans from Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth. Add this to our numbers in Dallas and our presence should be considerable."
Transgenders point out their exclusion by the HRCF:
1) Violates the spirit of the 1969 rebellion at Stonewall where transgendered individuals fully participated in the beginning of the inclusive gay/lesbian/bisexual rights movement.
2) Violates the first demand of the Platform of the 1993 March on Washington which specifically demands passage of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender civil rights bill.
3) Violates the unanimously passed resolution of the Board of Directors of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA) in January of 1995 which, "strongly urges members of congress to include the transgendered in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and any successor or amended bills." (NLGLA is the only gay legal association affiliated with the American Bar Association.)
The three transgender political organizations issued three demands to the HRCF.
1) "The HRCF must immediately cease their opposition to transgender inclusion in ENDA." Despite the fact Elizabeth Birch has had personal meetings with Riki Wilchins of Transsexual Menace and Tere Fredrickson of It's Time, San Antonio!, the HRCF has steadfastly refused to end their opposition.
2) "The HRCF issue a press release stating they would immediately become transgender inclusive." No word from the HRCF on this point.
3) "The HRCF issue a statement recognizing transgender inclusion in the Queer rights movement." No word on this point either.
Ms. DePalma went out of her way to make this point perfectly clear. "It's Time, Texas!, and transgenders around the country are utterly committed to this struggle. We understand that gays and lesbians generally are not aware of what their political organizations are doing. Our mail and personal comments made to us bear this out. Our goal is to make the HRCF understand that if they continue on their current course they will become generals without an army."
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