victoriajaye
06-13-2007, 02:16 AM
Below is a portion of the June newsletter from national center for
transgendered equality. http://nctequality.org/
specifically the progress around the country...unfortuneatly in Connecticut, our bill was blocked by committee and never made it to the full vote
before the session expired.
love,
Victoria
June 2007 Newsletter
Legislative Progress Around the Country
The last few months have been very busy and seen successful passage
of a number of pieces of legislation. All over the country, bills
that impact the transgender community in a positive way have been
moving forward. We have had the governors of four more states—Iowa,
Oregon, Colorado, and Vermont—sign new non-discrimination bills
which add gender identity or expression. That means that now 13
states have laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of
gender identity or expression and 20 states ban sexual orientation
discrimination.
Also in the news, Iowa's Governor Chet Culver signed an anti-
bullying law that protects school children from harassment on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.
California and North Carolina got one step closer to similar
victories for school safety in passing school-safety related
legislation in one chamber of their legislature.
Disappointingly, we didn't win them all. In Tennessee, a bill is
moving through committee that, if passed, would have the impact of
restricting LGBT youth's access to public school student
organizations such as Gay-Straight Alliances. And in Nebraska, the
cornhusker state is one of the very few left in which the LGBT
community is supporting an anti-discrimination bill that protects
people based on sexual orientation but not gender identity. The
legislature dropped this non-discrimination bill after no serious
consideration begging the question of whether the inclusion of
gender identity would hurt the bill.
More details on other important state legislation include:
Iowa – An amendment to the Iowa civil rights code passed extending
civil rights protections and non-discrimination provisions to LGBT
people in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and
educational institutions. The bill passed the Iowa Senate 34 to 16
and the House 59 to 37, and was sent to Iowa Governor Chet Culver
who signed the bill on May 25.
Also in Iowa, Governor Culver signed a law which mandates that all
school districts in Iowa have anti-bullying policies barring
harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or
expression, among other things, in any school, on any school
property, and at any school-sponsored event.
Oregon – The state of Oregon passed a new law prohibiting
discrimination in employment, public accommodation, housing, and
public education, among other things. Senate Bill 2 passed in the
Oregon Senate 21 to 7 and House 35 to 25, and was signed into law by
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski on May 9, 2007. This law will take
effect January 1, 2008. Also attached to this bill was an amendment
to the state's hate crimes law that includes gender identity or
expression, making Oregon the 11th state with a hate crimes law that
includes protections for transgender people.
In Vermont, on May 22, Governor Jim Douglas signed into law a bill
which amends the state's non-discrimination policies to
include "gender identity" as a protected category. The bill passed
the Senate with a vote of 27-1 and the House with a vote of 118-28.
Colorado – Governor Bill Ritter on May 25 signed a non-
discrimination bill, prohibiting discrimination in the workplace
against LGBT people. Colorado already has laws on the books that
protect LGBT people from hate crimes and has a gender-neutral
domestic violence law.
Connecticut – The Connecticut State Senate passed SB 1044 and
referred it to the House. SB 1044 would amend the current non-
discrimination code to add "gender identity or expression" to the
list of categories protected from discrimination in housing,
employment, public accommodations, and education. If passed in the
Connecticut House and signed by the governor, this non-
discrimination policy would take effect October 1, 2007 and would
make Connecticut the 14th state with a non-discrimination law
inclusive of transgender people.
California – The California Senate passed SB 777, the California
Student Civil Rights Act, which would bar discrimination against
LGBT people in California's public schools. This bill would apply to
all California public schools, grades Kindergarten through 12th, and
applies to textbooks, educational materials, and school-sponsored
activities. It also mandates that instructors be trained to
recognize and respond to bias-based behavior in the classrooms and
on school grounds. California has had an anti-bullying law since
1999 that bars harassment on the basis of one's sexual orientation
or gender identity or expression. This new bill, if passed, would
further strengthen that anti-bullying law and require teachers to
address issues of discrimination in the classrooms. The bill has
been sent to the California Assembly for consideration.
North Carolina – The North Carolina House passed the School Violence
Prevention Act 73 to 46. The School Violence Prevention Act, or
H1366, prohibits bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and
gender identity or expression. This is a major victory for North
Carolina, since neither the House or Senate of the North Carolina
General Assembly has ever passed a piece of legislation of this
magnitude with explicit protections for LGBT people. It will now be
sent to the Senate for approval.
New Jersey – An amendment to the Law Against Discrimination which
includes "gender identity or expression" protections will go into
effect on June 17, 2007. The law was passed by both houses of the
state legislature and approved back in December 2006.
Tennessee – A bill requiring that parents sign a written permission
slip before students are allowed to become members of or participate
in student clubs in public schools moved through committee. If
passed, this bill would have the impact of stifling students'
ability to join clubs by requiring parental approval. This
legislation is seen has having the greatest impact on organizations
like Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA).
Nebraska – The Nebraska Legislature effectively killed a piece of
legislation that would have prohibited discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation or marital status. By a vote of 23-13,
Nebraska Senators voted to "indefinitely postpone" the bill, which
is one of the few employment non-discrimination bills before a state
legislature this session which does not include gender identity or
expression.
transgendered equality. http://nctequality.org/
specifically the progress around the country...unfortuneatly in Connecticut, our bill was blocked by committee and never made it to the full vote
before the session expired.
love,
Victoria
June 2007 Newsletter
Legislative Progress Around the Country
The last few months have been very busy and seen successful passage
of a number of pieces of legislation. All over the country, bills
that impact the transgender community in a positive way have been
moving forward. We have had the governors of four more states—Iowa,
Oregon, Colorado, and Vermont—sign new non-discrimination bills
which add gender identity or expression. That means that now 13
states have laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of
gender identity or expression and 20 states ban sexual orientation
discrimination.
Also in the news, Iowa's Governor Chet Culver signed an anti-
bullying law that protects school children from harassment on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.
California and North Carolina got one step closer to similar
victories for school safety in passing school-safety related
legislation in one chamber of their legislature.
Disappointingly, we didn't win them all. In Tennessee, a bill is
moving through committee that, if passed, would have the impact of
restricting LGBT youth's access to public school student
organizations such as Gay-Straight Alliances. And in Nebraska, the
cornhusker state is one of the very few left in which the LGBT
community is supporting an anti-discrimination bill that protects
people based on sexual orientation but not gender identity. The
legislature dropped this non-discrimination bill after no serious
consideration begging the question of whether the inclusion of
gender identity would hurt the bill.
More details on other important state legislation include:
Iowa – An amendment to the Iowa civil rights code passed extending
civil rights protections and non-discrimination provisions to LGBT
people in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and
educational institutions. The bill passed the Iowa Senate 34 to 16
and the House 59 to 37, and was sent to Iowa Governor Chet Culver
who signed the bill on May 25.
Also in Iowa, Governor Culver signed a law which mandates that all
school districts in Iowa have anti-bullying policies barring
harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or
expression, among other things, in any school, on any school
property, and at any school-sponsored event.
Oregon – The state of Oregon passed a new law prohibiting
discrimination in employment, public accommodation, housing, and
public education, among other things. Senate Bill 2 passed in the
Oregon Senate 21 to 7 and House 35 to 25, and was signed into law by
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski on May 9, 2007. This law will take
effect January 1, 2008. Also attached to this bill was an amendment
to the state's hate crimes law that includes gender identity or
expression, making Oregon the 11th state with a hate crimes law that
includes protections for transgender people.
In Vermont, on May 22, Governor Jim Douglas signed into law a bill
which amends the state's non-discrimination policies to
include "gender identity" as a protected category. The bill passed
the Senate with a vote of 27-1 and the House with a vote of 118-28.
Colorado – Governor Bill Ritter on May 25 signed a non-
discrimination bill, prohibiting discrimination in the workplace
against LGBT people. Colorado already has laws on the books that
protect LGBT people from hate crimes and has a gender-neutral
domestic violence law.
Connecticut – The Connecticut State Senate passed SB 1044 and
referred it to the House. SB 1044 would amend the current non-
discrimination code to add "gender identity or expression" to the
list of categories protected from discrimination in housing,
employment, public accommodations, and education. If passed in the
Connecticut House and signed by the governor, this non-
discrimination policy would take effect October 1, 2007 and would
make Connecticut the 14th state with a non-discrimination law
inclusive of transgender people.
California – The California Senate passed SB 777, the California
Student Civil Rights Act, which would bar discrimination against
LGBT people in California's public schools. This bill would apply to
all California public schools, grades Kindergarten through 12th, and
applies to textbooks, educational materials, and school-sponsored
activities. It also mandates that instructors be trained to
recognize and respond to bias-based behavior in the classrooms and
on school grounds. California has had an anti-bullying law since
1999 that bars harassment on the basis of one's sexual orientation
or gender identity or expression. This new bill, if passed, would
further strengthen that anti-bullying law and require teachers to
address issues of discrimination in the classrooms. The bill has
been sent to the California Assembly for consideration.
North Carolina – The North Carolina House passed the School Violence
Prevention Act 73 to 46. The School Violence Prevention Act, or
H1366, prohibits bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and
gender identity or expression. This is a major victory for North
Carolina, since neither the House or Senate of the North Carolina
General Assembly has ever passed a piece of legislation of this
magnitude with explicit protections for LGBT people. It will now be
sent to the Senate for approval.
New Jersey – An amendment to the Law Against Discrimination which
includes "gender identity or expression" protections will go into
effect on June 17, 2007. The law was passed by both houses of the
state legislature and approved back in December 2006.
Tennessee – A bill requiring that parents sign a written permission
slip before students are allowed to become members of or participate
in student clubs in public schools moved through committee. If
passed, this bill would have the impact of stifling students'
ability to join clubs by requiring parental approval. This
legislation is seen has having the greatest impact on organizations
like Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA).
Nebraska – The Nebraska Legislature effectively killed a piece of
legislation that would have prohibited discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation or marital status. By a vote of 23-13,
Nebraska Senators voted to "indefinitely postpone" the bill, which
is one of the few employment non-discrimination bills before a state
legislature this session which does not include gender identity or
expression.