This news has probably already made the rounds, but the Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed in the House yesterday. The bill won approval after more than 30 years of attempts by Congressional Dems to get protections for gay and lesbian Americans, and 35 Republicans even crossed over to approve the measure.
"On this proud day of the 110th Congress, we will chart a new direction for civil rights,” said Representative Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), speaking before the vote. "On this proud day, the Congress will act to ensure that all Americans are granted equal rights in the work place."
But its passage without protections for gender identity was somewhat of a disappointment, since it doesn't in fact guarantee that all Americans will be guaranteed equal rights in the workplace. Taking protections for transgender Americans out of the bill may have made it more politically expedient, but the law will have to be improved if it's to be effective, as I've argued here before. And ENDA is probably more crucial for the "T" portion of the acronym, as studies have found that unemployment rates among those who identify as transgender are as high as 70 percent. So hailing its passage as an assurance that all Americans are granted equal rights is still a bit premature.
Ted Kennedy plans to introduce ENDA in the Senate, and he could choose to restore the language about gender identity in that version. Bush is likely to veto any form of ENDA that legislators do pass, so why shouldn't we try to pass as bold a plan as possible? Resigning ourselves to incremental progress now -- when that progress is likely to remain hypothetical until 2009 at the earliest -- amounts to progressives essentially defeating themselves on this issue.
--Kate Sheppard
