Discrimination

A former Anne Arundel County employee filed a $2.5 million lawsuit Friday against embattled County Executive John R. Leopold, alleging that he discriminated against female employees, pressured workers to make campaign donations and retaliated against those he viewed as disloyal. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore by Joan M. Harris, alleges that Leopold was "demeaning and intimidating" toward women for much of the time she worked for the county. She was a constituent services specialist from December 2006 to Nov. 3, 2010 — the day after Leopold won re-election.

In a recent article ("Transgender bias ban approved," Feb. 22), Baltimore County Councilman Tom Quirk describes his sexual orientation and gender identity bill as a "human rights bill" which he sponsored because "everyone deserves to be treated fairly. " Yes, everyone but the ex-gay community. As the only sexual orientation that is consistently discriminated against in Baltimore County, ex-gays asked Mr. Quirk to include former homosexuals in his bill which protects homosexuals and bisexuals.

I was troubled that Casa de Maryland and the NAACP are against gifted and talented programs in Maryland public schools but I was not surprised ("Rules on gifted education criticized," Feb. 28). These groups that confuse equality with low educational expectations for minorities should step back and chill. When my children were in school, many PTA members whose children did not cut the mustard for gifted and talented programs went bustling up the school system's hierarchy to destroy those programs as too high brow, un-American and insufficiently egalitarian.

Regarding the debate over gay marriage, gay people need equal rights in terms of whom they love and to have that love sanctioned by marriage. Gay marriage would bring financial gains to our state by allowing gay people to marry in Maryland instead of going to other states. The bill backed by Gov.Martin O'Malleyhas legal protections in place for religious beliefs and for religious organizations and churches. African-Americans should support gay marriage and remember that the Bible was used to condone slavery and other forms of discrimination.

Transgender people would be protected from discrimination in Baltimore County under a measure approved by the County Council Tuesday, making the county the fourth local government in Maryland to adopt such protections. Council members did not add a heavily debated amendment proposed last week that would have specifically exempted bathrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms. Instead, the council left the bathroom issue open to interpretation in the legislation, amending the measure so that the protections do not apply to "distinctly private or personal" facilities.

Jenna Fischetti picks a seat at a Baltimore County Starbucks where she can see who's coming and going. As a transgender woman, the 47-year-old is always on guard. "My head's on the swivel," said Fischetti, a freckled brunette. When she slips into a public restroom, she tries not to talk. If she makes eye contact with other women, she smiles and nods. For Fischetti, using the bathroom is just one small part of a daily struggle for social acceptance. She says she lost her job after she began living as a woman.

So wait: Are we going to have a genitalia check in Baltimore County before we get to use the restroom at McDonald's? Help me out, somebody. I might be confused - apparently, there's a lot of that going around these days - but I'm pretty sure I read these words in this very newspaper: "If your human anatomy is male, you should go to the [men's] room. " This eloquence soared from the lips of a Baltimore County council member - John A. Olszewski Sr., Democrat of Dundalk - who apparently thinks a proposed county law that would specifically prohibit discrimination against transgender people should not apply to public bathrooms and locker rooms.

Opponents of a proposal to protect transgender people from discrimination in Baltimore County urged the County Council on Monday to defeat the measure, saying they fear the bill could have unintended consequences. At a council meeting, about 15 people spoke against the legislation, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, the workplace and public places. The meeting was the second one in a month that drew a crowd interested in the issue.

Baltimore County Council members heard emotional testimony Tuesday as dozens of residents turned out to speak about a proposal meant to prohibit discrimination against transgender people. Supporters of the legislation, introduced Tuesday by Catonsville Democrat Tom Quirk, said the county must protect transgender people in the workplace and other areas. Opponents said they fear the bill would have dangerous consequences, including allowing men into women's restrooms. The bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing county laws that prohibit discrimination in housing, at work and in public places.