Gender Identity

The savage assault on a transgender woman at a Rosedale McDonalds last week was exactly the kind of crime that lawmakers in this year's General Assembly had hoped to deter by extending anti-discrimination protections to people who openly change their gender identity. The measure was approved by the Maryland House of Delegates but was withdrawn in the Senate before it came to a vote there. Even if it had passed, it might not have changed how the Rosedale incident unfolded or how it will be handled by the criminal justice system.

As voters we hope that our lawmakers make policy decisions based on the facts and their obligation to protect the best interest of our state's citizens. Right now it is a fact that 1 in 5 transgender Marylanders were fired and 12 percent have experienced homelessness because of who they are. More than 70 percent have been harassed on the job. This is unacceptable and must end this year! House Bill 235 provides critical job and housing protections based on gender identity. This bill is similar to laws that are already in place in Baltimore City and Montgomery County.

As a member of the clergy actively working with congregants in Harford County, I feel it is important to be an advocate on behalf of equal treatment for all. I am often compelled to take my ministry to Annapolis each legislative session in hopes that Maryland, as the "Free State" will adhere to laws that honor the dignity of all its constituents. I am blessed to be serving a congregation that supports this advocacy. The Maryland General Assembly is currently considering House Bill 235, the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act. This bill would provide protections based on gender identity and expression under our state's anti-discrimination laws in the areas of jobs and housing.

I refer to this article "Transgender woman found dead struggled for acceptance" (Feb. 22). This is a very sad story, and compounding the sadness is The Baltimore Sun's apparent refusal to consistently use "she" and "her" as pronouns to refer to a woman living and identifying as female, and by using the former name as the "official" one and putting the identity she used in quotes. You can't help that some of the quotes use "he," that's what the person actually said, but material written by the newspaper itself should consistently show respect to the deceased's gender identity.

O n Tuesday, Washington, D.C.'s city council voted to make the District the sixth place in the nation where gay couples can legally marry. By voting to permit same-sex marriages in the District between people from anywhere in the country, the council struck a historic blow for equal rights that has drawn the attention of supporters and opponents both locally and nationally. Although D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has indicated he will sign the measure, it still faces several hurdles before it can become law. Congress could block the council's decision during the 30-day review period mandated under the District's home rule charter, and opponents still hope to mount a challenge at the ballot box by forcing the city to put the issue up for referendum.

WASHINGTON -- A hate crimes bill passed by the House yesterday, extending coverage to people victimized because of sexual orientation, gender identity or disability, is attracting opposition from an unusual coalition of Christian leaders. Proponents say the bill - similar to one the Senate is expected to pass in the next few weeks - is a moral imperative. But some Christians are depicting it as a "thought crimes" bill attacking 1st Amendment freedoms of speech and religion. A coalition of evangelical, fundamentalist and black religious leaders is mounting a furious assault on the bill, airing television ads and mobilizing members to stop its progress.

Dr. John Money, one of the nation's pre-eminent sex researchers who pioneered the study of gender identity and helped establish Johns Hopkins as the first hospital in the country to perform adult sex-change operations, died Friday. He was 84. The controversial scholar, who coined the term "gender role," died a day before his 85th birthday at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson of complications from Parkinson's disease, which he had battled for several years. Dr. Money did groundbreaking research as director of the Psychohormonal Research Unit at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

The boy waited more than nine hours for Bill Reiner. He parked his wheelchair behind the door of his family's trailer in a field outside Danville, Va., and there he sat from 8 in the morning until after 5, rooted by his hope."