For several long weeks much of the LGBT community has been struggling with the evolution of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the forms of H.R. 2015 and H.R. 3685... also known as ENDA and SplENDA respectively. This has indeed been a monumental month for our community but it has certainly been historic for reasons that differ greatly from the once-anticipated passage of a transgender inclusive ENDA.
Somehow the LGBT movement has gone from pushing a trans-inclusive ENDA that was originally introduced by Rep. Barney Frank to a fractured mob and now has realigned along the lines of transgender inclusion. The balance of power among the political homos has shifted. Frank is no longer the respected voice of LGBT individuals in Congress. The Human Rights Campaign has lost all credibility - not just for their willingness to turn a deaf ear to the transgender community but for having blatantly lied to that community. Rep. Tammy Baldwin has stepped into the spotlight as the new figurehead of LGBT voices in the House. A massive groundswell of grassroots support has been launched under the auspices of United ENDA, a coalition project led by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The drama, divisiveness and almost cannibalistic nature of the internal struggle of the LGBT movement to deal with the curve ball that was thrown at us when Rep. Frank introduced a thoroughly misguided SplENDA, a.k.a. H.R. 3865, was devastating. Friendships with colleagues at other LGBT organizations became tense, some were severed and every word had more meanings behind it than a cat has lives. Long after this legislative battle has been resolved the wounds we have received will still be raw for years to come.
After all is said and done this has been a pointless battle. No matter what the outcome, Barney Frank has set the transgender community back years in their march toward equality and inclusion. This legislation will never reach the desk of the President and under this administration would never see a signature. We have torn apart a community for an unrealistic goal, one that was poorly timed and ill-conceived given the realities of the political climate.
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2 comments:
I hope your enthusiasm doesn't wane when a trans-inclusive ENDA fails miserably. Every civil rights battle is won incrementally. The gays need to learn this!
The thing as I see it is this - we need to be passing trans-inclusive protections at the state level first. 12 states already have taken that step and we should continue along that path while we have an administration that opposes us and a majority that is not comfortable enough to take the trans-inclusive stand. Federal protections need to be an all-or-nothing stand. The Womens movement didn't accept incremental gains when demanding the vote; they rejected any legislation that would have excluded African-American women. In good conscience I could never endorse a non-inclusive ENDA. I could never look at one of my trans friends and say "sorry you aren't protected but I am and I have to get mine even if you don't get yours". Equality doesn't work that way.
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