Transgender View of DNC Platform on LGBT Issues
August 13th, 2008
Marisa Richmond is President of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Equality Project & Board of advisers of NCTE. She is a former Board Member of AEGIS, IFGE, NTAC, & Nashville’s Rainbow Community Center. She served as Co-Chair of Southern Comfort in 2001, chaired the host committee of the 2002 IFGE Convention in Nashville, & served on the Planning Committee for Nashville Black Pride in 2004. She won the Trinity Award in 2002 & the HRC Equality Award in 2007. This year, Merisa will be one of eight transgender delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the first African American trans person to be elected as a delegate to any national political party’s convention.
Yesterday, the Platform Committee of the Democratic National Committee met in Pittsburgh to review and amend the draft platform. In July, community meetings were held all across the country to gather input from people of all walks of life. Those of us in the 2nd Transgender Caucus stepped up in our own way to ensure that the concerns of the Transgender community were heard and included. Amanda Simpson of Arizona met with her Governor, Janet Napolitano, who was the Chair of the Drafting Committee. Several others, including me, met directly with Platform Committee members from our respective states. Tennessee has three members on Platform and I met or talked with all three. In our meetings, we expressed the desire to have language calling for Democrats to support only a fully inclusive, employment non-discrimination act. We also urged passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, access to health care for all Americans, and expressed concern over various ID laws at the federal and state levels. For Transgender Tennesseans, this includes the right to change gender on Birth Certificates, and opposition to the Real ID Act and new voter ID’s.
(Break)
The Transgender Caucus also has, for the first time ever, two members on the full Platform Committee: Kathy Padilla of Philadelphia and Diego Sanchez of Boston. Unfortunately, Kathy had to resign her seat for personal reasons, but Diego was in the meeting yesterday and represented us in Pittsburgh.
We are pleased that the Platform does call for passage of a “comprehensive” ENDA, but to be honest, most of us in the Transgender Caucus do not feel the term “comprehensive” is inclusive enough. We are, however, pleased with the calls for passage of the Hate Crimes Bill, along with the repeal of both “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.
The fact that the Platform does use the term “Gender Identity”, and it passed without debate or dissent on that point, is a reflection of the hard work transgender activists have done over the years, not to mention the work of so many who worked through the United ENDA Coalition since it began operating last fall. And while the Drafting Committee did not have a transgender representative this year, it did include Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, a strong ally of the Transgender Community and United ENDA in the fight for a fully inclusive ENDA.
The full Democratic National Convention will vote on the Platform in Denver in 2 weeks. At this point, I do not know if we will have a minority report requesting stronger language on a fully inclusive ENDA, but we do feel that we have made some real progress in educating Democrats all across this country on the necessity of passing such legislation and to ensure that the ONLY version that moves forward covers all LGBT people.
I am getting ready to head to Denver and I look forward to continuing the work started by those Transgender people who rose up against discrimination when they started the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco in 1966 and the Stonewall Riot in New York in 1969.
August 13th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
My copy of the Draft – which may not be current, as I’m both Australian, and on the Right, says:
“We will enact a comprehensive bipartisan employment non-discrimination act.”
Now as someone on the Right, no doubt I am cynical, and apt to believe the worst about the DNC. As an Australian, we also tend to be mistrustful of politicians on either side of the fence.
Comprehensive *BIPARTISAN* employment non-discrimination act.
Right…. now call my a Cynic, but I read that as what we in Australia would call Weasel Words for “Non Inclusive”.
It will be comprehensive in the Blues Brothers sense – “We like both kinds of music, Country AND Western”, or in this case, Gay AND Lesbian. Isn’t that the same exercise we’ve just gone through recently?
Wouldn’t that cynical interpretation be in exact accord with Barney Frank’s remarks on the same subject – a “comprehensive bipartisan ENDA”, an inclusive Hate Crimes Act, repeal of DADT, then working on repealing DOMA and only then, maybe, in a decade or three, working on a non-bipartisan ENDA that is inclusive?
Again, please take into account my own biases and prejudices. But maybe it’s just that I lack the required rose-coloured eyeware.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Yes, it is vague, and party platforms are nonbinding documents that don’t really mean much. But the symbolism is positive here. Ultimately, the platform is what Barack Obama wants it to be.
As for Marisa Richmond, I’ve been proud to know her for over a decade now. Her work matters, has made a difference, has been done quietly, and unlike many in the T community, she seeks no notoriety or fame for it, just results.
I listen when she speaks. Others should, as well.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:08 am
I freely admit that Marisa Richmond, by any metric, is an outstanding woman. I wish I was in the same league, but I’m not.
A Platform is meant to be a “Motherhood” statement, full of vague commitments to principles, with no guarantees they’ll ever be reified. The principle here is not to make waves, but to wait till there’s bi-partisan agreement before proceeding. Frankly, it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d expect from the GOP so they can talk out of both sides of their mouth, one story for the Log Cabiners, another for the Fundies. I speak as someone who’s had exactly this kind of guff from the local pollies on the Right.
Perhaps this will illustrate my concern.
“Comprehensive Bipartisan Health Reform”
“Comprehensive Bipartisan Social Security Reform”
“Compregensive Bipartisan policy on Iraq”
“Comprehensive Bipartisan.Minority Housing Policy”
Get my drift? Would any of the above be acceptable in the DNC policy platform? Or would this be seen as diluting principle to homeopathic levels?
Ms Richmond wrote “At this point, I do not know if we will have a minority report requesting stronger language on a fully inclusive ENDA” so she obviously shares some .. dusquiet… and by making this post, is trying to determine what to do by canvassing opinion.
I’ve given mine – with again the warning that I may be prejudiced to think the worst. It’s as honest an opinion as I can give, and I hope it’s of help. I’m glad I’m not in her shoes, and it’s because the DNC puts good people like her in this kind of an impossible situation that I’m not on their side.
August 14th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
It’s all fine and dandy to be placed within the Democratic partys platform but what about the Republican one? Is there anyone with a bipartisan enough spirit to wade out into their political arena?I would hope our need to be treated fairly at work and within the law would be seen as bigger than party politics or organized Religion. Personally I believe attaching our political needs to any one party is a mistake and reduces our needs to party politics instead of rights as Americans.Americans come in all kinds of political beliefs and so do TS women.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
right on: if the platform can even say the words, how can we trust them to really include us?
I am not a delegate, but I am going and going to the National Stonewall Dems (pre-DNC conference)
I want includion not to say all, but to spell it out. what are they afraid of? and why did the LGBT community accept this? I noticed several national emails bragging about this “great’ platform ( i read it, it aint so great)