Continued coverage on ENDA - Sean Hannity, ADA, and James Byrd

It’s been a whirlwind this weekend on ENDA…but here’s some additional coverage on ENDA from this weekend. While certainly we barista’s at Beck’s Cafe don’t claim to have complete coverage, we do share what we found interesting.

• Sean Hannity, in the midst of ENDA, debates that anti-discrimination laws like ENDA are ultimately powerless. He brings up the recent 10th US Circuit Courts decision that the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not apply to trans people. As Sean starts off the post, “I read this case and could not stop laughing. What extremes people will go through to deny jobs to the transgendered. They could not fire her because she was transgendered, so they fired her because she might get beaten up while using a ladies room while at work. And the conservative 10th circuit bought it. They had to be on crack!”

• Kate, over at Forked Tongue and a Dirty House, also has coverage of the 10th US Circuit Courts decision that the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not apply to trans people, as well

• Lane Hudson writes at the Huffington Post that he doesn’t want a sex change; but that transgender protections being kept in ENDA are still the right thing to do.

• Jenn Burlenton over at Trans Group Blog notes that “Trangender people have no choice but to move forward. They move forward politically, socially and educationally in securing full equality and safety for transgender adults and MOST importantly, children and youth. Transgender citizens move forward by not being held back by those whose loyalty to the lesbian, gay and bisexual community prevents them from either fully understanding the needs of transgender individuals, or from being willing to risk a setback for some in order to assure equal protections for all.

• Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss writes at Transgender Worksplace Diversity that “Pushing transgender people out of the way undermines the fairness message of ENDA, and will be a terrible misstep. ENDA is about not allowing prejudice to have its way, and I commend that message to the sponsors of ENDA”. She’s got alot more to say as well and she’s worth spending some time with at Transgender Worksplace Diversity.

• Nadine Smith writes over at the Billerico Project that this exact same scenario as we have with ENDA cutting out the transgender support happened with the American With Disabilities act AND in Texas with legislation that was enacted after the James Byrd racial murder in Texas where the Byrd family refused to support legislation that protected their son James Byrd, but was not going to protect those like Matthew Shepherd. As she puts it, “To cut out, to throw out protection regardless of gender identity/expression is to cede that moral authority. It is to confirm for our political enemies that a dividing line within the human family is acceptable–the haggling about who is worthy and who is not is all that remains”.

• The Advocate reports that Barney Frank is going to introduce separate legislation for ENDA and GENDA. GENDA being a separate bill for transgender protections. At the Cafe, we fell a bit like this is a “hey we cut you out of the real support but here’s something to keep you busy so you don’t notice”. The Advocate quotes Mr. Frank’s spokesperson, Steven Adamske , “The other one, GENDA if you will, will move on a separate track and will give the ability for the committee and other lawmakers to hold hearings on it and better educate other lawmakers,” So lawmakers had no clue about transgender issues before this? We almost sputtered our coffee onto the counter reading that.

• Becky Juro, a talk show hostess for The Becky Juro Show, and writer gives an excellent historical perspective to how the GLB part of the community has booted the Trans part out on more than one occasion. She also gives a call to action, “It’s time to get pissed off again and start calling out people and organizations out when they deserve it. It’s time finish the job that we started in 2004 and knock HRC from its undeserved perch as the leading LGBT civil rights organization and replace them with an organization which understands that civil rights are for everyone, even when they interfere with the interests of rich white gay guys. NGLTF isn’t perfect, but they’re far closer to that ideal than HRC has ever come or ever will”.

• Pam’s House Blend has a nice roundup from the huge amount of reporting perking in her pots at her place, including the very important point that gender identity in ENDA protects intersexed people; so Barney Frank and friends want to jettison them too??

For past coverage of ENDA at Beck’s Cafe, please visit these stories, “Continued Coverage on ENDA - Robyn’s Story“, “Petition Drive to Support a Complete ENDA“, “Transgender Rights Hail Storm“