The American Equality Bill (AEB) & Equal LGBTQ Civil Rights Now!
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Todd Fernandez
Sep 24, 2010, 1:55:38 PM9/24/10
to wham...@naacpnet.org, Juan, l...@abzuginstitute.org, ae...@googlegroups.com
Hello Wendy,
It was nice to talking with you.
As you suggested, I am writing to set up a time to talk by phone with Mr. Jealous to follow up on our conversation of Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010, at the LGBT Center in NYC.
Our question is simple: Does the NAACP support the addition of "sexual orientation and gender identity" to the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Titles, 2, 6, 7 & 8)?
As you know, Bayard Rustin, a gay hero, was part of the coalition and leadership team that secured this law, though at the time his civil rights were set aside and "sexual orientation" excluded due to societal homophobia.
Forty-six years later, we still do not have basic civil rights protections for 30 million LGBTQ people in America, and it is not yet even on the table, despite having a mixed-race President, himself a living tribute to the dignity and social ethics afforded under those laws.
Sadly, our own community has also embraced a 2nd class strategy seeking peace meal protections like ENDA, which rather than include us in Title 7 employment non-discrimination laws that protect everyone else, offers our community a parallel system, like the CRA, but separate, like a separate water fountain for the gays.
This strategy of 'separate but almost equal' emerged in 1994, largely because we were allegedly told then, and supposedly continue to be told by groups that already enjoy the CRA protections, that we are not welcomed to that law. The excuse given is some generalized fear that any bill to include us would open the CRA to hostile amendments that might affect the coverage enjoyed by so many for so long.
Obviously, such fears can not justify our exclusion any longer.
There is a proposed bill called The American Equality Bill (AEB) created by long-standing members of our movement, Karen Doering, former Senior Counsel of the Nat. Center for Lesbian Rights, and Juan Ahonen-Jovare, Ph.D, co-founder of www.EqualityGiving.org and former chair of board the Nat. Gay & Lesbian Task Force.
The six-page bill is drafted with surgical precision to add "sexual orientation and gender identity" along side "race, color, sex, national origin and religion" and does not otherwise touch any substantive provisions of those laws. Clearly these traits - which go to the core of everyone's being - straight, gay, male, female, and along the continuum - should be included in this context in order to protect our fundamental human right to exist as we are, safely and with the dignity that only equal protection of the non-discrimination laws affords.
This effort is being championed by The AEB Project, an all grassroots, all volunteer effort, for which I donate my time as the Campaign Facilitator.
The AEB Project is determined to get our Equal Civil Rights to the forefront of the national agenda immediately and we are commencing a daily vigil in NYC on Monday until the bill is filed to advance this conversation. If no action is taken by November 2nd, our members will commence a fast.
With this great urgency, at this point, we feel the conversations need to happen internally within each organization and an answer given quickly.
Like the righteous protection of the CRA of late, we feel the same degree of incredulousness at the suggestion we should have to wait another minute to be included.
The NAACP, of course, is a linchpin in this discussion and unfortunately, the first excuse everyone gives as to why we should not file this bill.
And while we concede no gatekeeper to our human rights, we look forward to talking with Mr. Jealous about it and getting the NAACP's position clearly on the record as soon as possible.
We are also talking to NOW and the ACLU (via the NYCLU), but nothing can replace the NAACP's leadership on this front.
If, in short order, we can get commitments from all three organizations for this idea (and hopefully the specific bill) we will finally see the dream MLK promised this country, and owed to Bayard Rustin, opened to our people.
Almost 50 years later, too much time has passed and justice for our community has been too long delayed and denied.
We look forward to taking bold steps together soon.
Thank you,
Todd Fernandez
J. Todd (Tif) Fernandez, JD, LLM
The American Equality Bill (AEB) Project
All grassroots. All volunteer.
New York, New York
http://bit.ly/AEBnow
646-351-6498
It was nice to talking with you.
As you suggested, I am writing to set up a time to talk by phone with Mr. Jealous to follow up on our conversation of Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010, at the LGBT Center in NYC.
Our question is simple: Does the NAACP support the addition of "sexual orientation and gender identity" to the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Titles, 2, 6, 7 & 8)?
As you know, Bayard Rustin, a gay hero, was part of the coalition and leadership team that secured this law, though at the time his civil rights were set aside and "sexual orientation" excluded due to societal homophobia.
Forty-six years later, we still do not have basic civil rights protections for 30 million LGBTQ people in America, and it is not yet even on the table, despite having a mixed-race President, himself a living tribute to the dignity and social ethics afforded under those laws.
Sadly, our own community has also embraced a 2nd class strategy seeking peace meal protections like ENDA, which rather than include us in Title 7 employment non-discrimination laws that protect everyone else, offers our community a parallel system, like the CRA, but separate, like a separate water fountain for the gays.
This strategy of 'separate but almost equal' emerged in 1994, largely because we were allegedly told then, and supposedly continue to be told by groups that already enjoy the CRA protections, that we are not welcomed to that law. The excuse given is some generalized fear that any bill to include us would open the CRA to hostile amendments that might affect the coverage enjoyed by so many for so long.
Obviously, such fears can not justify our exclusion any longer.
There is a proposed bill called The American Equality Bill (AEB) created by long-standing members of our movement, Karen Doering, former Senior Counsel of the Nat. Center for Lesbian Rights, and Juan Ahonen-Jovare, Ph.D, co-founder of www.EqualityGiving.org and former chair of board the Nat. Gay & Lesbian Task Force.
The six-page bill is drafted with surgical precision to add "sexual orientation and gender identity" along side "race, color, sex, national origin and religion" and does not otherwise touch any substantive provisions of those laws. Clearly these traits - which go to the core of everyone's being - straight, gay, male, female, and along the continuum - should be included in this context in order to protect our fundamental human right to exist as we are, safely and with the dignity that only equal protection of the non-discrimination laws affords.
This effort is being championed by The AEB Project, an all grassroots, all volunteer effort, for which I donate my time as the Campaign Facilitator.
The AEB Project is determined to get our Equal Civil Rights to the forefront of the national agenda immediately and we are commencing a daily vigil in NYC on Monday until the bill is filed to advance this conversation. If no action is taken by November 2nd, our members will commence a fast.
With this great urgency, at this point, we feel the conversations need to happen internally within each organization and an answer given quickly.
Like the righteous protection of the CRA of late, we feel the same degree of incredulousness at the suggestion we should have to wait another minute to be included.
The NAACP, of course, is a linchpin in this discussion and unfortunately, the first excuse everyone gives as to why we should not file this bill.
And while we concede no gatekeeper to our human rights, we look forward to talking with Mr. Jealous about it and getting the NAACP's position clearly on the record as soon as possible.
We are also talking to NOW and the ACLU (via the NYCLU), but nothing can replace the NAACP's leadership on this front.
If, in short order, we can get commitments from all three organizations for this idea (and hopefully the specific bill) we will finally see the dream MLK promised this country, and owed to Bayard Rustin, opened to our people.
Almost 50 years later, too much time has passed and justice for our community has been too long delayed and denied.
We look forward to taking bold steps together soon.
Thank you,
Todd Fernandez
J. Todd (Tif) Fernandez, JD, LLM
The American Equality Bill (AEB) Project
All grassroots. All volunteer.
New York, New York
http://bit.ly/AEBnow
646-351-6498
Project Originator: www.equalitygiving.org.
AEB Public Whip Count: www.actonprinciples.org
Gay & Lesbian Review Article: http://bit.ly/AEBglreview
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