[News] [NY, USA] GENDA: A Quick Update on Transgender Rights Legislation

[Stephanie Stevens]

Village Voice, NY, USA


GENDA: A Quick Update on Transgender Rights Legislation

By Victoria Bekiempis | Mon., May 7 2012 at 11:47 AM


As the Empire State Pride Agenda starts to mobilize lobbying efforts
in Albany, it has become clear that the group will once again focus on
GENDA, the Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

This decision, however, has prompted questions about the general
direction of the organization, which is one of the oldest gay rights
groups in New York.

But before we get into that, a brief explanation of GENDA is in order.

What the proposed measure
<http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/05/nyclu_pushes_le.php>
would do is protect trans individuals from hiring and workplace bias
based upon their gender identity
<http://www.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20072091-TheEmploymentNon-DiscriminationAct.pdf>
. It's not that different from other anti-discrimination legislations
<http://www.nyclu.org/issues/lgbt-rights/transgender-rights> , such as
the Americans with Disabilities Act or Title VII.

GENDA has died in Albany on several previous occasions
<http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2011/06/genda-dies-for-fourth-time-in-ny-senate.html>
.

Repeated legislative failures might have caused rifts both in the
Agenda and within the LGBT community. Some, like writer Monica
Roberts, voiced frustration that so much focus had been on gay
marriage rather than basic rights for transgender individuals.

Others were simply upset with the organization's handling of gay
marriage. As the Times Union notes, executive director Ross Levi was
fired in March, and

"several people familiar with its lobbying efforts said the Pride
Agenda's board was unhappy that the organization was not first among
gay rights groups in leading the charge for same-sex marriage, either
publicly or privately. There were also questions about what the
primary focus would become; either more focus on advancing an LGBT
agenda in New York or pushing for some more basic gay rights
milestones at the federal level and in other states."

Whatever the non-profit's future direction, what is clear is that the
group will push ahead with GENDA in some manner.

And the organization has hired a team of high-profile lobbying and PR
team -- including Jennifer Cunningham of SKDKnickerbocker, who ran
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2006 campaign -- to do so.


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http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/05/genda.php