What would you do if your employer asked you for a picture of your genitalia? Probably freak the fuck out, call a lawyer, and sue the bastard, right? Wrong. If you’re Transgender, that is. In 2007, Pennsylvania Trans woman Kate Lynn Blatt was instructed by her supervisor at Manpower, Inc to hand over a letter from her surgeon documenting her gender-reassignment surgery and a picture of her genitals before she would be allowed to return to work at Sapa Industrial Extrusions.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are not currently included in Federal anti-discrimination laws, meaning that Kate and all the rest of us who are Transgender, Queer, Bisexual, Lesbian or Gay have no federal legal recourse if we are fired from, denied employment with, or discriminated against at our jobs because of the way we look or who we fall in love with.
This is a time of great uncertainty. Americans are plagued with the memory of eight years of unsurpassed bigotry and terror, as well as the current reality of a devastated economy and an increasingly violent right-wing; sometimes its hard to know what to count on. But we do have one thing – the promise of liberty and justice for all. How can this ideal become anything more than a broken promise while our government permits discrimination against an entire group of its people?
We have the unique opportunity to take action to correct this wrong by helping to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. ENDA, H.R. 3017 in the House and S. 1584 in the Senate, extends fair employment practices to the LGBT community and has a good chance of passing, but it needs our help! There are tons of ways to get involved, and I’ve provided 3 main categories below:
1. Contact Your Legislators
- Contact your Senators and Representatives by signing this online letter or by giving your zip code to the U.S. Capitol operator at 202-224-3121.
- Check out the National Center for Transgender Equality’s Tool Kit for contacting your representative.
- Meet with your representatives in person. August is the best month to do this because Congress isn’t in session, so there’s not much time left, but its still not too late! Check out the Meet With Your Representative In Person Facebook event to learn more.
2. Get The Word Out!
- Sign the petition and share it with others!
- Join the Inclusive ENDA Facebook group and invite your friends to join!
- Visit Pride At Work and print out these post cards for you and your family and friends to fill out and mail in!
- Ask your union to sign on in support of ENDA!
3. Share Your Story
- The ACLU wants to hear from you. If you’ve been fired from, denied employment or harassed at a federal or state job because of your sexual orientation or gender identity, visit the ACLU’s secure online survey and share your story.
- Attend a Town Hall Meeting in your area and let your representative and community know why you support an inclusive ENDA!
