Comments (14) | Add a comment
Legislator to revive 'gender identity' bill
Tools
Updated: Sep. 12, 2010 | 8:28 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- A bill that spawned a controversial legislative hearing in 2009 attended by many transgender residents and their opponents has been revived by its sponsor.
Assemblyman Paul Aizley, D-Las Vegas, wants to prohibit discrimination based on one's "gender identity" or "gender expression."
Under its provisions, Aizley said, people could not be fired from jobs just because they see themselves as males when they may have been born with female genitals, or vice versa. The bill also would protect those who are born with the genitals of both sexes, he said.
Nevada already outlaws discrimination against gays and lesbians.
In the 2009 session, Aizley introduced a similar bill that received a hearing but died without a vote being conducted. His new bill will be discussed at the legislative session that begins in March.
"We take a pledge for liberty and justice for all and these people are not getting justice," Aizley said. "If (the bill passes), they could not be fired for their gender identity. They could be fired for not doing their job."
Aizley said until 2½ years ago he knew nothing about the problems experienced by transgender people, estimated to be 1 percent of the population. But he listened to some of their stories, including a law school graduate, who said a big firm withdrew its job offer when he told the lawyers he would be undergoing a sex change operation over the summer.
Many qualified transgender people are being denied employment, said Mel Goodwin, a youth services director at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. Goodwin, who works with transgender people, does not have statistics for Nevada, but said in California the unemployment rate among transgender people is twice the state average.
"It is important that all people have a chance to be gainfully employed based on their skills," Goodwin said.
Transgender people need to become more visible so they can dispel people's "irrational fears," she added.
"They are your neighbors, your relatives, the person who serves you at the restaurants. They are human beings like you are."
During the hearings on Aizley's bill in 2009, Assemblyman Marcus Conklin, D-Las Vegas, had to bang the gavel down as some witnesses claimed the bill would allow males in women's restrooms, or females in men's restrooms. Others asserted employers may hold religious beliefs that prevent them from hiring transgender people.
His bill has nothing to do with restrooms, Aizley said, despite testimony from opponents in 2009. At the hearing, some transgender people, however, complained they were being stopped by hotel security officers when they tried to go into restrooms.
Goodwin said the "restroom is for going to the restroom" and transgender people do not attack women or children in restrooms.
Transgender people already go into the restrooms of their choice without any problems because most people don't suspect they have the genitals of the opposite sex, according to Aizley.
The bill is not intended to give special rights to "cross dressers," but to prevent discrimination against people who truly associate themselves with the sex other than their biological sex, he said. Many are undergoing sex change operations, he added.
"Gender identity is a person's own expression of themselves," Aizley said. "It isn't anybody else's business."
Aizley said his biggest problem will be trying to educate fellow legislators on the issue.
"It is not easy to explain. Genitalia do not determine the gender. We have a whole spectrum of people, including those with the genitals of both sexes. Gender is a person's individual decision."
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Thanks, Zoe.Brain, for the explanation. Hopefully, you opened some eyes to the need for this legislation.
@frank.thompson - yes, we do have birth certificates, and drivers licences, and passports. My Birth Certificate says I'm male - I was born in a jurisdiction that disallows changes to it for people like me. My passport says "F". Female. My drivers license doesn't contain a field for gender, just name, address and photo. That's standard in the jurisdiction I live in.
The discrimination begins - and usually ends - with the question on the employment form "Have you been known by any other name?". When Michelle admits that she used to be known as Michael... forget any chance of an interview, regardless of qualifications. I'm Intersexed by the way - one of the rare varieties like 5ARD or 17BHDD syndrome which involves a "natural sex change" to grossly over-simplify. 99% of the time, from looking female at birth to looking male later, I'm one of the 1%. Anyway, people like me aren't covered by the Civil Rights Act. Most people don't realise that. We can be fired for what we are, not anything we've done, in 38 states, including Nevada. An Attorney would just tell us that such discrimination is legal, not to waste our time. No Federal law protects us, so if there's no state, city or county law, we're out of luck.
do these poor downtrodden, discriminated against folks have birth certificates, drivers licenses? do they or do they not state the gender of the holder? workplace discrimination is already outlawed. when will the insanity end? if they feel discrim. against they need to do what everybody else does, get documentation, witnesses, and an attorney. we don neeeeeeed anymore steeeenkeeeen laws!
Discrimination legislation in hiring and accommodations really shouldn't be needed. However we live in a society where bigotry, fear mongering and ignorance is accepted. Regarding job applications, it's painful when you are received warmly and watch the color drain from someones face and the stammering begin when they read the line which asks if you have been known by another name...
Oh yes, I do also support the legislation.
Nevada is "BROKE" -- in a $6,000,000,000.00 hole, and this is a "BIG IMPORTANT ISSUE" for the Nevada Legislature ???? "VOTE OUT ALL THESE CLOWNS IN NOVEMBER (both sides of the fence).
Discrimination and ignorant hatred is rampant in Nevada, and it's a shame, but what can you expect when you have an uneducated populace. That said, we've got bigger fish to fry right now. Nevada is about to flush itself down the toilet again but putting another whack job in office who will send jobs overseas (not Mexico, maybe, but definitely our friends in Pakistan). Nevada is so intelligent! They're going to send a home economics major to Congress. Maybe she can sew an apron or bake a cake while the you know what hits the fan. Somebody please smack the vacant grin off her face.
Only an idiot would come up with this. Why is it a Democrat?
It's unfair that someone should "see" himself as female even though he's obviously a male? Not fair in business?
How long would I last at a job if I "saw" myself as the CEO even though I was actually the janitor? How long? Get real. This is just plain dumb.
The trial lawyers will be licking their lips if this bill passes.Buisness is getting slow we need to add another protected class to drum up some work.
"A big firm withdrew its job offer when he told the lawyers he would be undergoing a sex change operation over the summer." No sh*t, Sherlock! Nobody's going to hire drama. They would also withdraw an offer for someone who would be going in for back surgery or going through a messy divorce.
The Legislature needs to deal with the state's problems. Mr. Aizley should be giving us his suggestions for balancing the budget. Instead, the pols all pretend the problems don't exist and hand us this kind of bull. The Tea Party is rising and Sharron Angle is a contender. It's anti-incumbent fervor. VOTE THE BUMS OUT! ALL OF THEM!
I could care less. We need to concentrate out efforts on the NV economy. To waste time and money on this legislation is not good. We need jobs and not more legislation.