Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." It seems, over the course of human history, there has been a constant struggle by some groups of people to find a greater justice in their society. In recent years, one such group has been the LGBT community.
The LGBT community's struggle took center stage last year in Wisconsin when state voters approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, as well as civil unions. In the last few weeks and months, focus in the LGBT community in Wisconsin and across America has been on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals cannot be discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
A few weeks ago, two forms of ENDA were introduced in the House of Representatives. In an effort to ensure that the bill would indeed pass stiff Republican opposition, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced a bill that would protect people on the basis of sexual orientation alone. Another version of the bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., would protect people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. On Wednesday, the House voted on Mr. Frank's version of the bill.
ENDA has been introduced in Congress, debated, changed, stripped, defeated and reintroduced. However, at a time when this essential bill has come as close as ever to being inscribed into the law of the land, there has been a split. Those members of Congress, whom we, the American people, sent to the nation's capital to represent us in our government, face a choice between a half step toward true justice, or a full step. Members of Congress must choose between accepting injustice in an effort to take a half step closer to justice or rejecting the injustice where it lies. This is an important choice, for, as Mr. King told us, even a little injustice threatens the greater good everywhere.
The argument for a non-transgender inclusive bill is that it would never pass in the House. But we have to ask ourselves: Is it worth accepting that some people don't deserve basic protections because closed-minded members of Congress and their constituents do not understand a group of people who go through life every day feeling confused, frightened and lost in their own bodies? Can we stomach playing politics with people's gender identity, and thus deny the basic rights of transgender members of our communities?
Facing a lack of support and stiff Republican opposition, Ms. Baldwin withdrew her amendment to the Frank version of ENDA. The conservative members made it clear they would not support the Baldwin amendment because it would supposedly expose business owners to unlimited risk when deciding whether to fire their employees. They claimed business owners could be successfully sued because they fired a man who isn't masculine in the classical, stereotypical sense. Aside from being strikingly untrue, this argument is an offensive misunderstanding of what it means to be transgender.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are distinctly different things. Sexual orientation is a matter of what gender one is attracted to. Gender identity is a matter of what gender one identifies as, regardless of physical sex.
Also, being transgender is not the same as cross dressing. A man who enjoys wearing traditionally women's clothing does not necessarily mean this man believes that he is a woman and is therefore transgender. Members who vote against this legislation based upon an antiquated misunderstanding of what it means to be transgender are simply remaining ignorant to the truth.
ENDA passed on Wednesday, and of this we can be proud. But only a half step was made toward justice. A full step would have entailed embrace and voting for the Baldwin amendment to ensure that an all-inclusive ENDA passes and becomes law. We must hope that someday this full step is taken.
A year out from the passage of the discriminatory ban on gay marriage and civil unions here in Wisconsin, we are given another battlefield on which to fight for LGBT rights. As our representatives in Washington debate this issue, we can only hope that they will one day vote for equality for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. We can be proud that our representative stood up for a greater justice, and look forward to a day when America is ready to stand up for true justice for transgender members of our community.
Oliver Kiefer ([email protected]) is chair of College Democrats.
