More than 40 people attended The Center’s Public Policy Department forum to discuss issues of transgender inclusion in the larger GLBT community on Tuesday. The forum was organized to recognize the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), new legislation that criminalizes workplace discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals – but not transgender people. ENDA has currently stalled in the House after an impassioned outcry against excluding anyone from the bill. It is however expected to be heard sometime this week.

Titled “In the LGBT Community, Why the ‘T’?,” the forum explained why transgender people, or the “T”s, are included in the GLBT acronym. The talk also focused on defining who comprises the transgender community and discussed why transgender inclusion and awareness is important now.

“With the current debate that has sparked nationally over transgender inclusion in the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, we are engaging in more in-depth, thoughtful dialogue about the role of the transgender community within the larger LGBT community,” said Caroline Dessert, coordinator of The Center’s Public Policy Department.

“The answer to many people’s question of what the ‘T’ has to do with LGB is that we are joined together in community because we face the same discrimination and want the same rights,” she explained.

According to Dessert, the discrimination transgender individuals face stems from the same prejudice gays, lesbians and bisexuals struggle with.

“We do not conform to the accepted gender norms of society. According to gender conformity, there are certain acceptable ways for men and women to act, dress, and behave. The entire GLBT community is non-conforming,” she said.

“When the ‘T’ is left out, we leave our ‘T’ brothers and sisters vulnerable to the same discrimination we face. We leave all LGB individuals vulnerable to gender discrimination, and we divide and weaken our entire community. But T inclusion is integral to the freedom of gender expression for all, because we are strongest together,” Dessert said.

The event also provided a safe space for community members to ask questions and discuss issues surrounding transgender inclusion, specifically dealing with ENDA, which Democratic leaders are currently wrestling with.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., introduced an amendment to the legislation Oct. 16 extending the civil rights protections to transgender workers. Such language was included in the initial bill until Democratic members convinced House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank, D-Mass., on Sep. 26, to omit it.

Frank approves the transgender language but maintains it lacks the votes to pass.

More than 350 GLBT and ally organizations have joined the United ENDA, opposing any non-inclusive ENDA version, which is an unprecedented display of unity around transgender inclusion, according to those in attendance.

“When we started hearing about ENDA, my initial reaction was that we would not get any support from the LGB community,” said Connor Maddox, president of the local chapter of Female-to-Male International, who was present at the discussion.

“I was absolutely floored that these 350 organizations so quickly and adamantly came back and said that we must be included. It was a relief to see that we have the support of my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, because what we want people to most understand is that we are the same as anyone else and want to be accepted just like they do,” Maddox said.

It was, however, pointed out that one group many would assume would support a transgender inclusive ENDA does not.

“The Human Rights Campaign has taken a neutral stance on the issue of a transgender non-inclusive ENDA,” Dessert explained when asked. “They signed the first letter that said they support an inclusive bill, but they did not sign the second letter that said that they do not support a non-inclusive bill.”

This is the same very difficult decision that the legislators are facing; because, while many want to support GLB legislation, by not supporting the non-inclusive ENDA they are failing to pass what will be seen as a landmark bill, she said.

Meanwhile, whether legislators support the bill that would protect GLB individuals from job discrimination for the first time federally or not, the Office of Management and Budget said on Wednesday in its Statement of Administration Policy that President Bush’s senior advisers would recommend he veto the bill on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and restricts religious liberty.

Dessert said that, as a result, ENDA is essentially a symbolic bill, a point she noted that the GLBT community should take into consideration during its debate about whether to divide the community on the issue.

Many in attendance at the meeting were grateful to have the opportunity to come together to show their support for the transgender community.

“While I may not be transgender, this is a chance for education, and this is a chance for dialogue,” said Robert Craig. “It is a fundamental reminder that we are one community, and that we need to work together to support each other. Just a few years ago, lesbians and gay men learned that they are stronger than the sum of their parts. … We are stronger as a community if we work to include the transgender members of our community rather than exclude them.”

The community will have more opportunities to come together to show its support for and learn about the transgender community in the near future, as organizers at The Center plan to have ongoing discussions about such issues.

Maddox and coordinator of Project STAR, Tracie O’Brien, will present “Transgender 101” at The Center on Monday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. Additionally, transgender Day of Remembrance, an international day to memorialize those who have been killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice, will be commemorated on Tuesday, Nov. 20. There will be a march that starts at The Center at 6 p.m. followed by a program at 7 p.m.

For more information about upcoming events, contact Dessert at 619-692-2077, ext. 111 or cdessert@thecentersd.org.