“Charting the Future: Equality, Freedom, Justice” seems a fitting theme for this weekend’s San Diego Pride celebrations, as there are certainly a number of new points to be plotted as the GLBT community continues to map its progression towards full equality, freedom and justice.

Beyond the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month to overturn Texas’ anti-gay sodomy law in Lawrence v. Texas, as well as Canada’s sweeping decision to recognize same-sex marriages, a key point on our equality chart is soon to be added here in San Diego.

On July 14, the full city council and the mayor voted unanimously to add transgender protections to San Diego’s Human Dignity Ordinance (HDO), which currently prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in the areas of employment, housing, city services, business establishments and educational institutions.

This coming Monday, July 28, the city council will vote on the proposal after a second reading. If passed again, the proposed transgender protections will become law in San Diego at the end of August.

Though most people assume that protections based on sexual orientation also protect transgender citizens, in actuality they do not. For this very reason it is a monumental step forward that San Diego will soon join over 60 other jurisdictions across the country that have passed anti-discrimination laws that include protections for transgender persons.

Though the United Church of Christ’s general synod recently expressed its support for transgender persons in its ranks, the sting of events such as last year’s murder of 17-year-old Newark, California, teen Gwen Araujo — beaten and strangled at a party when it was discovered that she was born male — are still fresh on our minds.

Of course, we cannot take the city council’s vote for granted. According to the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, in a batch of recently passed pro-gay legislation at both a state and federal level, transgender protections were left out.

A pending federal hate crimes bill known as the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (LLEEA), currently before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, would expand penalties for bias related violence to include sexual orientation, but not gender identity. In Arizona, an executive order signed by Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano barring employment discrimination in state agencies based on sexual orientation also gives no mention to transgender persons. Last month the Maryland State Board of Education issued new regulations to protect students from harassment and bullying on the basis of sexual orientation only, while in Delaware, HB 99 — which prohibits discrimination in housing, insurance and employment based upon sexual orientation alone — was passed by the House and will move on to be considered by the state Senate early next year.

Some say the Delaware legislation, endorsed by Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner could actually be used against transgender persons if passed. HB99 specifically defines sexual orientation to exclude transgender identity: “Sexual orientation exclusively means heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual orientation, whether real or perceived,” reads the bill, which includes an amendment allowing employers to set “gender-appropriate dress codes.”

Conversely, here in San Diego the proposed amendment to the city’s HDO is actually more progressive than transgender protections passed elsewhere in the country. Should the council vote in favor of the protections again on July 28, San Diego will become the first city to use the word “stereotypically” in its anti-discrimination language instead of the word “traditionally.”

“Using the word stereotypically just gives a little more freedom when you’re trying to present a case,” said San Diego activist Amanda Watson, who worked to get the protections passed. “[It’s easier to] prove that you’ve been stereotyped…. The word traditional is just such a vague word.”

Though it’s easy for us to justify moving forward with protections covering only gays, lesbians and bisexuals as being good for the entire movement, the time has come to stop overlooking the transgender community. By all historical accounts, it was largely drag queens and butch lesbians who stood up to police harassment and incited the Stonewall Riots over three decades ago. Without their efforts, it’s possible we might not be celebrating Pride today — let alone contemplating the future of Pride events across the country and how to assure they remain relevant to our community and our movement (see feature story, page 72).

In the next few days, we should all call our individual city council representatives and the mayor to thank them for their courageous vote, urging them not to waver on their initial decision, should conservative constituent pressures arise between now and Monday. We should also thank them for once again proclaiming Pride Week in the city of San Diego — the first time the full city council and mayor have unanimously voted in favor of the proclamation.

Contact your council representatives by calling: Mayor Dick Murphy, (619) 236-6330 (dickmurphy@sandiego.gov); Scott Peters, (619) 236-6611; Michael Zucchet, (619) 236-6622; Toni Atkins, (619) 236-6633; Charles Lewis, (619) 236-6644; Brian Maienschein, (619) 236-6655; Donna Frye, (619) 236-6616; Jim Madaffer, (619) 236-6677; and Ralph Inzunza, (619) 236-6688.