Transgender individuals vulnerable to discrimination

[LostInTime]

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It is time for Vermont to right a long-standing wrong. I address the issue of equality for individuals who identify as transgender — that is an individual whose gender varies from their assigned sex at birth. As an individual who openly identifies as a transgender woman, I have no protection under the existing anti-discrimination laws of the state. As a citizen of Vermont, I am greatly disturbed over my lack of equal status in society. We are supposed to be equal under the law, but I am not, nor are others like me.

I am not looking for any special favors or privileges. Rather, I want what I am due, nothing more, nothing less. Last year, the Legislature passed an amendment to an existing state statute that would have prohibited discrimination based on a person's gender identity.