Public Accommodations Law Misconceptions and Trans Rights
Filed By Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 01, 2011 1:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/12/misconceptions_about_public_accommodations_laws.phpThere has been a lot of discussion over the past year in the trans community regarding the effect of "public accommodations" non-discrimination laws. The law professor in me is very happy to see that, as it shows that the trans community is becoming more and more educated about the law and how it can help or hurt us. At the same time, I think some misconceptions have crept into the discussion, and since I mentioned this issue in my last post, I thought it would be a good time to address it.
The context of this discussion is the introduction of state non-discrimination laws, most notably in Maryland last year and Massachusetts this year, which seek to include "gender identity" as a ground of non-discrimination. Skipping over the many important complexities, I will define it here as discrimination based on one's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, regardless of sex at birth. This includes everyone, whether transgender or not.
