Court rules trans discrimination is sex discrimination
Posted by LGBT Weekly Latest Issue, Trans Progressive Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Commentary: Trans Progressive
by Autumn Sandeen
http://lgbtweekly.com/2011/12/15/court-rules-trans-discrimination-is-sex-discrimination/"In each of these foundational cases, the court concluded that discriminatory state action could not stand on the basis of gender stereotypes. The court's more recent cases reiterate that the Equal Protection Clause does not tolerate gender stereotypes. Accordingly, governmental acts based upon gender stereotypes – which presume that men and women's appearance and behavior will be determined by their sex – must be subjected to heightened scrutiny because they embody 'the very stereotype the law condemns.'
"We conclude that a government agent violates the Equal Protection Clause's prohibition of sex-based discrimination when he or she fires a transgender or transsexual employee because of his or her gender non-conformity."
The quote above is from the recent 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' Glenn v. Brumby decision. The federal appeals court in the 3-0 decision ruled that discrimination against trans people based on gender stereotyping is sex discrimination. The significance of this decision for the population of transgender, transsexual and gender nonconforming people in the United States – especially for the southern states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals – can't be understated.
