Today the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee heard testimony about senate bill 212, the Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2014, outlawing discrimination based on gender identity.
The bill's details can be found at
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?id=sb0212&stab=01&pid=billpage&tab=subject3&ys=2014RS.
I was there to testify, so I can provide a firsthand account. Some observations:
* It was really important to have a sponsor of the bill on the committee. Sen. James Raskin made sure that inaccurate statements by the opponents didn't go unchallenged. When a supporter was asked a tough question, Raskin would ask a follow-up that allowed the supporter again to paint the bill in a positive light.
* Supporters clearly outnumbered opponents in a big way. A lot of religious leaders, civil rights leaders, and LGBT community leaders spoke. A handful of transgender people also spoke (including yours truly), though I was surprised there was not better turnout.
* The issue of bathrooms came up early and often. It was handled in a surprisingly thorough manner. Most of the predictable points from the opponents came out (we're putting women in danger, they're being harassed, men are pretended to be transgender to get access, we need unisex facilities not access, etc.) But the response was surprisingly thorough also. The point was made that jurisdictions that have protections in place have not seen such problems, as well as that we need someplace to go, that we are more likely to be harassed than anyone else, that men who want to invade female spaces can do it now, and that there currently is no law in Maryland against using the opposite sex bathroom, so this law will offer predators no protections that aren't already there.
* General statistics about discrimination were presented, but very few individual cases of discrimination came to light. A couple women talked about being fired, but other than that, most discussions of discrimination were second hand. No instances of denial of public accommodation or housing came up at all. Actually, the point of the existence of anti-trans hate was made more effectively by the opposition who said such hateful stuff that even some of the die-hard opponents felt compelled to question their conclusions.
* In my opinion, the most glaring omission on our part was a failure to educate about the biological nature of our condition. One of the senators asked what was gender identity, and much was made of it being "a feeling", which skeptics equated with something changeable.
* The most peculiar outcome was a senator who last year had come out strongly against public accommodation protections, hammering opponents on the bathroom issue and basically single-handedly dismantling their arguments. Even people who had been involved for a long time were at a loss to explain it, though no one dared suggest that maybe he'd changed his mind about us.
