News and Events => Opinions & Editorials => Topic started by: Shana A on December 02, 2011, 10:24:10 AM Return to Full Version
Title: Thank You, Congressman Barney Frank
Post by: Shana A on December 02, 2011, 10:24:10 AM
Post by: Shana A on December 02, 2011, 10:24:10 AM
Thank You, Congressman Barney Frank
Filed By Rebecca Juro | December 01, 2011 6:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/12/thank_you_barney_frank.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2011/12/thank_you_barney_frank.php)
For those who've read my work and listened to my radio shows over the years, the title of this post will probably come as a surprise, Barney Frank.jpgbut there's good reason for trans people and allies to be grateful to Congressman Barney Frank for his work in Congress advancing the cause of LGBT rights. As for why, let me tell you a little story.
I came out as trans woman in 1997, and it wasn't long afterward that I began following LGBT community media and the politics surrounding the community. At the time, there really wasn't much, and what was available focused almost exclusively on non-trans gay men and lesbians. Two notable exceptions to this rule were a Boston-based radio show called "Gendertalk" and an online LGBT radio station called GAYBC.
Representative Frank did interviews with both of these media in the late '90's, and whenever the subject of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and transgender inclusion in the bill came up, his answer was always the same, "There are no votes for that." We didn't want to hear that, of course. We enthusiastically criticized the Congressman and his fellow Democrats for it, but he was right. At the time, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of transgender protections being added to the bill.
Filed By Rebecca Juro | December 01, 2011 6:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/12/thank_you_barney_frank.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2011/12/thank_you_barney_frank.php)
For those who've read my work and listened to my radio shows over the years, the title of this post will probably come as a surprise, Barney Frank.jpgbut there's good reason for trans people and allies to be grateful to Congressman Barney Frank for his work in Congress advancing the cause of LGBT rights. As for why, let me tell you a little story.
I came out as trans woman in 1997, and it wasn't long afterward that I began following LGBT community media and the politics surrounding the community. At the time, there really wasn't much, and what was available focused almost exclusively on non-trans gay men and lesbians. Two notable exceptions to this rule were a Boston-based radio show called "Gendertalk" and an online LGBT radio station called GAYBC.
Representative Frank did interviews with both of these media in the late '90's, and whenever the subject of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and transgender inclusion in the bill came up, his answer was always the same, "There are no votes for that." We didn't want to hear that, of course. We enthusiastically criticized the Congressman and his fellow Democrats for it, but he was right. At the time, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of transgender protections being added to the bill.