Senator Duane: Where are you on New York State's Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Bill?
Filed by: Dr. Jillian T. Weiss
May 20, 2009 3:30 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/05/senator_duane_where_are_you_on_new_york.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2009/05/senator_duane_where_are_you_on_new_york.php)
It was hot weather when I met Senator Tom Duane at a picnic last summer up in Sullivan County, New York, where my partner and I live. I shook his hand and asked him about the New York State Gender Expression Non-Discrimination bill, which LGBT leaders, including Senator Duane, have been promising to pass since 2002, when they enacted SONDA, the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination bill. That bill didn't include gender identity or expression, and when transgender supporters expressed their displeasure, we were treated to a lecture on thinking about someone other than ourselves and the importance of "incrementalism."
At that picnic, amidst the potato salad and the flies, right after the dog show, I told him about my work on transgender issues. He acted very pleased to meet me, asked me to email him to discuss the issues, said he would like to talk to me further about them, and to please include my phone number. I did email him, several times. He never responded. I'm still waiting for that phone call.