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Trans Lobby Day 2008

Trans activist Melissa Sklarz reflects on lobby days past and the trans community's new message to the Senate on ENDA: just wait!
An Advocate.com exclusive posted April 22, 2008

Last week, I went to Washington DC to lobby Congress as part of the National Center for Trans Equality annual lobby effort.

My first lobbying of Congress was in the mid 1990s with GENDERPAC. But once the Republicans took over Congress and set a new agenda and George Bush got elected, my lobbying presence in D.C. seemed irrelevant.

But last year, what is politely called a “fair-minded majority” took over in Congress and there seemed to be a place for progressive, urban, trans New Yorkers to speak out.

Back in the 20th century, most legislation at the Federal level was written as gay and lesbian only. A unified empowered trans community is a newish idea and so lobbying on behalf of that community is also new. After years of activists working to change gay and lesbian community to LGBT Community -- that is, to include trans people in the mosaic of queer life -- it became imperative that legislation be written to include gender identity and gender expression.

At first, the journey to change minds was difficult, as with all new ideas. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the lead gay and lesbian lobby group in D.C., was hesitant about the place of trans within their purview, and so work began to educate and inform. Finally, in 2004, HRC agreed that a unified LGBT community empowers us all and recommended to Congress that the two pro-equality bills in Congress -- Hate Crimes and the employment protection bill called ENDA -- have language changed to include gender identity and expression.

And so off we went, with a powerful message for inclusion and a new vision. The Democratic caucus agreed with our new ideas but were still the minority in 2004 and 2005. Progressive leaders and Rep. Barney Frank eventually changed the language to be trans inclusive and, when Congress changed hands in 2006, we were ready to go.

Lobby Day 2007 was glorious. We arrived with an upbeat message for the LGBT community, including trans people. But the climate on the Hill changed because of fear and lack of education and trans language was deleted again in October. Trans people hoped for an amendment for gender identity, but it never made it to the floor of Congress and ENDA passed the House without gender-identity protection.

The winter of 2007/08 was difficult as blame was assigned, new strategies died on arrival and the LGBT Community figured out where to go, with gays and lesbians moving forward and trans people talking about “the ick factor” of perceived trans realities.

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Melissa Sklarz is the director of NYTRO (New York Trans Rights Organization).

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