An
anti-discrimination measure for the transgender community
will not appear on the November ballot and must go
into effect, Maryland's Court of Appeals ruled
Tuesday.
The Montgomery
County Council unanimously passed the anti-discrimination
law in 2007, but the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative
legal organization, and Maryland Citizens for
Responsible Government collected signatures and
challenged the law.
The Maryland
Court of Appeals ruling reverses the decision by Circuit
Court Judge Robert Greenberg, who had previously ruled
that Equality Maryland missed the deadline to
challenge the signatures.
Council member
Duchy Trachtenberg introduced the legislation partially to
honor her legislative aide Dana Beyer, who is transgender.
"Everybody
deserves the right to a free life without
discrimination," Beyer told the Post after the
ruling.
Ruth Jacobs, who
led the signature-gathering effort, told the Post
that the ruling was a disappointment.
"We've been
disenfranchised," she said in the article. "Every
single signature was a wish to have an opportunity to have a
vote."
Equality Maryland
Executive Director Dan Furmansky said the court of
appeals decision is a "sign of relief."
"This long
overdue, crucial law is all about assuring that unchecked
bias is not allowed to inhibit our neighbors' abilities to
make a living or rent a home, and as a Montgomery
County resident, I breathe a sigh of relief that this
campaign to roll back anti-discrimination protections is
now over," Furmansky said in a statement.
The
council's measure prohibits discrimination on the
basis of gender identity in employment, housing,
public accommodations, and taxi and cable services.
(Kandice Day, The Advocate)