local news
Wronging a right
Proposed statewide legislation could rub out
gains made by transsexuals
“We’re simply striving for consistency, to bring
state law more in line with existing federal law.”
Earls says AOI’s intention is not to "single
out” and remove the ci vil rights protections of any
one group. She also suggests that those who find
the legislation threatening head to Salem to state
their case before legislators.
“This is not necessarily the final bill,” she adds.
Incidentally, according to Earls, SB 482 was
mistakenly referred to the Senate Health and Hu
man Services Committee. She says she plans to
have the bill moved to the Business, Law and
Government Committee.
McNamara, meanwhile, says she intends to
meet with legislators as soon as possible to lobby
against the proposal.
by Inga Sorensen
oAnna McNamara knew it was a tenu
ous situation from the get-go.
“I suspected this might happen when
I did the original work,” says the Lake
Oswego attorney who was instrumental
in getting the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Indus
tries to reverse years of policy and begin accepting
complaints from transsexuals whoclaim discrimi
nation because of their status as transsexuals.
After McNamara persuaded the agency that
transsexualism must be considered a protected
disability underOregon law, BOLI began accept
ing such claims in October. McNamara’s efforts,
however, are in now jeopardy due to a bill pend
ing in the Oregon Legislature.
Senate Bill 482 would revise state discrimina
tion laws against disabled persons by, in part,
modifying the legal definition of a disability to
specifically exclude transsexuals from coverage.
‘‘It’s also offensive to lump transsexuals with
pyromaniacs, exhibitionists, kleptomaniacs and
[people with) other antisocial behaviors,” adds
Buckwalter, the founder and director of It’s Time,
Oregon!, a fledgling organization whose goal is
to “focus on [the] legislative, legal and civil rights
effort for transgendered people.”
While Buckwalter advocates the passage of
nondiscrimination legislation that is inclusive of
trans people, she acknowledges the need to secure
protections for that particular population in any
possible manner.
Gender identity disorder is listed in the Diag
nostic and Statistical Manual o f Mental Disor
ders published by the American Psychiatric As
sociation. For transsexual adults, a GID diagnosis
is usually necessary to get hormones and surgical
reassignment or to get reimbursed for transition-
related care. GID has also been used to gain
‘'If approved
[SB 482] would
essentially strip
transsexuals of
any civil rights
protections in
Oregon. ”
Lori Buckwalter
A portion of the measure’s language matches
an amendment to the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990.
That amendment, brought by ultraconserva
tive Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, states that
under federal law a person with one or more of the
following conditions is not a disabled person:
“transvestitism, transsexualism, pedophilia, ex
hibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders
not resulting from physical impairment, or other
sexual behavior disorders.” The list also includes
compulsive gambling, kleptomania and pyroma-
nia.
“If approved [SB 482] would essentially strip
transsexuals of any civil rights protections in
Oregon,” says Portland resident Lori Buckwalter,
who is scheduled to undergo gender reassignment
surgery in April.
Travel the world,
but call us first.
antidiscrimination protections for trans people in
some jurisdictions, under the aegis of laws pro
hibiting discrimination against people with psy
chiatric disabilities.
While a growing number of jurisdictions are
prohibiting discrimination against trans people
without reference to GID, no such protections
exist anywhere in Oregon, hence the weighted
importance of the BOLI decision.
“This is extrem ely d istressin g ,” says
Buckwalter, adding that ITO is still formulating
its response to SB 482, which was introduced by
Sen. Gene Derfler (R-Salem) at the request of
Associated Oregon Industries, which represents
the interests of Oregon’s business community.
“Businesses here essentially now have two
different sets of regulations to adhere to— state
and federal,” says Betsy Earls, an AOI lobbyist.
Book flap
Seattle public schools endeavor to make
diverse family images available to pupils
▼
by Inga Sorensen
T
racy Flynn isn’t afraid of acknowl
edging reality.
“Gay and lesbian families exist in
our district,” says Flynn, a health cur
riculum specialist for the Seattle pub
lic schools system, “and our goal is to support all
families.”
One way Flynn intends on doing so is by
making books featuring a diversity of families
available to public elementary schools through
out the Emerald City.
As with school districts
nationwide, money is tight,
so Flynn turned to the Fund
«•*«
for Lesbian and Gay Fami
lies with Children—en
dowed last year by Se
attle City Council woman
Tina Podlodowski and
her partner, Rochelle
Milcur—and secured a
$6,150 grant to bolster a
project designed to in
creaseunderstanding of
different kinds of fami
lies and “dispel myths
and stereotypes.”
A critical compo
nent of the project is
the purchase of books
such as Michael
Willhoite’s Daddy’s
W edding, whose
cover features a gay
male couple in tux
edos serving each
other a slice of wedding cake.
Not surprisingly, critics have emerged, in
cluding state Sen. Harold Hochstatter (R-Moses
Lake).
According to media accounts, he character
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ized the project as promoting homosexuality. “It
is very, very subtle,” he said. “It is the kind of
thing these children would be vulnerable to, and
it needs to be resisted.”
Senatorial colleague Val Stevens (R-Lake
Stevens) earlier introduced Senate Bill 5167,
which sought to prohibit schools from presenting
or “promoting” homosexuality. The bill failed to
clear its committee, however, and is considered
by most political observers to be dead.
“We see this type of bill pretty much every
year,” says Flynn,
who is pleased by
its consistent failure
to move.
Nonetheless, she
says such legislation
tosses another ob
stacle in front of
backers of diversity
and m akes som e
school personnel ner
vous.
“When you’re talk
ing about a school en
vironment, emotions
really get heightened,”
says Flynn, adding that
the district has received
both pro and con phone
calls from concerned
parents.
While she says the
district intends to follow
through with the procure
ment of the books, Flynn
-— admits enough opposition
could “lead to a holdup in the process.”
“It’s too soon to know if that will happen,”
she tells Just Out. “Hopefully that won’t be the
case.”
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