Transgender Activists Hold Annual Lobby Day in Sacramento

As state lawmakers consider two measures that would extend additional legal protections to LGBT Californians, transgender activists held their second annual lobby day in Sacramento.

Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center, said more than 65 elected officials met with their trans constituents who traveled to the State Capitol on May 1-2.

"We believe the ability to be ourselves is a basic right that everybody in California should have," said Davis.

Drian Juarez was among those who participated in the Transgender Advocacy Day. The self-identified trans woman is the program manager for the Transgender Empowerment Project in Los Angeles. "We are the experts on our lives, nobody can tell our story better than we can," said Juarez.

Activists participated in workshops on policymaking and also attended meetings where they met directly with their representatives, but much of the attention centered on the Gender Nondiscrimination Act (Assembly Bill 887) and the Survey Data Inclusion Act (Senate Bill 416).

The Gender Nondiscrimination Act would strengthen trans-specific protections under California's non-discrimination laws. It would impact schools-including charters and universities, housing, insurance claims, employment, health care and parole procedures.

The Assembly's Judiciary Committee approved AB 887 in April, and the Appropriations Committee followed suit earlier this month.

Voting along party lines, Assemblymembers Don Wagner (R-Irvine), Jim Silva (R-Huntington Beach) and Brian Jones (R-Santee) voted no on the bill. Neither Wagner nor Silva's offices returned EDGE's requests for comment.

"In terms of the republican no votes, it is a trend," said Assemblymember Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), noting Republicans saw AB 887 as anti-business. She views the measure as a money-saver because it clarifies laws that California employers must follow. "I think it's a lack of understanding, a lack of exposure," she said.

Equality California and the Transgender Law Center both believe that clarifying the language in the state's non-discrimination laws will give something to trans people to which they can turn when they experience discrimination.

Study: More than 70 Percent of Trans Californians Have Suffered Discrimination
The Transgender Law Center, which also sponsored the Survey Data Inclusion Act, in 2009 published a survey that found more than 70 percent of trans respondents experienced workplace harassment or discrimination. This harassment ranged from verbal to sexual and even denied restroom access.

The survey also found trans people are most likely to experience discrimination in employment, education, housing and health care.

SB 416, sponsored by state Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), would put voluntary sexual orientation and gender expression questions on state surveys and help to identify LGBT-specific areas of need for the LGBT community.

"I'm happy to carry it because the more factual information we have about our community, the better we in government can serve the needs of LGBT Californians," said Kehoe.

SB 416 proponents see the bill as similar to the U.S. Census and other ordinary ways officials gather information. State officials, who would not connect a respondent's name to their answers, could use the information to look at housing disparities, education levels and average income. They could also use it to appropriate funding.

Opponents of SB 416, however, stressed the state could gather basic information on housing and employment at a lower cost.

Mario Guerrero, director of government affairs at Equality California, said that the lack of data for LGBT people means there is a void of information.

"It's unbelievable that we don't collect this information," he said.

The two bills would ultimately better protect and represent trans and other LGBT Californians, but these issues are personal for Atkins.

She met with five trans-mostly young-people in her Sacramento office who talked about going to college and homelessness.

Atkins has an out gay family member. And she struggles to think of people discriminating against these trans constituents because of their gender identity and expression.

"To think of someone not having a home because of who they are, its heart wrenching," she said. "That's the heart-wrenching piece. Two of the group of five were homeless."