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Well, I put in a little over 10,000 steps today, for 4.5 miles added to my journey. That puts me about 2 days' journey to the border. Here's a link to what this part of Baja looks like. CLICK HERE
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Change of Route
When I started my journey 23 days ago, I was thinking that I would, out
of protest, avoid the states that have anti-transgender laws. But, the
more I thought about it, it would be far better to conduct my virtual
walk right straight through America and freely comment on the state
of the law in all the states that I cross, whether they are discriminatory or not. Yes, that’s right, I have decided to
walk through Arizona, New Mexico,Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington
D.C. (I'm not saying that they are all discriminatory in their laws concerning transgender people). But, what better
way to highlight where each of these states stand on transgender people. This way, I
don’t have to spend a dime in any states that do discriminate against me, and I don’t have to risk going
to the bathroom in any states that have "bathroom" laws, or being beat up or killed in states that might be unfriendly culturally to trans people, and I can
freely comment to my hearts delight about their laws, their culture, and
yes about the sites along the way. Many of these states are lovely
places to visit….(but some of them are not so friendly if you are transgender). It will make for a
far more interesting blog this way. It is a 3,073 mile
route. CLICK HERE FOR INTERACTIVE MAP (I'm currently 3 days away from re-entering the USA from
Mexico and crossing the Colorado River into Arizona).
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Just curious: why did you go south into Mexico when due east would have been sufficient?
ReplyDeleteYou're right, except I'm on foot. I used Google maps to map out the journey from San Diego to Washington D.C. When I pressed the "on foot" option, it routed me through Baja, probably because you can't walk on the 8 freeway eastbound. Then I changed my route to head through the southern states by dragging the line. By going through Mexico it did also give me a chance to look up and comment on their laws on transgender people too, coincidentally.
ReplyDeleteActually, Arizona has no anti-transgender laws (we defeated the ones that were proposed in 2013) & New Mexico has a statewide LGBT nondiscrimination law.
ReplyDeleteForgive me, Abby, if I implied otherwise, particularly about New Mexico...it just happens to be on the West to East route.
ReplyDeleteI did read somewhere, however, that gender identity is not specifically protected by the state hate crimes law, but sexual orientation is. Also, according to Lambda Law's website, there is no state law that specifically protects employees in the private sector from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and/or gender expression. Is this true?
Also, I have read that Governor Janet Napolitano issued an executive order in 2003 banning discrimination based on sexual orientation for state employees (See Executive Order 2003-22). However, Arizona does not have a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression for the state's government employes. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-1463. Is that also true? Again, Lambda Law's website says that Arizona state law does not expressly protect employees of state and local governments from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and/or gender expression.
Of course, all government employees are protected by the U.S. Constitution against irrational discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, I believe some measure of protection already exists under Title VII based on gender, which has been held to include gender identity and expression. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several courts have interpreted Title VII to protect transgender employees, and the EEOC has interpreted Title VII to cover sexual orientation discrimination. The Supreme Court has held that the EEOC's interpretations of Title VII are entitled to "great deference."
I also took note of the state's laws against bullying in school, which is illegal, in general. However, the laws against bullying do not include any specific reference to sexual orientation or gender identity. I'm also curious about how the Arizona schools are responding to the Justice Department's directive about school bathrooms and showers?
I am also as yet unclear whether there is a rebirth of the same discriminatory bathroom law that was defeated in 2013, but it appears that a new law has just passed the Senate and now goes to the full Arizona house for review and consideration. Here's my source: http://civilattorneyteam.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-arizonas-transgender-bathroom-bill/ Is this true?
But, I also read that Tucson, Phoenix, and Flagstaff have passed their own city transgender non-discrimination laws.
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ReplyDeleteI have re-written my original post to try to clarify my intent. I don't want to imply that every state that I listed on the route has discriminatory laws. Some do, however, have discriminatory laws, either on the books or bills that are under consideration. The laws regarding requirements for making changes in name and gender on state documentation seem to vary from state to state also. I will do my best to be fair in outlining what the laws really are, at present, and ask for clarification from state resource people, since gender law is pretty cutting-edge stuff these days and may be subject to change.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the link you provided consists copies of info & photos from 3 years ago when we defeated SB1045 & its predecessor. No similar legislation has been introduced in Arizona since. As for the state of the laws affecting LGBTQ people in Arizona, they are typical of other states with no statewide nondiscrimination protections. Five Arizona cities - Tucson, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tempe & Sedona - love local ordinances banning LGBTQ discrimination. (Tucson was among the first in the country to do so, adding sexual orientation in 1978 & gender identity in 1999.)
ReplyDeleteExcellent news, thank you! The internet is not always the best source of information, which is why I asked for on the ground clarification.
ReplyDeleteI can add a little personal experience with the state of Arizona. When my name and gender changed, I filed with the state insurance departments in which I do business to have my life insurance license changed. California immediately changed my records. Arizona, however, insisted that my former name (which was gender-specific) be also listed on the public record, essentially publicly "outing" me to any potential client. After numerous communications back and forth, they finally agreed to only list the initials of my former gender-specific name, (which is how it still is today, listing both my current name and the initials of my former name as an "alternate or historical name") They have refused to remove it. So, it still begged the question for any potential client about why I changed my name and why only the initials are listed.
While in Washington D.C. a few years ago, I lobbied Congress for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with at least 15 employees.
Although ENDA has been introduced in every Congress since 1994 except the 109th, and similar legislation has been introduced without passage since 1974. As far as I know, your Republican senators have opposed passage of ENDA. I was a little amused by a story Mara Keisling, the head of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told a few years ago about Senator John McCain. Keisling saw him in the hall one day and tried to talk to him. McCain literally ran away from her to try to avoid being seen with her. Apparently, he's quite sensitive about being seen with a transgender person, afraid perhaps that his constituents might get the wrong idea that he is supportive of transgender rights.
I also noticed that: "Arizona has joined 10 other states in a federal lawsuit against President Barack Obama's mandate asking public K-12 schools and post-secondary schools to allow transgender children and youth use the locker room and bathroom of the gender they identify with."
"The lawsuit calls Obama's mandate 'federal overreach,' and focuses on setting rules about who should enact these guidelines."
"The lawsuit—which includes Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin—was presented by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas on behalf of the state's Department of Education. The Heber-Overgaard Unified School District is a plaintiff as well, according to a press release from the superintendent's office. The suit comes after Obama and the Departments of Justice and Education said schools have to protect the rights of transgender students." Source: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2016/05/25/arizona-joins-federal-lawsuit-against-transgender-students-right-to-use-bathroom-of-preferred-gender
It sounds like Arizona has made tremendous progress, but there is still work to be done to ensure that transgender folk are protected at the federal and state level, given the situation with your federal representatives and the current lawsuit affecting transgender students.
Both McCain & Flake voted in favor of ENDA when it passed the Senate in 2013. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2013/11/07/who-voted-for-the-employment-non-discrimination-act/
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, sadly, Brnovich joined the State of Texas's lawsuit challenging the Department of Education's Title IX guidelines on the treatment of transgender students.
Thank you for the correction about ENDA. I'm pleased that both Arizona senators voted in favor of ENDA. I will be more careful about sourcing in the future.
ReplyDelete