GayLesbianTimes.com – Travis D. Bone
San Diego?s transgender community had plenty to celebrate over Pride weekend, secure in the knowledge that on Monday, Jan. 28, the city council would cast a second and final vote to approve the addition of protections based on gender identity to the city?s 10-year-old Human Dignity Ordinance. The ordinance previously only protected gay and lesbian San Diegans from discrimination.
Following the city council?s unanimous vote to add the protections, members of the GLBT community met at Bourbon Street to celebrate.
?We?ve been working on this since late January of this year and we were kind of on a six-month plan, wanting to end around Pride,? Amanda Watson, a transgender activist and co-chair of the Human Dignity Amendment Coalition, told the Gay and Lesbian Times.
Jess Durfee, president of the San Diego Democratic Club, called Watson ?a rising star in the community? and commended her for her involvement in the coalition, which the Democratic Club formed to push for the vote.
?I?m sure other individuals and organizations were thinking about it, but I think we sort of took the initiative to put the word out that it was time to come together and get the ball rolling,? Durfee said of the Democratic Club?s involvement. ?We did that immediately after the fall election, when we saw the makeup of the new city council. We thought the timing was right.?
Members of the coalition worked with the Mayor?s GLBT advisory board to educate Mayor Murphy on the need for laws that protect people based on gender identity.