Federal commission ruling favors transgender rights

anchoragepress.com – Scott Christiansen

Alaska gay rights advocates might recall 2012 as the year Anchorage voters refused to allow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people access to the local equal rights commission, the only place besides the courts where a person can go to seek justice in the face of discrimination. But last April’s election is not the whole story. The year 2012 was a time of quieter revolution, in which a new interpretation of an old law could allow transgender individuals some access to the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission.