AMNY.com – By Geoff Mulvihill – Associated Press Writer
Mount Laurel, N.J. – Starting Sunday, New Jersey joins eight other states in making it illegal for employers and landlords to discriminate against transgendered people.
The law, which sailed through the Legislature in December, has received little attention in a state that’s gaining a reputation for being welcoming to lesbian, gay and transgendered people. Earlier this year, New Jersey began allowing same-sex couples to unite in civil unions.
Advocates hope the new law will lead to more acceptance and awareness of people who are born one gender but live as the opposite gender. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center of Transgender Equality in Washington, said she expects more states to follow, including a handful in 2007 and 2008.
“It’s really simply a reaction to there being more (transgender) people who are out,” Keisling said. “As more people transition, it becomes safer to transition.”