WashBlade.com – By Peter Rosenstein
Should we support pro-gay legislation that does not include trans protections?
Hate Crimes Legislation passed the House of Representatives on May 3. The Democrats deserve our thanks. It included not only the words sexual orientation but also gender identity as a protected class.
I applaud this as a real step forward. I know that Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese and Judy Shepard, along with congressional supporters and leaders like Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin and Steny Hoyer worked hard that day, and for many years, to pass this legislation.
But there is another story here. On the eve of the House taking up the Hate Crimes Prevention Act it appeared that passage was not assured in this form. Republicans thought they figured out a way to strip the bill of the term ?gender identity? and just the possibility of this appeared to leave our national gay organizations in a tizzy.