6/17/10

DENNY'S Gender Grand Slam Ban's Transwoman from Ladies Room

As transfolk we understand our moral obligations to society and none more so than respecting others right to privacy. Accordingly, we often are perplexed when Cisgender people make a big deal about us using the restroom.

Brianna Freeman of Lewiston Maine was banned because of a alleged complaint from a anonymous source complaining about Brianna. No official complaints were lodged and police have none on file.

Denny's feels it is doing the right thing even though the state has legislation protecting the rights of transgender people to use the proper public accommodations. "The problem is that another individual with inappropriate motives could abuse the policy that permitted a male to use the woman's restroom." according to Denny's attorney, Patrick Mellor.


Maine Public Broadcasting Network interview with Brianna and Denny's.

Brianna feels her rights have been infringed on and Glad is representing her in a case that asks for no monetary restitution. She just wants to be free to pee.

DART Board Member Raymond Noah Gut's Gender Amendment Screws Gays: TAKE ACTION!

Dallas Area Rapid Transit's final draft gender inclusive nondiscrimination proposal had a word added in the last moments while the Committee had there Mic's turned down, effectively making it a regulation PERMITTING discrimination against GLBT people in the workplace not expressly forbade by state and national laws.

Another words? Sans ENDA, Texas being a "AT WILL" state this amendment allows DART to discriminate, officially and legally.



At the 35 second mark board member Raymond Noah, who has opposed this amendment asked that the word "and" be changed to "except" which was rubber stamped by committee. Ken Upton at Lambda Legal commented that,

“They just screwed you guys over royally,” Upton said. “By adding that word in there, they’ve said we can discriminate all we want. It’s exactly the opposite of what they promised they were doing.”


The DART nondiscrimination policy only needed the inclusion of the words "Gender Identity/Expression to make DART a organization that protects equally transgender people in the work place. Instead DART has manipulated the amendments language in a way that it ultimately denies transgender and gay people protection!

Please contact these Dallas City Council Members BEFORE the June 22 board meeting and ask they relay your concerns about the amendment to the DART Board.

Sample email

Dear Councilmember ,

Please pass my concerns to the DART board that the work that the GLBT community has done in good faith has been for naught.

The DART nondiscrimination policy only needed the inclusion of the words "Gender Identity/Expression to make DART a organization that protects equally transgender people in the work place. Instead DART has manipulated the amendments language in a way that it ultimately denies transgender and gay people protection.

Thank you
[your name]

Councilmember Pauline Medrano
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem
Email
Phone: 214-670-4048
Fax: 214-670-3409


David A. Neumann
Email
Phone: 214-670-0776
Fax: 214-670-5117

Delia Jasso
Email
Phone: 214-670-4052
Fax: 214-670-5117

Linda Koop
Email
Phone: 214-670-7817
Fax: 214-670-5117