Equality Maryland Silences past Board President and accuses Advocates of Threatening Legislators

Equality Maryland accuses transgender and equality advocate allies of making threatening calls to their staff and making threats of physical violence against delegates to the Maryland House of representatives!

Equality Maryland alleges that:



These self destructive blanket accusations were made by EQMD to justify its censoring of dissension by deleting comments and banning former members. These unsubstantiated accusation are libellous and sure to disenfranchise even more of its membership who have become increasingly aware of EQMD's oppression.

The FAQ – Censorship, HB 235 and the EQMD Facebook page makes accusations that threats were made not only by marriage advocates who questioned their controversial strategy but transgender people who object to HB235.

Equality Maryland claims it began its censorship after the marriage "vote was taken". This is untrue. Equality Maryland began its censorship of the entire LGBT community on February eighth after Baltimore journalist Danna LaRocca questioned Equality Maryland not about HB235, but its commitment to racial diversity.

Equality advocate David Toth, former Board President of Equality Maryland from Oct 2004 to Jan 2011 is now being censored as well.

The below comment by David Toth on the EQMD note was copied by a friend prior to it being deleted by Equality Maryland........

David B Toth: I have to agree somewhat with T.A. The community would like answers as to why EqMD along with the LGBT caucus and national partnes made this decission. What makes sending it back to committee so "right." There are so many people who put ...alot of effort in volunteering, and than those of us who have put money and time in other ways (even if not seen by all the staff), do you think that they deserved to have the House take a vote, even if it would not pass, to see where the Delegates stand on the issue. Either way the bill was going to die and have to be reintroduced next year."

In this screenshot Mike Toth comment's about the above deleted comment to a person who's was already censored!

Equality Maryland's FAQ stated they are deleting comments because they are "racists" or "threats of violence or intimidation towards our staff, legislative allies, and volunteers."

Once again unsubstantiated allegations of violence made against Equality Maryland. This time the deleted comments were supposedly made against Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Executive Director.



IT IS TIME FOR THIS TO STOP!!!!



Equality Maryland you are also invited to attend the March rally against HB235 organized by Maryland residents of Transmaryland attended and supported by our national community.

Indeed this is just one more effort by eqMD to quash the will of the transgender people but this time they have stepped too far over the line.

If Equality Maryland could prove these accusations of threatened violence, the LGBT people would ostracize the offenders, never to return to our community and I as a member of EQMD would stand by Morgan Meneses-Sheets in doing so!

But in absence of that.......

Many marriage equality advocates like myself now agree Morgan Meneses-Sheets must resign. Freedom of speech, marriage equality, our very civil rights movement is under attack. Marriage equality and transgender civil rights are suffering.

Morgan Meneses-Sheets must resign.

Donna Simone Plamondon Maryland Transgender Woman's HB235 Testimony

Donna Simone Plamondon
Public Hearing on the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Bill
HB235
Annapolis, Maryland
March 9, 2011

I and many other members of Maryland’s transexual and intersex communities feel slighted and offended by the omission of public accommodations to HB235. We respect the efforts of our allies, our legislators, Equality Maryland, the NGLTF, the NCTE and transgender community, however, the omission of public accommodations shows a lack of understanding of what transexual and intersex means.
TRANSEXUALS and INTERSEX persons always IDENTIFY with the sex opposite their sex assigned at birth and EXPRESS that IDENTITY in a consistent manner every day of their lives. TRANSEXUALS and INTERSEX persons have undergone (or are undergoing) counseling and medical therapies under the supervision of therapists and medical professionals according to the International Standards of Care as recommended by World Professional Association for Transgender Health
.
TRANSEXUALS and INTERSEX people are recognized as having a medical condition by both the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association as evidenced by their individual resolutions supporting the legal recognition of their IDENTIFIED and EXPRESSED gender. After significant progress in therapy even the Federal Government recognizes the need for gender marker changes on passports and identification. Even the government of IRAN recognizes transexuality as a medical condition and covered by their national health care – and has for over 30 years.


TRANSEXUALS and INTERSEX people have been referred to, both biblically and in history, as members of society under the term “EUNUCH”. (In the words of Jesus Christ himself) - "For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it". (Matthew 19:12)

TRANSEXUALS and INTERSEX persons should be protected by a public accommodation amendment and recognized as to have taken the responsible approach of seeking help from psychiatric and medical professionals to resolve a medical condition. We deserve all the dignity, respect and protections, both civil and legal, to which all citizens are entitled under the laws of the State of Maryland, Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the United States of America.

Thank You for Your Attention.

Donna S. Plamondon

Click on the player for the full testimony.



Just a note. You will here it repeated by the proponents of HB235 that other counties, cities and states have "enacted laws identical to HB235". That is a lie. HB235 has been stripped of the ALL IMPORTANT PUBLIC ACCOMMIDATIONS PROVISIONS.

No county, city or state government has enacted a law like this. That is why Maryland transgender people are so upset with this bill.