| # | Name | Comments |
|---|
| 5301 | Rachel Randall | |
| 5302 | Margaret Curran | |
| 5303 | Zachary "Christina" Larson | As a pre-op transsexual person this issue is incredibly important to me. As it is, I am afraid to be honest about who I am at work. I am afraid that I will be fired if I am honest. |
| 5304 | Antoni Ivanov | Stay strong |
| 5305 | Emily Dvorak | |
| 5306 | Dante DeStefano | |
| 5307 | Anonymous | |
| 5308 | Heidi Green | I was disappointed that the representative from San Francisco, of all places, was so out of step with the predominant sentiment of the LGBT community. You mis-read the need, and needlessly held back and divided your support base. Leaders are by definition visionaries, without the latter, you are not the former. Help the rest of Congress understand, that's when you'll be leading this country. Otherwise, you might as well get out of the way. Please consider why your supporters put you in Congress and live up to them. Thanks. |
| 5309 | Nathaniel Ray | just because i was born the opposite sex that i really am doesn't mean i should suffer for it. |
| 5310 | Asher Moody | |
| 5311 | Seth | |
| 5312 | Banik | Nice site chevrolet [URL=http://wtyryt.1gb.in/index.html]chevrolet[/URL] |
| 5313 | Chris Warfield | |
| 5314 | Cecelia Ewing | How can it make any sort of logical sense that the MOST discriminated against group in the LGBT community is left out of a "Non-Discrimination" act? When transgendered individuals decide to finally take that courageous step to present their authentic self to the world, they should not have to also worry that their incomes, which they have earned through hard work, will be taken from them. It will not only "punish" the transgendered person for standing up and stating who they really are, but it will hurt their families as well, people that possibly rely on that second income to make it in today's tough economy. Don't treat transgendered people as second class citizens and deny their right to contribute in a positive way to a society that, in its ignorance, may not accept them. The U.S. Constitution allows for the "pursuit of happiness", it doesn't include "unless you are transgendered" in that statement. If it is not in the U.S. Constitution, then why should we attempt to bypass a document that allows for all U.S. Citizens to pursue their true bliss. The transgendered community should not be made the whipping boy for those in society not able to face that the truth of this country is that we are all created equal, all of us.
Proud wife of an extraordinary male to female woman! |
| 5315 | michael | when unfailness ends,life can begain |
| 5316 | daria garina | |
| 5317 | Amanda Mixon | By accepting this petition and furthermore accepting any non-discrimination bill that may be passed. Nobody is expected to agree with the GLBT community or even condone GLBT ways if they want to put it that way. Signing this bill is simply saying that no matter WHAT you believe in, violence and discrimination is UNACCEPTABLE in any way, shape, or form. |
| 5318 | Kip Williams | As a gender-conforming gay man, I don't feel backed up until we include the entire LGBT community. |
| 5319 | andrew dallamore | I'm an English FTM who once lived in San Francisco for four and half years but I'm living in South East London now. I am a keen supporter of the LGBT community there. I would like to sign the petition if possible. |
| 5320 | Jason Ferreira | |
| 5321 | Cory L Pohley | |
| 5322 | Anonymous | I recently realized I myself am transgender. I'm also almost finsihed with college, and I hate worrying that all my struggle to make a good life for myself could go to waste.
And they should also consider, the amount of money that goes into our education, and the ridiculousness of it's waste simply because they have not supported us in non-discrimination. |
| 5323 | Joni Christian | Congressional Hearing on Discrimination
Against Transgender Americans in the Workplace
This historic hearing took place on Thursday, June 26, 2008.
Congressman Tim Ryan OH,
This could be an opportunity to pass gender identity inclusion.
Please consider passing this on to your contacts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v1w1keaWxA
I hope this helps...32 years later
By MARALINE KUBIK
WHEN JONI CHRISTIAN was a little boy, she prayed every day that God would
change her into a girl.
The Ursuline High School graduate got her wish with the help of hormone
therapy and surgery at age 26. This November marked a milestone for
Christian: 32 years as a woman, 6 years longer than she was a male.
The process of gender reassignment, although a seemingly radical
transformation, was Christian's salvation, despite the ridicule, sarcasm and
shunning she experienced when she returned to the life she once lived as a
man.
Women she worked with at General Motors Lordstown assembly plant circulated
a petition to keep her out of the restroom; men stared and hurled cruel
remarks.
"I became a freak in a sideshow when I went back to work," she said, adding,
"I don't blame them; they had no other way to deal with it."
Since 1975, the year of her surgery, the culture in the Mahoning Valley and
at GM has become more tolerant but, she said, there is still a long way to
go.
"By the time I was 4 or 5 years old, I knew I wanted to express my natural
femininity," Christian recalled, "and I realized it wasn't acceptable."
Lessons learned in a Catholic grade school reinforced the notion that boys
should be tough, masculine. Even the playground was segregated, boys on one
side, girls on the other, Christian said.
"Puberty was a nightmare. My body was turning into a monster doing the
opposite of what I wanted to happen. In high school I thought I might be
gay, even though I wasn't attracted to boys, and I knew you must deny and
suppress that."
What happened
In 1968, a year after graduating from high school, Christian went to work at
GM and was drafted into the Army a year later.
"That was where I came to know that this was something I had to deal with,"
she said. During the 10 months and 28 days Christian spent in the service
she was released on a family hardship, she saw an article in Life magazine
about women who had been born male and had undergone sex-change surgery.
"That's when I knew it was possible," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.
In 1970 she went to Cleveland Clinic, where she said she "instantly became
an experiment."
After a series of psychological exams, she started taking estrogen. The
rapid changes taking place in her body weren't readily apparent under her
work coveralls in the paint department at the automotive assembly plant, so
she encountered few problems with co-workers.
But with all the costs for hormone therapy coming out-of-pocket, and the
knowledge that the costs of the surgery would also be her personal expense,
Christian began wondering whether this was the best route for her to follow.
She stopped taking estrogen, met a woman who had a young daughter, and began
entertaining the idea of living a more traditional life. The couple married
three months later.
"I thought a relationship would make it all go away," Christian said. "I
thought I could be straight, or normal, is that the right word?.... I
really wanted to be a parent and my wife's parents thought I was a good
catch."
For the first two years, married life "was pretty OK," she said. She adopted
her wife's daughter and the family seemed like any other. "But after two
years that thing I had tried to suppress, run away from, was still there."
Surgery
Christian turned to drinking and using drugs to escape, but an automobile
accident brought her face to face with reality. "I had to do something to
get real again. I told my wife and I started back on estrogen."
The night before gender reassignment surgery, the term she prefers over
"sex change," she lay in her bed at the former Southside Hospital, praying
no one would barge in and stop the procedure.
The only time she had contemplated suicide was when she had opted to go
forward with the surgery and physicians at Cleveland Clinic turned her away.
Nine months before the surgery, Christian's wife had given birth to their
daughter. While Christian was recovering, the wife brought the baby to the
hospital to visit. Christian said she loved the baby and was wracked with
guilt for going forward with the surgery, not knowing what the impact would
be on her daughter.
She was also worried about how her mother would react.
"My mother never knew about it until after the surgery. I couldn't tell her.
I asked my ex to do it," she said. Afterward, "my mom became my best friend
for life. She stayed when the rest of the world left."
Christian's marriage was dissolved in February 1976, three months after her
surgery. After the wife remarried, she tried to abolish Christian's parental
rights so her new husband could adopt the little girl. The ensuing court
battle bankrupted Christian, but it was worth the expense, she said.
"The hardest thing I ever did was one day when I took my daughter to the
playground when she was about 7 years old. She was playing on the monkey
bars and I asked her how she would feel if she didn't see me for awhile. She
said she wanted to keep seeing me and I decided right then that it should be
her choice when she doesn't want to see me anymore."
Although the relationship has never been a traditional father-daughter one,
Christian said she and her biological and adopted daughters have maintained
family ties. They call her Joni, not Dad.
When her biological daughter married, Christian selected the music and sang
at the ceremony. "People asked me if I felt bad because I couldn't walk her
down the aisle. I told them walking her down the aisle isn't as important as
being here."
Glad for GM, union
Although returning to work 31/2 months after undergoing gender-reassignment
surgery was challenging, Christian said her job at GM and membership in
United Autoworkers Local 1112 made it possible for her to change her life.
The company provided the paycheck that enabled her to pay for medical
treatment and a drawn-out court battle to maintain her parental rights; the
union protected her from being fired or discriminated against on the job.
"If it would not have been for my union, I would have been fired," Christian
said. "A lot of supervisors had major issues with me. Some did not want me
working for them."
"The union respected me as a union person even if some of the members didn't
approve of me. The union taught me that an injury to one was an injury to
all."
As years passed, Christian transferred from the paint department to quality
assurance, a job in which she moved throughout the plant. She and her
co-workers eventually got used to each other; she won their respect and even
managed to build some friendships.
Thirty two years ago, when Christian came out as a transgender person, "no one at
work was out as being gay, bi [-sexual] or trans," she said. Since then, she
said, the situation has "relaxed a little."
GM and the UAW both sponsor diversity programs and sensitivity training.
--
© 2003, The Vindicator
http://www.uaw.org/solidarity/02/0502/union05.cfm
I would like to offer myself as an example of success with my union.
Thank you.
Joni |
| 5324 | Rev. Lea Brown | |
| 5325 | KEVIN B KAPP | |
| 5326 | Dina Boyer | |
| 5327 | Christine Carson | This MUST happen!
Thank you! |
| 5328 | Daniel | LGBT Community, FirstĄ |
| 5329 | Joe Bechtel | I have been afraid to go out and find a job until all traces of "femaleness" are gone. This shouldn't have to happen and with ENDA including Gender Identity and Expression, I wouldn't have to be afraid of this. |
| 5330 | Vecelia Whitehead | |
| 5331 | Morgan Weinert | Transfolk need protection just as badly (if not worse) than LGB folks. It is unacceptable that they've been removed from the bill simply because of a lack of understanding among the general population and in congress.
An inclusive bill is necessary! |
| 5332 | Tammie Huber | Dear Speaker Pelosi,
Please I urge you, for your leadership and fight for the transgender community, we more than anyone need protections, we can not hide who we are and go through transition. There are too many of us who find themselves jobless for only this one reason. Yes, I know people do not understand our dilemma, but larger more progressive companies are taking notice and being proactive. Unfortunately most of us do not work with those companies. I myself am stuck in limbo until I come out at work, but it is to much of a risk with the economy at this time. So please, we need your leadership.
Tammie Huber
Loveland, Ohio |
| 5333 | Jan Bair | |
| 5334 | Anonymous | |
| 5335 | Debra Johnson | I am a Trans woman and was so freaked when it got dropped. I now am working with HRC on a diversity sub committee here in Cincinnati Ohio and the people we work with and have met in HRC are on our side also. This issue has change me in many ways. Now I am very active in our community and sit on 2 boards (pflag and equality ohio) and have felt nothing but togetherness with all the people we have worked with. There is a big change since the ENDA issue. Just look at how this has brought all these organizations together. I think it has been a blessing in the long haul as it has brought this to the front and not the bottom.
Just my opinion.
Debra Johnson |
| 5336 | bill albright | |
| 5337 | Vicki Huizinga | I believe in eqality for everyone, there should be no seperate bill, please protect the LGBT |
| 5338 | Suni Johnson | I am a PROUD mother of a (TG) transgender
I gladly sign this petition I pray this will help and I do wish this world would prove the love it says it has for all people... as a mom I worry they will still keep there heads stuck in that hole hopefully this will wake them up to seeing the wrong they are doing to all americans.. |
| 5339 | Jeff Caywood | Speaker Pelosi, thank you for your commitment to put a fully-inclusive ENDA to a vote (www.hrc.org/news/7838.htm). With this commitment, the inclusive ENDA bill will continue to receive legislative action as it moves through the committee hearing process during the time HRC, and other coalition organizations, continue to advocate directly with Members to support this critical inclusive workplace protection bill. |
| 5340 | Carol Miller | |
| 5341 | Lynne Rochette | |
| 5342 | James Alex Reed | |
| 5343 | Anthony Austin | |
| 5344 | TJobBank.com | |
| 5345 | Sarah Gillis | |
| 5346 | Anonymous | |
| 5347 | Jillian Soderman | |
| 5348 | Anonymous | TGs, gays, lesbians, and bisexuals ftw.
Yes to Gay rights. |
| 5349 | Anonymous | |
| 5350 | Marcie | |