Julianne Hing

ColorLines Reports: GENDA’s Struggles to Protect Trans People

Yasmine Farhang, reporting for ColorLines, talks about the ongoing discussion around New York state’s GENDA. Advocates are moving swiftly to get it passed, but there are queer groups that oppose the bill:

The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (known as GENDA) would protect people who are routinely kicked out of housing, fired from jobs and harassed in schools and other public institutions because of their gender expression. The bill has passed the state assembly and is up for a vote on the Senate floor. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have already enacted similar legislation.

But a group of queer justice organizations is not supporting the bill because it would also add “gender identity and expression” to the list of hate crime offenses and result in longer prison terms. Because the same communities vulnerable to violence face increased policing, it’s a move that would “expose our communities to the inherent racism and classism that is rooted in the criminal justice system,” said Pooja Gehi, staff attorney at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, which opposes the hate crime portion of the proposed bill.

Check out more at ColorLines.com

Posted at 11:55 AM, Aug 05, 2009 in ColorLines Features | Featured | Hate Crimes | LGBT | Politics | Permalink | View Comments