Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), albeit without protections for Transgendered employees.
Although we are deeply disappointed that the approved version of the bill does not include our Transgendered sisters and brothers, we recognize that yesterday's vote was historic.
For more than 20 years, advocates for workplace protections for LGBTQ people have been working tirelessly for this legislation. We have often wondered whether we would live to see the day that a majority in either House of Congress would vote to support our right NOT to get fired simply for loving someone.
As the song says, The Times, They Are A-Changing... yet, lest we forget, we are just one-third of the way to the finish line.
Keep in mind that the Senate has yet to vote on ENDA because we are still waiting for Senator Ted Kennedy to introduced it!
And even if the Senate does passan ENDA bill while Bush is still in office, he has promised a veto.
Still, with all of the hurdles that remain, we feel it is important to recognize this moment as a reflection of how far we've come and how much further we must travel before we become full and complete American Citizens.
http://www.rainbowlaw.com
Rainbow Law is Elisia and Carrie Ross-Stone, lesbian civil rights activists, life partners and grandmothers. We own and operate Rainbow Law, an online service offering legal information and free and affordable legal documents for gay and lesbian families.
We also publish RainbowZine (http://www.rainbowzine.com), a progressive LGBTQ newsletter and we Blog at http://RAINBOWbLAWg/.blogspot.com.
In 2003 and 2004, we rode our bicycles across the country to advocate for marriage equality. Lesbian Grandmothers from Mars, a documentary about the ride, premiered at the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in San Francisco in 2005.
And if all of that is not enoiugh to keep us busy, we are building our own house with our own hands out of recycled materials. The building project is online at http://www.BuiltfromTrash.com.