Meeting with Your Elected Official

April 23, 2009

Meeting with Your Elected Official

admin 2 Comments

I’m off this morning, joining Brian and Emilia, to meet with PA Representative Joe Petrarca about PA HB 300. This is a very different type of action from writing a blog or participating within the blogosphere, and one I am looking forward to. Our here on a blog, non-discrimination is a concept- an idea to be discussed and supported, and fought over. But sitting down with real people, the subject of the meeting is “our real lives.” No longer is nondiscrimination a concept- or a group of words on a page. It is something that impacts real people in very real ways.

On the virtual side of this, I’ve been in a dialogue (if you can call it that) with someone who writes a conservative blog. I don’t know if this person is a male or female or even their name. They know all of this about me however. It started when I posted a comment on his/her blog. They wrote:

I do not feel anyone should be fired jobs or removed from their housing based SOLELY on the fact that they are Gay or Transgender,

Which is precisely what PA HB 300 does. Unfortunately, they followed that cool statement with a bunch of fear based stuff that isn’t at all what this bill is about.

The blogger responded to me, and I again replied, but those are no where to be found on his/her blog. They are comments waiting to be moderated. Yet the blogger has continued to email me. and I leave reading these emails and think this is all such crazy stuff!

So, I’m looking forward to this meeting where real people will sit and talk and listen to each other. Where the real life impacts of this legislation will be the topic instead of crazy fear-based stuff.

If you appreciate reading my posts, would you like to thank me with a coffee?

Posted in: general, Non-Discrimination Tags: Activism, Civil Rights, Gay, Gender Expression, Gender Identity, GLBT, GLBTQ, HB 300, Non-Discrimination, sexual orientation, Transgender

Kate

Hey, I’m wondering… do you think the federal ENDA bill will make HB300 redundant? It sounds like ENDA will pass this year.

Is HB300 (or ENDA) necessary for people who have fully transitioned their sex and have seamlessly (legally, physically, socially, etc.) re-assimilated as such? Could discrimination against them be protected under the existing sex discrimination laws?

http://thomascwaters.com admin

These are 2 great questions Kate that I don’t have a quick answer for either. I think if ENDA is passed it does change the need for HB300 to some degree. The same can be true at the other end of things. The Allegheny County ordinance is less needed if HB300 is passed. but until any of them pass, action on all fronts is the right way to keep moving. But you have me wondering- exactly how will these two laws impact the each other. I want to dig into that some. Your second question is equally a good one. I don’t know enough to answer well, so I’m going to look into it, and will blog about it later. Thanks!