Pandering from the HRC
My comments after the letter... I would bold all the sections where I would like to extend a single finger and shout "lying, pandering, money-grubbing political bastards!" but that would mean the whole letter would have to be bold. I'll spare you the eye strain.
From: ENDA
To: Alexander Pangborn
,
Date: Nov 9, 2007 1:07 PM
Subject: RE: ENDA
Dear Alexander,
We understand your concern and anger at the situation; HRC acknowledges that this ENDA bill that passed the House is an important first step to fight workplace discrimination and we are not in anyway celebratory of the fact that our transgender brothers and sisters were not included in this bill. We want you to know that we will not stop fighting for the inclusion of gender identity in ENDA.
Although we decided to support this version of ENDA in the final hour, throughout the entire process our goal was to have a fully inclusive bill go to the floor. The disagreement on strategies by advocates for equality should not make us question each other’s commitment to the common goal of getting protection for all members of our community. The truth is our real enemies will stop at nothing to prevent equality from moving forward for GLBT people. That the extreme right wing is doing all they can to lobby for the defeat of ENDA, but it has nothing to do with whether or not it includes gender identity. Their goal is to simply have our movement fail and for ENDA to die in Congress, which would severely hinder any chance of protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans.
While the bill Congress passed this week was not the bill we wanted, the Human Rights Campaign decided to stay at the table with Congress to ensure that millions of Americans receive the protections they deserve, and because passage of this bill is a first and absolutely necessary step toward preventing discrimination based on gender identity. Very soon, HRC will launch a new initiative to ramp up efforts on educating Congress on the importance of including gender identity in ENDA and protecting the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. HRC continues to break down barriers in the corporate world through our Workplace Project. This year a record 195 major U.S. businesses earned the top rating of 100 percent on our Corporate Equality Index, and for the first time, a majority of rated firms - 58 percent - provide employment protections on the basis of gender identity.
The bottom line: The commitment of HRC’s Board of Directors for a fully inclusive bill has not changed. Because HRC stayed at the table, something we will continue to do, we were able to secure an unprecedented commitment from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Without a doubt, the only path to achieving a bill protecting our whole community was by securing passage on this historic vote.
After twelve years of hostile leadership, we have come so far and changed so many hearts and minds. Only a year ago, it never seemed possible that we could pass any GLBT legislation. For the first time in history, both houses of Congress passed a hate crimes bill, and for the first time ever a workplace antidiscrimination law passed in the House. Even a year ago, we could not imagine this coming to fruition. Our fight will not be won overnight; it will be won one step at a time.
Whether or not you stand with HRC, we hope that you will continue to take action in the fight for equality for the entire GLBT community.
Respectfully,
Lisette Fee
Member Services Manager
Human Rights Campaign
1640 Rhode Island Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036-3278
Phone 202.216.1525
Fax 202.216.1505
Email lisette.fee@hrc.org
www.hrc.org/membership
Write all the nice letters to me that you like, HRC, but I will not support you and I will encourage others to put their money elsewhere, too.
See, here's the problem. HRC did NOT have a goal to have a fully inclusive bill go to the floor. If they did they would have signed on with all the other LGBT organizations which protested the non-inclusive bill. They would not have conducted a "random survey" to back them up in their efforts to push a non-inclusive bill.
They say "we are not in anyway celebratory of the fact that our transgender brothers and sisters were not included in this bill" and that "Our fight will not be won overnight; it will be won one step at a time." On their website ( http://www.hrc.org/8190.htm ) they liken the fight for trans inclusion in ENDA to the incremental fight for the FMLA:
Throughout history, Congress has often taken an incremental approach toward equality for other civil rights and business regulatory legislation. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was introduced in five consecutive congresses for eight years and was vetoed twice by former President Bush before it was finally signed into law on February 5, 1993, by President Clinton. Each time the FMLA was introduced, Members built upon the protection from the previous year’s legislative action.
Additionally, each piece of civil rights legislation passed by Congress -- in 1957, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1990 -- continued the legislative path of the expansion of essential civil rights protections in law.
Well, excuse me if I do not see the parallel. The FMLA protects employees from being fired because of their personal health status or that of a family member. (See http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/ for more info). A trans-inclusive ENDA would protect employees from being fired for who they are or how they present themselves.
See the difference? ENDA is civil rights legislation, FMLA is not. I have yet to meet anyone who has religious or moral objections to people who have a new baby or need to care for a seriously ill family member. I wish I could say the same thing for people who happen to be trans.
We've seen how long it takes for an "incremental approach" to result in true equality. And despite HRC's efforts to defend themselves with polling, civil rights legislation is not won by popular vote- it is won by people standing up and doing the right thing.
