Politics – Page 7 – David Mariner

Hired and Transgender

July 13, 2017November 2, 2016 by David Mariner

The District of Columbia Office of Human Rights has released a new resource for employers entitled Hired and Transgender: Self-Testing for Hiring Bias against Transgender Applicants. The report is is a part of ongoing work in the District of Columbia to reduce employment discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming job applicants. It provides step-by-step instructions for employers, human resources professionals, and hiring managers to evaluate their hiring practices for discrimination based on gender identity and make changes as needed.

As a continuation of OHR’s groundbreaking report “Qualified and Transgender:
A Report on Results of Resume Testing for Employment Discrimination Based on Gender Identity,” this resource offers guidance on how to address potential discrimination, and points employers to resources such as he guide recently released by OHR and the National LGBTQ Taskforce, “Valuing Transgender Applicants & Employees: A Best Practice Guide for Employers,” which provides in-depth best practices intended to help employers across the nation create a genuinely inclusive and welcoming workplace environment for transgender people.

The Disparities Facing Bisexual People and How to Remedy Them

April 17, 2018October 28, 2016 by David Mariner

The Disparities Facing Bisexual People and How to Fix them

Despite making up more than half of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual population, bisexual people are often overlooked and invisible. Bisexual people are frequently assumed to be gay, lesbian, or heterosexual based on the gender of their partner. Yet when bisexual people are open about their sexuality, they face increased levels of violence from intimate partners; rejection by community, family, and peers; and skepticism from the people and organizations whom they turn to for help, resources, and services.

Consider this: Only 20 percent of bisexual people say that there is social acceptance of lesbian, gay and bisexual people where they live, compared to 31 percent of lesbians and 39 percent of gay men. While these social acceptance numbers are too low across the board, bisexual people are rarely explicitly considered separately from lesbian and gay people. Rather, bisexual people are swept into the greater lesbian, gay, and bisexual population, their specific disparities made invisible within data about the population as a whole.

The Movement Advancement Project and a broad coalition of partners have released a groundbreaking report. Invisible Majority: The Disparities Facing Bisexual People and How to Remedy Them focuses on the “invisible majority” of the LGBT community, the nearly 5 million adults in the U.S. who identify as bisexual and the millions more who have sexual or romantic attraction to or contact with people of more than one gender. The report shows how bias, stigma, and invisibility lead to alarming rates of societal rejection, violence, discrimination, and poor physical and mental health.

Download the entire report here:
Invisible Majority: The Disparities Facing Bisexual People and How to Remedy Them

Protecting the Rights of Transgender Parents and Their Children

October 29, 2018October 21, 2016 by David Mariner

Protecting Transgender Parents and their Children

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) have come out with a new report on protecting the rights of transgender parents and their children.

All too often parents who have transitioned or come out as transgender after having children have seen their gender transition raised by their ex-spouse or partner as a basis to deny or restrict custody or visitation. Transgender people who formed families after transitioning have faced challenges to their legal status as parents, often based on attacks on the validity of their marriages. This guide provides information to transgender parents and their attorneys to help them protect parent-child relationships and assist them when faced with disputes over child custody issues.

Click here to download the entire report

Protecting the Rights of Transgender Parents and their Children

Bathroom Access and the Trans Community: What DC is Doing Right

November 1, 2016May 19, 2016 by David Mariner

Equal Bathroom Access for the Transgender Community

written by David Mariner and Holly Goldmann

A transgender women experiencing violence simply for using the restroom? For those of us who have lived in DC for a while, we know the recent experience of Ebony Belcher at Giant Foods is nothing new. Thankfully, it happens less often than it used to in the District, but it still happens. In 2010 two transender Latina women in the Columbia Heights neighborhood were attacked after they had used a public restroom in a local business. The suspect was charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Since that time (and many years before) DC activists have spent a lot of time working on “the bathroom issue.” While it is frustrating to hear about what happened to Ebony, we can take solace in the fact that DC has made progress. Most importantly, the police arrested the right person. Affirming Ebony’s right to use the bathroom, the police arrested the security guard for the assault that occured when the guard tried to remove her from the bathroom. Sadly, we know now there are many parts of the country where that would not have happened.

So how did we get to this point? Here are some tipes on the progress we’ve made, and how we can move the ball even farther forward.

The local law is on our side.

The Human Rights law is clear as day in DC. Transgender women are women, and transgender men are men. Everyone, including genderqueer, gender non-binary or gender non-conforming folks, can use the bathroom they choose.

We also require single stall restrooms to be all-gender

Any business in the District of Columbia that has a single-stall restroom, is required to make that restroom gender-neutral (or all-gender). Simply put, there is no reason to have a gender marker on a bathroom made for one person. Having more all-gender restrooms in the city makes it easier, less stressful,and safer for trans and gender non-conforming folks to pee in peace. If you happen to notice a restroom in a DC business that is non-compliant with this law, simply take a picture with your phone and tweet the information using hashtag #safebathroomsdc. The Office of Human Rights will then follow up on that business.

The conversation does not begin or end in the bathroom.

In this moment where there is a national focus on the transgender community, it is important to expand the conversation beyond bathrooms. The DC Office of Human Rights has recently documented the very real employment discrimination transgender individuals experience in the District. The Equal Rights Center in DC has recently conducted a study documenting discrimination transgender women experience in retail settings. The Washington DC Transgender Needs Assesment further documents numerous disparities and challenges faced by our local transgender community, and particularly transgender women of color. Now is the time to shift the conversation so our communities better understand all of the challenges transgender individuals face.

What’s next? All-Gender Restrooms in DC Government Building.

Finally, it’s important to notice that there is still much work to do on this issue. It is very disappointing that so few DC government buildings have all-gender restrooms. The Reeves Center, a government building that houses both the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs as well as the DC Center for the LGBT Community, still does not have a permanent all-gender restroom. This needs to change, but so do other government buildings. In fact every large DC government building with more than 10 public restrooms, should have at least one dedicated all-gender restroom. The work continues ….

Anti-Trans Discrimination in Retail Stores

November 24, 2016May 9, 2016 by David Mariner

A new report published by the Equal Rights Center takes a closer look at the discrimination transgender women face in retail stores. The pilot project was conducted in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Utilizing ‘secret shoppers’, or ‘testers’, the study compared the experiences of transgender women and cisgender women. Some of these tester pairs were African American and some of the pairs were White. This made it possible to also see differences on treatment based on race.

The results will not be suprising to anyone who is familiar with the experiences of Transgender Women.

In 75% of the tests conducted, the transgender tester experienced at least one type of adverse differential treatment and service. The adverse differential treatment included differences in the quality, quantity, and content of the service provided to the testers.

African American transgender testers faced higher rates of verbal harassment and other forms of negative interactions than their white peers. In the jurisdictions with nondiscrimination protectiosn (DC, MD) the white transgender tester experienced significantly less negative interactions (19%) than the African American transgender tester (81%). In the jurisdiction lacking nondiscrimination protections (VA) the African American transgender tester experienced a negative interaction in 57% of the tests, while the white transgender testers experiences negative interactions in 43% of the tests.

This study is a sobering reminder that legislation is needed at the federal level to prohibit public accomodation discriminationcbased on gender identity and expression. Still, passing a law is a beginning, not an end. As this study shows us this kind of discrimination continues even in a place like the District of Columbia, which has strong laws supporting the Transgender community. Legislation has to be coupled with active enforcement of the law. It is also crucial that retail employees are educated about the rights of their transgender community. Further, it is crucial that transgender and gender variant indivduals themselves understand their rights and how to report discrimination when it happens.

Read the entire report here to learn more:

Download the Report

Strict Voter ID Laws Impose Added Costs for Transgender Voters

June 6, 2016April 6, 2016 by David Mariner

Transgender people may experience barriers to voting at the polls in states with strict voter identification laws if there are inconsistencies between their ID, voter registration information, and appearance, according to a new report by Taylor N.T. Brown, Policy Analyst, and Jody Herman, Scholar of Public Policy, from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.

To help ensure the ability to vote on a regular ballot at the polls, transgender people who have transitioned to live in a gender different from their sex assigned at birth must update their gender marker and photo on their photo ID. However, these updates cost time and money, and transgender people uniquely bear the costs.

The study, “Voter ID Laws and Their Added Costs for Transgender Voters,” examined the additional costs of strict voter ID laws for transgender people in 10 states and described the procedures transgender people must follow to update their photo ID to help ensure their ability to vote on a regular ballot at the polls.

“These strict photo ID laws are onerous burdens for many groups of individuals who may not have acceptable photo identification,” Brown said. “Yet, there are additional costs and burdens of these strict laws that specifically impact transgender people’s ability to vote at the polls.”

Key findings from the report include:

• Fees associated with updating photo ID with a change of gender can range from $8 to $358. There are additional costs connected with obtaining court orders, proof of identity and citizenship, documentation of medical treatment, and other required documents.

• Some states only allow individuals to update their IDs after receiving transition-related surgery, regardless of whether they need any surgery as part of their transition.

• Among transgender people who have transitioned from their sex assigned at birth, an estimated 27 percent have not updated any ID to accurately reflect their gender.

Click here for the full report.

NCAA: Divest From Campuses Requesting Discriminatory Religious Title IX Waivers

May 19, 2016April 5, 2016 by David Mariner

Led by Campus Pride and Soulforce, a coalition of over 70 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ), sports, religious and youth advocacy groups have signed on to a letter calling on NCAA to divest from all religious-based institutions who have made Title IX requests to discriminate against LGBTQ youth. The NCAA has long held as core values a commitment to diversity and inclusion of all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.

A list of the organizations can be found online and includes: The Los Angeles LGBT Center, GLAAD, The Tyler Clementi Foundation, Transathlete.com, PFLAG, The National Center for Lesbian Rights and dozens of others.

“Religion-based bigotry is the basis for the vast majority of prejudice and discrimination LGBTQ people face, especially young people,” said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride. “The NCAA cannot stand for this outright discrimination among its member institutions and we urge them to take action to ensure an inclusive sports culture that is safe and fair for all athletes, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” Windmeyer concluded.

Campus Pride has kept a record of schools that have made these requests on its “Shame List,” calling out the religion-based bigotry online. There are currently fifty-nine religious-based colleges and universities on the list. The requests grew in response to the Department of Education decision in 2014 to include transgender students under Title IX protections. The Alliance Defending Freedom and other anti-LGBTQ groups actively solicited these requests from religious-based campuses the last two years.

“As people of faith or spirit, we call upon the NCAA to act on its stated values as an LGBTQ inclusive organization and divest from these schools who are willfully and intentionally creating unsafe environments for LGBTQ students,” said Jordyn Sun, National Campus Organizer at Soulforce. “No athlete should play sports under the specter of fear and discrimination. Instead, these schools should simply follow the law,” concluded Sun.

LGBTQ young people face high rates of harassment and violence, especially transgender youth and LGBTQ youth of color. The Title IX waiver allows campus administrators to deny transgender students admission, usage of public accommodations, and protections against anti-LGBTQ actions from students and faculty – all based on a student’s gender identity.

“The NCAA has stated that they hope those of all sexual orientations and gender identities speak out against ‘all forms of prejudice targeted toward our LGBTQ student-athletes and colleagues,” said Windmeyer. “Now is the time for the NCAA to put those words into action and only allow campuses that support their values to participate in NCAA sports.”

Stand with Officer Justin Markiewicz

December 4, 2016March 4, 2016 by David Mariner

Justin Markiewicz has been an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC since May of 2006. In 2010 he was detailed to the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit. From 2010 to 2015 Justin worked closely with members of the LGBT community to ensure they received equal police services. In 2015 he was selected as a Capital Pride Hero for his work with the LGBT community.

In 2014 Justin was forced to file a complaint against the Captain who managed the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit for repeated homophobic remarks. The police department failed to respond correctly and immediately after he made his complaint Justin began to be retaliated against. He was denied overtime, subjected to unfair discipline, and suspended. MPD failed to properly investigate the homophobic remarks Justin was subjected to and as many as 8 months after the complaint the Police Department was continuing to refer to Justin as the same homophobic name on official police documents. Ultimately Justin was forced to leave the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit and return to patrol in the 6th Police District in September 2015.

This is not the first time this has happened. As we speak, Officer Christopher Lilly is also in a legal fight with the Metropolitan Police Department because they did not address the anti-LGBT harassment and discrimination he experienced from the MPD. This has to stop

Currently Justin is in a costly legal battle with the Police Department. Ultimately he hopes that at the end of the battle MPD will take complaints made my LGBT officers seriously and protect them from future retaliation and harassment.

Justin has already had to pay for thousands of dollars of legal expenses out of his own pocket, not to mention lost work time. He can’t continue this fight without you. Now is the time to stand with Justin.

As friends of Justin we are coming together to show him our support. As members of the LGBT community we greatly appreciate the sacrifices Justin has made. By standing up for himself, he is standing up for all LGBT officers and for all of us who strive for equal opportunities for everyone in the District of Columbia.

Please join us in supporting Officer Justin Markiewicz .

gofundme.com/standwithjustin

United We Dream Unveils Largest Survey of LGBTQ Immigrant Community

June 1, 2016February 11, 2016 by David Mariner

United We Dream Report on LGBTQ Immigrants

United We Dream, the national network of immigrant youth, has just released its “No More Closets” report, the largest national survey of the LGBTQ immigrant community ever conducted.

The report tells the collective and individual stories of some 461 individuals who self identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer and who are either born outside of the United States or are U.S.-born citizens with foreign-born parents. The survey was conducted in late 2015 both online and through individual interviews.

The report uncovers high levels of discrimination and harassment in employment, healthcare, housing and education and a distrust of law enforcement among this highly resilient population.

“With this survey, we aim to both tell our stories to policymakers as well as to the young people in our communities who are struggling that they are not alone and that together we can turn our shared struggle and power into the change we seek,” said Carlos Padilla, National Coordinator of United We Dream’s Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project. “In fact, some of our nation’s leading change makers are LGBTQ immigrant youth – out of great struggle can come great strength.”

Among the findings:

73.4 percent of respondents say that their income either doesn’t cover or just barely covers their living expenses. Only 26.6 percent report earning enough to live comfortably
About half say they have experienced discrimination at school because of their sexual orientation
41 percent have no health insurance, significantly higher than the general LGBTQ population
46 percent said they have hid or lied about their sexual orientation or gender identity to a health care provider because of fear
Nearly half of all respondents say they are afraid to deal with police because of their immigration status or sexual identity.

Survey architect and report author Zenen Jaimes Perez, Policy & Advocacy Analyst for United We Dream, added, “The patterns of discrimination, lack of healthcare and harassment uncovered by this report are heartbreaking but the countless stories of resistance and hope are inspiring. We hope that this report is just the beginning of research into a community determined to live authentically despite the odds.”

In addition to the survey data, the report also includes several individual testimonies of LGBTQ immigrant leaders themselves including this one from Bianey Garcia of New York City:

“Coming out for me was not about visibility, it was about survival and about being able to share my strength with other youth who continue to remain in the shadows and in fear as undocumented and LGBTQ. As a transgender immigrant woman, being out and counted is a critical step so other people in my community can feel safe.”

Download the entire report here. You can also use these great graphics below to help spread the word.

These Older Adults are the New Voice of Statewide Nondiscrimination Campaign

December 4, 2016October 30, 2015 by David Mariner

“We remember how scary it felt to be afraid to be ourselves for fear of losing our jobs.” Charlotte and Chrissie share their story of living with, and later overcoming, discrimination after Chrissie’s employers adopted anti-discrimination protections. As Charlotte said of her wife, “…she is very much herself, finally, after all these years.” In hopes of igniting a conversation, SAGE has joined forces with Equality PA and the Centerfor American Progress in promoting a new “Campaign for Fairness,” featuring the voices of our LGBT elders fighting for justice.