Recent conservative swing in polls gives caution to Democrats on Gay Agenda ENDA legislation.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) consoles fellow liberals worried about supporting a bill that permits any man in a dress to use the ladies room: "People aren't going to be disrobing" in the bathroom in front of colleagues, Frank said.
-- From "Frank battles for transgender workers’ rights" by Jeremy Herb, Boston Globe Correspondent 5/14/10
Representative Barney Frank has vowed to keep transgender rights in his bill to protect gays and lesbians in the workplace, despite opposition from some key moderates that could derail the proposal.
For decades, the Newton Democrat has led congressional efforts to help gay workers, and three years ago he similarly included transgender rights in the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. But he wound up removing that provision in order to get the legislation passed in the House, a move that divided the gay rights community. That bill died in the Senate.
Now Frank says he will keep transgender rights in the current bill, and gay rights activists appear united in support.
. . . Democrats have expressed concerns about voting on the transgender provision with the midterm elections approaching.
. . . Opponents deride laws that include transgender rights as "bathroom bills," over concerns about males who identify as a female demanding the right to use the women’s bathroom.
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From "Top backers of gay/transgender nondiscrimination bill push for a vote" by Mary Ann Akers, Washington Post Staff Writer 5/15/10
As the Obama administration reviews whether to discard the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, House Democratic leaders are quietly pushing another sensitive issue in the culture wars: civil rights for transgender workers.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), one of three openly gay House members, is the lead sponsor of the bill, which would provide federal job protections based on sexual orientation and sexual identity. Frank, his co-sponsors and gay rights activists have been wooing members of the so-called Blue Dog Coalition -- a group of moderate and conservative Democrats -- as well as socially liberal Republicans who voted for a 2007 bill limited to sexual orientation.
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