Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, June 25, 2010 Page: 4 of 40
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texasnews
DART board approves trans protections
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STANDING UP FOR EQUALITY | Spectators give the DART board a standing ovation on Tuesday, June 22, after the board voted unanimously to adopt a policy
change extending nondiscrimination protections to its transgender workers. (John Wright/Dallas Voice)
Advocates pledge to keep working
with board to improve wording in
non-discrimination policy
JOHN WRIGHT I Online Editor
wright@dallasvoice.com
After removing a one-word amendment that
would have gutted the proposal, Dallas Area
Rapid Transit's Board of Directors voted unani-
mously Tuesday, June 22, to add transgender pro-
tections to the agency's employment
nondiscrimination policy.
The vote came after about 10 LGBT leaders ad-
dressed the DART board, with dozens more
looking on from the audience in the local com-
munity's largest turnout for a public meeting
since Fort Worth City Council meetings held in
the wake of the Rainbow Lounge raid last year.
LGBT speakers demanded that the DART
board approve the new policy after removing the
amendment, which consisted of the word "ex-
cept" and was added a week earlier in an appar-
ent attempt by some DART officials to dilute the
proposed trans protections.
"A word is standing between us, and the word
is 'except,'" Stonewall Democrats of Dallas Pres-
ident Erin Moore told the DART board, adding
that everyone has a sexual orientation and a gen-
der identity. "All of these things also include you.
Why not include us?"
Following the 30-minute public comment pe-
riod, DART board member William Tsao of Dal-
las made a motion to approve the policy, minus
the one-word amendment.
"It is the intention of the DART board to make
clear that its policy unequivocally prohibits any
discrimination against persons based on their
gender identity or gender expression," Tsao said
in making his motion, which was seconded by
board member Faye Wilkins of Dallas.
The board's unanimous vote in favor of Tsao'fe
motion drew a standing ovation from the audi-
ence. Two DART board members who voted
against trans protections last week, Scott Carlson
of Dallas and Mark Enoch of Rowlett, were ab-
sent from this week's meeting.
DAlRT board member Claude Williams of Dal-
las, an LGBT ally who's accused the agency's at-
torneys of duping the board into the amendment,
said later he was "thrilled and overjoyed" with
this week's corrective vote.
"It's been a humungous effort," Williams said.
Board member Loretta Ellerbe of Piano said
she supported the addition of trans protections
all along. "It was the right tiling to do," she said
after the meeting.
Ray Noah, who proposed the one-word
amendment last week, denied that he intended
to gut the trans protections, saying he just
thought the language of the policy was confus-
ing.
"I didn't think it was clear enough," he said.
Noah acknowledged he told The Dallas Morn-
ing News he believes DART should retain the
right to discriminate in some cases. Noah also de-
nied opposing the addition of sexual orientation
to DART's nondiscrimination policy in 1995, de-
spite clear evidence that he vocally did ;#..
Tuesday's vote capped a months-long process,
that began in February when Dallas Voice re-
ported on alleged discrimination by DART
against a transgender bus driver.
The proposal to add trans protections, spear-
headed by officials at Resource Center Dallas,
cleared one DART committee unanimously in
April.
In late May, the DART board's Committee of
the Whole tabled the proposal to seek more in-
to watch video, go to http://tinyuri.com/2e384vm
formation about the definition of gender identity,
which they later said the agency's attorneys were
unable to provide.
Finally, following a 30-minute closed-door ses-
sion on June 15, the board hastily amended the
proposal to say the agency wouldn't discriminate
based on sexual orientation or gender identity,
"except to the extent permitted by federal and/or
Texas law."
Because there are no state or federal protec-
tions for LGBT workers, legal experts said this
amendment would have effectively gutted the
trans protections — and rescinded the sexual ori-
entation protections from 15 years ago.
Even after Tuesday's removal of the word "ex-
cept," some said they still had concerns about the
final language. Resource Center officials said
they intend to work with DART on rewording
the policy, in addition to discussing its implemen-
tation in the form of diversity training.
Ken Upton, a senior staff attorney at Lambda
Legal in Dallas, said the language of the policy is
not ideal but that the removal of the word "ex-
cept" remedied his main concern.
"It now basically says unless federal or state
law prohibits them from doing so —which they
do not — their policy is not to discriminate be-
cause of any of the enumerated characteristics or
identity traits," Upton said. "Could you improve
it? Yes, but it is still a win that was worth fighting
for."
instantTEA
DallasVoice.com/Instant-Tea
AFA: Allowing 10-year-old
to be Pride parade grand
marshal is'child abuse'
On Tuesday, June 22, we told you about
10-year-old Will Phillips being chosen as
grand marshal of the Northwest Arkansas
Gay Pride Parade in Fayetteville. Phillips
made news last fall when he refused to
stand in class to recite the Pledge of Alle-
giance, because the pledge promises "lib-
erty and justice for all" and, as he says, it's
a lie because LGBT people aren't given
equal rights in this country.
Well, leave it up to our old buddy Tim
Wildmon over at the American Family As-
sociation to say something egregiously stu-
pid and outrageous. Wildmon is the same
one who earlier this week railed against
Home Depot for
sponsoring the
Southern Maine
Pride festival
and planning a
booth at the
Pride festival
that will offer
workshops for
kids. Wildmon's
e-mail today
about Will being
grand marshal
was headlined
"AFA says using 10-year-old as gay pride
parade grand marshal a form of child
abuse."
The rest of the e-mail says:
"This weekend, the Northwest Arkansas
Gay Pride Parade will have a 10-year-old
boy, Will Marshall, serving as Grand Mar-
shal. The boy says of homosexuals that this
'is the way they are born.'
'"It's shameful that adults would abuse a
brain-washed child in this way,' said AFA
president Tim Wildmon. 'He's obviously just
parroting the nonsense he's been told by
manipulative adults. For gay activists to trot
out this child and make him the poster child
for promoting unnatural sexual expression
is a form of child abuse.
"'When you realize that the FDA won't
allow a male to donate blood if he's had
sex with another male even one time since
1977, you begin to understand the enor-
mous health risks involved in this kind of
sexual behavior,' added Wildmon. 'We call
on Mayor Lioneld Jordan of Fayetteville to
cancel his plans to issue a proclamation
celebrating homosexual behavior and Gay
Pride. There is nothing about homosexual
conduct to be proud of, and much to be
ashamed of.'"
I could go on and on about how angry
this latest Wildmon e-mail made me. But
instead, I am going to just end by suggest-
ing that everybody out there in Instant Tea
land take a minute to go to the city of
Fayetteville's official homepage, click on the
link to contact Mayor Jordan and tell him
thanks for the Pride proclamation and
please ignore idiots like Tim Wildmon.
— Tammye Nash
4 dallasvoice.com ■ 06.25.1 o
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, June 25, 2010, newspaper, June 25, 2010; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth239122/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.