Here's the bitter irony in this 24-0 vote. The New Hampshire Senate is the only legislative body in the United States in which women not only have the majority, but hold key leadership positions.They can pass a gay marriage bill, but not join 13 other states that ban discrimination for transgender people in housing, accommodation and employment.
New Hampshire transpeeps, maybe it's time for you to channel that righteous anger you feel right now into getting politically active and running one of our own peeps as a candidate for the legislature.
So why the hell did a bill to ban discrimination against transgender people die?
"The bill had flaws," said Nashua Democratic State Sen. Bette Lasky who commended citizens for coming to the Legislature and telling heartfelt stories about their difficulty in keeping a job or getting a promotion.
What are the so called 'flaws' in the transgender civil rights bill that Sen. Lasky alluded to, and if they were there, why wasn't it amended in committee or on the Senate floor to eliminate them so the bill could pass?
Barrington Democratic State Sen. Jackie Cilley attacked the state Republican Party leadership and the media for referring to the legislation (HB 415) as the "bathroom bill.""To those among you who repeatedly used the label the bathroom bill…and failed to tell the whole story and failed to tell the whole truth, I say you are not journalists, you are merely stenographers for your ignorance, hatred and discrimination," Cilley declared.
Yeah, but you voted to kill the bill. So that leads to the perception, Sen. Cilley, that on some level you agree with the deceptive spin and lying of the media, the GOP and the rest of the Forces of Intolerance cabal you decried in your statement.
Far from dissuading the use of the 'bathroom bill' attack spin against transgender civil rights legislation by the Forces of Intolerance, you and your colleagues have given it new life.
It's sad that you and your senate colleagues didn't show the courage of the New Hampshire House and Speaker Terie Norelli. It passed by one vote after she spoke on the floor and helped convince the House to adopt the bill on a second attempt.
My transpeeps can handle as Dr. King called it finite disappointment. But this vote is bordering on spirit crushing territory. And what good does it do to have moderate-progressives in control of the legislature if you're going to vote like right wing conservatives?
So how long will my transgender brothers and sisters in the Nutmeg State have to wait for their legislators to pass laws that allow them to 'live free or die'?
And will you find the courage to do so?
