Friday, March 18, 2011

The Quisling Sellin' Out On HB 235

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

It is a not a well kept secret in trans community circles that there is no love lost between myself and NTCE ED Mara Keisling.   Some of it is personal, but a lot of the animus comes from the fact that she has either been an impediment, silent or been on the wrong side of trans civil rights issues.

And I'm not the only voice in the trans community that has no love for her.

It infuriates me because as someone who cares about the well being of the trans community, I am painfully aware that every day we don't have trans civil rights coverage means some transperson faces discrimination, violence, is made homeless, or dies.   The folks that take the brunt of that discrimination don't look like Ms. Keisling.  
 
After weeks of silence, we finally discovered what side she's taking on the contentious Maryland HB 235 trans rights bill that doesn't have public accommodations language in it.

Note the button she's wearing.    She and her organization supports it.

To paraphrase the late Texas trans activist Dee McKellar,  why am I not surprised?