[lavender] Fwd: [CampSisterSpirit] Transgender Lawsuit

[Owen Broadhurst]

[This was forwarded me from the Camp Sister Spirit list. Camp Sister
Spirit is a non-profit corporation managing a campsite where frequent
retreats are held. It was founded by Brenda and Wanda Henson, who had
exchanged marriage vows in Northampton, MA at a wedding I witnessed at
their invitation. Throughout much of its early history, Camp Sister
Spirit and the Hensons had been under siege, subjected to death
threats and even fired upon. The Camp is based in Ovett, Mississippi.]

http://www.campsisterspirit.com/

Owen R. Broadhurst (MA)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Leslie <lesliets at mchsi.com>
Date: Aug 26, 2005 10:10 AM
Subject: [CampSisterSpirit] Transgender Lawsuit
To: CampSisterSpirit at yahoogroups.com


Hey!Here is some good news for a change.Goddess Bless,Leslie xoxox!!

Lawsuit expands rights to transgender people, gays
Dec. 29 -- Thanks to a lawsuit settled earlier this month, a
transgender
firefighter can keep her job - and the 1964 Civil Rights Act can be
used to
protect other transgender people from employment discrimination, Out
in
Cleveland reported today.
Jimmie Lee Smith, a transgender firefighter in Salem, Ohio, sued city
officials two years ago, arguing they had pressured her to quit
after she
began presenting as a woman on the job.

A judge originally dismissed Smith's case, siding with the city -
and most
federal courts - that the 1964 act did not protect against
discrimination
based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

But the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Ohio, Kentucky,
Michigan and Tennessee, unanimously disagreed. The court's decision,
which
grants employment protections to transgender people, lesbians and
gays, has
created new case law that could affect similar discrimination
lawsuits
throughout the country.

Salem officials unsuccessfully appealed the circuit court's ruling.
Smith
and officials reached an out-of-court settlement Dec. 10.

Smith, who is the only female firefighter in Salem, has resumed her
duties
as a lieutenant.

"I would do it all over again," she told Out in Cleveland. "Most of
the guys
(at the fire department) are getting used to it, and all of the guys
on my
shift are doing well with it."

>> Dig Deeper
The Human Rights Campaign's Transgender 101 provides a helpful
overview of
gender identity and expression.

Read Tolerance.org's parenting column, Talk to Kids About What
Transgender
Means.