T O P I C R E V I E W
moonlight bouncing off water
Member # 44338
posted 03-20-2013 09:41 PM
Yay! Here in Canada a bill for trans rights was just approved by the house of commons! What do you all think? (And is anyone better verse in the legal system than me to tell me if Commons approving the bill means it has been passed or does it still have to go on to senate?) Info here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/03/20/pol-transgender-rights-bill-approved.html [ 03-20-2013, 09:42 PM: Message edited by: moonlight bouncing off water ]
laura_mei
Member # 106127
posted 03-21-2013 10:26 AM
To become law, the bill will have to go through the Senate - but in the Canadian system it's rare for the Senate to block a bill that was approved in the House of Commons. With that said, the Senate might send a bill back to the House, asking for certain changes to be made, and the bill might bounce back and forth for a while before it goes in effect. Still... YAY!!
Molias
Member # 101745
posted 03-21-2013 10:58 AM
This is definitely exciting! The US is so overdue for something like this; I do think that better treatment of trans folks is something that's really hard to legislate but I think bills like this are definitely a step in the right direction. I have to say that in regards to the last few paragraphs, and the sidebar about recent proposed bill in Arizona to only allow people to use restrooms that match their birth certificate sex, that I am SO TIRED of any sort of discussion about trans rights getting mired down in bathroom issues. I wrote something about this on my blog a few years ago: quote: Since a lot of cis folks seem to have a hard time with this issue, I’ll break it down. Here’s what I do in public restrooms: excrete liquids from my body excrete solids from my body wash my hands make sure my hair looks ok Do you know what I don’t do, oddly enough? I don’t wave around the parts that might be different from other people using the restroom with me, and I’m pretty sure every other trans person is in the same boat. Most of this bathroom panic is focused on trans women who haven’t had genital surgery (surprise!), but my understanding is that most trans women are too busy using the facilities and trying not to be harassed to take the time to expose themselves to anyone. So here’s my Bathroom Challenge: I would love to see everyone who tries to spread Trans Bathroom Panic, thinks it’s reasonable to do genital checks before any trans folks can use their preferred restroom, or wants to support anti-discrimination bills for trans folks only if they ignore restroom/locker room protections to commit, for one year, to only use the restroom at their own home or in single-stall unisex public bathrooms. No cheating! If you have to cut off a date/shopping trip/volunteer shift early because you can’t find a safe public restroom facility, that’s just how it is. Sadly, no one's taken me up on the offer to take the challenge, yet. I think it would be a helpful learning experience. But back to this article - I have to admit that I get so angry reading ignorant comments on news stories (I stopped myself on this one) or transcripts of debate over bills like this, that it can be hard for me to step back and say "hey, this is a victory." My default mode, when trans rights come up, is "we are long overdue to be treated with respect and dignity, to have access to jobs and housing and medical care, and this isn't going to change things enough." I know it'll help, and I really am glad this passed. =) I'm just frustrated at the glacial pace of trans acceptance.