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Debate Over Transgender Teachers

April 20, 2010 10:38 AM

Nancy Cordes spoke with the Human Rights Campaign's Allyson Robinson and the Traditional Values Coalition's Andrea Lafferty about the upcoming congressional vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

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by Elise1214 July 11, 2011 6:41 PM EDT
If we are going to speak on the topic on mental illness, and if we are going to say that someone who is a transsexual is mentally ill, and should not be allowed to teach children; then we must also not allow people with depression, bi-polar disorder, chemical imbalances, or any other mental "illness" to teach children. What is fair is fair.

I will say, there are many unfit teachers in this world-- teachers that are not passionate about what they do, teachers that are dishonest, unethical, not capable of being a successful teacher, yet they still have a job. Why would we deny a capable, respectful, passionate, compassionate, and level-headed person (i.e., a biological female or male or a gay male or female, or a transsexual), the right to the career that they have chosen for themselves? That is unconstitutional and prejudice; yet society makes up excuses such as to say "it is a mental illness", instead of saying "We really hate gay people and transsexuals, and we believe they have no place in this world." Do not sugar coat these issues.

This is America; the land of the "free"...or is it?
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by sky117 July 21, 2010 5:09 PM EDT
Can i just say that according to the DSM which is the Psychological publication that sees a transgendered person as having a mental disorder, it does not consider it a dangerous disorder, instead it says that transition is the probable treatment of gender identity disorder. Until this last publication it also considered gay and lesbianism as a mental disorder.
Lets not forget that the psychological organizations once would of said that most all other races apart from Caucasion as being mentally inferior.
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by TLChasteen April 21, 2010 5:10 PM EDT
Allyson Robinson was composed and brilliantin this clip.
The ugly head of bigotry, discrimination and hate is still alive and well in America today and it continues to show it's unbecoming head in the forms of organizations as this 'Traditional Values Coalition', the Mormon based 'National Organization for Marriage' (which has literally spent MILLIONS across this country to derail Marriage Equality in every state or jurisdiction that ever considered Marriage Equality, to include Maine and California where their untrue claims regarding changes in sex education programs on Marriage Equality caused their repeal by voter referendum. It's amazing how derailing equality and justice for all is more important than their claim of promoting love and God and good for everyone. Complete details available at EqualityJusticeForAll.org), the 'Catholic Archdiocese of Washington' which threatened that it would not continue their social service programs for the District of Columbia if the DC City Council didn't change the proposed same-sex marriage law at the time to allow the Catholic Archdiocese to discriminate against same-gender married couples who are their employees by denying them of health care (which the DC City Council did not do so now 'Catholic Charities' removed health care benefits for ALL of their employees to circumvent the decision. Such a loving, caring jesture. What do you think Jesus would say?), The Catholic Church of Maine which cut funding for the 'Preble Street Homeless Voices for Justice' program that provides hot meals and other services because of the state's support of Marriage Equality in Maine ('Maine Gov. Baldacci Holds Homeless Fundraiser After Catholic Church Cuts Funding Over Gay Marriage'. "After voicing support for the state-wide gay marriage referendum last fall, the Preble Street Homeless Voices for Justice program was cut off from a major funding source - the Catholic Church. Because the organization violated its agreement to uphold Catholic teachings, the diocese withdrew an estimated $17,000 in funding this year alone." huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/15/maine-gov-baldacci-holds_n_539187.html) and on and on and on.

Many of us are confident that these tactics will become less and less effective however as more and more Americans are finally becoming wise to the centuries-old 'Divide-and-Conquer' tactics of these self-seeking organizations to achieve power, recognition and wealth through fear and hate at the expense of others. Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Activist Alliance said it perfectly. "As long as demonizing entire groups can lead to power and profit, unscrupulous people will keep doing it". And the eradication of this last fragment of legal discrimination in this country will completely undermine that means of Machiavellian profit obtained through the arousal of fear and hate.
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by punkinsangel April 21, 2010 3:36 AM EDT
Does anyone else get the creeps when they hear or see the words "Traditional Values" or "family?" Synonymous with "The Party of No" and "knuckle draggers." They never tire of denying.
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by ShaunaO April 20, 2010 11:03 PM EDT
Such fear & ignorance... Being transgendered is no more a mental illness than having a particular eye color. All the current medical research shows that being transgendered is a genetic condition. If the APA listed transgenderism as physiological condition, which it is, then the insurance carriers would be forced to cover treatments.

I am a transgendered high school teacher - the sort of person Ms. Lafferty is so afraid of. My transition was a non-issue for my students, parents, faculty & staff. This group of fear-mongers is simply looking for a way to keep a minority group - one with a simple genetic difference - locked away. Out of sight. Out of mind. Out of protection. And out of luck.

All we are asking is a chance to live our lives with the SAME rights and privileges that every other American has. No more. But certainly no less.
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by Pauline_2 April 20, 2010 10:51 PM EDT
If I might, a few words about this controversy. Traditional Values Coalition's Andrea Lafferty Will be happy to hear that Alysia Williams passed away two years ago from brain cancer, leaving a 2 year old boy.

She was one of my best friends. She Worked very hard to become the woman she was inside. the parents who did pull there children from the school band did get her to leave, with physical threats and threats to the school board and vandalism. The School paid her to leave, She managed to live for quit some time on that settlement. Her family convinced her to try one more time to live as a man, she made it for about 4 years, even remarrying and having the cutest little boy. In her last days She agreed to be buried under her male name so that the 2 year old now 3 would be able to remember his dad and where he was buried. Her father told me that it was a very hard decision.

She Worked at JC Penny's the summer before with no problems. Minnesota is the first of the 12 states with full gender protection going back to 1992-3.

At the time Alysia Transitioned I was working at Circuit City. She was one of three in Minnesota at that time who were teachers. There have been a dozen since. Their names are withheld to not create problems for them as One has retired and the others still work in Schools.

Barnie Frank has this gay picture of a Drag Queen using the woman's room. Sorry Barnie it isn't so. Drag Queens are GAY Men trying to out fem the females and have no intentions of cutting it off. the Few who have learned the hard way that gay men like gay men, change the sex and your lovers become past lovers.

The idea of it being a mental disorder is ludicrous. The thinking of the 50's when Christine Jorgenson came home to reporters after having her sex organs removed is really a response to all the men who clinched their legs together at the thought of loosing their thingy. The real world have come a long ways since then. The DSM has now changed to the point it is not a disorder that Gay men tried to make it out as, (amazing how many are sex researcher). It is now in a DSM IV revision and next year will come out as the DSM V with all newly reviewed explanations. It also provides the numbers needed by insurance companies for how they pay DR's. If Traditional Values Coalition's Andrea Lafferty, wants to discuss such things maybe it would be better if they read it and brought professionals with to explain it. Should have read the DSM II, if she wants a real scare. Been a long time since a man wearing a dress was view as pornographic for just mentioning fashion.

One thing that we do not hear of is the women who change gender, they just seem to slip under the radar, have a mastectomy and haircut and butch it up. Throw in a name change and no one thinks a thing of it. But most women think of men as the Superior sex anyway, they just pat the new guy on the back and say go get even with them.

Just for a quick toss, HRC does not support Transsexuals unless you mean they make good road bumps, they have thrown Trans people under the bus FOR EVER. The HRC is run by former Barnie Aid, (and+), look up his name I do not wish to promote his position.

Now one more thing,
I know what Alysia went through in Blaine, Minnesota because I transitioned to female two years before her in Blaine and was picketed and harassed by the very same people, many of which were neighbors.

Some day the bigots will no longer pick on us but will need a new whipping boy/girl/race/religion/political party/ or whatever, BUT it will be the same people, same arguments.

To think I can remember when teachers had to be only women as men had real jobs.
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by drjilliantweiss April 20, 2010 8:40 PM EDT
Shame on CBS! By re-framing the debate on job discrimination as being about the outrageous lies of Andrea Lafferty's Traditional Values Coalition, a hate group on the watch list of the Southern Poverty Law Center, CBS has handed the debate to Lafferty and the Traditional Values Coalition. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is not about transgender teachers, and shame on you for defining it that way.

TVC raises money by scaring people about gruesome but unlikely events that will result from prohibiting discrimination.

Media Matters Action, a research center dedicated to correcting media misinformation, has concluded that TVC?s claims are blatantly false. Their claims demean gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and our lives, and does nothing to help this Congress address the high level of job discrimination that puts many of us in the unemployment line.

This is sadly reminiscent of the witch-hunting 1970s, when Anita Bryant championed the defeated Briggs Amendment, which would have prohibited gay teachers in California classrooms. Then-Governor Ronald Reagan supported the right of all teachers to teach without discrimination.

CBS should be ashamed of themselves for allowing Lafferty and TVC to define this bill by the fact that a tiny number of teachers may transition in the workplace. Frankly, it's disgusting that in this day and age, we have gone back to the debate about gay teachers from the 1970s.

For shame, CBS!
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