Though the success of marriage equality in Maryland was an important achievement, the state still lacks nondiscrimination protections for its transgender community, and it seems that won’t be changing anytime soon. Today the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee voted 6-5 to kill the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, which would have prohibited discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment, and public accommodations.
One of the Democrats who voted against the protections was Sen. Norman Stone, who in 1967 voted to maintain the state’s ban on interracial marriage and who opposed same-sex marriage in 2012. Another was Sen. James Brochin, who was actually convinced to vote for marriage equality because of how “appalling” opponents’ testimony was. Apparently when the Family Research Council’s Peter Sprigg testified that trans people are “suffering” from a “delusion” and require therapy instead of protections, it just wasn’t appalling enough.
Only 16 states protect trans people from discrimination, and Maryland is apparently not becoming the 17th anytime soon.
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