The Issues:
Transgender Issues
Personal Stories: Dana Beyer
This testimony was delivered at the 8th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, 2006.
It's fitting that I should be privileged to speak to you this evening about a transgender anti-discrimination law because today is the national Transgender Day of Remembrance. On this day we remember our dead, and by extension those who were victims of lesser acts of violence as well as the ostracism that leads to marginalization, depression and suicide. We, no more and no less than any other human beings, deserve to be full participants in society. You can help protect us as well as educate our neighbors by passing the bill to be presented during the upcoming session.
I can tell you that surveys show that 65% of the state's population supports such legislation. This is a civil rights bill, plain and simple, and should be championed by the Montgomery County delegation.
I had the privilege of running for office this past summer, and getting to know many of you, and I can tell you that I encountered not a single instance of discrimination at any of the homes I visited in my district. This is a remarkable county. The only discrimination I encountered was institutional, and that is not surprising as bureaucracies are inherently more conservative than the individuals which comprise them. By passage of this law you will be moving those institutions from their state of ignorance and fear into the mainstream.
Thank you for your support.
Dana Beyer, M.D.
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