This is very good news, the poll results correspond well with other polls both nation and local. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force did a nation survey in ’06 and they found 79% of those polled were in favor of adding gender and gender expression anti-discrimination laws, and in 2005 Zogby-Garden State Equality poll, 70 percent of New Jersey supports the transgender equality bill. Last November, when I was at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Long Island Power Summit, we went door-to-door polling in Nassau County and we found that about 70% of those people asked were in favor of the gender inclusive Anti-Discrimination bill.
Now why can’t the politicians understand that this is a no brainier and vote in favor of the bill here in Connecticut, and for the bills in New York and Massachusetts?
Here is a press release from the Empire State Pride Agenda…
Time for Legislature to pass law,” says Pride Agenda’s Alan Van Capelle
New York City, March 5, 2008 – A statewide poll conducted by the Global Strategy Group for the Empire State Pride Agenda found that New Yorkers overwhelmingly support passing a law that provides transgender people with protections from discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and other areas of everyday life. The survey found that 78% of New Yorkers favor such a law while just 13% do not.
“These findings clearly show that there is overwhelming support in New York for discrimination protections for transgender people,” said Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle. “Upstate or down -- Republican or Democrat – it doesn’t really matter. There is broad public consensus that transgender discrimination is wrong, whether it comes from a boss or a co-worker, a landlord or a restaurant owner, and there ought to be a law to stop it.”
“Given such a high level of public support for legal protections, the Legislature should move quickly to pass the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA),” said Van Capelle. “Our survey shows that this is a no-brainer with the people of New York. Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Rochester, Suffolk and Tompkins Counties have already enacted transgender non-discrimination laws, and so have thirteen states.* It’s time for the Legislature to follow the will of the people of New York and pass a law saying that discrimination against transgender people is illegal all across our state.”
Besides asking where New Yorkers stand on a law, the survey asked respondents a number of questions about transgender people and their understanding of transgender issues. Respondents were also asked whether they would support their state legislators if they voted to end discrimination against transgender people. On this, only nine percent (9%) of New Yorkers said they would be less likely to support their Assemblymember or State Senator. Thirty-seven percent (37%) said they would be more likely to support their legislator and fifty-one percent (51%) said voting for a bill wouldn’t be a factor in who they decide to support.
“Responses to our survey confirmed what we’ve always believed about New Yorkers,” said Van Capelle. “New Yorkers believe in fairness and have a ‘live and let live’ attitude about people who are different from them. They strongly believe that no one should be discriminated against or have fewer rights because of those differences.”
Van Capelle also urged elected officials to look at the findings. “This survey should answer many of the questions legislators have about where New Yorkers are on this issue. It shows there is no political harm to supporting discrimination protections for transgender people. So why not do what the people of New York overwhelmingly support and pass a law saying it’s wrong to discriminate.”
Transgender New Yorkers welcomed the poll’s findings.
Debra Oppenheimer, a transgender woman and a Board Member of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley in Rochester, said, “It is heartening to see the widespread support in New York for fairness and equality. Transgender New Yorkers routinely face discrimination in ways that impact our lives, big and small, and we deserve the opportunity to have a job and a home and provide for ourselves and our families just like anybody else. All we’re looking for is some protection from discrimination to create a level playing field so we can continue to be productive employees, tenants and citizens.”
Juli Owens, a transgender woman and the Executive Director of the Long Island Transgender Advocacy Coalition, said, “It's very encouraging to see that New Yorkers support the fight against transgender discrimination. I would not be able to keep my job and my profession if my employer knew that I am transgender. With no state law for employment protection, I am forced to live a dual life, being one gender at work and the other gender at home and socially. This news is extremely positive!”
GENDA (A.6584/Gottfried, S.3753/Duane), amends the state’s human rights law to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression in employment, housing, public accommodations and credit. It has 71 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 17 in the State Senate, although the Pride Agenda’s legislative scorecard shows that 95 Assemblymembers and 27 Senators say that they will vote for GENDA. The bill has been voted on in committees in the Assembly the past few years but has never made to the floor. In 2002, the Senate failed to pass an amendment to the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) that would have explicitly included gender identity and expression, though it received support from a majority of Senate Democrats. Since then, support in the Senate has increased and now includes a number of Senate Republicans who told their constituents at the Pride Agenda’s annual LGBT Equality & Justice Day last year that they would vote for the bill. Governor Spitzer has said he will sign GENDA into law if the Legislature sends it to him.
The survey of 600 registered voters was conducted in February and has a margin of error of +/- four percent.
Colorado, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia have enacted laws providing non-discrimination protections for transgender people. Governors in six additional states have issued Executive Orders prohibiting transgender discrimination in the public workforce. These states are: Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Please help us, call you state representative and tell them to vote in favor of the An Act Concerning Discrimination HB5723 here in Connecticut, in Massachusetts it is HB1722 and in New York A.6584/S.3753.
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