ZackFord Blogs | News, analysis, and commentary on LGBT rights, atheism, religious privilege, higher education, student affairs, and related social justice issues.
Two episodes within less than a month’s time! It’s like some government shutdown miracle! This week’s episode is dedicated to talking about that “religious liberty” concept conservatives are always throwing around. What do they mean when they say it and how are they trying to use it do keep discriminating against LGBT people? Does a […]
Zack and Peterson welcome Abby Jensen (@Arizona_Abby) for an epic discussion about a variety of issues affecting the transgender community and intersections with other communities and movements. Abby is an attorney, trans woman, feminist and general rabble rouser on trans, LGB, and other social justice issues. She is also an avid follower and tweeter of the […]
Alright, so we admit we have an agenda, but what is it? Lots of people, like straight pastors and well-funded Glb(t) political operatives, think they know. Zack and Peterson try to suss out who sets the agenda and what it happens to be today. What are the bars by which we measure the success of […]
Update: Audrey was arrested for criminal trespassing; cited and released. Before arrest, the officer threatened to use a taser on her if she did not leave, even though she was not resisting arrest. Ultimately, a taser was not used. As predicted, the protesters from the ENDA sit-in I reported on earlier today have been arrested […]
Here is an exclusive update with pictures from the sit-in underway to urge Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)!
Zack… and Peterson… are coming at you from opposite sides of the continent! Zack is in Las Vegas for Netroots Nation and Peterson is heading off to TransForm New Hampshire. The sound quality is a bit low because it was recorded via phone, but the content quality is at its queerest. Zack shares some of […]
Zack has never heard Peterson‘s “From Soup to Nuts” expression, but it apparently defines our tenth episode well! After several mono-topical episodes, we dramatically over-compensate by limiting discussion on any topic to three minutes. We have a big pile of topics in a hat. Some were submitted by listeners, but we each contributed some of […]
We made you wait a FULL week, but Peterson and Zack are back with a British episode of Queer and Queerer! Zack has been watching Doctor Who and Torchwood, but that’s not why we’re doing a British episode. There have been a lot of stories coming out of the UK about Bed & Breakfasts discrimination, […]
Zack and Peterson welcome Abby Jensen (@Arizona_Abby) for an epic discussion about a variety of issues affecting the transgender community and intersections with other communities and movements. Abby is an attorney, trans woman, feminist and general rabble rouser on trans, LGB, and other social justice issues. She is also an avid follower and tweeter of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Plus, Zack gets an education on swiss chard.
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is not expected to pass the current House of Representatives, but proponents hope to use the bill as an educational tool about workplace discrimination against the LGBT community. A story unraveling at Southeastern Oklahoma State University demonstrates how higher education is one of many fields vulnerable to discrimination against people who are gay and trans.
Dr. Rachel Tudor, a professor of English, Humanities, and Philosophy at SOSU has been denied tenure despite ample support from her colleagues, immediate supervisors, a Faculty Senate resolution with no opposition, and two Faculty Appeals Committee rulings in her favor. No explanation was given for the rejection, and she was blocked from reapplying (as many professors successfully do), again without explanation. At this point, Tudor has exhausted every forum to rectify her situation and her contract with the university will be terminated as of May 31 “without cause.”
All the evidence suggests that Dr. Tudor has been discriminated against for being transgender, primarily by Dr. Douglas McMillan, SOSU’s Vice President for Academic Affairs. When Tudor first transitioned, McMillan request she be terminated because her identity “offends his Baptist beliefs.” Though he could not have her fired, he was successful at requiring she only be allowed to use a single-stall restroom on a different floor from her office. In addition, the dean who oversees Tudor’s department, Dr. Lucretia Scoufos, regularly disrespected Tudor by referring to her with male pronouns. These two individuals had sole authority over the original tenure decision and McMillan was also who blocked her from reapplying.
Despite the way it seems her administrators went out of their way to block her continued employment, Tudor appreciates how others have stood up for her:
I’m completely overwhelmed and gratified so many people have taken initiative and shown their support. It’s amazing to see that people have such integrity.
According to a recent study, nearly half (47 percent) of transgender people have been fired, not hired, or denied promotion for their identity. Oklahoma has no state-level discrimination protections for gender identity, and without a federal ENDA, there is nothing to protect talented, successful employees like Tudor from being terminated without cause. Still, Tudor has taken her case to the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission, the US Department of Education, and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in hopes of intervention. You can support her by signing a petition for her reinstatement.
Alright, so we admit we have an agenda, but what is it? Lots of people, like straight pastors and well-funded Glb(t) political operatives, think they know. Zack and Peterson try to suss out who sets the agenda and what it happens to be today. What are the bars by which we measure the success of the LGBTQ movement? We also talk about folks who are trying to bridge gaps, but might just be helping to maintain them. From Egypt to Hollywood to Washington, D.C., we look at who is shaping the agenda and chime in with our hopes and concerns.
Update: Audrey was arrested for criminal trespassing; cited and released. Before arrest, the officer threatened to use a taser on her if she did not leave, even though she was not resisting arrest. Ultimately, a taser was not used.
As predicted, the protesters from the ENDA sit-in I reported on earlier today have been arrested upon the closing of the office. I’ll post another update when we have details about the arrest and processing. Here are photos:
Representative Chris Carney is a Democrat from Pennsylvania’s 10th District who has indicated he would not support ENDA. He previously voted NO on the DADT repeal compromise and NO on last year’s hate crimes legislation, which is why today he’s a target of GetEQUAL’s ENDA Summer.
In addition to a day-long phone swarm (get all the details here and make your call now!), a sit-in is currently underway in Rep. Carney’s Williamsport Office. The secretary in the office is an out lesbian herself and has been sympathetic with the protesters. The police will only be called when the office closes today at 4:30. In the meantime, the protesters are chanting for equality and singing “We Shall Not Be Moved” and “We Shall Overcome” while calls from the phone swarm continue to pour in. Rep. Carney is currently on active duty at Langley Air Force base and will likely not respond today. Below is the press release from GetEQUAL as well as exclusive photos from the sit-in.
*Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Activists Tell Carney to Stop Only Worrying About His Job and Worry About his Constituents, Too*
*Williamsport, PA *–GetEQUAL, a direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization and Justice League-Activate!, a Pennsylvania based LGBT equality group, is holding a protest this morning targeting Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) for his continued vote against the rights of his lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constituents. The non-violent, civil disobedient action was carried out at 10 a.m. (ET) this morning at Rep. Carney’s congressional district office in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, asking him to sign a pledge to vote in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). ENDA is a piece of federal legislation that would make it illegal to hire, fire or refuse to promote LGBT workers simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees can be fired from their jobs in 29 states, and transgender or gender-nonconforming employees can be fired in 38 states.
Rep. Chris Carney has a long record of voting against his LGBT constituents. In 2009, he voted against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act and this year voted against the Murphy Amendment to the Defense Authorization Act – more commonly known as the compromise legislation to begin the process to repeal the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. Additionally, this year Rep. Carney has made it known that his intent is to vote against any Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) bill that would protect millions of hard-working, tax-paying LGBT workers – both in Pennsylvania and across the country.
“Rep. Carney has continued voting against protecting the jobs of millions of American workers simply for no other reason than because of who they are,” said Audrey Smith, co-founder of Pennsylvania based Justice League-Activate!. “While Rep. Carney is out on the campaign trail worried about his own job, he continues to leave his LGBT constituents unprotected and without any form of federal employment protections. Like all Americans, we are worried about our job security and Rep. Carney’s votes based on discrimination are completely unacceptable. He needs to know that we Pennsylvanians expect him to protect OUR lives and jobs and not just his own!”
“GetEQUAL has promised that, as long as people’s lives and livelihoods are at stake, we will not stop standing up for those LGBT workers in dozens of states across this country without a voice, without any job security,” said Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL. “With the launch of our ‘ENDA Summer’ campaign, we told politicians that while they are back home campaigning to save their jobs, we intend on reminding them that their employment isn’t the only one on the line. Millions of LGBT workers punch a clock every single day unsure if today’s timecard could turn into tomorrow’s discriminatory pink slip. The time to pass ENDA is now.”
In addition to the action against Rep. Carney this morning, GetEQUAL, along with local advocates, has also targeted two members of the Democratic House Leadership this week demanding that they follow through on their promise to pass ENDA this year. Last night, U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) was targeted during a campaign debate. Rep. Miller, nearly six months ago, promised that after healthcare legislation was passed that he’d move on ENDA. Healthcare legislation passed the House on March 22nd, 2010.
Later today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be targeted to make good on her promise to pass ENDA legislation this year. The act of civil disobedience will start with a rally in the historic Harvey Milk Plaza and proceed with shutting down traffic on Market and Castro streets in San Francisco, located in Speaker Pelosi’s own congressional district.
In mid-July of this year, GetEQUAL released a timeline showing years of broken promises and excuses from elected officials that have led to the stalling of any federal protections being in place for LGBT workers. The timeline is available at www.getequal.org/endatimeline.
Check out this lovely video from the Democrats about us gays:
It has to be the most truth-stretched, platitude-filled 3 minutes of propaganda I’ve ever seen. The Democrats have been the most unproactive allies they possibly could have been over the past two years.
And frankly, that’s all I have to say on the matter.
Zack… and Peterson… are coming at you from opposite sides of the continent! Zack is in Las Vegas for Netroots Nation and Peterson is heading off to TransForm New Hampshire. The sound quality is a bit low because it was recorded via phone, but the content quality is at its queerest. Zack shares some of his experiences spending a full day (July 21) with other LGBT bloggers and organization reps with some updates on some pressing issues. After weeks of teasing it, Peterson finally tells us about all the awesome workshops to expect from TransForm New Hampshire. Listen this week to get a sense of these great conferences, then follow Peterson and Zack on Twitter throughout the weekend for even more! (Zack edited out a lot of the delay, but left in his unusual number of umm’s and uh’s so you can tell how tired he is.)
Zack has never heard Peterson‘s “From Soup to Nuts” expression, but it apparently defines our tenth episode well! After several mono-topical episodes, we dramatically over-compensate by limiting discussion on any topic to three minutes. We have a big pile of topics in a hat. Some were submitted by listeners, but we each contributed some of our without the other knowing what they are. We don’t get to them all, but we do address a total of 19 topics! Tune in to hear about Muslims, Catholics, Country Music, Goth, Glee, pansexuality, hats, and more! Special thanks to Gavin, Christopher, Peter, Scott, and everyone else who submitted topic ideas this week!
We made you wait a FULL week, but Peterson and Zack are back with a British episode of Queer and Queerer! Zack has been watching Doctor Who and Torchwood, but that’s not why we’re doing a British episode. There have been a lot of stories coming out of the UK about Bed & Breakfasts discrimination, employment discrimination, and freedom of speech in regards to religion, so we tackle it all! Also, prompted by a comment from a listener, we address the word “lame” and the fact that it has creeped into our vernacular despite being an offensive term. And yes, Torchwood is hot.
