Year: 2004

Transgender Inclusion in Party Platform Falls Short
The transgender community’s efforts to be included in a political platform fell short this past Saturday. The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) and other transgender community leaders described the news as “disheartening, but not surprising.”
With an unprecedented seven transgenders participating in the national level delegation process, hopes were high that one of the two major party platforms would add language affirming the need for supporting equality for the transgender community. The party platform holding the most promise for the transgender community was the Democratic National Committee (DNC) platform.
To date, there have been no publicly declared transgendered delegates in the Republican national convention, nor indications of addressing issues of equality within the Republican National Committee (RNC) platform.
The proposed DNC party platform extolled their “ironclad” support of civil rights, and demonstrated as much by extending the support of workplace non-discrimination to cover sexual orientation. The transgender delegation, over the course of the past week, got wind of the limited wording and attempted to amend it via one of the supportive Platform Committee members, Scott Safier of Pennsylvania. Safier authored an amendment to the plank that would’ve extended workplace non-discrimination to include gender identity.
The effort which included much last-minute wrangling ended up being withdrawn after negotiations between the transgender delegation, platform committee member Safier, party and campaign officials hit an impasse. In a discussion with the Democratic transgender delegation, the offer was made by the party contacts to accept a withdrawal and receive undetermined access to party officials in the future. In addition, it was communicated that a withdrawal would be seen as a gesture of goodwill.
The alternative option was to continue pressing forward with the amendment, having it likely fail and being seen as completely self-interested at the expense of the bigger goal – bringing in a friendlier administration. The committee gave indications that there was some support for the amendment including gender identity, but likely not enough support to pass.
The first option would’ve given the opportunity to submit the bill and force the committee to hear it read and possibly debated on televised CSPAN proceedings. With the highly charged political environment, the party was keen to avoid such a debate.
The second option provided no tangible victory for the transgender community, but would demonstrate willingness to see the big picture, to be team players and to have access to address issues without being filtered through gay and lesbian leadership.
“The decision by the party was disheartening,” said NTAC Chair, Vanessa Edwards Foster, who was also elected one of the two delegates from Texas. “But given the tight election season and political rhetoric, it’s not surprising either.”
After some acrimonious deliberation, the transgender delegates opted for the compromise withdrawal. Most expressed disappointment with the process and seeming lack of options. Platform committeeman Safier explained that the reason for the temperance of the DNC platform language was the close election, and the aggressive and pointed anti-GLBT attack strategies from the RNC.
“There was a real sense of Catch-22 – no easy choice,” Foster reported. “We could’ve forced the issue onto the floor, lost the vote, and left the first-impression that we are self-interested – elections be damned. Or we could sacrifice, negotiate something from this while waiting for the better political climate, and face our community’s critics.
“After weighing the options, we recognized the symbolic nature of the platform and the very real feelings that would’ve been bruised by making our case at this juncture. We didn’t want to risk potentially impacting our future with a new administration,” Foster added. “Though it’s disappointing, the platform inclusion was not a critical priority.”
The delegates were quick to note that affixing immediate blame to the DNC isn’t entirely appropriate. NTAC member Barbra ‘Babs’ Casbar, a delegate from New Jersey, commented that “Much of DNC’s knowledge on transgender issues came over the course of years by platform committee members – none of whom were known transgenders.”
“Without a seat at the table, historically, there was no way for an NTAC or for anyone in the transgender community to effectively promote our community’s issues,” said Kathy Padilla, a former charter board member of NTAC and delegate from Pennsylvania. “We’re hopeful that will change.”
The five openly transgendered delegates and two committee members to the Democratic National Convention will carry that message. Our desire for positive change will not remain unheard by gay, lesbian and straight delegates, nor by political leadership. The political platforms of all parties should recognize the need and work to achieve equality for all Americans, including transgendered citizens. Anything less means equality for some, but not for all.