After listening to more than 30 minutes of public comments in favor of the proposal, the Dallas County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 along party lines Tuesday to add transgender protections to the county’s employment nondiscrimination policy.
About a dozen people from the LGBT community addressed the Commissioners Court prior to the vote, which came five weeks after the court voted unanimously to add sexual orientation but not gender identity/expression to the policy covering the county’s 7,000 workers. Despite rumors over the last few days, no one spoke against the proposal.
Commissioner John Wiley Price provided the third and decisive vote in favor of transgender protections, joining fellow Democrats County Judge Clay Jenkins and Commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia. Republican Commissioners Maurine Dickey and Mike Cantrell voted against the transgender protections. (Watch video of the court’s discussion below.)
LGBT advocates who attended Tuesday’s meeting erupted in applause after the dramatic vote, and they gathered on the steps of the county administration building for an impromptu celebration moments later.
“The community’s participation is what made this happen — the letters, the phone calls, the people who showed up here,” said Resource Center Dallas’ Rafael McDonnell, who coordinated the community’s advocacy on the issue. “The fact that this was done in five weeks is what really surprises me. Five weeks is the blink of an eye in government time.”
LGBT advocates spoke at each of the court’s regular meetings since the vote to add sexual orientation to the policy, calling on commissioners to go back and make it fully inclusive. But no turnout was as large as Tuesday’s, when LGBT advocates exceeded the time limit for public comment on the issue, prompting the Commissioners Court to vote to wave the rules to allow more speakers.
Those who spoke at the meeting ranged from pioneering Dallas lesbian activist Louise Young, to 24-year-old trans man Jeffrey Barnett, to well-known trans fitness trainer Chris Tina Foxx Bruce, a former Dallas resident who flew in from San Diego for the vote.
Even Dickey and Cantrell, who voted against the proposal, said they appreciated the public input.
“In the seven years I’ve been here, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a more meaningful and sincere group of people,” Dickey said, adding that she supported the addition of sexual orientation to the policy. “I’m going going to vote against [this] for one reason, and that is that I’m reluctant to add special protected classes under the umbrella of Dallas County policy.”
“I’ve heard the speakers and I appreciate all that they’ve brought to the table today,” Cantrell said in explaining his vote. “I didn’t hear anyone talk about any other county that’s passed this, so anyway, but my ‘no’ vote today will be based on the liability that I believe that it will cost the county and ultimately the taxpayers.”
Price, who previously said he was undecided on the issue, said he initially thought transgender employees were included under sexual orientation.
But Price said he asked that the item be placed on the agenda for Tuesday after, in addition to hearing compelling arguments during public comments, he consulted with medical experts.
“I think there is a lot of medical evidence,” Price said before the vote. “At the end of the day, it’s about doing the right thing, and this court will do that.”
The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, as well as Dallas Area Rapid Transit, already include transgender employees in their nondiscrimination policies. More than half of Fortune 500 companies also include protections based on gender identity/expression.
Congratulations! The eyes of trans Texans and the national trans community were on Dallas during those five weeks. We wanted to see if you would do the right thing by the trans employees of Dallas County and it’s trans citizens
You have lived up to those principles that bear your city’s name.
Now the LGBT community needs to make sure the county provides protections for people who are overweight or have diabetes.
Love that photo! What a Mom’s-apple-pie all-American group!
@David…let Maurine Dickey write that one up
Thank You for all your support.
From my experience being there, I think Maureen Dickey’s comments about how thoughtful everyone was, but that she was still voting “no” based on a non-sensical justification, was a slap in the face. The whole point of a non-discrimination policy is to enumerate “protected classes” of people who deserve a level playing field to combat pervasive historical discrimination. Nothing is worse than someone’s faux sympathy for your own suffering as they decide to make you suffer more. No more Dickey’s bbq, ever. Toss your big yella cups!!
NOOOO MOREEEE DICKEY’S BBQ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard. I think Mr. McDonnell said it best that five weeks (in politics/government) is a blink of an eye, and it’s wonderful that such a concerted effort was so effective.
Judge Jenkins, and Commissioners Garcia and Price should be commended for their support.
Congrats to all!
Thank you John and everyone at Dallas Voice for your great support and coverage!
Thank you to all LGBSQ, awwwww heck just everyone over the rainbow, people that have spoken up, continue speaking up and continue supporting us T-Folik over the past five weeks and always. It is a great day for us here in Dallas but, there is still so much work to be done. I look forward to working with you all in making our Communities a better place to live, love, work and play in!
I live in Tarrant County but I am so happy to see that this has passed. It makes me feel being who I am as a M to F that it’s not so scary to be “me” in Texas.
Thank you to all who spoke and/or attended in support of the revised policy. Inspirations, each of you.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who came together to make this happen.
Unity and community!!! the fight is still going strong!
This is wonderful news! Thanks to all who worked so hard to make this happen and to the elected officials who voted for the policy.
congratulations to Dallas County and the LGBTIQ community in Dallas. thank you for making another place a bit safer for all of us!!!!!!
I’ve been going to Dickey’s at Henderson and Central for four decades, but I shall no longer indulge myself at that establishment. I’ve always liked Sonny Bryan’s just as much anyway.
Does this mean Dickey’s won’t win Best BBQ next year?
When the time comes, the LGBT and ally communities, must remember to donate our time and money on behalf of Judge Jenkins and Commissioners Price and Garcia.
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas applauds Commissioners John Wiley Price & Dr. Elba Garcia, & Judge Jenkins all Democrats who voted in favor of adding the “gender identity & gender expression” to the county nondiscrimination clause.
This is a historical day in Texas because Dallas County now becomes the first county to add transgendered employee protections from discrimination. We at Stonewall made a promise to never leave our transgendered brothers and sisters behind, and thankfully it only took five weeks to go back and pick them up.
Stonewall Democrats really appreciates the work the Resource Center Dallas went through to organize speakers from the community. We would also like to thank partners Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), Dallas Stonewall Young Democrats, Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance, Equality Texas, LULAC 4871 – Rainbow Council, Equality March Texas, Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal and the many unaffiliated LGBT & ally community members, and especially to the transgendered men and women who contributed to today’s success by telling their stories to the commissioners court today, and over the past five weeks. THANK YOU!
This success is what happens when the LGBT community is engaged and effectively lobbies our politicians to do the right thing. Our work in campaigns and turning out the vote helped create a progressive foundation to work with. None of this would have been possible if Democrats hadn’t taken the majority of seats on the commissioners court. The vote went strictly down party lines, with Democrats coming out for EQUALITY! This is a brilliant example of our Democratic elected officials walking the walk.
Looking forward to continued solidarity among the LGBT community and celebrating today’s historic victory!
Omar Narvaez
President
Stonewall Democrats of Dallas
Not to be the devil’s advocate or anything but…if the pledge is to never leave a transgendered person behind…didn’t the original language to amend the anti-discrimination policy include transgender? If not, and it was penned by the LGBT community, why not? That would prevent us from having to do this in waves and prevents the “T” from being left behind…even if only for five weeks.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all the effort and telling my story. I just have an enquiring mind and want to know.
@Tori: You’re absolutely right. The transgender community was initially left behind. Clay Jenkins and Dr. Elba Garcia said they thought sexual orientation included transgender, but they apparently did not consult with anyone in the LGBT community before putting the sexual orientation amendment on the agenda. If they did, they were given bad advice.
Thanks John. Hopefully, it was the former rather than the latter. It was good seeing you at the hearing yesterday. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk with you…I had to head back to Fort Worth and get to work.
Does Dickey then wish to eliminate all of the groups she deems specially protected categories from non-discrimination policies—or just disallow one: gender identity/expression? In the video above, she is the embodiment of condescension.
This photo shot by John Wright speaks volumes about our community when we ALL come together to fight for our full equality. I want to personally recognize and thank Rafael McDonnell who did an awesome job navigating and organizing our community through this effort. He’s too modest to toot his own horn…but I am tooting it loudly for his great work. Well done Rafael and Resource Center Dallas!
Mr Navaez – thank you. I think you’ve set a new world record for this kind of thing – 5 weeks? We’ve been waiting in Wisconsin for 35 years, and in most places for at least 10, with no sign of progress.
I wish there were more like you.
To Rafael and all the folks with RCD and other advocacy organizations, congratulations from Fort Worth! Seems the volley back and forth over the county line over the last two years has our elected officials recognizing, finally, that they need to keep in mind other cities are working quickly to improve their combined business/social competitive climate – and we all have to do the same.
On a personal note, I’m always thrilled to see an old friend and mentor like Louise Young sticking it out through think and thin, always making sure that the torch stays lit. Thirty years ago we had a little gumption and a lot of hope. It’s gratifying now to see that transfrom into a better everyday life-reality for so many people. Once more, congrats to today’s torch-bearers and to those proving eager to take it up next.