As I noted yesterday, Dallas Area Rapid Transit is moving forward with a proposal to add transgender protections to its nondiscrimination policy. But does this mean the agency will no longer attempt to intervene if an employee seeks a gender-marker change? When I posed this very question to DART spokesman Morgan Lyons yesterday, he responded by acknowledging that the agency has learned lessons from the current controversy involving a transgender bus driver, including things related to uniforms and restroom use. But Lyons added that when it comes to the issue of gender-marker changes, DART is standing its ground.
“We’ve got a current legal opinion that provides direction in this case, and we haven’t seen anything to change that,” he said. “I wouldn’t anticipate anything different than what was done previously absent new direction.”
In other words, DART attorneys still believe that the 1999 case of Littleton v. Prange established a precedent that prohibits gender-marker changes, even though LGBT legal experts and many Dallas county judges disagree. Not only that, DART apparently still believes it’s the agency’s proper role to get involved in employees’ private legal affairs when the agency believes judges have erred. This sure seems like a slippery slope. For example, if an employee is going through a divorce, and DART doesn’t agree with a judge’s decision about child support or visitation, would the agency try to challenge it?
I also asked Lyons yesterday whether DART plans to consider adding domestic partner benefits. Lyons has said previously that he’s not aware of any current proposal to do so, and he didn’t have additional information when we spoke yesterday. Cece Cox and Rafael McDonnell from Resource Center Dallas, who met with DART officials Tuesday, said they also asked about DP benefits. Cox and McDonnell told me it’s DART’s position that domestic partner benefits are prohibited by Texas’ constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, which also states that, “This state or any political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.” Again, not everyone shares DART’s legal opinion about this, and the cities of Dallas, Austin and El Paso all provide domestic partner benefits to their employees. Now that I think about it, I’m surprised DART’s attorneys haven’t intervened and tried to challenge these cities’ DP benefits, because apparently they don’t have anything better to do.
In case you’re wondering, DART’s next board meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and LGBT activists are again planning to attend.
Good gawd these people are terrible. They need to stay out of people’s personal matters! It is NONE OF THEIR GOD DAMNED BUSINESS!!
Thanx John for pissing me off today. See you Tuesday at the Board meeting!
This calls for some protests and possibly civil disobedience involving the city’s transit system. Sit ins? Boycotts?
No, Tom it does not!
Negotiations are still ongoing. The committee has yet to discuss these issues much less vote them out to the board. Rules of order require that be two meetings of the committee. As soon as you initiate direct action protest and civil disobedience, you give the opposition the advantage and you tie the hands of the allies we do have on the board. Further more as soon as you start a public protest demonstration you will also alert the fundy whack-o nut jobs who so far are blissfully unaware of this debate. Let them stay at home, please, please, please?
There seems a contingent in our community that is seeking any opportunity to lash out; directly out of the starting gate, all guns blazing. They are under the mistaken impression that is how ACT Up did it, it is not. What you and others have proposed is nothing more than a counter productive grandstand circus act. Designed more for garnering self promotion and headlines and less on real civil progress.
It is clear that you have not taken the Soulforce training, nor have you been involved with ACT Up or as it was known in Texas ACT Now! and later renamed TAAC (Texas AIDS Advocacy Coalition) to distance itself from the hi-jacked fringe ACT Up/SF that started protesting the very researchers finding new treatments for HIV.
Effective advocacy and activism take a whole lot of time and patience. Which some such as yourself, don’t seem to have much of. If you start any direct action or protest you can wave good bye to that May committee of the whole board vote. You will also alienate the employee’s that want our help, not your brand of help.
Calm down Pamela.
I don’t think “soulforce training” has been helpful in our community. Can you give me some examples of how it has helped?
Have you read your history books? Equality isn’t achieved by sitting back and being nice and waiting.
Patience? No, I have none for public utilities such as DART putting gays at the back of the bus.
Go back to your closet and worry about how those activist gays are going to make you foot-shuffling gays look bad to your republican neighbors.
$110 million for HIV medication and services to my credit so far
The Methodist 2008 GC in FW directly benefited from the Soulforce members like myself who are believers of nonviolent direct actions. We understood the dynamics of negotiations being conducted by our allies like those that Pamela spoke of.
Did the Methodist Church amend its book of discipline that summer to fully welcome all LGBT people? No they did not, but because of the way we conducted ourselves we changed the way the church thinks of us. Forever.
https://www.soulforce.org/article/1314
We are doing this now with DART as the world watches. It is my prayer that we accomplish our goal and DART fully welcomes transgender people in word and deed.
Does Soulforce training positively affect our community? Yes and I will hold myself as the example you seek.
Direct actions are a last resort when all other avenues are exhausted. This article ignites my passions but I temper my angst with experience and faith. Faith that when and if we have to stand on the street as I have done many times we will be there united loud and proud.
That is a reality DART must also appreciate..
OK so my 2cents.
How long ago was the Stonewall riot?
Long enough for me to be sorely disapointed with the so called leadership of the movement.
Being all politicaly nice and proper and having negotiations has not garned much at all. For all your talk of results you still can not get legal rights for ALL of us GLBT.
It is time for the old gaurd who to step asside and watch the radicals get some real progress.
Or die trying at least.
It is benificial for the older queer generation to extend and draw out the process of obtaining our rights. That allows them more time to ‘fight for the cause’. Which allows for more book deals, more lectures and more personal wealth obtained as a result. I do not think the majority of the leadership even sees what they are doing, yet that does not take away the pathetic nature of the situation.
Lead follow or get out of the way. I see some radicals over yonder that seem to be serious about getting results.
Sincerly,
one of the GLBT citizens you are supossed to be fighting for