Tampa Council approves transgender protections
By CHRISTIAN M. WADE
cwa...@tampatrib.com
Published: November 20, 2009
TAMPA – Opponents of the measure framed it as a thinly veiled assault on the Christian faith that would open the door for sexual predators and all sorts of abhorrent behavior.
Supporters argued it was needed to protect a group that faces rampant discrimination.
Following two hours of testimony from grandmothers, ministers, transgendered people and representatives of Fortune 500 companies, the city council voted 5 to 1 on Thursday to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public facilities based on “gender identity and expression.”
Councilman Charlie Miranda, who supported the changes when it came up two weeks ago, voted no, saying he was concerned it will cause “disruption” in the workplace. Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, who also previously voted for the changes, was out of the country on vacation.
Council Chairman Tom Scott, an ordained minister at the 34th Street Church of God, who as a Hillsborough County commissioner voted against numerous gay rights proposals, gave an impassioned speech explaining how he had struggled with the issue.
“I’ve asked myself, again and again, ‘what would Jesus do if he were here,’” Scott said.
Ultimately, Scott said, his support was based on religious convictions, and he criticized opponents of the measure who threatened to vote against him in the next election.
“The only vote I’m concerned about is God’s vote,” he told the packed room.
More than 60 people on either side of the issue filled council chambers to voice their support or opposition to the changes.
Members of several Christian evangelical groups and other opponents called the move an assault on their religious values they fear will sanction sexually deviant behavior.
David Caton, executive director of the Florida Family Association, told council members the city hadn’t proved that transgender individuals were being discriminated against.
“I’ve yet to see any complaints filed,” he said. “This is all about politics.”
Philip Dinkins, chairman of the Human Rights Board, said the board has received at least 13 complaints of transgender discrimination in recent years.
“We couldn’t investigate because they were not a protected class,” he said.
Supporters of extending the city’s human rights protections disagreed with Caton’s position. They told the council that transgender individuals face discrimination on a daily basis.
“I have had employers tell me that they wouldn’t hire me specifically because I’m a transgender individual,” said Tobias Packer, a member of Equality Florida.
Terry Kemple, president of the Community Issues Council, said he thought the protections would allow “sexual predators” to go into restrooms for the opposite sex, and force business owners and landlords, regardless of their religious beliefs, to accept cross-dressers.
Rocco Vallerand, who also goes by the name Raquel, said transgender individuals are not sexual deviants and are merely looking to have the same protections as others.
“I am saddened that people are using religion as a guise for hate,” he said.
A preliminary vote on the changes passed unanimously at a Nov. 5 city council meeting with little discussion from council members and nobody speaking against the measure.
Since then, council members have been barraged with phone calls and e-mail messages from supporters and opponents of the measure.
The city’s Human Rights Board, which has been discussing the issue for the past year, requested the changes.
Dinkins said that transgender individuals can lose their jobs, be denied service in restaurants and be prevented from renting or buying property because Tampa lacked protections for gender identity and gender expression.
Mayor Pam Iorio has pledged her support for the changes.
At least 13 states across the country and 16 municipalities in Florida, as well as some Fortune 500 companies, have extended such protections to transsexuals, transvestites and others with a gender identity that differs from their sex at birth.
President Barack Obama’s administration is drafting proposed federal guidelines that would prohibit workplace discrimination against transgender federal employees.
Dinkins praised the council’s decision to approve the ordinance. “Change is never easy,” he said, “but the bottom line is that this is right thing to do.”
Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.
