By Carrie Evans, Director of Policy, Equality Maryland
Last week, elected officials in Annapolis pushed aside the stories of discrimination they heard from transgender Marylanders and voted down a bill that would have made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity and expression. In a surprising 6-5 vote, the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee defeated Senate Bill 516, sponsored by Senator Lisa Gladden (D-Baltimore). The post-mortem analysis paints a picture of betrayal and back-room politics.
The committee hearing for Senate Bill 516 marked the first time in U.S. history that a state bill on transgender rights had no written or oral opposition. So how does a bill with no public or industry opposition fail? In this case it boiled down to one senator changing his vote. Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s County) had committed on several occasions to vote for this bill, however when the time came, he cast a “no.” The explanation of his change of vote varies depending on whom you ask. The senator’s staff declares their boss never committed to voting for the bill. The bill sponsor says that a perceived fight on the floor may be to blame. Equality Maryland believes Senate leadership did what it needed to do to keep the bill off the floor. Regardless of what really happened the reality is that transgender Marylanders drew the short end of the stick and will continue to be legally discriminated (save, those living or working in Baltimore) against until the state legislators can put aside their politics and lame excuses.