"Gender identity and expression” was part of the Matthew Sheppard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Obama signed into law on October 28, 2009. However, without local legislation to support it, there isn't much actual change effected.
Carcieri vetoed the measure (even though it has been passed in the House and Senate by overwhelming majorities) because he said the law already addresses actions "motivated by racial, religious, sexual orientation, gender or disability prejudice." He obviously doesn't understand the issue (uh, hello, having "gender" and "sexual orientation" doesn't cover it!) and the importance of this bill, even though many have personally reached out to him and his associates to educate him, so I hope that this blog post educates you. Furthermore, I hope it inspires you to action.
What does this bill do?
- Includes information about gender ID/expression in the free, mandatory training for police officers so they can better identify, respond to, and report all incidents of hate crimes
- Expands the definition of a hate-crime (adds gender identity and expression)
- Requires statistics on crimes motivated by gender identity/expression-related bias to be kept by the RI police
Whom does this bill help?
This bill would help protect EVERYONE in Rhode Island who could possibly be attacked due to a perception about their appearance as it relates to their gender. The people who are usually most at risk of being targeted/attacked due to their gender identity and/or expression are transgender and non-conformingly-gendered individuals, but this bill helps ALL of us. So, honestly, if you don't care about queer rights, at least care about yourself and the folks in your life.
Why is this bill important?
As it stands, we CANNOT GATHER INFORMATION about these types of crimes, and that data is crucial in helping us tackle the issue. It would, in the long-run, help us create a safer, more just place for all people. Furthermore, many "gay-bashings" are actually committed due to a person's gender performance or perceived identity; it's more likely someone will be harassed for not conforming to gender norms (e.g. effeminate man in dress) than for actually BEING queer in their sexual orientation (these don't have clear visible markers). Thus, we need to address this as an important part of hate-crime legislation.
What is the opposition doing?
Rallying around this veto as a success. The Family Research Council's president, Tony Perkins said:
"Given the challenges facing America, it’s troubling that any legislature would invest time and taxpayer monies to consider such a superfluous agenda-driven maneuver, much less pass it through both Houses. In vetoing the measures, Gov. Carcieri rightly chose to tend to the serious business of governing Rhode Island and rejected those who seek to use government resources against anyone who would oppose their radical agenda."Oh, right. Harassment and violence against people due to their gender presentation and/or identity is not SERIOUS ENOUGH.
Another thing the opposition is doing? Making it all an issue about gay marriage. For some reason, ANYTHING that people to do further LGBTQ rights and protect the dignity of all citizens gets chalked up to "The Gay Agenda." Also, somehow, it's ALL about marriage (and/or making everyone gay, "corrupting the youth," "devaluing the family," or some other ridiculous thing).
More examples of such idiocy? Focus on the Family Action's CitizenLink.com quotes Christopher Plante as saying:
"From NOM's perspective, we were deeply concerned about this bill, because we have seen similar (hate crime) legislation – in places like Connecticut and Vermont – lead directly to the imposition of same-sex marriage. Laws like this are stepping stones to homosexual marriage. They are an erosion of traditional family values."So what can you do now?
- Tell your friends about it. EDUCATE PEOPLE. Spread the word.
- Attend a press conference that will happen next week at the RI State-House. It'll be either July 8th or 9th (Thursday or Friday) in the 1:00-2:00pm range. I'll update this post as soon as I have more information.
- Get in touch with people/groups that are working on this (and related stuff) and MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
- Victor Ellingsen: Lifelines Rhode Island (victor@lifelinesri.org)
- Jodi Glass: Hate Crimes RI (contact@hatecrimeri.org; jglass53@aol.com)
- Susan Heroux: Queer Action Rhode Island (susanheroux@me.com)
- Jaye Watts: Youth Pride Inc. (jaye@youthprideri.org)
- Providence Equality Action Committee (info@peac.us.com)
- Marriage Equality Rhode Island (marriageequality.rhodeisland@gmail.com)
*Who is Governor Carcieri (as it relates to LGBTQ rights)? Carcieri, whose term ends in January, has a controversial history with LGBT voters. He gave a speech at an antigay group's fund-raiser saying he did not believe marriage was a civil right. In 2009 he vetoed a bill giving domestic partners the right to make funeral arrangements for one another, though the general assembly overrode the veto. He has also pledged to turn down any marriage equality bills, despite several of Rhode Island's neighboring states passing such legislation in recent years (source: The Advocate).
**Gender Identity or Expression, as defined already in RI General Law 11-24-2.1, “includes a person's actual or perceived gender, as well as a person's gender identity, gender-related self image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression; whether or not that gender identity, gender-related self image, gender-related appearance, or gender-related expression is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth.”
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