A video recently surfaced of transwoman Chrissy Lee Polis being attacked at a Baltimore McDonald's restaurant.
While we cannot directly legislate to prevent such acts, we can legislate to treat trans people with the same level of respect and human dignity that other people take for granted. Protections from discrimination in the workplace, in credit, and in housing -- with full protections in public accommodations -- would be a step forward.
Sadly, Maryland legislators failed to take appropriate action in the previous legislative session when they firstly compromised the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act by removing public accommodation protections and then voted to recommit the bill instead of making it law.
Maryland Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk (D-District 21) wrote an open letter to legislators following the attack on Chrissy Lee Polis in which she admonished lawmakers that had termed the bill "anti-family" and urged them to support a new, public accommodations-inclusive Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act.
We thank Delegate Pena-Melnyk for her advocacy and would like to echo that call.
We the undersigned urge the Maryland General Assembly to take up and pass a public accommodations-inclusive Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act in the coming legislative session.
