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From: JoAnn Roberts
Subject: Support of GGA Boycott
Hello, My name is JoAnn Roberts. I'm one of the co-founders of the Renaissance Transgender Association, Inc., the largest open-membership support organization for transgendered people in the U.S. We're celebrating our 11th Anniversary this month. I write a monthly column for the Renaissance print newsletter and for the online edition of Transgender Forum . This month in my column I've commented on the GGA boycott of HRC. I've been asked to give my permission to reprint the blurb. Here it is.
"The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) took a full page ad in the "Impact News", a gay/lesbian newspaper in New Orleans, attempting to refute the charge that HRC is transgender unfriendly.
Recently, the Renaissance affiliate Gulf Gender Alliance stepped up a transgender boycott of HRC fund raising dinners. The boycott has been criticized by HRC supporters and by Nancy Nangeroni, Executive Director of the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). In the ad, HRC outlines its support of transgender issues citing things like working with GenderPAC and IFGE, and supporting transgender-inclusion in Hate Crimes legislation. Someone needs to explain a few facts to HRC: (1) The transgender community's leadership is not represented by IFGE. (2) The transgender community's political consensus is not represented by GenderPAC. (3) The transgender community's political goal is transgender inclusion in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, nothing less."
--JoAnn Roberts, Ph.D., author, editor, publisher, owner: The CDS Bookstand

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From: GGANOLA
Subject: Support for HRC Boycott Yes!
I would like to provided the following comments: To the board of the HRC, I am new to political involvement in MY community, but I am all too aware of the need to protect ALL persons from discrimination in the workplace, you claim to stand for the rights of our community, but you left an important portion out. Having been in the US Army I learned to stand and fight with courage and honor, so I guess it is time for me to take my first political stand.
During the initialization of the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy, I noticed that soldiers and officers alike would have little regard for the privacy of a "suspected" homosexual soldier, if it were not for a non-pursuit policy, although a weak policy at best, being enforced from all fronts. Although I never saw anyone "outed" by his or her leadership, this does not mean it did not occur, I'm sure it did. But I made my position clear before that policy was enacted: I'm not here to pick my fellow soldier apart for his differences, but to support him/her as part of my team, and never waiver in my support of them. I left the Army because I found that 10 years of "macho stuff" couldn't hide the woman inside. I LEFT MY JOB! I loved the service, but I knew the whole service wouldn't love the REAL me. I would be tossed to the wayside, regardless of past performance (a highly decorated veteran), if I made my TRUE gender known to my chain of command. Being "outed" right into the street, six months after departing the service, is a fear that keeps me in a male shell from 9 to 5, and away from the rest of the world all other times. Life is scary dodging this way and that. But, I cannot afford to lose my job due to being spotted by some coworker while I'm en-femme. Since I am just starting hormones and such, I might be able to get out of a sticky situation by BS'ing my way out of it (lies are bad; even if they save your butt or job, they still leave you stained with guilt). The same story will not be true in 6 months. I will need the HRC's support in the near future to ensure I have the right to work, as will so many more who will start their 2nd puberty in the coming years.
Can I not at least take comfort in knowing that I cannot be fired for a birth defect I now choose to correct!
I wish I could say I'm shocked about the HRC's decision to let the WHOLE GLBT COMMUNITY down by taking the easy path to get their agenda initiated. But, I was a soldier, and I have witnessed persons of weak character cower when things got tougher than they expected. Courage is a full-time trait, and it drives all actions to a conclusion, not to a resting point. Please HRC, half-action is as good as no action at all. I will support you when you support me, I promise.
Courage and pain in not supporting you, because you don't support me from,
--Raechel E. Phillips

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From: crysgga@juno.com
Subject: Boycott
I would like to take this time to once again thank all those in our communities for their support in this fund withholding directed to HRC. I also wish to thank those that are opposed to this event. I feel that what is important is that we all have our own feelings about things, and that is what counts. Even tho there is many with different views, we are still able to work together toward optaining the rights and dignity entiled to all human beings. No matter what their place in life.
I have always been such a naive person that I had thought that when the civil rights laws were passed in the sixites they covered everyone and everything. But I have found out that is not so/ And it is such a shame that different laws have to always be passed to cover other people and other matters. That are really all just one and the same. Maybe all of this is just to give lawers a job. To a rightfull outcome and our continued work together, I say thanks for your support and friendship. Always!
--Crystal Little

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From: Kurt Vorndran
Subject: HRC Boycott
I find the HRC boycott one of the most infantile actions I have seen in quite some time. Any community has boundaries and those boundaries can be fuzzy. That does not mean that some terrible social wrong has been committed by viewing a community encompassing one set of people as opposed to another. Any private organization has the right to view gays and lesbians as one community as transgendered persons as a distinct community. That is not discrimination nor is it wrong. Does anyone have the right to unilaterally demand the gay and lesbian community include their group? Could someone self-righteously demand that Albanian-Americans be included in HRC's mission statement as a discriminated against element of society (gay/lesbian/bisexual/ transgendered/albanian-american rights?). Maybe monks and nuns. Celibates are certainly a sexual minority in modern day American society.
Transgendered persons may find that HRC does not serve their particular interests and decline from participating in its events. But these actions of boycotts and pickets are nothing more than sabotage - do things our way or we will work to destroy your organization. Most incredible is the fact that one can sort through reams of statements by persons who demand transgender issues put on the agenda of gay rights organizations but never to they feel an obligation to explain why they believe the boundaries of the community fall one place rather than another. You would think that if they had a convincing argument they would make it.
--Kurt Vorndran

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