American Bar Association Report Advocates for Nondiscrimination Laws

The American Bar Association's (ABA) policy-making House of Delegates met on August 7th and 8th to debate an array of issues "critical to the profession and the nation." The ABA House voted to urge federal, state, local and territorial governments to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodations.

With more than 410,000 members, the ABA is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. The ABA House of Delegates is the association's policy-making body. The 549 delegates represent states and territories, ABA entities, state and local bar associations, affiliated organizations and other constituencies.

The vote by the House of Delegates was in response to a Report with Recommendations issued by the ABA's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities which addressed discrimination on the basis of gender expression. The Report was co-sponsored by the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association.

The Report declared that "people who have, or are perceived as having, a non-traditional gender identity or gender expression face discrimination in all facets of life." Thus, the sponsors recommended laws and policies to prohibit this discrimination and ensure that decisions made about employment, housing, and public accommodations are based on "bona fide qualifications rather than stereotypes or prejudices." For example, the sponsors would endorse laws that prohibit men from being harassed because they look or act "too feminine." Passing these kinds of laws "sends a strong message to the community regarding the dignity of transsexual and transgender people." Additionally, "legislating nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression protects not only transgender people, but all individuals from being penalized for failure to conform with stereotypes linked to gender."

ABA Summer 2006 News Report