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What's Happening in the CT Legislature on LGBT Equality Learn about the two bills; Read the powerful public hearing testimonies
In the the 2009 legislative session, LMF is poised to: --Protect our marriage victory from attack by opponents --Pass legislation that would finally prohibit discrimination against transgender people
Protecting Marriage Over the last eight years, Love Makes a Family staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to build a pro-equality majority in our state legislature. Although we won the freedom to marry though the courts, that legislative support remains critical. We will be strongly supporting a marriage codification bill:
SB899: An Act Concerning the Guarantee of Equal Protections under the Constitution of the State for Same-Sex Couples
This bill codifies the Connecticut Supreme Court marriage equality ruling in the Kerrigan case into state statute. It also clarifies areas that the court did not address, such as the status of civil unions now that marriage is legal. Under this bill, civil unions will merge into marriages on October 1, 2010. Couples in civil unions can get married at any time, but unless they dissolve or annul their civil union before October 1, 2010, the state will recognize them as married. The date of their marriage will reflect the date of their earlier civil union.
Read the bill here Fact Sheet on Marriage Codification Bill
Read the Public Hearing Testimony in Support of SB 899 (March 6, 2009): Anne Stanback, Love Makes a Family Ally Sega Beverly Tremper Prager CT Regional Office Anti-Defamation League Attorney Bennett Klein of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders James Hanley Rev. Joshua Mason Pawelek Lambda Legal, Thomas W. Ude, Jr. Attorney Maureen M. Murphy Obadiah Ballinger and Javen Swanson Rep. Beth Bye, 19th Sharron Emmons and Mary Roche Beth Kerrigan and Joanne Mock Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities CT Sexual Assault Crisis Services PFLAG Janet Peck and Carol Conklin Minh Leu Permanent Commission on the Status of Women
EnsuringTransgender Equality Love Makes a Family is part of the state Anti-Discrimination Coalition, the group that worked to add Gender Identity and Expression to the state Hate Crimes Law in 2004 and who is now trying for the fourth year in a row to add Gender Identity and Expression to state anti-discrimination statutes. We are strongly supporting:
HB6452: An Act Concerning Discrimination To prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.
This bill clarifies in statute what the Connecticut CHRO already recognizes: that it is discrimination to deny a person a job or housing simply because of their gender identity or expression. Thirteen other states already have such protections for transgender individuals in place, as do many of Connecticut’s major employers including Aetna, Pitney Bowes, The Hartford and Yale University.
Attend Lobby Day on transgender anti-discrimination! April 7th Learn more about transgender issues
Read the Public Hearning Testimony in Support of HB 6452 (March 19, 2009): Love Makes a Family, Anne Stanback Alberto Cifuentes, Jr. Antonia Loconte Charlie Ortiz Classical Magnet School GSA CT Bar Association, Alix Simonetti CT TransAdvocacy Coalition, Jerimarie Liesegang Dalia Nicole Panke Deja Nicole Greenlaw Elaine Warren John Doe Katie Hearn New London Public Schools, Christopher P. Clouet Permanent Commission on the Status of Women Rachel Goldberg Sally Tamarkin Victoria Hively American Civil Liberties Union of CT, David McGuire Brianna Johnston City of Stamford, Dannel P. Malloy, Mayor CT Anti-Defamation League, David Waren CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Robin Kraemer CT Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Elizabeth Cafarella CT Women’s Education and Legal Fund, Amy Miller Diana Lombardi Evan Stark Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Jennifer L. Levi Glenn Koetzner and Monica Connor Gloria Long Janet Peck Rev. Joshua Mason Pawelek Dr. Laura Saunders Michelle Hansen National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Pat Comerford Planned Parenthood of CT, Gretchen Raffa Stephanie M. Marnin True Colors, Robin McHaelen Virginia and Emile Levasseur Human Rights Campaign, Ally Robinson
Click below to contact your legislators and ask their support for both of these issues!
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