The Equality Act will save lives like mine

Three years ago, I was in a terrible place. I had just been rejected by my family, fired from my job and attacked with chemical poison. All of these things happened simply because I was finally becoming my authentic self.  I always knew I was female, though I was assigned male at birth. 

I am a licensed electrician and supervisor with more than two decades experience in electrical and mechanical maintenance. I am a proud resident of Arkansas. And I am transgender.  

{mosads}My job is my joy. I’m good at what I do and have always taken my work responsibilities seriously. That’s why I was completely shocked when I was fired from my job at H & H Electric in Hot Springs, Arkansas. My boss didn’t let me go because of my abilities; in fact, he actually told me that I was one of his best employees. He fired me because I was transgender.  

Not long before that ill-fated day, I had started transitioning on the job. I informed my boss, who told me that I couldn’t come to work looking like a woman, discuss my transition with my coworkers or use my legal female name. 

With hormone therapy, I started to look more feminine and I became braver and more comfortable wearing clothes and makeup that matched my gender identity. I was bullied at work, but was happy to finally be myself and to have a good job. Then one day my boss told me I was a distraction and he had to fire me.

I was devastated. My gender identity shouldn’t be grounds for termination. But Arkansas has no laws that explicitly tell employers that discrimination against transgender people is illegal. 

In fact, in 31 states, there are no employment or other protections on the basis of gender identity, and the same is true of sexual orientation in 28 states. That leaves the door open to many others who face similar threats every day just because of who they are.  

It’s time to change that. This week, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Corey Booker (D-N.J.) and Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and John Lewis (D-Ga.) will introduce the Equality Act, a comprehensive federal bill that will prohibit discrimination against women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

At the end of the day, I just want to be treated with the same kindness and respect that we should all have for one another. Firing someone, kicking them out of their home, denying them access to services including life-saving healthcare, is treating someone as less than a person. No one deserves that.  

The path to self-realization is a challenging one for anyone, and that’s especially true for people who are transgender. Our society is just starting to learn more about what it means to be raised as someone who is not the real you. Laverne Cox is winning Emmys and Caitlyn Jenner is a household name. We are getting closer to being able to serve openly and proudly in the military; to accessing medically necessary healthcare; and to changing our names on identity documents without providing invasive information about our most private parts.  

The next logical step is now before us. 

We now have a tangible opportunity in front of us to secure equal protections under the law for all. Let’s do the right thing and pass the Equality Act so the next generation doesn’t have to go through what I did.