I want it to happen in my lifetime

"I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime." I often hear that statement from older GLBT people in reference to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. In 2004, the MA Supreme Judicial Court ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry was unconstitutional. I was in 7th grade, and I wrote my final history paper on it. On May 17, 2004, at midnight, the City of Cambridge began issuing marriage certificates to same-sex couples. I was there. I remember the celebratory mood, the disbelief that we could finally get married, but undeniable happiness that we were now equal.

We have fought for the last 4 years to protect our right to marry, and have defeated campaigns to take our rights away. The 1913 law, which prohibited out of state couples from getting married in MA if their marriage would be illegal in their home state, was recently repealed, and now everyone who wants to can get married in MA.

I was 16 when I heard about ENDA. I had been doing trans-related activism for under a year, and didn’t understand the history behind ENDA. But I did understand that it was not right that GLBT people could get fired from their jobs for being themselves. I also knew that transgender people were disproportionately affected by poverty, and faced significantly more employment discrimination that the rest of the community. I understood that the transgender community needed legislation that provided them with much-needed protections.

Massachusetts passed their sexual orientation non-discrimination act two years before I was born, and many other states still do not have these protections. I’m 17 years old, and I’m still not protected against discrimination based on gender identity or expression in employment, education, housing, credit, or anything else.

We, as a community, have put amazing resources into fighting for marriage. Now, we need to devote our resources to fighting for non-discrimination legislation that includes our whole community. I want to be able to believe that, in my lifetime, we will be protected from discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.