Reposted from MyLeftNutmeg (excellent resource for Legislative Advocacy)
by: mikect
Wed Jan 10, 2007 at 07:49:03 AM EST
With the CT General Assembly in session until June 6, there are many opportunities to move forward a progressive agenda. Below are some links to resources to help people in tracking and researching legislation, identifying opportunities for advocacy, and understanding the legislative process.
State Government
General Assembly
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HB 5723, An Act Concerning Discrimination, To Prohibit Discrimination on the basis of Gender Identity or Expression is NOW on the House Calendar. AND our opposition is using fear mongering tactics and alerts to mobilize against this bill. So ACT NOW and contact your legislator telling them you support full equality. It is crucially important that our legislators hear overwhelmingly from EVERYONE on this alert, as well as forwarding to your friends and loved ones!
We need our voices to be heard to ensure that this bill is raised for a vote on the House floor quickly and without any harmful amendments!
Take Action Today
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The Judiciary Committee of Connecticut Legislature passed on Monday, March 24, HB 5723, An Act Concerning Discrimination with a bipartisan vote of 37-6, moving forward to the full House a bill that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.
House Has Until May 7 To Act
by William Henderson , New England Blade
March 26, 2008
The Judiciary Committee of Connecticut Legislature passed on Monday, March 24, HB 5723, An Act Concerning Discrimination with a bipartisan vote of 37-6, moving forward to the full House a bill that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.
The full House has until May 7, the end of the current legislative session, to do so or the bill will essentially die and advocates will have to start the process again in the next legislative session.
“In each year, you have to re-start the clock, unfortunately,” said Jerimarie Liesegang, Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition director, on Tuesday. “That makes it a little bit more challenging, because there are a lot of bills and I know expediency is important. But we’re very confident that the bill will pass. If it doesn’t pass this year, then it will pass next year.”
Which is similar to what she said last year when another bill that would have prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression made it out of Judiciary, passed through three Senate subcommittees, was passed by the Senate, and was only one House vote away from passage before last year’s session ended. (”We just ran out of time,” said Liesegang.) A similar bill was initially filed three years ago as well. [Read more →]
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William Henderson, New England Blade, March 25, 2008
The Bill, If Passed, Would Prohibit Discrimination On The Basis of Gender Identity or Expression
The Connecticut Judiciary Committee voted in favor yesterday of HB 5723 An Act Concerning Discrimination, with a vote of 32 for and six against [video of vote below]. There was no amendment raised or added to the bill during the vote, which was an important step, said Jerimarie Liesegang, the director of the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition.
If signed into the law, it would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. The bill now moves to the House for consideration.
Judiciary Vote on HB 5723:
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At 4:10 PM on Monday, March 24th, the Judiciary Committee voted in favor of HB 5723–An Act Concerning Discrimination, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. The bill passed with a vote of 37 yeas and only 6 nays and with strong bipartisan support (click to view vote tally). And importantly there was no teacher amendment raised. The bill now moves to the House for consideration.
Please take a moment to thank your legislator in the Judiciary for their positive vote in support of this bill. For a list of Judiciary members click here. Most importantly please drop a special thank you to Ranking member and Chairs: Senators John Kissel (R), Andrew McDonald (D) and Rep. Michael Lawlor (D). Without their leadership, this bill would have died today in Judiciary with the other over 100 bills not making the Judiciary JF deadline of 5 PM today!
Please visit ourwebsite at ConnecticutADC.org for full details on this legislative effort.
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from Doug Stewart at Fox61 March 25, 2008, 7:48 AM EDT
A bill that would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression passed out of the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon.
The vote was 32 in favor and 6 against, with support from both Republicans and Democrats. The TransAdvocacy Coalition, a group which had organized support for the bill, said it passed without an amendment exempting teachers. It now goes to the House of Representatives.
The bill made it out of Committee last year but died in the House.
Copyright © 2008, WTIC
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In Favor:
Ace [Written Testimony]
Anti-Defamation League, David Warren [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Antonia Loconte [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Barb Greve [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Brenda Jean Louise [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Brianna Johnson [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
City of Stamford, Dannel P. Malloy [Written Testimony]
City of Stamford, Donna M. Loglisci [Written Testimony]
Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Raymond P. Pech [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
CT Bar Assoc., Alix Simonetti [Written Testimony]
CT Education Association, Vincent J. Loffredo [Written Testimony]
CT Women’s Education and Legal Fund, Sally Tamarkin [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Dalia Panke [Written Testimony]
Diana Lombardi [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Erik [Written Testimony]
Ethan F. [Written Testimony]
Eve Christian [Written Testimony]
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Jennifer L. Levi [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Human Rights Campaign, Brian Rice [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Jacklyn Matts [Written Testimony]
Jane or John Doe [Written Testimony]
Jerimarie Liesegang [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Joshua Mason Pawelek [Written Testimony]
Laura Saunders [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Louis Haber [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Love Makes A Family, Anne Stanback [Written Testimony]
Michelle Hansen [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, Teresa C. Younger [Written Testimony]
Planned Parenthood of New Haven, Gretchen Raffa [Written Testimony]
Rachel Goldberg [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Sarah Ferah [Video at end]
Sara Fogerty [Written Testimony]
Victoria Hively [Written Testimony] [Video at end]
Opposition:
Thomas R. White [Written Testimony] [Video at end] [Gotta watch his testimony and perhaps if he did his homework he would have known Gender Identity has a strong scientific basis and has been used by professionals since the 1940’s!]
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Late last week we learned that the Judiciary Committee has scheduled a public hearing on the transgender equality bill that the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition is supporting in collaboration with CWEALF, Love Makes a Family and others in the Connecticut Anti-Discrimination Coalition.
Last year, this bill (SB 1044) won strong approval in four legislative committees (Judiciary, GAE, Education, Higher Education) and passed in the Senate with a total vote tally of 111 in favor and only 13 opposed. Additionally a teachers amendment in Higher Education failed by a vote of 14 to 1.
We need our voices to be heard to ensure that this bill passes through all of its committees quickly and without any harmful amendments!
Take action : http://www.lmfct.org/transequality, post on your blogs, 
The Judiciary public hearing on HB 5723–An Act Concerning Discrimination, is Wednesday, March 19, 12 PM. See below regarding submitting your story for the Public Hearing.
Fact sheet on HB 5723
Q&A on HB 5723
Please visit ourwebsite at ConnecticutADC.org for full details on this legislative effort.
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The Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut Legislature will hear testimony next week on two equality-based pieces of legislation: a bill that would clear up problems same-sex couples in civil unions have faced, make possible the legal recognition of civil unions, domestic partnerships and marriages entered into in other states, and marshal support for full marriage equality; and a bill that would put in place a gender-inclusive non-discrimination law.
HB 5925, “An Act Concerning Civil Unions,” asks the legislature to put in place mechanisms so that couples in civil unions have “the same benefits, protections and responsibilities under the law as granted to spouses in marriage,” in consumer protection, insurance, public health an revenue services. Its public hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 17, in the Legislative Office Building (Room 2C) at 12 p.m.
HB 5723, “An Act Concerning Discrimination,” would add the phrase “gender identity or expression” to Connecticut’s existing non-discrimination law, giving transgender men and women long-overdue legal protections. Last year, legislators in four committees and the State Senate cast 80 votes to pass this bill (SB 1044) with only nine legislators opposing its passage. The House of Representatives did not vote on the bill by the end of last year’s session, so the bill died in the 2007 General Assembly. If passed, the bill gives the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities the authority to investigate complaints of discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression in employment, education, housing, public accommodations, and the extension of credit and order appropriate remedies if such discrimination is found. Its public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19 in the Legislative Office Building at 12 p.m.
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Your Stories and Testimony are Needed Today!
For the pending Judiciary public hearing
As you well know Stories Make A Difference and your story is critical in helping legislators understand why passing of this legislation is critical for the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming communities. It is especially important that we have stories from many diverse viewpoints be it personal discrimination, discrimination of a friend or family, or simply your concerns that anyone in Connecticut could be discriminated against simply for being different! And equally important are success stories where discrimination has been overcome due to a supportive employer, landlord or friend. If you would like to submit a story please send an email to CWEALF or TransAdvocacy and we will work with you to assure your voice is heard. However, it is important to contact us immediately for these stories will be submitted in writing to the Judiciary Committee at their public hearing, likely sometime the week of March 10th. And if you are also interested in testifying at this public hearing please also let us know this.
Click here for stories presented in 2006 and 2007 in support of the Anti-Discrimination bill.
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