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{{Short description|American civil rights organization}}
{{More footnotes|date=January 2009}}
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{{Infobox organization
{{Refimprove|date=October 2010}}
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|name = Transgender Law Center

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|logo = Transgender Law Center logo.jpg
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{{Infobox Non-profit
|formation = {{start date and age|2002}}
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|Non-profit_name = Transgender Law Center
|founding_location = [[San Francisco, California]], [[United States]]
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|Non-profit_logo = [[Image:Transgender Law Center logo.jpg]]
|founded_date = 2002, [[San Francisco, California]], [[United States]]
|area_served = United States
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|focus = [[transgender]] [[law]]
|area_served = United States
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|method = [[Civil society campaign|Campaigning]], [[advocacy]], [[lobbying]], [[research]]
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|focus = [[transgender]] [[law]]
|key_people = Shelby Chestnut <small>(executive director)</small><ref name="bar-21feb2023">{{cite news |last1=Ferrannini |first1=John |title=New Transgender Law Center ED 'humbled' to lead organization |url=https://www.ebar.com/story.php?323091 |access-date=March 16, 2023 |work=[[Bay Area Reporter]] |date=February 21, 2023}}</ref>
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|method = [[Civil society campaign|Campaigning]], [[Advocacy]], [[Lobbying]], [[Research]]
|homepage = [http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/ www.TransgenderLawCenter.org]
|homepage = {{URL|transgenderlawcenter.org}}
}}
}}
The '''Transgender Law Center''' (TLC) is a [[San Francisco]]-based [[civil rights]] organization advocating for [[transgender]] communities. They are [[California]]'s first "fully staffed, state-wide transgender legal organization" and were initially a fiscally sponsored project of the [[National Center for Lesbian Rights]]. The stated mission of TLC is to connect [[transgender]] people and their families to technically sound and culturally competent legal services, increase acceptance and enforcement of laws and policies that support California's transgender communities, and work to change laws and systems that fail to incorporate the needs and experiences of transgender people.


The '''Transgender Law Center''' ('''TLC''') is the largest American [[transgender]]-led [[civil rights]] organization in the [[United States]]. They were originally [[California]]'s first "fully staffed, state-wide transgender legal organization" and were initially a fiscally sponsored project of the [[National Center for Lesbian Rights]].<ref>{{cite web|date=July 18, 2013|title=Transgender Law: Overview|url=http://www.nclrights.org/explore-the-issues/transgender-law/transgender-law/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215184000/http://www.nclrights.org/our-work/transgender-law/transgender-law/|archive-date=December 15, 2018|accessdate=May 22, 2018|website=Nclrights.org}}</ref>
TLC utilizes direct legal services, public policy advocacy, and educational opportunities to advance the rights and safety of diverse transgender communities.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}


Since launching in 2002, TLC has held over 250 transgender law workshops providing legal information to more than 3,250 community members, attorneys, social service providers, and business owners, as well as collaborated on public policy initiatives designed to improve safety in schools and prisons and safe access to public restrooms for transgender people in San Francisco. TLC successfully helped to revise San Francisco's "Regulations to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination” in December 2003, making them more inclusive of people who do not identify as strictly female or male, and pass cutting-edge legislation in the City of Oakland banning gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation, and city services.
Since launching in 2002, TLC has held over 250 transgender law workshops providing legal information to more than 3,250 community members, attorneys, social service providers, and business owners, as well as collaborated on public policy initiatives designed to improve safety in schools and prisons and safe access to public restrooms for transgender people in San Francisco. TLC helped to revise San Francisco's "Regulations to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination" in December 2003, making them more inclusive of people who do not identify as strictly female or male, and to pass legislation in the City of Oakland banning gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation, and city services.


==History and legal work==
⚫
==Transgender Economic Health==
The Transgender Law Center was launched in 2002 in San Francisco by law school graduates Dylan Vade and Chris Daley with funding from the Echoing Green Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Engardio|first1=Joel P.|title=Legal Precedent: A transgender Stanford grad and his colleague are set to open the first-ever law center for transgender issues|url=http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/legal-precedent/Content?oid=2145186|website=[[SF Weekly]]|accessdate=May 27, 2016|date=June 12, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729020802/http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/legal-precedent/Content?oid=2145186|archive-date=July 29, 2014}}</ref> The stated mission of TLC is to connect transgender people and their families to technically sound and culturally competent legal services, increase acceptance and enforcement of laws and policies that support California's transgender communities, and work to change laws and systems that fail to incorporate the needs and experiences of transgender people. TLC uses direct legal services, public policy advocacy, and educational opportunities to advance the rights and safety of diverse transgender communities.<ref>{{cite letter |recipient=Mayor and Members of the City Council |last=Worthington |first=Kriss |url=http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2013/10Oct/Documents/2013-10-01_Item_08_Proclamation_in_Honor_of_Transgender_Law.aspx |title=Proclamation in Honor of Transgender Law Center and its 11th Annual Celebration "SPARK!" |date=October 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107062048/http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2013/10Oct/Documents/2013-10-01_Item_08_Proclamation_in_Honor_of_Transgender_Law.aspx |archivedate=November 7, 2014 }}</ref>
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{{Transgender sidebar}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2010}}
TLC released ''Good Jobs NOW!'' provides sorely needed data on the economic reality experienced by transgender people and their families. Transgender Law Center surveyed 194 self-identified transgender people living, working, or looking for work in San Francisco. The outcomes are:


The Transgender Law Center helped to revise San Francisco's "Regulations to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination" in December 2003,<ref>{{cite web|title=Compliance Guidelines to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination|url=http://sf-hrc.org/compliance-guidelines-prohibit-gender-identity-discrimination|website=Human Rights Commission|publisher=City and County of San Francisco|accessdate=May 27, 2016|date=December 10, 2003}}</ref> making them more inclusive of people who do not identify as strictly female or male, and to pass legislation in the City of Oakland banning gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation, and city services.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Laird|first1=Cynthia|title=Oakland OKs gender identity ordinance|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/12084907/oakland-oks-gender-identity-ordinance|accessdate=May 27, 2016|publisher=[[Bay Area Reporter]]|date=December 18, 2003}}{{dead link|date=November 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
Nearly 60% of ''Good Jobs NOW!'' respondents earn under $15,300 annually and only 8% earn over $45,900. 40% do not have a bank account of any kind. Only 25% are working full-time, 16% are working part-time, and nearly 9% have no source of income. Over 57% percent report experiencing employment discrimination, but only a little over 12% have filed an administrative or civil complaint as a result.


In 2015, the TLC joined a lawsuit filed against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that resulted in a settlement that established a precedent of the state providing gender-affirming medical care.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Stahl |first1=Aviva |title=Transgender Prisoners: What an Inmate's Surgery Means for Trans Rights |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/transgender-prisoners-what-an-inmates-surgery-means-for-trans-rights-196781/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=November 9, 2017 |publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC. |access-date=June 11, 2021}}</ref> In 2016, the TLC and co-counsel filed a suit on behalf of a transgender high schooler who was prohibited from using the boys' bathroom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District |url=https://transgenderlawcenter.org/legal/youth/whitaker |publisher=Transgender Law Center |access-date=June 11, 2021}}</ref> In 2017 the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals]] unanimously ruled in favor of the student, finding that the school's policy violated [[Title IX]] and the [[Equal Protection Clause]] of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th Amendment]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Emma |title=Appeals court sides with transgender student in Wis. school bathroom case |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/appeals-court-sides-with-transgender-student-in-wis-school-bathroom-case/2017/05/30/3f5f6e98-4572-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html |access-date=June 11, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 30, 2017}}</ref>
Just over 42% of respondents live with family or roommates and pay rent (with nearly 7% in Section 8 Housing), but not even 5% own their own residence. 10% self-identify as homeless and another 31% are living in unstable situations. Nearly 27% report experiencing housing discrimination. In terms of job readiness, 50% would like career and job counseling in order to explore their options. Around 53% percent would like to undergo further education or training in order to enter a new career.


On May 21, 2018, members of the TLC and the [[Transgender Education Network of Texas]] were denied service at an [[IHOP]] restaurant in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name="dallasnewstransgenderactivists">{{cite news|last1=McGauthy|first1=Lauren|title=Transgender activists say they were gawked at, denied service at Nashville IHOP|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/lgbt/2018/05/21/transgender-activists-say-gawkedat-denied-service-nashville-ihop|accessdate=May 22, 2018|work=Dallas News|date=May 22, 2018}}</ref><ref name="tennesseantransgenderactivists">{{cite news|last1=Allison|first1=Natalie|title=Transgender activists with service dog say they were denied service at Nashville IHOP|url=https://tennessean.com/story/news/2018/05/21/nashville-ihop-transgender-activists-service-dog-denied-ignored/631244002/|accessdate=May 22, 2018|work=The Tennessean|date=May 22, 2018}}</ref> The IHOP issued an apology.<ref name="dallasnewstransgenderactivists"/><ref name="tennesseantransgenderactivists"/>
Currently, at least 9% do not have a high school diploma or GED. 88% of respondents, though, have completed high school: 30% stopped there, 23% have attended some college, over 32% have a college degree of some sort (including 10% of people who have post-graduate degrees), and less than 3% have a vocational certification.<ref>http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/pdf/Good%20Jobs%20NOW%20report.pdf</ref>

⚫
==Transgender economic health==
⚫
{{Transgender sidebar}}
The survey ''Good Jobs NOW!'', conducted jointly by the Transgender Law Center and the ''[[San Francisco Bay Guardian]]'' in 2006, provided data on the economic reality experienced by transgender people and their families.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Good Jobs NOW!|url=http://transgenderlawcenter.org/issues/employment/good-jobs-now|publisher=Transgender Law Center|accessdate=May 28, 2016|archive-date=April 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402223754/http://transgenderlawcenter.org/issues/employment/good-jobs-now|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Szymanski|first1=Zak|title=TG job, health efforts get funding|url=http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=977|website=Bay Area Reporter|accessdate=May 27, 2016|date=July 7, 2006}}</ref> The team surveyed 194 self-identified transgender people living, working, or looking for work in San Francisco. Survey findings included:

* Nearly 60% of respondents earned under $15,300 annually<ref name=":0" />
* 40% did not have a bank account<ref name=":0" />
* Only 25% were working full-time<ref name=":0" />
* 10% were homeless<ref name=":0" />

A statewide survey, "The State of Transgender California Report", was conducted in 2008. Findings included that respondents were more than twice as likely to live under the poverty line as the general population.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hemmelgarn|first1=Seth|title=Report: Even with protections, transgenders in California|url=http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4306|website=Bay Area Reporter|accessdate=May 27, 2016|date=October 29, 2009}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
* [http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=4306 Even with Protections, Transgenders Report Employment Discrimination], The Bay Area Reporter, 10/29/09
* [http://lsnc.net/equity/2009/08/18/economic-realities-in-the-transgender-community/ Economic realities in the transgender community]{{Dead link|date=October 2010}}, The Race Equity Project, 08/18/09
* [http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=22936 California Court of Appeals Affirms Right of Transgender Individual Living Out-of-State to Change California Birth Certificates], San Francisco Sentinal, 04/19/09
* [http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/04/15/All_Calif__Natives_Can_Change_Gender_on_Birth_Certificates/ All Calif. Natives Can Change Sex on Birth Certificates], The Advocate, 04/15/09
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-11-21-san-francisco-ids_N.htm S.F. approves ID cards that exclude gender], USA TODAY, 11/21/07
* [http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2074 New TLC leaders aim to widen agency's reach], Bay Area Reporter, 08/09/07
* [http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=977 TG job, health efforts get funding], Bay Area Reporter, 07/13/06
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DF113DF937A35750C0A9639C8B63 A Quest for a Restroom That's Neither Men's Room Nor Women's Room], Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times, 03/04/05
* [http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/06/local/me-immig6 Couple Sue Agency Over Marriage Rule], Ann Simmons, Los Angeles Times, 12/06/04
* [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CC&p_theme=cc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields(Unsolved%20case%20haunts%2010%20years%20later)%20AND%20date(1/1/2004%20to%201/1/2005)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=1/1/2004%20to%201/1/2005)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(%22Unsolved%20case%20haunts%2010%20years%20later%22)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no Unsolved case haunts 10 years later], Nathaniel Hoffman, Contra Costa Times, 12/02/04
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/06/23/MNGVR7AI771.DTL Mistrial in transgender case. Deadlock over first-degree murder charges{{spaced ndash}}3 to face retrial in slaying of Newark teen], San Francisco Chronicle, 06/23/04
* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20040601-0012-ca-transgenderkilling.html Case of slain transgender teen could go to a jury this week], Associated Press, 06/01/04
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/26/BAG246RHQQ19.DTL Posthumous request for a name change. Slain transgender teen's mom wants 'Gwen' to be official], San Francisco Chronicle, 05/26/04
* [http://www.echoinggreen.org/?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=233 Perspectives from the Transgender Law Center], Echoing Green Foundation, 2004 {{Dead link|date=October 2009}}
* [http://sfweekly.com/2002-06-12/news/legal-precedent/ Legal Precedent:A transgender Stanford grad and his colleague are set to open the first-ever law center for transgender issues], SF Weekly, 06/12/02
* [http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=14229 What's she doing in the men's jail?: Marched around half-naked. Raped. Kept in isolation. The life of a transgender prisoner in the Sacramento County Jail is basically hell.], Sacramento News & Review, 2/13/03.
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/12/BA147553.DTL S.F. jailer allegedly fired in sex case. Transgender person suing for assault], San Francisco Chronicle, 11/12/02
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/05/BA76630.DTL Transgender study finds bias/But S.F. still found to provide more protections than any U.S. city], San Francisco Chronicle, 11/05/02
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/08/09/BA126993.DTL Transgender man sues S.F., police, saying he was beaten, taunted], San Francisco Chronicle, 09/09/02


{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Transgender in the United States]]

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[[Category:Transgender law]]
[[Category:Transgender organizations]]
[[Category:LGBTQ culture in San Francisco]]
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[[Category:Transgender law in the United States]]
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[[Category:Transgender organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Law in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:2002 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Oakland, California]]

Latest revision as of 16:36, 19 December 2024

Transgender Law Center
Formation2002; 23 years ago (2002)
Founded atSan Francisco, California, United States
Focustransgender law
Area served
United States
MethodCampaigning, advocacy, lobbying, research
Key people
Shelby Chestnut (executive director)[1]
Websitetransgenderlawcenter.org

The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest American transgender-led civil rights organization in the United States. They were originally California's first "fully staffed, state-wide transgender legal organization" and were initially a fiscally sponsored project of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.[2]

Since launching in 2002, TLC has held over 250 transgender law workshops providing legal information to more than 3,250 community members, attorneys, social service providers, and business owners, as well as collaborated on public policy initiatives designed to improve safety in schools and prisons and safe access to public restrooms for transgender people in San Francisco. TLC helped to revise San Francisco's "Regulations to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination" in December 2003, making them more inclusive of people who do not identify as strictly female or male, and to pass legislation in the City of Oakland banning gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation, and city services.

[edit]

The Transgender Law Center was launched in 2002 in San Francisco by law school graduates Dylan Vade and Chris Daley with funding from the Echoing Green Foundation.[3] The stated mission of TLC is to connect transgender people and their families to technically sound and culturally competent legal services, increase acceptance and enforcement of laws and policies that support California's transgender communities, and work to change laws and systems that fail to incorporate the needs and experiences of transgender people. TLC uses direct legal services, public policy advocacy, and educational opportunities to advance the rights and safety of diverse transgender communities.[4]

The Transgender Law Center helped to revise San Francisco's "Regulations to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination" in December 2003,[5] making them more inclusive of people who do not identify as strictly female or male, and to pass legislation in the City of Oakland banning gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodation, and city services.[6]

In 2015, the TLC joined a lawsuit filed against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that resulted in a settlement that established a precedent of the state providing gender-affirming medical care.[7] In 2016, the TLC and co-counsel filed a suit on behalf of a transgender high schooler who was prohibited from using the boys' bathroom.[8] In 2017 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled in favor of the student, finding that the school's policy violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.[9]

On May 21, 2018, members of the TLC and the Transgender Education Network of Texas were denied service at an IHOP restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee.[10][11] The IHOP issued an apology.[10][11]

Transgender economic health

[edit]
Part of a series on
Transgender topics
     
Gender identities
Health care practices
Rights and legal status
Society and culture
Events and awareness
Culture
Theory and concepts
By country
Rights
See also

The survey Good Jobs NOW!, conducted jointly by the Transgender Law Center and the San Francisco Bay Guardian in 2006, provided data on the economic reality experienced by transgender people and their families.[12][13] The team surveyed 194 self-identified transgender people living, working, or looking for work in San Francisco. Survey findings included:

  • Nearly 60% of respondents earned under $15,300 annually[12]
  • 40% did not have a bank account[12]
  • Only 25% were working full-time[12]
  • 10% were homeless[12]

A statewide survey, "The State of Transgender California Report", was conducted in 2008. Findings included that respondents were more than twice as likely to live under the poverty line as the general population.[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ferrannini, John (February 21, 2023). "New Transgender Law Center ED 'humbled' to lead organization". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  2. ^ "Transgender Law: Overview". Nclrights.org. July 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Engardio, Joel P. (June 12, 2002). "Legal Precedent: A transgender Stanford grad and his colleague are set to open the first-ever law center for transgender issues". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Worthington, Kriss (October 1, 2013). "Proclamation in Honor of Transgender Law Center and its 11th Annual Celebration "SPARK!"". Letter to Mayor and Members of the City Council. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014.
  5. ^ "Compliance Guidelines to Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination". Human Rights Commission. City and County of San Francisco. December 10, 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  6. ^ Laird, Cynthia (December 18, 2003). "Oakland OKs gender identity ordinance". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved May 27, 2016.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ Stahl, Aviva (November 9, 2017). "Transgender Prisoners: What an Inmate's Surgery Means for Trans Rights". Rolling Stone. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  8. ^ "Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District". Transgender Law Center. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Brown, Emma (May 30, 2017). "Appeals court sides with transgender student in Wis. school bathroom case". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  10. ^ a b McGauthy, Lauren (May 22, 2018). "Transgender activists say they were gawked at, denied service at Nashville IHOP". Dallas News. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Allison, Natalie (May 22, 2018). "Transgender activists with service dog say they were denied service at Nashville IHOP". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Good Jobs NOW!". Transgender Law Center. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  13. ^ Szymanski, Zak (July 7, 2006). "TG job, health efforts get funding". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  14. ^ Hemmelgarn, Seth (October 29, 2009). "Report: Even with protections, transgenders in California". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
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