Just got this update via press release from Equality Maryland:
Today, members of the Senate Rules Committee, lead by Senators Kathy Klausmeier and Brian Frosh, voted to send House Bill 235, the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act, to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee where given the public commitments made by committee members, it is expected to pass. HB 235 would prohibit discrimination against transgender Marylanders in the areas of employment, housing and credit.This is important progress. There was concern that HB 235 had been sent to the Senate Rules Committee as a way to kill it.
There's been a lot of pressure on the Senate President, Mike Miller, to pass the anti-discrimination legislation before the Senate adjourns on April 11th. Last week, seven gay and lesbian members of the House of Delegates (Maggie MacIntosh, Anne Kaiser, Heather Mizeur, Peter Murphy, Luke Clippinger, Bonnie Cullison and Mary Washington) sent a letter to the Senate President asking him to get the bill out of the Rules Committee and on to the floor. Autumn Sandeen posted the letter here.
So, today, we saw some progress. Senator Brian Frosh chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. The bill needs to pass there and get final approval on the Senate floor ASAP.
