The Honorable George Miller, Chairman
Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable John Kline, Ranking Member
Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
September 23, 2009
Dear Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Kline:
We represent the Transgender Community of Police and Sheriffs (TCOPS International), the Transgender
Community of Fire and EMS Professionals (TEMS-Fire), and the International Community of Transgender
Military Professionals (ICTMP) and would like to use this opportunity to help provide you with information
and insight that may help to inform your decisions regarding H. R. 3017, the Employment NonDiscrimination Act commonly known as ENDA.
These organizations were initially formed simply as online peer support groups for the various public
service employees and military professionals suffering from Gender Identity Disorder (aka transgender)
but have since grown and now offer assistance to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS
personnel in retaining their jobs, during and after, gender transition as well as offering assistance, in the
form of education and training resources, to employers who have employees transitioning on-the-job.
Unfortunately our ability to support military professionals is currently limited to online peer support
however we are hopeful that will change in the future.
We have members at every level in law enforcement from local constables to federal officers, volunteer to
st
full-time professional firefighters from villages to state agencies as well as EMS personnel from basic 1
Responders to Paramedics. We have members living and working in every state in the union as well as
on five other continents. As for state employees, our members include state troopers, police officers,
highway patrol, correctional officers, parole officers, university police, port authority police, investigators,
public safety officers, peace officers, firefighters, EMTs and Paramedics and they are currently employed
by the states of California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New
Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Nearly every member of these groups has instances of discrimination in their personal narratives. Many
of them have experienced physical abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, and have had their
careers destroyed, lost their jobs, lost their families, and some have taken their own lives because of the
abuse. Many more have been threatened, disciplined, harassed, denied training, denied promotion, or
been denied desirable assignments because of their transgender status. At times their complaints to
supervisors or management resulted in continued/escalated discrimination, adverse work conditions, or
placed their lives and/or the lives of their families in danger for officially reporting acts of harassment,
discrimination, bias incidents or actual hate crimes.
Individuals who transition genders do so for deeply felt personal reasons and the decision is never
undertaken without a significant amount of introspection, specialized counseling, and at great personal
and financial risk and cost. The men and women who transition on-the-job tend to be highly skilled,
exceptional professionals who excel in their respective positions and are generally well-respected by their
fellow employees and their employers prior to their gender transition. In particular public service
employees, whose primary function is interacting with the people of the communities in which they serve,
find that being transgendered isn’t a disability rather it enhances their ability to understand and relate to
other human beings in crisis no matter what their gender or gender expression.
Gender identity and gender expression in no way affect the ability of an individual to perform their duties.
It is primarily the poorly informed, under-educated, or biased co-worker or employer who causes
perceived transgender-related disruptions in the workplace. Most transgender professionals prefer to
remain as anonymous as possible in the workplace and not call attention to themselves by virtue of their
gender identity or expression. They want to blend in and just move forward with their lives and because
of this many who experience threats, harassment, and abuse at work, by reason of their gender identity
or expression, never report it for fear of being publically “outed”, further ostracized, receiving additional
threats, harassment or abuse. For this reason alone we are able to personally attest to the fact that
there are far more instances of employment discrimination, harassment, and abuse against
transgendered individuals in the workplace than the currently published reports and surveys indicate.
Transgendered people are fully aware of the dangers associated with filing, and then pursuing, formal
complaints against co-workers, supervisors, or employers, particularly within federal, state or local
governmental agencies and organizations. Additionally sensationalistic media attention, hostile
employers, hostile co-workers, indiscriminate handling and inappropriate release of medical information
purportedly protected by the Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA, Title II),
threats of physical harm against family and children, loss of family and friends are just a few of the issues
that are all to be expected by those transgendered individuals courageous enough to file a public formal
complaint of discrimination based on their gender identity or expression.
Expressing ones gender identity is a right that should be as equally well protected as expressing ones
religious affiliation or ones ethnicity. We strongly urge the passage of H. R. 3017, the Employment NonDiscrimination Act commonly known as ENDA.
Julie D. Marin
Founder
TCOPS International
www.TCOPS-International.org
Co-Founder, TEMS-Fire
Co-Founder, ICTMP
1346 The Alameda #7-303
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 655-0194
Patrick M. Callahan
Director of Security/PIO
TCOPS International
www.TCOPS-International.org
Co-Founder, TEMS-Fire
Co-Founder, ICTMP
1346 The Alameda #7-303
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 313-5604