Education Necessary for Progression of Transgender Rights

by: Derek Viger

Tue Mar 02, 2010 at 18:55:41 PM EST

I was deeply involved with the No on 1 campaign from early-2009 through Election Day. I knocked on hundreds of doors, made thousands of phone calls, and participated in dozens of events. If the election taught me anything, it was that without proper education and cogent refutation of opponents' slanderous claims, lies and misinformation will run rampant and destroy any possibility of advancing equal rights.

As I follow the pursuit of the Maine Human Rights Commission (MHRC) to clarify the Maine Human Rights Act in order to ensure equal rights for all transgender students in Maine's public schools, I can't help but feel that the public, and even some journalists, lack sufficient education on the issue. The staggering total of 594 comments on the Bangor Daily News' February 17 article about transgender rights alone speaks for itself. And, unless we want the outcome of transgender rights to be equivalent to that of same-sex marriage, qualified and extensive education is a vital prerequisite.

More here.