Babs at 76 passed away in 2019. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee, Deputy Vice Chair of the NJ Democratic State Committee and Political Director of the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of NJ. She served on the Executive Committee of Trans United 4 Obama. She has served as Vice Chair of the DNC Eastern Caucus, was President of NJ Stonewall Democrats, Co-Chair of National Stonewall Democrats Federal PAC Board, Vice-Chair of Garden State Equality, Executive Board member of National Stonewall Democrats as Chair of the DNC Relations Committee and a member of the NJ Civil Unions Review Commission.
In my last blog post I expressed concern about actual and perceived transphobia in the State of New Hampshire, a state with all sorts of gay and lesbian rights including Marriage Equality, but without codified basic protections for transgender people. I received an update this week from former New Hampshire state legislator Mo Baxley — […]
The fight for equal rights for transgendered people has hit another snag in the state of New Hampshire. A gay legislator is working to enshrine “sexual orientation” into the language and excluding “gender identity.” Meanwhile the Human Rights Campaign says there’s no need for a new law protecting TGs in New Hampshire. All TGs there have to do is file their discrimination complaint using being trans as a disability. Get the story from Babs!
Our political reporter Babs Casbar Siperstein is not all politics and activism. She likes to slip into an ostentatious outfit now and then and what event is better for that than Night of 1000 Gowns. That’s the Imperial Court of New York’s coronation of their Emperor and Empress. Babs was there this past Saturday night and she filed a report and a photo gallery.
Eight term Congressman Rush Holt, a dedicated champion of transgender rights, abruptly announced that he is not seeking a ninth term. Our TG politics correspondent Babs Casbar Siperstein takes a look back at everything Holt has done to help the GLBT community while he was in congress.
Congressman Rob Andrews, a 12 term member of the House from New Jersey has resigned from office to go into a private law practice. While in Congress he was a staunch supporter of equal rights for the LGBT community. Today Bas Casbar-Siperstein thanks Congressman Andrews for his efforts on behalf of the community and in specific for his efforts to include transgendered people in anti-employment discrimination legislation.
You might wonder what “Bridgegate,” the closing of several traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge, has to do with transgender rights. A bit more than you might think. Our political correspondent Babs Casbar Sieperstien has filed a report that debunks the idea that the bridge closing was retaliation against the mayor of Fort Lee. It may have been retaliation against the biggest ally of transgendered people in the Garden State. Get the politics and why they’re important for TGs from Babs.
The New Jersey Legislature has passed a bill that allows transgendered individuals to change the gender on their birth certificates with only a doctor’s statement that they have undergone treatment for gender transition. They no longer have to have reassignment surgery once the governor signs the bill. Babs Casbar Siperstein looks at this development and some other legal advances TGs have made recently.
Our Babs Casbar Siperstein who participated in the Transgender Day of Remembrance at the White House last year was called upon to speak at two recent TDOR events. The following post is made up or her remarks at both occasions. She talks about the progress that transgender people have made and progress that is still waiting to happen. How a society treats its transgendered people is a good measure of just how civilized it actually is.
Our TG politics correspondent Babs Casbar Siperstein thinks that the timing might just be right for the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. After languishing for years and years could this be the right time? Without Federal protections in employment transgendered people can be fired just for being transgendered. In 33 states TGs have no protection under the law if their employer fires them for being TG or if someone refuses to hire them for that reason. With the election of Cory Booker to the Senate Babs feels his positive voice for ENDA will tip the scales and we will see movement in the Senate.
A news story in the New Jersey newspaper the Star Ledger has mis-gendered a murder victim. Another transgender murder victim. Babs Casbar Siperstein is upset by the coverage and the refusal by the paper to correct it’s mistake. Or is it a mistake? Babs looks closely and detects what could possibly be transphobia.
Babs Casbar Siperstein has been reappointed to the Democratic National Committee and was re-elected to the DNC Executive Committee. She reports today on other transgendered people who are involved in politics and touches on the history of TGs working for change through the political process. She also discusses how things have changed since the time when Democratic Party felt that adding TG rights to the Party platform would scare people away. Trans-inclusive language was added to the Democratic Party platform for the 2008 convention.
Now that the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has opened the military to openly gay service members where does that leave TGs who want to serve their country? Babs Casbar-Siperstein runs down the advances transgendered people have made in regard to military service and speculates on what will happen next. Citing the results of surveys and personal experience with trans soldiers Babs postulates that it won’t be long before TGs can proudly, openly server their country.
For all of our gains in recognition and rights there we still often face transphobia. As Babs points out in this post some of the transphobia isn’t coming from the straight world. It’s coming from the gay, lesbian and bisexual parts of the community. Is there a resurgence of gay and lesbian transphobia menacing the T in GLBT? Babs looks a a few examples, like the firing of Allyson Robinson, after only 9 months on the job at Outserve-SLDN. And what about Janice Covington being told it would be better for her to join her state’s Democratic men’s auxiliary rather than the women’s. It’s enough to make you wonder. See what else Babs has to say about G&L transphobia.
Babs Casbar Siperstein tells us TGs will descend on the capital this month to lobby members of congress for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Why is ENDA important? TGs have no protections at the federal level and can be fired, denied promotions and be harassed. Support Lobby Days!
Babs Casbar Siperstein outlines how a small group of activists got the words “gender identity and expression” added to anti-bullying legislation in New Jersey. It took a lot of hard work and an understanding of the political process. Find out how they did it.
Babs Casbar found herself tossed into an unsettling reality. Her comfortable life, or double life, was shaken away in a moment and she was left a transwoman alone. But her heart said she should find a community and be active. That led her to politics and TG activism.
Barbra Casbar Siperstein will be posting columns about the fight for transgender rights across the United States. Today she writes about the importance of the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women act with the inclusion of “gender identity.”
