Should Transgender Americans Be Afforded Rights Equal to Those Seen by Other Americans

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it oftentimes appalls me that certain groups, both in and out of the LGBTQ+ community, have fewer rights and protections afforded to them than the rest of society. One group that is, in the current societal and legislative climate, particularly vulnerable to discrimination and crime is the transgender community. With trans* Americans comprising approximately (based on current estimates of 0.5%[1] of any given population being transgender or gender nonconforming) 1,614,300 people[2], and "binary transgender" Americans comprising approximately (based on current estimates of 0.3%[1] of any given population being transgender but identifying with a binary gender) 968,600[2] people, it is a substantial number of people who are affected by the current social and political climate towards transgender and gender nonconforming persons. There are a few states that offer equal or nearly equal rights to trans* Americans. These states include California, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Accounting for these states as having equal or near equal rights and protections afforded to trans* Americans, this leaves approximately 1,358,100[2][3] transgender and gender nonconforming Americans with unequal rights and protections, approximately 814,900[2][3] of which are "binary transgender". To define "equal rights", I am using a general rule of thumb based on current anti-discrimination legislation. This includes, but is not limited to, employment protections, anti-discrimination policies in public accommodation, housing, lending, education, medical insurance, medical practice, definition and prosecution of hate crime and so on. Considering that over 1.3 million trans* Americans live in states with incomplete protections in these regards, it is quite clear that discrimination may not only be experienced, but the victims of said discrimination have no legal means of defending their rights as Americans. A few examples of this are as follows: In Maine, the rights and protections lacking include: no bans on insurance exclusions, no trans inclusive insurance benefits for state employees, no (feasible) means of changing the gender marker on birth certificates, no law that addresses hate crime or bias on the basis of gender identity. In New Jersey, the only difference from Maine is that the state does have a law that addresses hate crime or bias on the basis of gender identity. In Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the rights and protections lacking include: no bans on insurance exclusions, no trans inclusive insurance benefits for state employees, no (feasible) means of changing the gender marker on birth certificates, no anti-discrimination labor laws in private employment, no law that addresses hate crime or bias on the basis of gender identity, no law that addresses student discrimination on the basis of gender identity, no prohibition of discrimination in housing or public accommodation on the basis of gender identity. In Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming, no anti-discrimination protections are afforded to transgender or gender nonconforming Americans whatsoever[4]. Also, in both Texas and Kentucky, there are laws that criminalize the use of a bathroom that does not align with sex. Sex is defined in the Kentucky Senate Bill 76 as "biological sex", which can be interpreted to mean either genitals or chromosomes. In Texas, the definition in House Bill 2801 is similar, but in House Bill 1748 it is based on chromosomes. One alarming thing to note about House Bill 1748 is that in the case of women who were born with XY chromosomes but developed no male reproductive system and developed female secondary sex characteristics, they would be forced to use the men's restroom despite having been socialized as a woman their entire lives[5]. There are multiple reasons why this discriminatory application of anti-discrimination laws is unjust and should be stopped. The first is that transgender Americans are citizens of the United States, with some very rare exceptions. The rights of American citizens are as follows: the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of religion, the right to a prompt, fair trial by jury, the right to vote in elections for public officials, the right to apply for federal employment requiring U.S. citizenship, the right to run for elected office, and the right of the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness[6]. The states who do not address hate crime based on gender identity, for example, are potentially reducing the protection of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There are many cases of hate crimes such as rape and murder due to an individual being transgender. There are also cases in which an attempted rape turned into a murder because the victim was found to be a transgender woman. There are few states with employment protections, and in many states, even public or federal employment does not have employment protections based on gender identity, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission does not address gender identity[7]. This potentially infringes upon the right to apply for federal employment that requires U.S. citizenship. Also, the states Texas and Kentucky, with their statutes against the use of bathrooms matching gender identity by transgender persons are limiting specifically the right to liberty and the right to freedom of expression. The next steps at this point are simply to extend current anti-discrimination laws to include gender identity. This is something that should be carried out by each state, as it is the state's right to determine said anti-discrimination laws. However, there should be a national push to bridge the gap of the rights and protections between the transgender community and the rest of American society. [1]Estimates based on multiple sources, found here: http://fivethirtyeight.com... https://www.lambdalegal.org... (Note: this figure of 12% is based on a small survey of the entire LGBT community, which is estimated to make up about 4-5% of the population, thus resulting in an estimate of .48-.6% of the population) [2]All numbers are according to the Population Clock (http://www.census.gov...) estimates of the U.S. population at 12:48AM EST, January 23, 2016. [3]Subsequent estimates of population not covered by the legislation in California, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia are based on a table containing the percentage of the U.S. population contained within each state as of 2014, found here: https://en.wikipedia.org... [4]Based on the infographic by the Huffington Post here: http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com... [5]The laws are listed here: http://transgenderlawcenter.org... (Note: The Florida bill never made it out of committee) [6]The rights are listed here: http://www.uscis.gov... [7]A list of laws enforced by the EEOC: http://www.eeoc.gov...