Benton County Protects Gender Identity

(Reprinted with permission from Just Out, August 7, 1998 edition)

Article submitted by Paula Funatake, 28 Aug 1998. ITO personally thanks Just Out and Inga Sorensen for permission to reprint this article. We would also like to thank After8 and the Benton County Board of Commissioners for their work.

Benton County Leads The Way

A new anti-discrimination ordinance that includes trans people is an Oregon milestone -- by Inga Sorensen

It is one of those historic moments that passed with little fanfare.

"There's been no controversy. It's really quite amazing," notes Karuna Neustadt, president of After 8, a decade-old, Corvallis-based group that "works for political change for the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities in Benton and Linn counties."

Neustadt's enthusiasm is prompted by the July 1 passage of an anti- discrimination ordinance which includes, among a host of other categories, sexual orientation and gender identity. The latter explicitly encompasses transsexual and transgendered people.

By a 2-1 vote, the Benton County Board of Commissioners approved what is believed to be Oregon's first anti-discrimination ordinance which includes transsexual and transgendered people as a protected class.

The measure, which takes effect Aug. 14, covers the unincorporated areas of Benton County -- rural spots like Kings Valley, North Albany, Alpine, Blodgett and Adair.

It does not cover the county's incorporated areas -- its more populated sites like the cities of Corvallis, Philomath and Monroe -- because, says Neustadt, the county does not have jurisdiction over incorporated cities.

"We hope that we will be just the first of many Oregon communities that include transsexual and transgendered persons in their anti-discrimination clauses," she says. "This is just the start. What we really need, however, are state and federal laws so we don't have to do this in such a piecemeal way."

The ordinance prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accomodations. The protected classes by the measure are race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, mental or physical disability, familial status, sexual orientation, soruce of income, and gender identity.

Benton County resident Derrick Travers, a female-to-male trans activist, has worked closely with After 8 in promoting passage of the ordinance.

The 25-year-old came out about four years ago as a trans person, and, he says, faces "low-level, ongoing verbal harrassment."

"It's very gratifying to see this pass, particularly given how explicit it is regarding transsexual and transgendered people," says Travers. "In society, there remains a lot of confusion around sexual minorities ... discrimination based on sexual orientation is not the same thing as discrimination based on gender identity." The ordinance, he says, acknowledges and responds to that reality, and offers trans folks a particular clarity with respect to their legal protections.

Neustadt says her group approached the Benton County Board of Commissioners several months ago about approving a county ordinance.

"It's a three-member board, and we felt we had the support of two of the three commissioners," she says.

Those commisssioners are Bob Speaker and Patsy Miller. "We asked [Speaker] to take it forward, and he did. It was a pretty painless process."

In fact, Neustadt says a July 1 public hearing on the proposal was "a love fest."

She estimates about four dozen supporters -- and no detractors -- turned out for the hearing. Backers included state Sen. Cliff Trow, a Democrat representing District 18, and state Rep. Barbara Ross, a Democrat representing District 35, both of whom provided testimony.

Speaker says he was delighted to sponsor the ordinance.

"I would say that hearing was the most gratifying moment I've had [as a commissioner]," he says. "To hear all those people speak out in support was really quite something. You feel like you're really making a difference in people's lives. It made me really proud to live here."

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