Miranda Writes... by Miranda Stevens-Miller The Big Picture

So often we get caught up in our own little world that we fail to see the big picture that is unfolding around us. The passage of transgender rights in Chicago and Cook County was an important step. If you look at the number of people who are protected by these laws, it is huge. There are only two states that have laws protecting people on the basis of gender identity: Minnesota and Rhode Island. Turns out that Chicago has almost three times the population of Rhode Island, and Cook County has more people than the State of Minnesota. So it was a big step!

But Chicago and Cook County become even more important as part of the national movement to acknowledge transgender rights. From coast to coast, there are now 53 jurisdictions that have laws like the ones just enacted here. This year alone, many major cities passed these laws. There are now 34 million people in this country that are covered, with 19 million that were added in 2002.

In each of these jurisdictions there are activists and advocates, just like here in Chicago, who made these laws happen. The laws didn't just happen by themselves. Up and down the coasts, from Tacoma, Salem and San Jose on the West Coast, to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore on the East Coast. It is a national movement, and I am proud that our city and our county on Lake Michigan's coast are among them.

Of all the cities that added gender identity this year, none is more surprising than Dallas. Surely if transgender people can get protection in one of the most conservative states in our nation, the state that gave us the Bushes, this is not the big deal that some people have made it out to be. And with Boston, Mass., home of Congressman Barney Frank, joining the list of jurisdictions, it is becoming increasingly more puzzling why the sponsors of federal legislation still choose to exclude gender identity from anti-discrimination and hate crime laws.

In fact, it should be downright embarrassing to keep gender-variant people out of ENDA.

It is a well-known fact that state and local laws are always way out ahead of the federal ones. But with all the momentum currently behind the national transgender rights movement, it will be interesting to see how many more local laws it takes before we are deemed worthy of inclusion at the national level.

Last month I wrote an article thanking several very key players in the transgender rights victory in Chicago and Cook County. Although I mentioned that it would be impossible for me to acknowledge everyone, I neglected to mention some of the most vital contributors to this success ... the leadership and board of Illinois Gender Advocates.

Beth Plotner has been constantly at my side for the past five years at least. She served as Vice Chair for two years, and is currently in her third year as Chair of the organization. She has done outreach and trainings all over the state, and has represented the interests of the Illinois Gender Advocates among her many associates in the legal profession. She was responsible for getting the much-appreciated backing of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago. Her stewardship of the organization has not only allowed it to survive, but also to grow and evolve from the ad hoc group called It's Time Illinois, to the new 501(c)(3) organization with a vision way beyond the previous single-minded legislative focus. But most important, Beth has been my friend and support through all the years of working on the gender-identity ordinances. Thank you, Beth. This wouldn't have happened without you.

And to Marsha Jackson, one of the founding members of the organization, your quiet determination has been a source of inspiration to me. And to Diana Williamson, who for years served as secretary and newsletter editor, and is now Vice Chair of the Gender Advocates, your can-do attitude and willingness to do some of the less glamorous work has carried us through for years. And to the outgoing board, Lisa Scheps, Tina Sievers, Carole Abrams, thank you for all the work that you did in the background with the organization of the vigils and Pride celebrations that both sustained us and kept us visible in the community. Thank you all!