Commissioners Extend Protection For Transgender Individuals
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The House was filled with conflicting t-shirts and badges as Miami-Dade Commissioners voted 8-3 to extend protection against discrimination to transgender individuals.
It's something proponents say is needed.
"If you're a woman that doesn't want to wear a dress and doesn't feel comfortable wearing heels, you want to wear pants and a shirt. Right now, you could lose your job. You could be denied public services. You could lose housing," said Tony Lima with the organization SAVE.
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Opponents said existing discrimination laws are adequate and a Transgender Protection Act would be over the top.
"It allows men who claim to be women or women who claim to be men to use women's bathrooms, locker rooms, showers and dressing rooms," said Anthony Verdugo with the Christian Family Coalition.
The bathroom card got played a lot in fears the transgender measure would turn them into pavilions of perversion.
" I believe that this opens the lead way to pedophiles, rapists, molesters, and sex offenders," said Miami-Dade Resident Madeleine Rodriguez.
Supporters of the ordinance said nonsense to the bathroom argument.
Tanachi Smith, born a boy but living as a woman, had no problem using the women's room at County Hall on Tuesday but has had other problems.
"I seek for employment at several places and was laughed at, looked at funny...actually talked about behind my back," said Smith.
The transgender ordinance comes at a time of growing tolerance.
Conservative Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen appeared for the first time on camera on CBS4, supporting her transgender son Rodrigo who was born Amanda, a girl.
READ: Ileana's Son: From Amanda to Rodrigo
Now, Miami-Dade is moving to bridge that transgender gap.
"This ordinance is not asking for special rights. It's asking for equal rights," said Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava
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