This morning at the Tampa City Council meeting, a motion was called to have the City's Legal Department review adding protections for transgendered people in Tampa's Human Rights Ordinance.
Philip Dinkins, the chair of the Board, came before the Council asking them to eliminate discrimination against transgendered people, saying that 16 local governments in Florida have moved to include such language in their Human Rights Ordinances.
Councilman Charlie Miranda questioned Dinkins if there had been a recent incident that would demand such a change in current law.
Dinkins said there had not been, but said that research the Board has received from various groups is that discrimination against gender identity is a troubling issue for those affected by it, and said that while gays and lesbians are protected under current law in Tampa, transgendered people are not.
Among the local governments that include such protections include Miami, Miami Beach, Palm Beach County and Lake Worth.
Several of those local governments did so after the controversial firing in 2007 of Largo City Manager Susan Stanton, who lost her job after announcing plans to become a woman.
The City's Legal Department was instructed by the Council to report back in 30 days.
This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2009.