Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Bill would prohibit transgender discrimination

Karen Grayson, with shoulder-length blond hair, said she was born "Kevin Griffith" and spent most of her life being as manly as possible.

"Kevin" married and fathered two children. He worked as an auto mechanic, a director of photography in Hollywood and as a construction worker.

At that point, gender identity questions were still mostly a private matter. But when a co-worker allegedly discovered a letter revealing that "Kevin" saw herself as a woman, life as a gainfully-employed member of society ended.

"I was told my performance fell below company standards," Grayson told members of the Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee. "It was all a lie."

Kevin Griffith later changed her name to Karen Grayson.

Grayson was one of several Nevadans who testified Friday that they were denied interviews or fired because they are transgender, and cheered a bill that would expand the state's employment anti-discrimination law.

AB211, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Aizley, D-Las Vegas, and 16 others, prohibits employers from discriminating based on "gender identity or expression," in addition to characteristics such as race, religion and sexual orientation.

AB211 defines the proposed terminology as "a gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior of a person, regardless of the person's assigned sex at birth."

The bill comes as another proposal, SB180, seeks to add the same language to hate crime laws in an effort to protect transgender people. SB180 passed out of committee on party lines with Republicans opposed.

Supporters of the employment provision said they weren't looking for litigation opportunities, just job opportunities.

"Nobody should have to live in fear that they will be fired for something that has nothing to do with their job performance," said Jane Heenan, a therapist from Las Vegas, who is transgender. "In the end, we all pay for discrimination."

Proponents said unemployment among transgender people is double that of the general population, but some lawmakers questioned whether the failed job interviews were a symptom of Nevada's high unemployment rather than the candidates' transgender identity.

Committee members also took exception when a witness told them that voting against the bill would be "tantamount to allowing discrimination in Nevada."

There was no testimony against the bill Friday, and proponents lauded it as a symbolic step for the state.

No action was taken by the committee on the bill.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy