Thursday, October 4, 2007

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would send a strong message concerning discrimination against gays. The Sept. 28 editorial, "A Civil Rights Law," sent one as well: To gain our inalienable human rights, transgender people must first convince the public that we are human.

The Post's proposed solution, that transgender people embark on 40 years of educating the public, is naive at best and cynical at worst. We are so small in number and so easily ignored at negligible political cost. Every group that has fought for its civil rights has been a minority dependent on people outside the group to recognize the justness of its cause. Those who claim to believe in justice must recognize that you either believe in an egalitarian society open to all or in one where discrimination is a valid societal response, only requiring you to pick your targets carefully.

LAURENCE HART

Mechanicsville