On Thursday, the Maryland House of Delegates gave final approval on a bill that would outlaw transgender job discrimination in the state. This bill will mean a lot for transgender individuals who so commonly face prejudice in the work place and is a true sign that states are moving in the right direction to protect these people who deserve fairness and equality.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, was pleased with lawmakers’ decision to pass the bill, saying, “With each new state joining the side of fairness and equality, we move closer to explicitly banning job discrimination against transgender people nationwide.”

This bill comes of great importance to the trans community. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, trans women of color have four times the unemployment rate of the general population. This is extremely harmful for trans women of color because many times they have no other options but to put themselves in potentially harmful situations. The amount of violence that trans women face is likewise significant and can be linked back to the attitudes that the workforce has about them.

People often dehumanize the trans community, using offensive language such as referring to them as “it” or “that” in disregard to their preferred gender pronoun.

The fact of the matter is that bills like this not only help trans people avoid discrimination, but also help bring the human element back to the trans community, which is what is needed to diminish all of the violence and hate that this community faces.

Whether you consider yourself part of the LGBT community or not, the more allies that trans individuals have, the better off they are. The fact that we are starting to see bills like this one introduced is a sign that people are finally starting to stand up against the injustices that have been brought upon the trans community.

For too long, trans people have had to live in fear of violence and discrimination all because of the fact that people do not understand them. Standing in support of them and fighting against the job discrimination they face is key to diminishing violence and humanizing the trans community.

dhaynie@mavs.coloradomesa.edu