The Palm Beach
County, Fla., legislature, on a vote of
6-1, approved a measure Tuesday that would
specifically protect the rights of transgender people,
according to a report on the Web site Out in Miami.
The "yes" vote was split between three Democrats and
three Republicans, while another Democrat voted against it.
The county board
of commissioners must vote on the legislation twice more
before the law can go into effect.
Board vice chair
Jeff Koons proposed to alter Palm Beach's Equal
Employment Ordinance and the Fair Housing Ordinance to
prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or
expression, the newspaper reports.
The changes were
spurred by the recent firing of Largo city manager Steve
Stanton when it was revealed that he was going to undergo
sex-reassignment surgery.
"Employers will
still be able to enforce reasonable dress and grooming
standards in the workplace after the law takes effect," Rand
Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights
Council, said in the report. "However, the Equal
Employment Ordinance will provide assurances that
other aspects of a person's gender identity and
expression cannot be used as the basis for employment
discrimination." (The Advocate)
