Baltimore extends antidiscrimination protection to the transgendered

The Baltimore city council passed a bill Monday outlawing discrimination based on gender identity or expression, reports the Baltimore Sun. Passed without debate, the bill makes Baltimore the nation's 53rd locality to explicitly prohibit discrimination against transgendered people, according to Lisa Mottet, a lawyer with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Transgendered Civil Rights Project. Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City passed similar measures this year, she said. The city had previously outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, physical or mental disability, and sexual orientation. "Tonight's vote is a great victory for the Baltimore transgender community," said Jean-Michel Brevelle, interim director for local human rights group Free State Justice. "It is the culmination of years of effort by many transgendered people and our supporters and clearly demonstrates the understanding that Baltimore city government has developed for the transgender community."