Judge Phyllis Frye to speak at Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
Judge Phyllis Frye Judge Phyllis Frye will speak at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum on Wednesday, Nov. 15, but before I go to hear her speak, I owe her an apology.
Through the 1990s, I was a board member of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of Texas, now known as Equality Texas. While equality was our goal, we were singularly focused on getting a hate crime bill through the Legislature.
And every version of the bill that was written only included protection based on sexual orientation. One board meeting, Houston transgender activist Phyllis Frye came to speak to the board to ask us to encourage the Legislature to add gender expression or identity to the list of covered hate crimes.
While no one disagreed that the transgender community was the target of hate crimes, most board members believe we could get a bill passed if it included sexual orientation but not if it included gender identity.
