If one is gay or lesbian or bisexual, then one is culturally related to transgendered/transsexual individuals by virture of discrimination based on something -- anything -- having to do with one's sexuality.

If a person -- any person of any persuasion -- is qualitifed to perform a a particular job, then it is wrong to deny that person the job solely on the basis of some aspect of their sexuality, such as gender or orientation.

What's not easy to understand about that?

I cannot think of any job (other than the unpaid jobs of biological father and biological mother) where the performance of of the job depends on whether one has a penis or a vagina (or neither or both), whether or not one's penis or vagina has been modified, or whether or not one prefers some form of intercourse with someone possessed of a penis or a vagina (or neither or both).

Anyone have a problem with that? And please don't tell me about biblical proscriptions. This is a legal issue, not a religious issue. Ours is a secular society, legally, and everyone in it has the same rights. Everyone. Let's start acting that way, please.

You know, it might be good politics to pass the bill as it is, without TG rights and then sit back and watch the hand-wringing when a gay man is fired, not for "being gay" but for being "too effeminate" or a butch lesbian is denied a job, not for "being a lesbian" but for "looking too much like a man."

The prejudice against gays isn't about sex, it is, fundamentally, about gender identity. If anything, GLB is a subset of T, not the other way around. It comes down to "men don't do THAT" and "women don't do THAT."

From here, "TBLG" might be a more accurate description of what we all have in common.

First, it is misleading to say "black people got the right to vote in 1870." Black women, obviously, did not get the right to vote in 1870. Also, for the vast majority of black men, who lived in the South, that right to vote was short-lived, ending shortly after Reconstruction, and not being regained until 1964.

The moral? Don't throw anyone under the bus. It may seem expedient at the time, but it will come back to bite you in the ass.

I think this is an excellent article. Though I would love it if discrimination against transgendered people could be outlawed on a national basis, we can't get everything we want all at once. I would, however, like to address the author's point that transgendered people have yet to gain full acceptance in the LGB community, and that acceptance in the community at large will take considerably longer. I think this is true, but I don't think it will take much longer than in the LGB community.

LGBT activists have long been trying to teach the larger community that despite their differences in sexual orientation and/or gender identification, they are at heart just like everybody else, and that they deserve to be treated the same. This is very true, LGBT people are just the same as everybody else. There is nothing that makes LGBT people inherently better than everybody else. The truth is, that if they weren't LGB or T, many of the many LGBT activists would be the kinds of people who would discriminate against LGBT people.

Look at the Log Cabin Republicans. Their party hates them, and constantly works to undermine their rights. But, they just can't help themselves. They think we should drill in ANWAR, or something like that, so they have to support a party that sees them as an abomination in the sight of God.

Although LGBT people tend to be more progressive that society at large, they're not much so. Statistically speaking, LGBT people are less in favor of equal marriage rights than are Jews. Therefore, I think that T acceptance in the larger community should come right on the heels of it's acceptance in the larger community.

I'm sorry John, but your article comes across as very whiny. You seem to think than gay men are more important than anyone else in the community. It's called a community for a reason John. Nobody said you have to like everyone, but we are a community. Why are we a community? Because the general public does not understand us, we fall outside the "norms" and hence we all get discriminated against.

Also you seem to be quite ignorant of history. Who helped lead the Stonewell Rebellion (some say lead period)? It was us, those trans people you want to leave behind. If you want to act that way (dismissive), you GUYS hi-jacked OUR movement bud! You took control and flung us away. It took us a couple decades to recover but we did.

Next, gender "identity and experession" will also protect many gays and lesbians too. Femine men and masculine women would have been fair game for discrimination under Uncle Barney's revised bill. Get a clue John!

Lastly, honestly John who needs the protection more? Come on be honest. You KNOW it's not you. But you deny this fact in order to get yours. But guess what John? That stupid bill (Barney's revised version) you're whining about didn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of getting signed into law! Plus by dumping us your letting bigots everywhere divide our community. Stop your whining, put your chin strap back on and let's get back to work on civil rights that cover the whole community.

Friends of mine who happen to be Gay or Lesbian cringe when the ubiquitous video of various Gay Pride parades runs on national network TV, local outlets, and, to be sure, on the Religious Right/Religious Fundamental channels showing men in leathers & feathers and dykes on bikes, as it were.

The gay guys/lesbian gals I know wear clothing from Brioni to Lauren and from LL Bean to Hilfiger: no leathers/feathers for the guys, no butch b*tch outfits for the women and, absolutely NO drag for either sex. You couldn't pick any of them out of a crowd as gay or lesbian, at all.

Bottom line, the people with whom I work, are my neighbors and are my friends and who are gay/lesbian, look just like anyone else. And, they are as embarassed by the drag-queens, leather-lovers and diesel-dykes as anyone else.

That division within the gay/lesbian community isn't being addressed, but, you can bet is very much there.