Oct 11, 2009 – Washington, D.C., - The International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) is pleased to announce that nominations are now being sought for the Trinity Awards – to be presented at the 2010 IFGE Annual Conference – The Capital Conference, to be held at the Hilton Mark Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia April 22-25, 2010. “The Trinity Awards honor our heroes: living transgender persons who have performed extraordinary acts of courage and love in service to the transgender community,” noted Yvonne Cook-Riley, Awards Committee Chair. “Participation across the entire transgender community, its allies and friends, is essential to the awards-nominating process, and we hope to see everyone at the awards ceremony at the Capital Conference next April, “ Cook-Riley continued.

Dottie Laing passed away this evening, September 5, 2009, about 6:40 p.m. just before sunset. Dottie was married to former IFGE Executive Director Alison Laing for over 50 years.

Dottie worked tirelessly on behalf of the transgender community even though she was not transgender. She held many leadership roles such as Director of Fantasia Fair, and Fund Raising Chair for IFGE, as well as leading workshops and special Significant Others activities at conferences.

Dottie's work was recognized by numerous awards from the transgender community including IFGE's Trinity and Virginia Prince awards, in addition to the Fantasia Fair Award of Merit.

North Dakota is a key state in the fight for ENDA.

There are three votes in play here. Please call them today to ask for their support. Facts and contact info after the jump.


Senator Kent Conrad is a Democrat who previously voted for the hate crimes bill. According to Wikipedia, Conrad has a mixed record on gay rights. While he personally is opposed to gay marriage, he voted against a proposed constitutional ban on the matter and has supported bills that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. Call him at 701-258-4648 to support S1584.

Senator Byron Dorgan is a Democrat who has previously cosponsored a bill that inclusides the language of sexual orientation. Co-sponsorship suggests a higher level of support He also voted for the hate crimes bill. According to Wikipedia, As chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, Dorgan is one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate. He recently sent a letter to a constituent stating his support for sexual orientation discrimination protections, but said nothing about gender identity. Does he support an inclusive ENDA? Find out. Call him at 701-250-4618 to support S1584.

Representative Earl Pomeroy is a Blue Dog Democrat. However, he voted yes on the hate crimes bill and voted yes on ENDA in 2007. Call him at 701-224-0355 to support HR 3017.

Please list any info you get in the comments section below. We need to know where these three are on ENDA.

If you want to see info on the ENDA target list for the Senate, click here.

A vote on ENDA, HR 3017, is rapidly approaching in September sometime, and where are we? According to my calculations over at the Facebook Inclusive ENDA House spreadsheet, we're at 205 confirmed votes, and we need 218. That's close, but no cigar yet. If you take a close look at the spreadsheet, you'll see there are 33 states with Representatives who are unconfirmed on ENDA. Them's a lot of states.

Today's exciting question is who's who on ENDA over in Washington State? If you want to play along at home, featured below is a picture of a smiling U.S. Representative whose position on ENDA is unconfirmed. Can you guess who it is?

WA State Representatives
Jay Inslee - Co-sponsor of HR 3017
Rick Larsen - Co-sponsor of HR 3017
Brian Baird - Co-sponsor of HR 3017
Doc Hastings - Probably not (voted against in 2007)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Confirmed no
Norman D. Dicks - Confirmed yes
Jim McDermott - Co-sponsor
David G. Reichert - Unconfirmed
Adam Smith - Co-sponsor of HR 3017

Fun Facts and Contact Info below the jump.

If you answered Cathy McMorris Rogers, I'm sorry, you're not a winner today.

Representative Dave Reichert is a Republican representing the 8th District of Washington State way over there on the west side of Washington State.

Who is this man and how likely is he to vote for ENDA?

Quite likely, if some people from Washington state pick up that phone and dial.

Rep. Reichert voted yes! on hate crimes in 07 and 09 and voted yes! on ENDA in 2007. According to Wikipedia, he was the Sheriff of the Year in 2004 and narrowly won election in 2008 53-47 against his Democratic challenger.

Call and ask him to support ENDA at 206-275-3438. If you're not from Washington State, send this to your friends who are!

And while you're at it, call your own Members of Congress once in a while. You never call, you never write... http://bit.ly/i08p2

Thursday, 22 April 2010 through Sunday, 25 April 2010
The 24th Annual Conference of the International Foundation for Gender Education
The IFGE Capital Conference 2010

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Conference Website: http://www.ifge.org/2010/

Location:
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
5000 Seminary Rd
Alexandria, VA