Safety, Equality, and Liberty for All Calgarians

While there is still a lot of work we have to do to create a society that is truly fair and just to everyone in it, Alberta got a bit step closer with the announcement of a new bill that would make any discrimination against another for reasons of gender identity or gender expression illegal.

When you say it (or see it written out), it seems as obvious as laws preventing discrimination based on race, gender, or sexual orientation, but while we've long recognized that certain groups need to be protected by the law, the transgender community has been left out in the cold. Women have achieved equality with men in the eyes of the law—and ostensibly in practice, although there's some definite room for improvement—but those with gender identities that are other than the traditional genders associated with their physical bodies have long been at greater risk for experiencing violence, and have been targeted by discrimination in the workplace, as well.

Several other provinces already have laws in place that provide protections to transgender and transvestite individuals, and Alberta will soon join their ranks—hopefully. The legislation is still currently in bill form, and awaits many rounds of debate and voting before it would become law, but I'm confident that the people of Calgary and the province at large will recognize and respect that everyone deserves the same rights, no matter what their gender identity is or how they choose to express it.