From Cecilia Chung...
Welcome! My name is Cecilia Chung and I live in San Francisco, California. If you are looking for Cecilia Cheung, the Chinese actress, then you have come to the wrong site. If you are from the media and is looking specifically for information about me, please note that the spelling of my name is C-e-c-i-l-i-a and not Cecelia.
Cecilia - What's in a name?
If you are curious about the origin of my name, here's it's history. Cecilia is the feminine form of Caecilius or Cecil, which was derived from Latin caecus which means "blind". St Cecilia is the patron saint of music and the Celtic name, Sissy, was derived from Cecilia.
Why did I pick the name Cecilia? My first choice was the name Cordelia which often believed to be the feminine form of coeur de lion since I am a Leo. I used to see my relationship with my father like the one shared by Cordelia and King Lear. But as I journeyed into womanhood, I realize in fact that I was the one who's blind and not able to understand and appreciate my father's way of loving his children.
So there you have it. Thanks again for visiting.
ENDA: One People, One Bill, One Vote
Posted by Cecilia Chung
The recent revisions to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) have left us with a bill that no competent attorney representing the LGBT community would ever support. Over 150 LGBT and other civil rights and community organizations are on record as opposing the new version of ENDA for a number of very compelling reasons as a legal organization our opposition is grounded in the reality of the cases we have seen and stories of clients we have heard over the years.
NCLR, Lambda Legal, the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders and the Transgender Law Center are all unified in our opposition to a bill that will leave many lesbian, gay and bisexual, as well as transgender employees with no redress if fired from their jobs. The revised ENDA marks a major step backwards in the development of laws that protect LGBT employees from discrimination.
By dropping “gender identity” from the bill, this enormously important law, completely betrays the transgender community. Our transgender brothers and sisters have stood with this movement from our earliest beginnings. Transgender individuals loose jobs, are rejected from consideration for employment and are passed over for promotion at greater rates than lesbian, gay or bisexual employees. Moreover, under the revised ENDA employers can claim—and we know they will—that a firing was not based on sexual orientation, but rather on the employees failure to act feminine or masculine enough. This kind of sex stereotyping is at the root of much of the discrimination against lesbians and gay men. Yet, this kind of discrimination will be perfectly legal under ENDA.
We have been working with our colleague organizations for years to pass an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that will protect the victims of discrimination we see every day. For years we have also made clear to key leaders in Congress that including gender identity in ENDA is the only way to protect all of us. The loopholes in the new bill are not only based on the removal of gender identity, the section of ENDA which provided a religious exemption to some employers has been broadened to encompass hospitals and universities run by “faith-based” groups. Under the new version employers can refuse to extend health insurance benefits to couples in domestic partnerships, even if they provide such benefits to married couples.
There is no good reason to support this inferior, flawed and unacceptable version of ENDA. Over a dozen states have passed laws that include gender identity. We cannot and should not accept a federal law which is riddled with loopholes when we can and have been successful in passing laws that truly do protect us all from discrimination on the job. NCLR and our colleagues are committed to fighting for everyone in our community. We are committed to fighting not only the best ENDA we can get, but the ENDA we all deserve.
KQED Forum on Employment Non-Discrimination Act
Posted by Cecilia Chung
This was a pre-recorded show from Wednesday, October 3. I was disappointed that Congressman Frank did not make the call. It was, nevertheless, a great discussion on ENDA. Noticed the data presented was on gay and lesbian individuals only. What happened to data on transgender people?
From the Task Force: Working Together for a United ENDA
Posted by Cecilia Chung
Over the past week, our community has united – from coast to coast, and across the heartland — as never before.
In response to announcements that Congressional leaders intended to strip protections for gender identity from ENDA, an unprecedented campaign made up of national, state, and local groups swung into action. Read more
Put the “T” back in ENDA!
Posted by Cecilia Chung
Congressman Barney Frank and the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, are attempting to scuttle a trans-inclusive the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) by introducing a separate bill covering sexual orientation only, as well as a token bill on gender identity. The vote is Tuesday in the Labor Committee so act now to stop this divisive tactic.
- If you are in San Francisco , Join us tomorrow morning (Monday, October 1st) for a 24 vigil. We will meet in front the Federal Building where Pelosi’s office is located. 450 Golden Gate , cross street is Polk Street .Meet at 8AM. Wear black. We are casualties of the equality battle.
- If you can come to Washington D.C. , Picket House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at HRC National Gala In Washington , DC- Oct. 6
We’ve been kicked to the curb. Join us on the curb to picket the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and demand an ENDA covering gender identity. As labor unionists we won’t sell out any part of our community.
We call on all LGBT and allied organizations that support gender identity inclusion in ENDA to join us.
Meet at 4:15 p.m.; Picket begins at 4:30 before the Major Donors Reception and continues through the General Reception beginning at 6 PM.
Location:
Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, NW
(near 9th St & Mass Ave)
Washington DC
- Call Pelosi’s office to urge her to include gender identity. Her number is (202) 225-4965.
- Call HRC at 800/777-4723. The only major LGBT group that has not come out against this betrayal is HRC, which will be holding its 11th Annual Gala next Saturday in Washington , DC . Congresswoman Pelosi is the keynote speaker for the dinner.
Only a few weeks ago, HRC leader Joe Solomonese pledged at a major transgender conference that HRC would outright oppose any federal anti-discrimination legislation that did not include gender identity.
Demand that he keep his wordCall their Toll-Free Number: 800/777-4723
- Call the Chair of the Committee where the legislation will be heard on Tuesday. Congressman George Miller at (202) 225-2095.
- Call Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey at (202) 225-5161.She also sits in this committee.
