Via HRC.org
BY STEVE WILLIAMS
Care2.com
The Chicago Police Department has adopted a new policy that mandates more humane treatment of transgender people, highlighting that specifically naming groups of people for protection is still apparently necessary. The initial incident that sparked the policy change saw a transgender woman making her way home from a Lakeview grocery store in February 2010 allegedly harassed by police and (incorrectly) charged with solicitation.
It is as yet unknown whether a proposed, and somewhat contentious, ordinance that would shore up trans rights in Chicago will be needed. However, with the quiet adoption of this policy — which is doubtless a positive step — there comes a startlingly clear fact: it is still unfortunately necessary to create enumerated or “named” classes of people in order that they are given the same dignities, respect and humane treatment as everyone else. If they are not enumerated, abuses like those mentioned above can and still do occur.
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