EDITORIAL: Transgender activist’s legacy continues
On Sunday, Feb. 3, Barbra “Babs” Casbar Siperstein died at the age of 76 as reported by the gay rights advocacy group Garden State Equality. Siperstein was a champion of LGBTQ+ rights as her legacy is marked by advocacy and progress of the community. She was the first elected transgender member of the Democratic National Committee and part of the advisory board for the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at Rutgers University, as reported by The Daily Targum.
The progress she led will live on as Siperstein is the namesake of a law that went into effect on Feb. 1, allowing New Jersey transgender residents to change their genders on their birth certificates. Prior to the Babs Siperstein Law, an individual was only allowed to make birth certificate changes with a proof of surgery document. A letter from a therapist is also not required.
New Jersey is also including a third option, “X,” for those who do not identify as either male or female. Expanding dignity and respect to all New Jerseyans, the historic law sets the state apart as a leader for individual liberty and equality, while ensuring the welfare of a targeted community.
Hate continues to rise in America with 52 LGBTQ+ people killed in 2017 as a result of hate violence, according to a report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). That same year, 7,175 hate crime incidents were reported, of which 1,130 were based on sexual orientation bias and 119 on gender identity bias, according to the FBI’s hate crime statistics.
While hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community rise, President Donald J. Trump’s administration has continued to roll out regressive policies as it takes an antagonistic approach to equality.
In January, the Supreme Court lifted two injunctions allowing for the implementation of Trump’s policy that generally prohibits transgender people from military service. The policy, which was announced on Twitter by the president and later refined by Defense Secretary James Mattis is both vague and complicated, leading to dispute about exact timing of the changes. Generally, transgender people already serving openly may continue to serve but those who seek to transition or serve openly after the decision now risk discharge.
The pendulum of progress swings back as the same rhetoric that pushed the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” legislation of the 1990s resurfaces. In justification of Trump’s proposed ban, his administration claimed in their released document that transgender troops would “impair unit readiness,” “undermine unit cohesion” and “lead to disproportionate costs.” The RAND Corporation, just as they did in 1993, released their data and asserted that transgender service members would have little to no effect on readiness and healthcare costs.
Because of the lack of federal support for the LGBTQ+ community, the duty to uphold fundamental principles of individual liberty and human dignity fall on the states. New Jersey, through the advocates who apply the pressure on the politicians that pull the levers of change, had a record number of pro-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in 2018 as the progress appears to continue in 2019. Activists like Siperstein create the inclusive future that upholds the democratic promises made to all. Change is made by those who act and respond to the constant call of civic duty.
The Daily Targum's editorials represent the views of the majority of the 151st editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
