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CWEALF In The News
Capitol looks at gender
Anti-discrimination law sought for transgenders
April 24, 2006
By Brian Saxton THE NEWS-TIMES
NEW FAIRFIELD – The person sitting across the
kitchen table has a warm and welcoming smile.
Jennifer Marie Stuart, 42, tall and dark-haired,
is not reluctant to talk about herself. Indeed, she speaks
with a candor that is sometimes disarming.
"I'm not what you see in a sleazy element on
the "Jerry Springer Show," Stuart tells her visitor. "I'm
the real thing. I want my story to be told with finesse."
In Stuart's case, it is the story of a man
who has opted to become a woman.
Stuart, a longtime resident of New Fairfield,
has spent more than six years undergoing hormonal replacement
therapy. Next year, she plans to go to Thailand for the final
surgery.
"It's my life, my choice, and I want to lead
it with a certain quality," Stuart said. "Nothing is going
to stop me from doing this. When you want something so badly,
you do what it takes to get it done."
People like Stuart in Connecticut may soon face
fewer social or legal problems than she fears. The legislature
is considering a bill that would prohibit discrimination against
transgender people.
The bill, already passed by the Judiciary Committee,
would add gender identity or gender expression to laws that
already ban discrimination on the base of race, sex, religion,
age and other categories.
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