Lane Moore gets to the root of the matter at Cosmopolitan: Why Do So Many Laws Protect Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People, but Not Transgender People?

Indiana recently passed a state bill that would allow gay, lesbian, and bisexual people civil rights protections against discrimination, but transgender people were left out of the bill's protection entirely. This means that while gay, lesbian, and bisexual people will receive protection from being fired, denied service, or facing eviction because of who they are, transgender people are basically on their own in that department, and it's not the first time we're seeing that distinction being made.

--Moore

Actually the bill passed out of the Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, but has yet to pass the full Senate or the House. But her point is valid.

The vote was along party lines, with only Republicans supporting the bill. Interestingly, almost everyone who testified during Wednesday’s hearing opposed the bill, including conservatives, who argued that any nondiscrimination protection based on sexual orientation is bad policy, no matter how many religious exemptions may be attached. That included wedding vendors like Washington florist Barronelle Stutzman and Oregon baker Melissa Klein, who retold their sob stories about losing lawsuits after refusing service to same-sex couples, as well state conservative groups like the Indiana Family Institute and Advance America.

--Zack Ford, Think Progress

Not only are transgender people still not as protected across the board as LGB people, more and more laws are coming out to ensure they're not only unprotected, but punished for being who they are. There have been a slew of recent proposed policies about transgender bathroom usage barring transgender individuals from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, or else they'll face a fine in some cases.

--Moore

Cue South Dakota: South Dakota Legislators vote to go full transphobe

There have also been several private Christian colleges that were granted an exception to an anti-discrimination law by the U.S. Department of Education, so they could be free to discriminate against transgender people, even though all the schools get federal funding and Title IX states they can't do that.

--Moore

Kris Hayashi, executive director at the Transgender Law Center, told Cosmopolitan.com that the history of laws and advocacy efforts that help the lesbian and gay community but fail to protect the transgender community are rich indeed. Hiyashi does note that while we're seeing a cultural shift in transgender visibility in the media, they're still being singled out for harassment and discrimination, perhaps because of the recent increase in visibility.

--Moore

Lately, we're seeing legislative attacks that target gender nonconforming people and trans youth, such as what happened in Indiana and their excluding trans people. There should not be legislation moving forward that protects lesbian and gay communities, but explicitly excludes transgender communities. As we've seen the recent shift to more comprehensive legislation for LGBT people and an increase in transgender visibility, we've also been seeing a small group of right-wing extremists who want to turn the tide back against that acceptance we've been seeing.

--Hayashi

And being trans, it turns out, is basically a discrimination trump card. Many transgender individuals also identify as lesbian or gay, but in the eyes of these lawmakers, they are transgender above all else. So you could be a transgender woman who identifies as a lesbian, but according to these laws, your being transgender would trump your protections against discrimination as a lesbian. The distinction between gender and sexuality is rarely made in the eyes of people who don't really understand either one, but the gay community has made so much progress over the last 20 years that the ground the LGB has to stand on is a lot firmer than it once was. The transgender community, however, has only recently been allowed to begin to lay down the foundation.

--Moore

Transgender advocates say progressives need to be prepared for this backlash. In other places around the country, as former Stranger writer Dominic Holden has reported for BuzzFeed, LGBTQ groups have been caught flat-footed as campaigns to overturn anti-discrimination laws have seen success by spreading the bullshit claim that they allow men to go into women's restrooms and do bad things.

--Ansel Hertz, SLOG

It's disappointing that we have this kind of backlash. It is already illegal for men to go into women's restrooms with some intent to harm someone. That is criminal and it should be prosecuted. To try to equate these things is unconscionable in my mind.

If there's somebody in the locker room who is inappropriately engaging with someone else, then stop it and tell whoever runs the locker room about it. Call 911 if you need to. But if someone is just in the locker room, minding their own business, changing, it's just beyond me why people want to make up theoretical problems that don't exist.

--Laurie Jinkins, openly gay Democratic house member who represents the 27th district in Tacoma.

Jinkins is chair of the House Judiciary Committee and says she will refuse to give a hearing to any bills seeking to overturn the new rules of the Washington Human Rights Commission.