Federal appeals court: Transsexuals have no civil rights

A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that found transsexuals are not covered by federal discrimination laws. The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Krystal Etsitty had no legal recourse in fighting her firing by the Utah Transit Authority in 2005. The court, which sits in Denver, found that the trial judge was correct in finding that the transit authority feared it could be sued by people born biologically female if it were discovered Etsitty still had male genitals. At the time of her firing Etsitty was transitioning from male to female. She was undergoing hormone therapy, wearing women's clothing and presenting herself as female. Following her dismissal she sued under federal sexual discrimination laws. In court judge David Sam referred to Etsitty as "she" but dismissed the suit saying that because Etsitty had been born male the federal law did not apply. Sam's written ruling said that a 1989 US Supreme Court ruling banning discrimination against people who do not meet the stereotype of their gender -- an effeminate man or a butch woman -- does not apply to the transgendered. "There is a huge difference between a woman who does not behave as femininely as her employer thinks she should, and a man who is attempting to change his sex and appearance to be a woman," Sam wrote. "Such drastic action cannot be fairly characterized as a mere failure to conform to stereotypes." Etsitty appealed to the 10th Circuit which Sept. 20 upheld Sam's ruling. Eight groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, filed briefs in support of Etsitty's case.