IF WE CAN PICK OUR GENDER [sic], Can We Pick Our Age? Our Race?

A big part of the audacity of the legislation is that it goes by the devious name “Fairness for All Marylanders Act.” [PDF] What it really means is “Fairness for Some Marylanders,” only those who perceive themselves to be a different gender from the sex “assigned” to them on their birth certificate. Yet there are no doubt a whole lot more – probably millions more – Marylanders who perceive themselves a different age than what was assigned to them at birth. Senate Bill 212 affords them no protection at all. None. Every single Marylander must abide by the age assigned to them by the State of Maryland. And so this bill really perpetuates – in your face — continued discrimination in the workplace, at schools, and, well, in all areas of life where people might look at us funny or make unfair assumptions when we say we’re one age and they see us as another.

Neither does the Maryland legislation provides any relief whatsoever for individuals who are discriminated against on the basis of their racial or ethnic identity. Should those who perceive themselves as Native American or African American be discriminated against just because the world perceives them as white or Pacific Islander? Not if SB 212 means anything.