Prison: Bumpy road for gay and transgender inmates

A front-page Associated Press story caught my eye this week. Only 21 states have their own laws prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

I think about the difficult road for gay and transgender persons a lot these days.

I knew very little about this kind of thing when I was a child. Back in the 40s and 50s we gave gay people terrible labels, and it was not uncommon for bullies to beat up gays just because they were different. I was silent and did nothing about it.

That has changed.

I’m in the sunset years of my life now, and in my third career I’m closely aligned with prisoners. Just as in the outside world, there are sexual identity issues in prison. And it’s not a pretty sight.

I can tell you this about gay people in prison. Many gay inmates, even those who may have been openly gay while on the street, stay in the closet while behind bars. That’s because any man or woman in prison who is known or perceived to be gay faces a high risk of sexual abuse. And this can come from guards as well as from fellow inmates.

Transgender prisoners have an awful time of it. They are especially vulnerable due to a general policy of housing them according to their birth-assigned gender or genital configuration, regardless of their current appearance or gender identity.

I’m no longer silent.

I’m proud to say that HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS does its very best to treat these people in a kind, humane and dignified manner. We stand beside those who are gay, we find clergy who will visit them, we go to bat for them when no one else steps up to the plate. The same for transgender inmates. We politely call them by their new transgender name, and refer to their sex as that with which they identify, regardless of genital configuration.

I so appreciate the position of the Episcopal Church:

“Homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the church.”

I spotted a paraphrase of a familiar hymn while putting together this piece: In Christ there is no gay or straight.

And that’s the way we operate, that’s our philosophy. The business card of every HFP team member proudly bears these words:

“…all prisoners and their loved ones deserve to be treated with humanity, kindness, and dignity---without exception.

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