Council Member Gets Threats

Montgomery county recently passed a new law protecting the rights of transgender people. It added the term "gender identity" to the existing nondiscrimination bill, along with race, religion, and other things. The County Council voted unanimously, the County Executive signed it without hesitation, this county is that kind of place. Well, there are lots of places with that kind of law, we're not uniquely liberal, we're just pretty progressive.

The word went out to the, let's say, nutty side of the world, and the letters started coming in. We've covered it here, you had a guy from PFOX saying he hoped the council members daughters got raped, you had a leader of the Republican Party shouting "heil Hitler" in a Council meeting, you had rambling presentations and protests with attendance nearly into the double digits.

Mostly we make fun of those people. There are ignorant ones, people who don't know any better, and we would like to make them stop and think for a minute, and get over it. They don't necessarily mean harm, they just haven't thought some of this through. And there are the hateful ones. We would like to stop them, simply, we expose their lies and faulty logic, and there's nothing left. But sometimes it gets scary, even though we treat them like clowns sometimes they aren't clowns, they're people, and some of them are seriously crazy.

Story from The Sentinel:

Now she says it's personal and dangerous.

During the last two months, Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg claims she has received dozens of threats, many of them death threats, from community members opposed to a bill she sponsored that guarantees civil rights for transgender individuals.

According to Trachtenberg, several people sent about 40 pieces of threatening correspondence to her home and office. Many of them were signed, she said, though some used fake names. Some were signed by members of Citizens for a Responsible Government, a group trying to get Trachtenberg's legislation repealed.

"These threats are directed at me because I have been a proponent for and sponsor of legislation protecting the rights of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] individuals," Trachtenberg said. "I find it disturbing that these kinds of threats can be made so openly to public officials, threatening their safety."

Michelle Turner, a spokesperson for CRG, said the group doesn't send or support sending threatening letters. "We don't advocate anything like that at all," Turner said. "We're not in this to speak ill of any group or stand in judgment."

A senior policy analyst in Trachtenberg's office, Dr. Dana Beyer, also received threatening correspondence, the council member said. Beyer has been an outspoken opponent to CRG's petition. Trachtenberg Reports Death Threats

Michelle says her group doesn't do this. I'll bet there are two or three of them who get together sometimes and decide a little strategy, let's have a protest or let's go to this or that with signs, and I'll bet you that they really don't say, let's threaten the Council members (or school board members before this). But somehow those kinds of things keep happening, it's not the organization itself but its members, and how do you separate the two?

In November the County Council unanimously passed bill 23-07, a piece of legislation Trachtenberg sponsored that protects transgender individuals against discrimination in housing and employment. Members of CRG believe the law gives pedophiles and sexual predators easy access to women's bathrooms and locker rooms.

Earlier this month CRG submitted a petition to the Montgomery County Board of Elections putting a referendum question about repealing what has become known as the Transgender Legislations on the ballot in November. Last week Equality Maryland, the state's largest LGBT advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against the county Board of Elections alleging an improper count.

Turner added that the leaders of CRG prefer a diplomatic approach. "We would be happy to sit down with Duchy [Trachtenberg] and have a civilized dialogue," Turner said. "Unfortunately she's a little hard to get a hold of. Plus, given the attitudes of many of those on the council, it doesn't seem like something they'd want to do."

What the word I'm looking for, disingenuous? A bill doesn't just appear on the floor one day, they vote, and it's done. There was a long process of preparing this thing, these people could have gotten involved at any point. I don't believe it is impossible to schedule a meeting with Council members or their staff, to present your arguments, your facts, and make a persuasive case regarding a pending bill. They say they tried, because one of them once gave an incoherent monologue at public comments, no that's not how it works, if you care you can work with these people.

In typical form, they decided to try to sponsor a referendum after the fact, rather than making their wishes known while the law was being discussed. Oh, and cleverly, they told everybody the real problem has to do with perverted men going into ladies locker-rooms. I really couldn't believe it when they first came out with that, but they have stuck with it, and they got some people to sign those petitions.

There is news coming on that topic, not today, soon.

Trachtenberg said that Sharon Kass, a member of CRG, has sent harassing letters to both her and Beyer. She said Kass suggested in one letter that Trachtenberg should worry about handling her own family before taking on these other issues. Trachtenberg has a son with schizophrenia.

Turner said, however, that Kass is more of a "supporter, and not what we consider a member."

Kass could not be reached for comment by press time, but she replied to an e-mail from The Sentinel requesting comment with e-mails containing anti-gay literature, including a brochure titled "Gay! You don't have to be," and a link to an article titled, "The Desire For A Sex Change: Psychiatrist says sex-change surgery is a collaboration with a mental disorder, not a treatment."

"Every organization has a fringe element - not to say she's on the fringe," Turner said. "We don't necessarily agree with everything she has to say. But don't quote me on that."

Ooch! Sorry Michelle, that's happened to me, too. You say something to a reporter with a pencil in their hand, guess what, it gets in the news. At least this reporter had a sense of humor and quoted you asking not to be quoted. Pretty cool self-referential humor, nice.

I'm not going to say anything about Sharon Kass, because ... I'm afraid to. We have received letters sent to our homes, our children have received letters, we get email from Ms. Kass. We are aware of Sharon Kass.

Trachtenberg said Beyer's two sons were mentioned in one e-mail, saying they are doomed to psychological problems because Beyer is a transgender individual.

One of Beyer's sons is a student at Brown University, the other at the University of Maryland. Beyer could not be reached for comment by press time because County Council is on recess this week.

Trachtenberg declined to release copies of the threatening correspondences because she said police are investigating threats made repeatedly by some individuals. She added that several restraining orders might be issued as a result of the threats.

She read parts of a few letters to The Sentinel over the phone. "Put an end to Bill 23-07 or you won't live too long," said one, signed, Mr. Walker. Others were extremely vulgar, including one that said, "S*** a tranny's d***."

"I think they're just trying to intimidate a council member who is standing up for what's right," Trachtenberg said.

And look, of all the things. How about the environment, development, traffic, crime, prices of stuff, the war? Isn't there something more important? That's the thing that gets me. You can't discriminate against transgender people, so what, when was that ever a problem? How inconvenient is that going to be?

Extra security measures have been taken at the County Council building, and Trachtenberg said she is in the process of installing a home security system because of the threats.

"This isn't the first time I've had death threats made to me," Trachtenberg said. "I've had some threats made because of the feminist work I've done, mostly in relation to reproductive rights."

Still, Trachtenberg said, she is still jarred by the threats. "My husband goes through the mail at home now because he knows how upset I get when I find those things," she said.