Without spending too much time refuting Marc Salomon point by point, I will say that the arrogance and fictions shot through his diatribe reflect an insular, privileged and black-and-white version of identity politics.

The Left OUT Party on July 26th outside of the HRC dinner was an historic moment in LGBT politics. Similar to United ENDA (the nationwide coalition of over 350 organizations that have objected to “ENDA Lite”), it consisted of an incredible coalition of labor, social justice, political and LGBT organizations and reflects a political will and momentum to push for a more just version of ENDA.

As Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, it's not about snubbing HRC. It's about a very practical pursuit of justice and equality: "As mayor of the largest city in California, I am committed to a world in which no member or group in society is denied full and equal rights. It is my hope that this time next year we will find us all united by victory in the fight [for marriage equality in California] and ever more determined to establish equal rights, with no exceptions, for every one of us."

Transgender (TG) persons and allies have been doing the work to achieve the Mayor's vision. California and 12 other states have already achieved fully inclusive protections from discrimination based upon gender, gender expression and sexual orientation. Over 90 urban jurisdictions protect gender identity and gender expression from discrimination. Nearly 40% of the U.S. population lives in a place where TG persons are protected at the local or state level (NCTE, NGLTF). The introduction of ENDA Lite has already begun to undermine that painstaking work and will continue to do so if it passes.

Most central to ENDA Lite, which is the current stripped down version that stalled in the Senate, is that it completely fails to protect, not only transgender persons, but also the LGBs as well as heterosexual persons who are gender non-conforming. Mr. Salomon may not realize it, but not all gays and lesbians and bisexual persons are "straight acting." Although he is clearly comfortable speaking on behalf of “tens of millions” in the "flyover" states, under ENDA Lite, men who are too effeminate and women who are too butch will have no protections for those gender expression transgressions.

Of course, transgender persons, who are often perceived as violating gender norms, suffer the highest rates of unemployment and employment discrimination in the LGBT communities. Transgender Law Center's "Good Jobs Now" study showed that over 57% of transgender persons surveyed in San Francisco, the most progressive city in the U.S., had experienced employment discrimination and 27% had experienced housing discrimination.

Believe it or not, transgender people are an integral part of our LGBT communities and not some ghettoized colony of freaks that Mr. Salomon portrays. While Mr. Salomon probably does not know many transgender persons beyond name recognition, transgender persons often identify as gay, lesbian, queer and bisexual. In fact we even circulate in LGB and Q circles, AND many have partners who are non-trans and also identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer. Under ENDA Lite, all these LGBs lose too whether or not they are gender conforming.

Finally why is it that we must act in solidarity around same-sex marriage but not demand the same in the pursuit of a fully inclusive ENDA? Transgender people have been at the forefront of the battle for same-sex marriage rights, among other social justice issues, and we have been doing the work and want to continue to do the work to achieve an ENDA that does not compromise the most vulnerable in our LGBT communities.

Why settle for such impotent legislation as ENDA Lite? Mr. Salomon calls this strategy consolidating successes. The rest of us know when to call a spade a spade, and the non-inclusive version of ENDA reflects a political expediency that neglects the will of our communities and neglects to protect us all, meaning L, G, B and T. LGBT communities deserve leadership, integrity, accountability and a legitimate level of engagement from HRC and Joe Salmonese, who repeatedly promised that HRC would never submit anything but fully inclusive ENDA legislation. Let’s harness the momentum of the Left OUT Party to work toward achieving the votes to pass a fully inclusive ENDA during the next administration.

Hale Thompson is the Recorder of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club.