In the wake of SCOTUS's Ruling Against DOMA, Transgenderism and the Law

Hi everyone!

In the wake of yesterday's historic Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act, I thought I'd share an article I wrote that was published in last week's issue of Publisher's Weekly about the changing field of LGBTQ-related books.

For those of you who don't know, I'm an Executive Editor for the Flagship imprint of ABA Publishing, the book publishing division of the American Bar Association. Next month, we will be publishing a groundbreaking book on transgenderism and the law. Here is my piece in full:

"One thing I've noticed, at least in national media, is the rise in prevalence of stories relating to legal and personal challenges faced by transgender individuals. A population that heretofore seems to have been relegated by the press to the fringes of collective social conscience is gradually starting to come to the forefront. As a result, I think we're going to see more books being publishing (both non-fiction and fiction) that address the very real challenges transgender individuals face on a daily basis.

This July, ABA Publishing (the book publishing division of the American Bar Association), is going to be publishing what I think is a truly groundbreaking work. Transgender Persons and the Law, written by transgender attorney Ally Windsor Howell, brings together--for the first time ever--a comprehensive overview of the laws and landmark court cases involving transgender individuals in a variety of legal situations, including housing, military service and veterans benefits, family law, education, health care, personal safety, employment, immigration, and criminal justice. It also discusses the myriad legal documents transgender persons need to understand before filling out paperwork in order to change their name, birth certificate, and gender identification. As an added benefit, it includes a CD with a complete set of legal forms for all fifty states and the District of Columbia for name changes and, for those jurisdictions that allow it, changes to birth certificates. To my knowledge, this has never been done before.

It makes for very compelling -- as well as often distressing -- reading. What it also does is help raise awareness to the fact that an entire segment of our population may not be fully cognizant of their rights in addition to being underserved and underrepresented by our legal community. This book -- and others like it -- will hopefully make strides toward providing not just transgender individuals and the lawyers who represent them with the legal information necessary to preserve those individual rights, but will also further educate the population at large.

I believe it is our duty as publishers and thought leaders to educate and inform the public on all socially relevant issues. And while we have certainly made tremendous strides over the past 10-15 years in providing tools for greater understanding and appreciation of the concerns and issues faced by the LGBTQ population as a whole, we still have a long way to go."

The article is also available online at the Publisher's Weekly website: www.publishersweekly.com. But in order to access it, you do need to be a subscriber...

Ciao.