Judge Rules for Transgender Woman

Published July 7, 2010 at 8:46 a.m.

ATLANTA (AP) A federal court has ruled in favor of a former Georgia state legislative aide who claimed she was fired after telling her boss she would come to work dressed as woman as she transitioned from man to woman.

U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story wrote in his ruling Friday that Vandy Beth Glenn's firing violated her constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause.

Glenn, a transgender woman formerly known as Glenn Morrison, said in a July 2008 lawsuit that Legislative Counsel Sewell Brumby fired her from her job as a legislative editor because the gender transition would make her colleagues feel uncomfortable and would be seen as ``immoral'' by Georgia lawmakers.

``This is a major victory for all transgender people across the country, and I hope that a federal discrimination law will follow in its wake,'' Glenn said in a statement released Tuesday by Lamda Legal, a national gay and transgender civil rights group, that filed the suit on her behalf.

Brumby told The Associated Press Tuesday he had no comment on the ruling.

Georgia legislators in October 2008 sought to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that it could lead to a new round of court scrutiny of public employees. The filing said ``it would make every decision by a government employer a constitutional matter.''

Story ruled that ``avoiding the anticipated negative reactions of others cannot serve as a sufficient basis for discrimination and does not constitute an important government interest.''

The lawsuit initially claimed that former House Speaker Glenn Richardson, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and former Senate President Pro-Tem and current gubernatorial candidate Eric Johnson were in on her firing. Glenn later told the court that she had learned that the decision to fire her was made solely by Brumby and asked the court to dismiss the other defendants, which it did.

Story wrote that the court now must determine an ``appropriate remedy'' for the violation of Glenn's rights and scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday. Glenn's suit seeks legal fees and asks that her job be reinstated.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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