From Stephen Steinlight:Hi, All:
Check it out below! Oakland has introduced a new twist on the municipal id for illegal aliens: the elimination of gender identification. Now the transgendered illegal alien need not fear being hatefully misclassified in any way whatsoever! Is that way cool or what?! To think San Francisco didn't come up with it first.
To which I can only add: God bless America, or, in the immortal words of our First Lady, "This is the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I've felt proud to be an American."
Who can now say we are an uncaring nation?
It's just that beautiful.
Oakland proposes ID card for undocumented
By Matthai Kuruvila
The San Francisco Chronicle, May 27, 2009
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/27/BAN217RDG8.DTL
Oakland wants to offer its residents an identification card, a move that would primarily help undocumented immigrants engage with - and, some lament, blend into - broader society.
That, by itself, would be enough controversy. But Oakland officials are debating much broader uses than what other cities, including San Francisco, have done. In particular, they propose including:
-- A debit card function, allowing poor people to avoid exorbitant fees of check cashing shops and to be less vulnerable to muggings by carrying less cash.
-- Eliminating gender identity, which they say would allow transgender people to more comfortably avoid discrimination.
The details have yet to be worked out, and they will be up for discussion June 2 at the city council meeting. The council will ask acting City Administrator Dan Lindheim to come up with a plan for implementation, which the council would need to approve.
The city's finance committee, which includes four council members, unanimously and enthusiastically approved sending it to the full City Council Tuesday.
