Portland, OR, approves transgender health benefits

I was in Portland once, when I was living briefly in Washington state. I saw a revival there of ‘The Boys in the Band’ over 30 years ago. Now the city has become the third local government in the nation to offer transgender health benefits to its employees. Good for Portland. From Bay Windows: The city of Portland has become the third local government in the nation to offer transgender health care benefits for its employees with a unanimous vote Wednesday, June 8 by city commissioners. The vote also makes Oregon the only state with two jurisdictions offering the benefits. Portland is the seat of Multnomah County, which also provides similar benefits to its employees. San Francisco was the first and has been offering them for a decade, according to Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon. “The work of educating the community here in Oregon for more than two decades about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people makes a difference,” Frazzini said Wednesday. “I think that’s significant.”]]>