Back when he was leading the American Civil Liberties Union in West Virginia, Andrew Schneider voiced a mantra daily.
Civil liberty battles can be won, he’d say. But they don’t stay won.
In other words, don’t rest easy if you’re enjoying some gains — because the fight is always going to be there.
Schneider these days is executive director of Fairness West Virginia, a statewide civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to the just treatment of LGBTQ residents in the Mountain State.
He left for a time for similar work elsewhere, but returned for the Fairness West Virginia post.
While Schneider changed locales, the mantra kept the same address in his consciousness.
“I’m still saying it,” is the way he puts it now.
Transgender Awareness Week, a national observance, is wrapping up today.
This past Friday through Thursday was about information and issues.
Wars fought, battles waged.
A few won, some lost — horribly.
Today is a somber mark to the assemblage of ideas, opinions and legislation.
This is the week’s traditional Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors victims of transphobic violence.
In the meantime, one recent local strike in the battle, a key one, came with the filing of a lawsuit the week before charging the state’s healthcare policies with overall discrimination of transgender West Virginians.
The action in the court voices the results of a survey that Fairness West Virginia released hours before.
It was launched over the summer to get a fix on what some residents face whenever they go to a medical clinic or doctor’s office.
Most of the respondents live in West Virginia’s larger municipalities, but answers also came in from 24 counties to give a representative sampling from the mostly rural state.
The data gave Schneider pause, he said.
Many of those responding reported more respectful treatment over this time last year, which was a win in the battle.
Forty-five percent said they experienced discrimination to varying degrees while in the waiting room and exam room.
However, 17 percent said they were refused care altogether, because they are transgender.
And that’s another battle, Schneider said.
“It’s unconscionable that anyone can be turned away from getting the care they need in the middle of a pandemic, but that is happening,” the Fairness West Virginia director said.
“Without laws to protect against discrimination like the Fairness Act, doctors and hospitals can continue to legally discriminate against LBGTQ people — just because of who we are or who we love.”
His organization in recent months has also established the Transgender Health Initiative, which was made possible in part by a grant from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.
Free training to medical providers and clinics is part of the mission, and continuing education credits come standard for the providers who take part.
Knowledge means awareness, Schneider said.
Awareness, he said, means tolerance, and, ultimately, acceptance.
An interactive Trans Health Guide also went live last February, which allows transgender people to find safe providers in their own communities, he said.
Emphasis on “people.”
That’s because West Virginia is already disenfranchised enough, as it is, Schneider said.
“You shouldn’t have to drive an hour or two hours out of state to see a doctor,” the executive director said.
“One of the keys to keeping young people from leaving our state is to ensure they can access the care they need when they need it.”
