Senate First: Openly Transgender Person To Testify

The Senate on Tuesday will have an openly transgender person testify before one of the chamber's committees for the first time, the Washington Blade reported this week.

Kylar Broadus, a lawyer and the founder of Trans People of Color Coalition, will speak about the lack of federal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered workers during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, according to the Blade.

Broadus, who is one of five witnesses scheduled, will urge lawmakers to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, according to the report.

The proposed legislation, introduced last year by Sen. Jeff Merkeley, D-Ore., would prohibit employment discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.