(New York, NY, Jul 14, 2009) - Despite reports of transgender women being attacked and beaten up, one member of the community received a favorable ruling from the New York State Appellate Court in her suit against the New York Transit Authority (NYCTA), signaling a major victory in the recognition of human rights for all in NYC.

According to her Myspace.com page, Tracy Bumpus, a residence manager and life skills coordinator with Housing Works, which is a social service and advocacy NYC-based HIV and AIDS organization; obtained a ruling in her favor from the State Appeals Court on Jul 13, against the NYCTA. In the an unanimous decision the Court ruled that employees of the NYCTA are not exempt from the City's Human Rights Law and can be held liable for discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.

In a press release, Housing Works said the Appeals Court upheld a lower court's decision, Bumpus v. New York City Transit Authority, by refusing to dismiss the case against a transit employee who had launched a prolonged and vicious transphobic assault on Bumpus at a Brooklyn subway station.

"The Human Rights Law affords protection to transgender people in New York City. By riding the subway, a transgender person doesn't become less of a person and lose the protection of the Human Rights Law," said Justice Robert J. Miller in a February 2008 ruling.

This legal win for Bumpus is the latest in a series of notable victories in the still emerging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community definition of transgender rights law. The Appeals Court refused to overturn another lower-court decision affirming Bumpus' right to sue the Transit Authority for negligence in the matter, last year. In May, when the case was heard, Miller ruled that Bumpus's partner cannot be asked "plainly improper" questions about his sexual orientation, because gender discrimination is at stake.

"The filing of a civil lawsuit is not a passport which allows exploration or invasion of the most intimate beliefs a person may have based on half baked psychology or timeless stereotypes," Miller said.

However, statewide, there are no laws preventing discrimination against anyone on the basis of their gender identity and expression. The Gender Expression Nondiscrimination Act passed through the State Assembly in March, but the power wrangling in the State Senate has delayed its passage into law.

"The Transit Authority has over 40,000 employees. We are gratified that the Appellate Division has affirmed that these employees are not exempt from the New York City Human Rights Law, the only law in New York that protects transgender citizens from discrimination. And we are saddened that the Transit Authority sought to establish otherwise," said Armen H. Merjian, a Housing Works attorney.