Cross-Dressing and the Law

Cross-dressing and the Law

Today, many people believe that Bloomington is an island unto itself that is inclusive of diversity and gender expression. In 2006, Bloomington Indiana passed a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or gender expression.(Placeholder1) In an attempt to find out the history of the climate for people who lived here and were unable to dress in the clothing they felt suited them. This page is about researching Bloomington’s history and the surrounding communities to find out if there were or are municipal laws against cross-dressing. The research thus far, shows that cross dressing has never been a violation of the Bloomington Municipal Code. Only the state of Indiana can pass criminal laws. Local governments can not create criminal laws, which are enforced with fines, but not arrest and jail times like criminal laws are enforced. City ordinances are passed by the City Council by a majority vote and are then signed or (pretty rarely in Bloomington) vetoed by the mayor. “Local ordinances” and “municipal ordinances” are the same thing. In 1971, Mr. Jamie Howell the director of a transvestite information service wrote letters to cities all over the United States and Canada inquiring if there were any local ordinances in their cities against cross dressing. Three cities in the state of Indiana responded to the letters written. The city of Hammond, South Bend, and Indianapolis all gave the same response they advised Mr. Howell to seek legal counsel to obtain the requested information. (Placeholder2). Although three cities in Indiana stonewalled the question the state of Illinois gave a clear resounding yes to the question along with a copy of the ordinance and the amount of the fine. In researching Indiana no ordinances have been found dating back as far as 1941. Is it true that the policy on gender is informal rather than strictly regulated, and what does it really mean? It is hard to believe that although no record has been found that cross dressing has not been regulated in some way, particularly when in 2006 a law was passed prohibiting discrimination for gender identity and gender expression. Below is a list of documents (ordinances, articles, interviews, and letters) relating to the historical climate regarding cross-dressing and the law.

List of Documents 1969-02-?? Indiana Daily Student “Opposite gender means sex?” 1970-06-24 Indianapolis, Indiana 1971-10-26 Hammond, Indiana 1972-03-14 South Bend, Indiana 1922 The Chicago Municipal Code - General ordinance 2666 Indecent exposure 1922 The Chicago Municipal Code - General ordinance 2675 Masking in public 1922 The Chicago Municipal Code - General ordinance 2676 Bathing suits 1971-10-26 Rockford, Illinois 1971 Rockford, Illinois Ordinance 19-25 1972-05-2 Chicago, Illinois 1972-05-16 Glen Ellyn, Illinois 1973-10-24 The Advocate “Chicago judge axes cross-dressing law” 1978 Chicago v. Wilson 1983-08-14 Daily News “Boys will be girls at Indiana club” 2008-09-26 http://www.lambdalegal.org/news/pr/federal-court-lawsuit-defending-logan.html 2009-11-19 Bloomington, Indiana interview with Vicci Laine 2009-11-20 Bloomington, Indiana

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