New York City firefighters and paramedics are taking a break from saving lives to learn how to correctly address transgender Americans.
Sensitivity training mandated by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Big Apple’s Commission for Human Rights will begin Tuesday at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn.
“People need to learn to not be afraid to ask someone who is transitioning genders what their pronoun is,” a Commission for Human Rights spokesman told the New York Post on Sunday. “It’s especially important for Parks employees [to take the training] because they work in a place that involves changing clothes.”
City employees will also learn what the acronym LGTBQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Intersex) means at the two-hour “Trans 101” event.
“It’s never been an issue, but people have made it an issue,” one fireman told the newspaper. “This is one of those trainings where they’re just preparing for a potential problem.”
Sam Biederman, a Parks Department spokesman, told the Post that 65 city pool employees have already taken the course.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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