How to become a protected class.

The civil rights movement was a necessary thing, but it opened up a wide new field for opportunism. New York City has just passed a new law promising Civil Rights for the Transgendered.

Civil rights law focuses on protected classes, who are generally groups distinguished by some trait which is involuntary, unchangeable and irrelevant. This is why discrimination solely based on race is so invidious. Religion isn't involuntary, but it is specifically singled out by the Bill of Rights for Protection. Sex discrimination is involuntary and basically unchangeable, but it is not included as invidious because there are types of unequal treatment that are considered reasonable and beneficial.

Do the "transgendered" have a claim to protection by the law against discrimination?

The transgendered category covers a wide array of people who do not fit into traditional gender groups, whether due to appearance, behavior or physical attributes. Even in a city as diverse, and generally tolerant, as New York, transgendered people often find themselves discriminated against when looking for work and on the job, and in finding and keeping housing. They are frequently denied service in restaurants and stores. And they are often the victims of hate crimes.

I can imagine that a landlord might have a good reason for not wanting to rent to drag queens, since he can't force other tenants to stay after new tenants who offend them move in. Of course, housing NYC is not a free market anymore, so maybe it doesn't matter.