Mia Macy thought she was a shoo-in for a ballistics technician job in the Walnut Creek laboratory of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. She had experience in the military and law enforcement and was one of a select few who had been trained on the Bureau’s ballistics computer system.
"It was perfect for me because it was the exact same job that I was doing for them just as a civilian and it was in the same equipment that I’d been using,” Macy said in a conference call on Tuesday. “There were very few of us that were certified in this equipment."
Macy applied for the job as a man, and was told the position was hers pending a background check. After clearing the investigation, Macy informed her future employer that she would be undergoing a gender transition to become a woman. Five days later, she was told funding for the position had been suddenly cut and that she no longer had the job.
She and her partner had recently moved to California and were struggling to support themselves on one salary. Eventually, their house went into foreclosure.
“Because I was a detective, it just didn’t seem right,” Macy said.