Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Bill Signed By Governor Deval Patrick

Massachusetts' transgender community had a reason to feel extra celebratory this holiday weekend, as the state's governor signed legislation Wednesday forbidding discrimination based on "gender identity" to anyone seeking housing, employment or post-secondary education.

As The Patriot Ledger is reporting, the Transgender Equal Rights Bill also expands the state's hate crime statutes to include violence against transgender men and women, although the removal of a provision that would have required all "sex-segregated facilities" such as rest rooms or locker rooms to grant admission to people based on gender identity was heavily criticized by many who considered it a key component.

"No individual should face discrimination because of who they are,” Patrick said in a statement. "This legislation gives Massachusetts the necessary tools to stop hate crimes against transgender people and to treat others fairly. I am proud to sign it."

In what may have been a nod to the provision's removal, Patrick added that state lawmakers would "come back around to public accommodations," according to the Ledger.

Patrick's decision to sign the bill, which had been widely expected, drew praise from many transgender rights advocates. “Gov. Patrick was a staunch advocate of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill from the earliest days of his administration,” Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), is quoted by LGBTQ Nation as saying in a statement. “We are so grateful for his leadership in getting this bill passed and for his unwavering commitment to ensuring that all residents of the Commonwealth, including transgender people, are treated with dignity and respect under the laws of our state."

When the bill takes effect next July, Massachusetts will become the 16th U.S. state, along with Washington, D.C., to offer vital protections against discrimination to its transgender residents.

Comments

[Valerie Keefe]

01:24 AM on 11/26/2011

I'm really upset to see the public accommodations provisions stripped. That means, well, most of the things people need when they are out of the house, are not protected by this bill...

But major kudos to Governor Patrick for acknowledging that it was a problem that would have to be addressed. He made this clear that the fight for equal rights in the state of Massachusetts isn't over.

[wmad]

03:50 AM on 11/26/2011

Hopefully, it'll be the next step. I kind of understand why social change happens so slowly-- people aren't comfortable with rapid, far-reaching changes, so we change a little at a time. It takes a while, but it'll eventually happen.

[Valerie Keefe]

05:47 AM on 11/26/2011

It's been twenty-two years since sexual orientation rights, including public accommodations were added in the State of Massachusetts, and meanwhile the cisGLB professional activist core have been busy chasing marriage while Salt Lake City, Utah of all places, has a fully inclusive trans rights ordinance.

I continue to maintain that the situation hasn't been helped by the transmisogyny of Representative Frank.

[jamieLR]

02:06 PM on 11/29/2011

We change a little at a time because the gaystream media, with its money and privilege, is obsessed with marriage over everything else. Those of us at the bottom of the totem pole would rather have jobs, a place to stay, and safety from physical violence when doing something as basic as going to the restroom. But the funded GLB political organizations ignore all that, because there isn't enough money in it for them. So much for activism.

[Stop Lying]

09:57 PM on 11/25/2011

Way to stand up for equal protection under the law!

[Genders]

09:45 PM on 11/25/2011

About friggin time. Masculine and feminine are just what males and females CAN do. Men in dresses? That's the Tunics men used to wear. Clothes and walking styles are not sexual preference.

[Darren Spain]

09:30 PM on 11/25/2011

It's depressing to me that most of the comments that any new, great news for transgender equality gets is these bitter, small-minded people going "Ewwww sick perverts".

[Valerie Keefe]

01:35 AM on 11/26/2011

I'm beginning to develop, as amateur economists do, another one of my mathematical formulae when it comes to comments on a trans news article:

The number of minutes spent by the average commenter actually evaluating trans issues an article is equal to T (That's the total time constant) Divided by (the amount of dismissive quotes around identified sex, plus the number of syllables used to describe trans, plus the number of times we are told to watch, plus the number of cis people writing the article) divided by the number of comments on the article.

Therefore t = T / (q+s+w+c) / C

I'm sure there's some exponent I'm missing but that seems to be the loose relationship.

[Genders]

09:46 PM on 11/25/2011

you poor straight jacketed man.....And with a name like peekock, sad.....

[eddiesoil]

06:37 PM on 11/25/2011

good--now all someone has to do is through on a dress----screw off at work--get fired--and sue the employer---what a world we live in!

[tygr49]

02:56 PM on 11/26/2011

Give me a break, do you seriously think that's suddenly going to start happening all over the place? What an idiotic statement.

[eddiesoil]

04:01 PM on 11/26/2011

i said it kind of tongue in cheek----but dont underestimate peoples ability to screw the system

[LisaLore]

04:25 PM on 11/26/2011

Especially since, for it to work, in between "throughing" on a dress and goofing off at work, he'd have to see an accredited psychiatrist and convince him/her that he's transgendered. Not very likely if it's just a scam to sue work.

On the other hand, I've seen similar stupid arguments when same sex marriage was first brought up. People claiming straight people will "marry" their same sex roommates for the benefits. I doubt that's become a reality either.

[TFProleteriat]

07:19 PM on 11/26/2011

"Screw off at work--Get fired--" That looks like a pretty cut and dry reason to fire someone. This actually makes it harder to litigate such things in a lot of cases, as the defense can simply state bias on the side of the plaintiff.

[Yates]

04:50 PM on 11/25/2011

brilliant

[captainshorty]

02:51 PM on 11/25/2011

They are human beings and should be treated as such.

[bboyy]

02:36 PM on 11/25/2011

Thank you Governor...the morally corrupt right wingers heads will explode. It must be good legislation.

[bluntobject]

11:23 AM on 11/25/2011

Oh my goodness, the so called christians won't like it....it involves being fair to a group of people they despise. So this could be trouble! Has Shelly weighed in on this disturbing development yet? Ricky S.....your thoughts? Looks like the family values bunch is behind the 8 ball on this one.

[omgletmemake1]

10:33 AM on 11/25/2011

LOL you're an idiot.

[bluntobject]

11:24 AM on 11/25/2011

The pharmacy called, your laundry list of psychotropic medications are ready for pick up.

[rltballer]

06:41 AM on 11/25/2011

Here us a thought. Bigots like you are wrong. As long as a person does not hurt another and are doing what makes them feel happy and right then they are doing nothing wrong. So sad your parents failed you so badly.

[istanbulite]

06:49 AM on 11/25/2011

How odd for a black man to be so negative about equal rights. Is your memory so short regarding
interracial marriage, military service, water fountains, restaurant service, bus seating, KKK, and the list goes on and on.
I have a friend whose grandmother was 1/8 black and lived in Virginia. She and her "white" partner could not marry and so they had 2 houses on their property so that they could claim that one was for each of them. I am not sure where anyone thought their children were coming from?
Lets also not forget how the Tea Party and the Repubs barely hide their racist comments about Obama.

[LisaLore]

02:15 PM on 11/25/2011

Yeah, I was disappointed but not really surprised at the black community in California when so many of them supported Prop 8. I thought, you hypocrites... you of all people should know what discrimination is like, how it feels to be excluded from rights others have, for no valid reason, just because of something about yourself you didn't choose, can't change, and that hurts no one else... But surprise. Blacks really are human too. Including that they can be bigots also. Not all, of course, any more than all whites or asians are... But too many.