Update on the hearing on the Transgender Equal Rights Bill

Yesterday was the hearing for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill in front of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary here in Massachusetts.   Conneticutt has gotten a bill through it process and its heading to their Governor’s desk to be signed. and Massachusetts still does not, which seems like  a weird statement until you understand how this whole process works.

According to our sources here at Beck’s Cafe, the House Judiciary Committee is run by four people.  They are decent, law abiding citizens that, presumably, are tryingg to the right thing on any number of bills that come their way.   Demographically however they are conservative (even though Democrat) and they give extreme scrutiny to bill like the Massachusetts Transgender Rights Bill.   While there is terrific support for the bill in the Massachusetts House and in the Senate, unless these four congress people release the bill to the congress, there is no chance for it to be voted on.

So as readers can likely see, we really need to focus on these four people.

So we had our hearing, what happened, well let me share a couple of thoughts from our source, and then I’m going to respost an official statement from MTPC.

Our sources shared these thoughts:

• The Transgender Rights side did well for ourselves with arguments based on facts about being transgender, about the discrimination faced by many in our community
• The opponents tended to focus on religeous arguments and fear tactics.  Pretty sad when you think that it was Paul the apostle who reasoned by facts with the early Greeks when he was in Corinth.   He didn’t resort to fear, he let the claims of Christ stand on their own.  I would think the religeous right would follow St. Paul’s example, but perhaps following the bible is too hard?
• The fear piece the oppositiion worked on was that societies women and children would be harmed by this.  The opposition did not note how rape and violence against women and children are prevelant today and what they might be doing to support women and children.   I guess they figure the fear piece is enough to do their part.
• Fenway Health did a fine job of telling of their support and their experience in dealing with over 600 trans-people, and how support for transgender people actually helps them

• One panel from the transgender supporter side focused on what happens to people when you do not get support while a second panel showed how successful transgender people can be when they do get support
• According to our sources, last year, one of the women from the opponents side would stand near a bathroom that transgender people would use as they were attending last years hearing on our Transgender Rights Bill.   As they entered the bathroom, the person from the opposition would go in with them then dial 911 to say they were being harrassed by a transgender person.  Pretty crazy tactics.  It’s not clear if that happened this year or not but MTPC made bathroom accomodations for transgender attendees in the church across the street from the Massachusetts State House.
• In the very beginning, 20 members of the House of Representatives walked into the hearing and each one testified in favor of the transgender rights bill.   Amazing!

So what’s next? Well on Juen 23rd is the Transgender Equal Rights Lobby Day. If you can make it, be sure to attend to help out!

Here’s more of the update from MTPC’s official announcement, just click on “Read More” and you can read all of MTPC’s official debrief.

Update on the hearing on the Transgender Equal Rights Bill

Yesterday, transgender youth, adults, family members, and our allies
testified in front of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of
Transgender Equal Rights. This was the third such hearing on the Transgender
Equal Rights bill since it was first introduced in 2007.

MTPC worked with the transgender community and our supporters to gather
letters of written testimony to deliver to the Joint Committee on the
Judiciary. MTPC collected over 150 letters of written testimony which
included U.S. Senator John Kerry, U.S. Representative Barney Frank, Sheriff
Andrea Cabral, Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston City Councilor Resolution,
Boston Councilor Felix G. Arroyo, Boston Councilor John Connolly, Eastern
Bank, Crossfit Fenway, MassNOW, Jane Doe Inc, Mass Prevention for the
Cruelty to Children, Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women, GLAD,
Fenway Health, Office Of Somerville Commissions, The Network/La Red, Gay
Men’s Domestic Violence Project, Mass Bar Association, AIDS Action,
MassEquality, ACLU, NASW, Mass LGBTQ Bar Association, Women’s Bar
Association, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, The Episcopal
Diocese of Massachusetts, Unitarian Universalists Association, SEIU, UAW
2322, UFCW Local 1445 , UniteHere Local 26, AFSCME Local 1526, Jobs with
Justice, Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, Congregation
Dorshei, Falmouth Jewish Congregation and letters from transgender youth,
adults, and their friends, families, and neighbors.

Attorney General Martha Coakley led off the testimony in support of the
bill. Testimony continued through the afternoon and into the evening from
forty other transgender people, allies, and supporters such as Chairman of
MA Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) Julian T. Tynes, and
Superintendent Christopher J. Burke, Cambridge Police Department. In
addition to 10 legislative co-sponsors that came down to voice their
support.**

All of this testimony was valuable for the committee members to hear and to
also see the breadth of the various supportive organizations, unions, bar
associations, clergy, and businesses that support this bill. But most
importantly, for the transgender community to feel so supported and
validated by the desire of our allies for transgender youth and adults to
have the same rights as everyone else.

As you might imagine, listening to the opposition describe transgender
people in such disrespectful, crude, inhumane, and very often, hateful ways
can be quite demoralizing. Even after attending two other hearings like this
in the past five years, it still does not get any easier to listen to such
rhetoric. What does make it bearable is the testimony provided by our
supporters and the reassurance through their words that transgender people
matter. Most especially for me was witnessing the strength and courage from
our transgender youth, adults, and family members telling their stories.

All people, including transgender people, should have the chance to earn a
living and provide for themselves and their families. Nobody should have to
live in fear that they can be fired for reasons that have nothing to do with
their job performance and I believe that message got through loud and clear
to the committee.

The next step on this journey will be our lobby day on Thursday, June 23rd
from 1-3p at the Massachusetts State House (
http://www.masstpc.org/?page_id=1303). I hope you can join us on that day as
we speak to the rest of the legislature about the importance of this bill
passing this year. It is imperative that we use the momentum of the hearing
in pushing for the passage of the bill for this year by showing up in strong
numbers at the State House.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at
617-778-0519 and I hope that folks will continue support the work of
MTPC and our efforts to move this bill this year.

Gunner Scott

Executive Director
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition
gunnerscott@gmail.com