MA Senate Passes Transgender Equal Rights Bill!!
Its been a LONG road but, finally, Massachusetts has a Transgender Equal Rights Bill. It has been voted in by both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and by the Senate. All it needs is a signature by the Governor of Massachusetts, Duval Patrick.
So what does this mean? A few things, all of them important. Most of these are just rights that disappeared when many transgender people, both men and women, started dealing with who they are so they live “normal” lives. But, these protections include:
- Employment
- Housing
- Education
- Credit
- Expands the state’s hate crimes protections to now include transgender people
Having been someone who has experienced this kind of discrimination first hand, I can tell you, this is very welcome news! The bill is imperfect, and it does not include public accomodation, which means any public venue may decide that transgender men or women are not “welcome”. Let’s hope that society is actually beyond that kind of behavior.
Many thanks to my friends who, along with me (see our article, “Trans Civil rights Lobby Day: Roundtable” for just one example out of hundreds), worked to see passage of this bill. “BIG” thanks to Gunner Scott and the MTPC Team. They kept our community moving forward when it seemed like we’d never see our normal rights returned to us!
