Yesterday the Massachusetts legislature passed the trans public accommodation bill and it is now heading to the governor’s deck and he has indicated that he will sign it.
Back before the passage of the 2011 law the courts had ruled that trans people were covered under sex discrimination and because the legislature hadn’t said otherwise gender identity was covered under sex discrimination. But all that changed when the legislature did act and pass a bill that didn’t include public accommodation.
Back then I talked to a number of lawyers who are active in LGBT human rights and they all agree that with the passage of the 2011 law coverage for public accommodation was now up in the air. They said that since the court cases were based on the fact the legislature never saying otherwise we were covered under sex discrimination but now the legislature said that they didn’t want us to be covered in public accommodations all the court precedent was no longer valid.
Well in the end it all worked out in our favor.
Update 4:15 PM
The Gay-Rights State That Took Years to Protect Transgender CitizensWhat I don’t understand is why they didn’t do this back in 2011 when the non-discrimination bill was passed. Why did they accept a bill that was less than the protection that they had though the courts? They just showed that they could pass the public accommodation coverage even with a Republican governor.
A new Massachusetts law makes gender-identity discrimination fully illegal. Even in a liberal state, the effort took a long time.
The Atlantic
By Emma Green
July 7, 2016
Massachusetts was the first state in America to issue wedding licenses to same-sex couples. Gay marriage has been legal there for more than 12 years—much longer than in most other places. In 1989, it became the second state, after Wisconsin, to pass discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, and bisexual citizens.
And yet, until this week, Massachusetts law did not fully prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. The state’s House and Senate approved a new law on Thursday, which Governor Charlie Baker has said he’ll sign, that creates public-accommodations protections for transgender people. Although legislation passed in 2011 protected transgender people against discrimination in housing, education, and employment, the new law extends those protections to cover everything from making a purchase at a store to using a bathroom at a public park. When they go about their daily lives, transgender people are now shielded from discrimination and allowed to use facilities in a way that’s consistent with their identity.
In some ways, Massachusetts’s new law is not remarkable. Twenty-eight states don’t have any kind of discrimination protections for LGBT people, and four others exclude transgender people from some or all of their protection measures. But it’s also surprising that a liberal state with strong Democratic majorities in both houses of its legislature has taken this long to pass these kinds of protections for transgender people, particularly because of its history on gay rights.
Back before the passage of the 2011 law the courts had ruled that trans people were covered under sex discrimination and because the legislature hadn’t said otherwise gender identity was covered under sex discrimination. But all that changed when the legislature did act and pass a bill that didn’t include public accommodation.
Back then I talked to a number of lawyers who are active in LGBT human rights and they all agree that with the passage of the 2011 law coverage for public accommodation was now up in the air. They said that since the court cases were based on the fact the legislature never saying otherwise we were covered under sex discrimination but now the legislature said that they didn’t want us to be covered in public accommodations all the court precedent was no longer valid.
Well in the end it all worked out in our favor.
Update 4:15 PM
Massachusetts Gov. Signs Transgender Public Accommodations Bill
Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill into law today, assuring that residents can use the public facilities aligned with their gender identity.
The Advocate
By Mari Brighe
July 8, 2016
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker today signed landmark legislation allowing transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity and banning discrimination in public accommodations based on gender identity.
The House and Senate worked out differences between each chamber's versions of the legislation this week, with both approving a final version Thursday, and sent it to Baker for his signature. Over the past several months, Baker, a moderate Republican, had been cagey about whether he would sign such a bill, but he eventually indicated he would approve it.
[…]
Praise also came from Jennifer Levi, transgender rights project director at Boston-based legal group GLBTQ Advocates and Defenders. “So many people have worked hard and acted courageously to bring us to this moment,” Levi said in a prepared statement. “We owe a debt of gratitude to the legislators who have stood up for equality, and to the transgender people and their families who have told their stories.”
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