Massachusetts Senate leads the way on expanding civil rights protections for transgender persons

In case you were wondering who those 4 VOTES were: 

Here is how the state’s 38 senators voted on the bill. The vote was strictly along party lines with one exception. All Democrats voted in favor of the bill while all Republicans, except Sen. Richard Ross (D-Wrentham), voted against the bill.

deMacedo NO

Fattman NO

Humason NO

FROM: 

Here's how Mass. Senators voted on transgender bill

http://northofboston.wickedlocal.com/news/20160512/heres-how-mass-senators-voted-on-transgender-bill


This defines WHY Massachusetts simply can't afford more Republicans on Beacon Hill. 




FROM: State Senator James Eldridge: 

Massachusetts Senate Leads the Way on Expanding Civil Rights Protections for Transgender Persons

Dear Friend, Last Thursday, by a 33-4 vote, the Massachusetts State Senate voted to pass S.735, An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination. I was proud to vote for this bill, which guarantees equal access to public places for every resident of the Commonwealth regardless of gender identity. Public accommodations include but are not limited to restaurants, nursing homes, coffee shops, grocery stores, and sports arenas. It was important for the Senate to take this action not only to protect transgender persons, but also to send a strong signal that in Massachusetts, we oppose the slew of hateful legislation cropping up across the country over the past few months, most famously in North Carolina. In Massachusetts, we reject to accept such intolerance as the first state to legalize gay marriage in the country, and a Commonwealth that has been at the forefront, since its founding, of fighting for civil rights. According to a 2014 Fenway Health survey, 65 percent of Massachusetts transgender residents reported experiencing discrimination in public spaces including restaurants, retail establishments, and health service centers. This legislation prevents such discrimination against transgender individuals in public accommodations by adding the phrase “gender identity” to pre-existing law. It’s hard to believe, but the battle to provide equal protection for transgender persons has gone on for almost eight years in Massachusetts. In 2010, I wrote a blogpost when the first transgender anti-discrimination bill was filed, “Making Mass More Job-Friendly by Protecting Civil Rights”, which I wrote about an early childhood memory of my father, who worked for Raytheon in Marlborough, who explained to me one night at dinner how a co-worker of his had changed their gender from a man to a woman. My father’s co-worker deserved the civil rights protections in An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination, just as every Massachusetts resident does. I was so proud to vote in support of this bill and help Massachusetts continue to lead on fundamental civil rights issues. The debate on the legislation brought back memories of the five-year movement to protect same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, and how that right had a profound influence on residents’ safety, security, family, and happiness. I am confident that the House of Representatives will pass An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination in the next couple of weeks, and hopeful that Governor Baker, who so far has been largely silent on the issue, will sign the bill into law. Ever forward, Jamie Eldridge