Life's a Beach
WetHotAmerican Summer
Summer Babes
Honky Tonkin
Unchained Melodies
Lost Mixtapes Vol 1
Beach Drinking [mix for Homoground.com]—
Ruben Hopwood, Coordinator of the Transgender Health Program at Fenway Health in Boston
As Huffington Post reports:
Massachusetts will become the 16th state to treat transgender citizens as a protected class after legislature passed the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, which not only adds protections to the state’s civil rights laws against employment, education, housing and credit discrimination, but also adds gender identity and expression to the state’s hate crimes law.
As the Associated Press is reporting, the bill, which still needs routine final approval votes in both branches, was approved by the Senate Wednesday morning on a voice vote. The House passed the bill late Tuesday after Democratic leaders moved to limit debate to one hour, effectively cutting down on opponents’ amendments.
After it receives final approval votes in both branches, the bill will move forward to Governor Deval Patrick, who told The Boston Globe yesterday that he plans to sign it. “I think we have hate crimes on the books today,” he said. “They, in the case of transgender people, don’t go far enough.”
This bill survived some really awful testimony from Republican leaders who used scare tactics and “the bathroom argument” repeatedly. I am personally so proud to be a legal resident of this state and feel immensely more secure and safer after the passage of this bill. Certainly this is not a magic switch that has been flipped, but I believe it is a huge watershed moment in changing sentiment, and its legal effects will soon be felt by trans people across the state, as we are no longer allowed to be treated as second-class citizens (and felt by non-trans people who may for the first time have the benefit of working with us, living with us, and learning with us).
Some more beautiful and eloquent responses from trans community leaders:
“Having protections in place at the state level will help tremendously in being able to advocate for policies and practices that support rather than discriminate against transgender people at the institutional level. I finally feel included in the state in which I live and work.”
— Genny Beemyn, Director, the Stonewall Center, UMass Amherst
“The lives of our Transgender family members is about to change. And finally, for once, for the better. This is a great day in our state and we applaud the incredibly dedication of MTPC and its partners who worked tirelessly to ensure the passage of this legislation. Today, we celebrate!
– Keri Aulita, Boston Pride Deputy Director
“This bill adds “gender identity” to the state’s non-discrimination statute and will amend existing hate crime laws to explicitly protect people targeted for violence and harassment joining other protected classes such as race, religion, creed, color, national origin, and sexual orientation. Massachusetts joins the 13-15 other states that have this protection as well as the many businesses that include trans protections as well.
“… As a young trans woman I’ve been lucky, but I’ve still experienced employment and housing discrimination and have endured harassed on the streets, at school and even in health care settings. All this discrimination adds up to have severe health consequences for transgender people and it’s no wonder that a recent national trans survey showed that 41% of trans people have attempted suicide which is around 20x higher than the general population. To cope, many of us use substances, drink, use tobacco because of crippling rates of depression in this community, but when we go into doctor’s offices, we’re often either completely refused services, experience harassment or receive substandard care.
Fortunately we have a tool to do something about this endemic discrimination. We have rights in Massachusetts, finally! This is a major step in the right direction, but we’ll need to work together to ensure this is enforced so that transgender people have the same fairness in this society that most take for granted. I can’t speak more strongly about the supreme monumental importance of this bill!!”
— Emilia Dunham, Senior Research Associate, The Fenway Institute
“This is a bright day in our Commonwealth, as was the Goodrich decision (2003) and the day in 1988 when bills were signed into law (under Gov. Dukakis) to protect lesbians and gay men from workplace discrimination.
Whenever one state takes a stance for civil rights, the reverberations cannot be underestimated. May the mainstream public gain compassion and understanding for people who deserve nothing less.
Marginalized peoples have different struggles AND shared joy in victory. This is a happy day for all of us.
— J.M. Sorrell, Director, SAGE Western Massachusetts
“For a state that was second in the nation with gay rights in 1989, and first in the nation with same-sex marriage in 2004, non-discrimination protections for transgender people are long overdue.”
— Joanne Herman,Author of Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not, Board Member, Fenway Health
“We give thanks to the legislators who assisted in this endeavor of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. Congratulations to all! This will show the state, the region and the Nation that legislation like this one are needed and that it will provide equal rights to all in our society. This will provide our transgender brothers and sisters with the recognition and rights that they deserve! Congratulations to MTPC, Rep. Sciortino, and all who participated in this process and who have been instrumental in making this Transgender Equal Rights a reality!”
— Wilfred Labiosa, CASPAR Executive Director & Boston Pride Vice-President
Official statement from Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition here: Transgender Equal Rights Now a Reality in Massachusetts
In short, infighting seems to guarantee that whatever progress is made for gay men and lesbians, transgender people will continue to lag behind. We can’t afford that.
It is painful that the pressing issues of trans-rights seem forgotten beneath the din of wedding bells, but progress in civil rights can only come with the numbers and resources found in unity. Gay men and lesbians, for their part, ought to remember, on the way home from Niagara Falls, that it was drag queens and transsexuals at Stonewall who began this fight.
"— Jennifer Finney Boylan in a recent op-ed piece for the New York Times, We Want Cake, Too - NYTimes.com
Pepsi will donate money to the winning project, so vote away! You can read more about the project by following this link.
—
Eva Kraus, in her opinion piece from Bay Windows
I need a level playing field. If Massachusetts had already had a law on the books prohibiting employment discrimination against transgender people, I would not be forced to live in fear of never being able to work again. I would not be forced to use state resources to stay afloat. I would be supporting my family, and paying the state substantial income taxes.
But that’s not the case. As a 12-year veteran of the US military, as a Naval Officer and the former CEO of a finance company, I assure you that my capabilities remain undiminished. Like so many other transgender men and women, I am ready to work. I am ready to contribute. We just need the opportunity to do so.
It’s time to pass the Transgender Equal Rights Bill in Massachusetts.
My name is Wayne Maines, I live in Old Town. I have a 13-year-old transgender daughter. In the beginning, I was not onboard with this reality. Like many of you I doubted transgender children could exist, I doubted my wife and I doubted our counselors and doctors. However I never doubted my love for my child. It was only through observing her pain and her suffering and examining my lack of knowledge about these issues did I begin to question my behavior and my conservative values. I learned that the medical standard of care requires parents seek assistance from a panel of experts. We did this and our team of doctors recommended my daughter to live fully as a girl. We cannot turn back now.
When my daughter lost her privileges at school and both children and adults targeted her, I knew I had to change and I have never looked back.
When we moved to Maine, it was clear my daughter was transitioning from male to female with us or without us. She used the girl’s bathroom with no fanfare; she was confident and very social. Her strong personality helped the entire school transition right along side of her. She was proud and secure with herself and when people asked at the young age of six she openly stated that she was a girl trapped in a boy’s body.
The transformation was amazing, but her happiness would not last. Unfortunately the fears of others would destroy everything that our team of doctors, teachers, school counselors, friends and classmates had work so hard to establish.
I know that it is difficult for some of you to understand the needs of transgender children. You only need to spend some time with these kids to see that they are struggling and suffering beyond your imagination only because they are singled out and misunderstood. They are just like your children and grandchildren; they have the same hopes and the same dreams.
In the fifth grade because of significant negative exposure we had to take drastic measures to protect her from harm, including splitting our family up to go in hiding and we are not the only family that has had to do so. When she was told she could no longer use the appropriate bathroom her confidence and self-esteem took a major hit. Prior to this my daughter often said, “Dad being transgender is no big deal, my friends and I have it under control.” I was very proud of her. It was only when adults became involved with their unfounded fears that her world would be turned upside down. “She came to me crying and asked, “Daddy what did I do wrong? Daddy please fix this?” That is what dads do — we fix things. I had to break her heart and say, “You have not done anything wrong sweetie, but Mommy and I do not know how to fix this, but we will try.”
Continuing to single these kids out is not necessary. Having the opportunity to use the bathrooms of their true gender is essential for these kids’ well being. This bill places transgender children in a position of doom and hopelessness. This bill tells my daughter that she does not have the same rights as her classmates and reinforces her opinion that she has no future. Help me give her the future she deserves. Do not pass this bill.
- Wayne Maines, in a testimony against Maine’s proposed bill which would allow the operator of a restroom or shower facility to decide who can use which gender’s restroom based upon “biological sex.” Originally posted by Joanne Herman at Huffington Post (follow link to read her commentary on this amazing testimony)
