Transgender Anti-Discrimination Law Takes Effect in Massachusetts

BOSTON, MA – Advocates celebrated Saturday, as Massachusetts' new transgender anti-discrimination law took full effect.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed the precedent-setting legislation into law this July, saying in a statement at the time, “No one should be discriminated against in Massachusetts because of their gender identity."

The law provides protections against discrimination for transgender individuals in public places, and protects the ability to choose a restroom or other public facility that matches one's sexual identity, regardless of anatomical sex. It passed in July, but didn't take full effect until Oct. 1.

Read More: State Commission Outlines Enforcement of Transgender Protections Law

In a letter marking the milestone Saturday, Freedom Massachusetts co-chair Mason Dunn wrote to supporters:

"Now, when transgender people like me leave our homes and places of work, we can live without the fear that we will face discrimination because of who we are. We can go to dinner, go about our morning commute on the T or seek medical care at a hospital—with the reassurance that we are now afforded explicit protections against discrimination under state law."

Even as supporters celebrate and the law becomes fully enforceable, an opposition group this week said it has collected sufficient signatures to place a measure on the 2018 ballot calling for the law's repeal.

"It’s a direct threat to privacy," Massachusetts Family Institute Andrew Beckwith told 22News Monday.

Beckwith, who says his group has collected more than the 32,375 required signatures, believes the law could be abused by people pretending to be transgender. The Secretary of State must still certify the signatures.

Opponents to the law raised the same issue when it was in the Legislature this summer, and the bill was subsequently altered to instruct the state's attorney general to outline law enforcement guidelines when and if abuse of the law is suspected.

Read More:

• Transgender Allies Celebrate Milestone in Massachusetts
• Mass. Group Pushes to Repeal Transgender Accommodations Law

Photo by torbakhopper, Flickr/Creative Commons