3 Stories Behind Question 3

They each had a story to tell. A naval intelligence officer, a school board member, and a mother. They spoke last week at a human rights workshop at the State House. What they have in common is that they are transgender persons, or the parent of a transgender child.

Until now the lives of transgender people were something foreign to me. In a general way I felt OK with it. But I had never sat down and talked with someone who has changed their gender identity.

Alexandra Chandler’s story amazed me. A brilliant, articulate woman, she worked on the civilian side of our country’s national intelligence service, with a special focus on North Korea. When she decided to transition to the gender identity she had always felt was her nature, she was surprised by the reaction she got from her bosses. She expected to be fired. Instead, they asked her how they could support her.

The story went viral, and it also stirred up controversy. Chandler got threats and hate mail. But she also found the courage to share her story, and to become an advocate for civil rights. She has since developed gender-transition protocols that can be used in both the military and civilian sectors.

This year Chandler ran in the primary to represent the 3rd District in the House of Representatives Although she was edged out, her candidacy opened another door in Massachusetts politics.

Moderating the panel was a tall, friendly woman named Lizbeth DeSelm, a scientist and an educator who transitioned to female gender. A member of Melrose’s Human Rights Commission, in 2015 she was elected to the Melrose School Committee. She is passionate about ensuring that children get all the support they need to learn and grow.

DeSelm was a major force in Melrose’s inclusion of gender identity within the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, and she was a strong advocate for the Massachusetts Public Accommodations law, passed in 2016.

The third speaker, Mimi Lemay, is a mother of a transgender child. Lemay told of how she and her husband were able to affirm their daughter’s identification as a boy, the research and professional advice they sought, then the joy of seeing him blossom and thrive after they decided to transition him.

Chandler, DeSelm and Lemay, are warm, intelligent, and engaging in the stories they tell, and in their call for full civil rights in society for transgender persons. They helped me to understand why it’s so important for us to educate ourselves about the lives of others and their rights for the same protections we take for granted.

Oh, by the way, Alexandra, Lizbeth and Mimi would like you to vote yes on Question 3 in the upcoming election. By voting yes, we uphold Massachusetts law already in place that protects transgender rights in public facilities. It’s the right thing to do.