and Rushing and Sen. Downing re-introduced “An Act Relative to
Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes,” this time with a
majority of the House and Senate co-sponsoring!
That’s 104 out of 200 state legislators saying from Day One that
gender identity/expression discrimination should cease in
Massachusetts!
This bill is long overdue. It provides equality of protections for
transgender and gender non-conforming people who often face
increased levels of violence and discrimination. And though the
bill has not yet passed, its prospects are better this year than
ever before.
The Massachusetts
Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is leading the effort to
pass this bill. The Family Equality Council and 70+ other
organizations are members of their legislative coalition. MTPC
has put together a list of legislative co-sponsors with contact
information so folks can thank them for their support.
If you’re a Massachusetts resident, click here to see if your representatives are
co-sponsors. If they are, take a few minutes to write them or call
them and thank them for moving equality forward! It makes a world
of difference in securing their continued support for LGBT
concerns.