Coalition for its 2010 Transgender Equality Lobby Day at the
Massachusetts State House to lobby for passage of H1728/S1687,
“An Act Relative To Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate
Crimes.” We urge our families to join us and encourage their
legislators to support this vital bill.
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2010
Time: 2:00-5:00 pm
Location: Massachusetts State House
Jennifer
Chrisler, Executive Director, explained why this bill is vital
to all loving families a recent opinion editorial:
Healthy Families Make Healthy Communities
In these economic times, most can relate to worries about making
ends meet, losing a job, or facing eviction or foreclosure. For
transgender people, these worries are constant, regardless of the
economic climate. For transgender parents, these worries are
exponentially multiplied by the number of people they support in
their family. Current Massachusetts law fails to protect
transgender people from harassment and violence, from being
arbitrarily fired, evicted or denied loans, or prohibited access to
homeless shelters, domestic violence safe houses and other places
of public accommodation solely because of their gender identity or
expression.
As a parent, I shudder to imagine what a struggle it would be to
face these challenges and still raise my twin boys to be the happy,
healthy, thriving children they are. The fundamental reality is
that regardless of gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation,
all parents share a desire for our children to be safe, healthy,
and happy. Discrimination and harassment are an assault on our
ability to protect ourselves, each other, and our children.
Massachusetts can and should do better for ALL families. To be
strong and healthy, families need safe neighborhoods and schools,
as well as the ability to earn a living, secure a place to live, or
obtain a line of credit. “An Act Relative to Gender-Based
Discrimination and Hate Crimes,” which is pending in the
Massachusetts Legislature, would ensure that these opportunities
are available to transgender parents and their children by
prohibiting discrimination and hate crimes based on gender
identity.
On January 21, 2010, Family Equality Council, the nation’s
leading advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender parents, will join the Massachusetts Transgender
Political Coalition for its 2010 Transgender Equality Lobby Day to
urge the Massachusetts Legislature to pass this important and vital
bill. Healthy families make healthy communities. As a Massachusetts
parent, and the executive director of Family Equality Council, I
call upon my peers in Massachusetts – lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and straight – to join Family Equality Council in
working to ensure that all loving families in Massachusetts are
recognized, respected, protected, and celebrated.
Jennifer Chrisler
Executive DirectorFamily Equality Council