State House debates "Bathroom Bill"

House Bill #1728 -- Senate Bill #1687

Background

A person whose gender identity or expression does not conform to stereotypes about gender is likely to face high levels of discrimination and violence. Transgender people are particularly at risk. People who are transgender face widespread prejudice and are currently unprotected with no explicit protections in the Massachusetts General Laws.

What this Bill Does

This bill will add Massachusetts to 13 other states, Washington D.C., and 108 counties and cities, including Boston, Cambridge, Northampton, and Amherst, that protect transgender people. This bill will make the protection of transgender people explicit, uniform, and visible to the general public. It will include gender identity and expression in the state's non-discrimination statute and will amend existing hate crime laws to explicitly protect people targeted for violence and harassment.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What does gender identity and expression mean?

"Gender identity or expression" is defined as "a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth."

Wouldn't this create complex new laws?

Not at all. It merely adds "gender identity or expression" to the list of classes protected by our state's non-discrimination and hate crimes laws. This list varies across different parts of the law, but generally includes race, religion, creed, color, national origin, and sexual orientation.

How would this law affect hate crime laws?

Perpetrators of crimes that specifically target a person because of their gender identity or expression would face the same penalties as those who target people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation.

How would this law affect schools?

Transgender and non-transgender students are often bullied and even assaulted when their gender expressions are different from what's expected. This law would make clear that it is illegal for public schools to discriminate on the basis of a student's gender identity or expression, and it would strengthen the school's ability to protect students from violence.

Isn't this already covered under existing laws?

Transgender people derive some protections from existing statutes dealing with sex and disability derived from various MCAD and court rulings but they are not explicitly protected by our laws. The inclusion of gender identity and expression in our non-discrimination and hate crime laws achieves three important goals:

• It makes a clear statement of statewide policy.
• It makes clear the scope of coverage to anyone who reads the laws or encounters materials related to them.
•  It affirms the Commonwealth's commitment to fair treatment and freedom from discrimination, crime, and violence for all its citizens.

Is Massachusetts the first place to explicitly protect people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression?

No. Nationwide, 13 states, Washington D.C., and 108 counties and cities have passed non-discrimination laws on this basis, including the cities of Boston and Cambridge and the towns of Northampton and Amherst. Approximately 155 employers based or operating in Massachusetts have already adopted non-discrimination policies that include gender identity