Trans bill briefing draws a crowd

About 40 people, a mix of lawmakers, aides and LGBT advocates, turned out at the State House Jan. 16 for a legislative briefing on House Bill 1722, which would update the state's non-discrimination and hate crimes laws to make them transgender-inclusive. The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), the lead organization in the coalition to pass the bill, presented lawmakers and their aides with a panel to explain the basics of transgender identity and anti-trans discrimination as well as personal stories from transgender people about their own experiences with employment issues. The briefing is part of MTPC's run-up to the Judiciary Committee hearing on H.B. 1722 that is expected to take place sometime in the next two months.

Rep. Byron Rushing (D-Boston), one of the lead co-sponsors of the bill, said that when lawmakers passed the gay rights bill in 1989 they decided not to include protections based on gender identity and expression both for fear that transgender language would sink the bill and because lawmakers and gay and lesbian advocates were largely ignorant of transgender issues at that time.

"One of the reasons why transgender did not get introduced into the gay rights bill is that we thought it would make it too controversial. ... But the other piece that I think is very important is that many of us who were advocates of the gay rights bill did not understand transgender, and I think that's an important point to make here. ... We learned a lot since then, and I think that knowledge that we have is so important and makes it actually imperative that we do what this bill says we should do," said Rushing.

Rep. Carl Sciortino (D-Somerville), the bill's other lead co-sponsor, joined Rushing at the briefing. Other lawmakers in the audience included Reps. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont), Jim O'Day (D-Worcester) and Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge) and Sen. Ed Augustus (D-Worcester), all co-sponsors of H.B. 1722. Sen. Stan Rosenberg (D-Northampton) and Reps. Stephen DiNatale (D-Fitchburg) and Sarah Peake (D-Provincetown) also attended.

Gunner Scott, director of MTPC, led a "transgender 101" training for attendees, defining basic terms around transgender identity. He explained that one of the main challenges that transgender people face, particularly those who do not have surgery, is the difficulty in changing their gender designation in documents like their Social Security file, driver's license, and birth certificate, documents that might out them as transgender to potential employers.

"For us, we're not necessarily able to be closeted," said Scott.

Jennifer Levi, an attorney for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), explained that in the last decade more courts have ruled that statutes banning discrimination based on sex cover transgender people. Both the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and some superior court judges have ruled that state laws banning sex discrimination cover transgender people. But she said H.B. 1722 was necessary to make that protection explicit in the law and provide clarity about what protections the law affords the trans community.

"There remains confusion, quite frankly, and there remains inconsistency," said Levi. "And the purpose of H.B. 1722 is to provide clarity and consistency within Massachusetts law so that those who are protected by the law understand that they are protected and also so that those that are subject to existing laws understand the scope of those laws' protections."

Ethan St. Pierre, a transgender activist from Haverhill, described being fired from a Boston security company when he began transitioning on the job from female to male in 2002. He said while his employer had praised his work before his transition, when he was fired his supervisor told him that his transition made it impossible for him to do his job.

"When I started this job I was an out lesbian, and that was no problem. It was my gender transition that was a problem," said St. Pierre.

Marc Solomon, campaign director for MassEquality, told attendees his organization has made passing H.B. 1722 one of its top priorities, and he said Massachusetts has lagged behind other states that have already passed similar bills.

"We have blazed new trails with respect to marriage equality, but as you can see we're catching up to Colorado and Iowa with respect to transgender equality. And it's time that we get this done," said Solomon. "We're going to be putting our full court press with respect to our field effort and our membership to work any relationships that we have to try to get this bill passed in 2008."

Sciortino urged lawmakers and aides to discuss H.B. 1722 with their colleagues, and he also urged anyone seeking more information about the bill to contact his office or MTPC.

"I think for a lot of folks there's a general sentiment of wanting to support, and a sentiment of, 'I need to learn more about it.' And that's part of what we're trying to do here today. ... This is the beginning of the endeavor. We need your help in spreading the word," said Sciortino.

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Trial by fire
Talk about hitting the ground running. Gunner Scott took the reigns of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) as the organization's first paid director this week just as a controversy over MTPC's association with the Human Rights Campaign was attracting national attention.

Blueprint for change
Most of the states that passed gay rights bills in the 1980s and early 1990s, like Massachusetts, have not updated their laws to include protections for transgender people. In fact, only four states -- Rhode Island, California, New Jersey and Vermont -- have accomplished that goal. And many of the factors that made victory possible are not present in Massachusetts.