Across the country, 17 states, Washington D.C., and more than 200 cities and towns have passed public accommodation laws to protect transgender individuals from discrimination in public spaces. That includes 12 Massachusetts municipalities, from Worcester to Swampscott… but the state of Massachusetts has yet to take the leap.
A stalled public accommodations bill has yet to emerge from the House of Representatives, not to mention reach Governor Charlie Baker’s desk. The governor has been notoriously reticent about the bill, which has received support from local sports teams, athletes, local politicians and famous figures, from Patrice Bergeron to Caitlyn Jenner.
Attorney General Maura Healey joined Jim Braude and Margery Eagan for her monthly segment on Boston Public Radio, Ask The AG.
Margery: Tell us about this bill.
AG: Basically, a few years ago, here in Massachusetts, we took a much-needed step and we banned discrimination against transgender people when it comes to housing, employment or schools. One thing that was left out was a ban against discrimination in places of public accommodation. Movie theatres, restaurants, city hall, getting on the subway, getting on the bus… 17 other states already have this protection in place, and we need to close that gap here. That’s what this legislation is about—this is a transgender equality bill, it will address that issue and it will prohibit discrimination against transgender people in places of accommodation. So it’s something that our office has been strongly advocating for for awhile now, and we hope to see this voted on very very soon, let’s get this passed.
Jim: Is it true that if you run a workplace, you cannot discriminate against a transgender person in terms of hiring, but at the same establishment, they would be violating no law if they refuse to accommodate transgender patrons, is that right?
AG: This has been the law in place in our schools, K-12, over the last few years, and there hasn’t been a single adverse incident with respect to this. This is about civil rights, this is about ensuring, quite simply, that people are treated with dignity and respect, and that we treat others the way that we, ourselves, would want to be treated. It’s not complicated, it’s a very simple bill, and it needs to be acted upon right away.
Margery: Some people are concerned about locker rooms. What do you say to people who are concerned about high school locker rooms, or the locker room at the gym?
AG: Don’t buy into the rhetoric. This has been an argument manufactured by forces that oppose equality and equal treatment for transgender individuals—it’s as simple as that. But if you want to talk locker rooms, we have the support in this bill from all four major professional sports teams. They know a little something about locker rooms. More importantly, in schools in this state today, K-12, transgender students are using locker rooms, are using bathrooms, and this hasn’t been an issue. Protections are in place. If young people can do it, I think adults can do it, and to me it just sort of lays bare the fallacy of this argument. This is a matter of letting people be who they are, respecting their privacy, respecting their dignity… one of the reasons we had so many members of law enforcement come forward; district attorneys, police, the Massachusetts chiefs, and law enforcement from across the country come forward and say, ‘Massachusetts, you need to do this bill’ is because the people whose safety is at risk, the people who have been hurt, are actually in places of public accommodation have been transgender individuals who were forced to use facilities that didn’t comport with the gender they identify with. It’s about dignity and treating people well, and equality under the law, but it’s also about safety.
Jim: We have asked the governor, repeatedly, what is his position. He’s said he wants to see the details, and we’ve asked him why he would put the legislature in this kind of position, tell them what you would sign. The Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce refused to honor Baker because of his reluctance to sign this bill, do you think that’s an appropriate reaction?
AG: What I think you see out there is a whole lot of frustration, candidly, at this point. Just look at what’s happening in North Carolina. Look at Bruce Springsteen stepping up, I mean PayPal is not going to set up shop there, The Boss is not going to play there.
Jim: GE is another one of the signers in the letter to the governor.
AG: That’s another important point. The fact is, corporate America, businesses, have actually been much further ahead. They’re required to [be] as a matter of employment law, but they get that discrimination doesn’t play, it doesn’t create a good workforce culture. This is about Massachusetts being a good welcoming state where you are measured for your skills and experience and ability, we want to attract the best and the brightest. You see so many businesses, Google, Eastern Bank, Pilgrim Health, GE, and others, stepping forward to say, let’s get this done. I think in the face of that, there is frustration out there. Why hasn’t this happened? It needs to happen, and it needs to happen now.
Jim: The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce had chosen to honor Governor Baker, until Congressman Joe Kennedy said he would stop being an honorary co-chair if baker was honored, because of Baker’s reticence on this bill. They pulled the award. Do you think they were right to pull the honor?
AG: Those were decisions made by organizations.
Jim: Would you have, if you were in Joe Kennedy’s position, would you have refused to co-chair this thing?
AG: No. I’ll tell you what… Governor Baker, part of the issue is that he doesn’t have a bill to sign yet. Governor Baker is somebody who has expressed support for a number of LGBT equality issues. Get him a bill. Let’s do the work, let’s get this passed through the legislature, let’s get the governor a bill to sign.
Margery: Why is there no bill yet, out of the House?
AG: The [House] Speaker, [Bob DeLeo] I know is very committed to this, the Senate President [Stan Rosenberg] is very committed to this, my hope and strong belief is that the majority of members of the legislature are also very committed to this. There’s been a lot on the agenda there for the legislature, and a number of important policy issues, but I really think this is an important policy issue—it’s a matter of civil rights, it’s a matter of Massachusetts being a place that really is welcoming to everyone. We started a social media campaign a few weeks ago, #EveryoneWelcome. We had everyone from Patrice Bergeron to Caitlyn Jenner to other celebrities. What’s most poignant though, are the stories and the videos of kids, transgender kids, their brothers and sisters, their parents. I encourage anybody who has a question about this, or doesn’t understand, just take the time to understand that these are your friends, neighbors, coworkers. And they need to make sure that they feel that they, as individuals, particularly transgender kids or their parents, are going to raise their children in a state and in a world where they at least—there’s a lot they’re going to have to worry about, they shouldn’t have to worry about their health, or their safety, or equal treatment.
Maura Healey is the Attorney General of Massachusetts. To hear her full interview with Boston Public Radio, click on the audio link above.
