Press Release  AG Healey Meets with Transgender Youth, Their Families and Members of Business Community

Boston — Highlighting the need for a law on the books to protect transgender people from discrimination in public places, Attorney General Maura Healey today hosted a roundtable discussion with transgender youth, their families and representatives from the business community.

The Transgender Public Accommodations Bill (House Bill 1577 and Senate Bill 735) filed by Representatives Rushing and Provost, and Senator Chang-Diaz), is currently pending before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. The bill would protect transgender people from discrimination in places of public accommodation, including restaurants, hotels, parks, movie theaters and gyms. Massachusetts adopted a transgender rights law in 2011 that prohibits certain types of discrimination based on an individual’s gender identity, including discrimination in employment and housing. However, the law does not explicitly address the obligations of businesses and other public places when interacting with transgender and gender-nonconforming members of the public.

“I’ve had a chance to sit down with families from throughout Massachusetts, and I have heard the struggles of their sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters,” said AG Healey. “Transgender people face discrimination and harassment on a frequent basis. We need a law that will make sure that they are welcomed and protected everywhere they go in this state. If we don’t grant these protections to transgender people, we’re sending a message that we, as a state, don’t fully accept them.”

“People need to experience and understand that their transgender neighbors are human beings, worthy of the same rights and respect as others,” said Mimi Lemay, who is the mother of a six-year-old transgender son. “As a parent, my number one concern is my son’s safety, followed in short order by the quality of his life.  Both these things will be impacted by legislation which will prohibit businesses serving the public from harassing my son or denying him service based on his gender identity.”

“It is when you meet someone who is transgender and hear their story that you begin to understand the path each individual has walked in order to live authentically,” said Jeanne Talbot, mother of a 14-year old transgender daughter. “But it's when you look into their eyes that you understand that their rights must be the same as every other Massachusetts resident because equal rights should have no exception. Today's event served a great purpose in sharing the stories of many transgender people and allowing our legislators to look into the eyes of those this legislation will ultimately protect.”

“It’s important that Massachusetts be known as a state that welcomes everyone, regardless of their gender identity, because we need everyone’s best efforts and contributions to advance Massachusetts as the best place to live and work,” said Nancy Stager, Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Charitable Giving at Eastern Bank.  “Eastern Bank is proud to support legislation that extends equal access and guarantees civil rights for everyone.”

“Our mission at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is to improve the quality and value of health care for the people and communities we serve,” said Karen Young, Vice President and Chief Inclusion Officer at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. “We believe extending public accommodations to include gender identity is an important step to take to improve the health and well-being of transgender and gender non-conforming people.”

The Transgender Public Accommodations Bill is supported by the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, all four major Boston sports teams, and businesses like Google, State Street, EMC, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Eastern Bank, Legal Sea Foods, Twitter and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

AG Healey testified before the Judiciary Committee in favor of the legislation in October 2015.                                                                                                                

In June 2015, the AG’s Office adopted a policy to protect transgender and gender non-conforming individuals working for or interacting with the office. The policy prohibits discrimination against transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals.

The AG’s Office encourages anyone who experiences discrimination, harassment or violence based on their gender identity to contact its Civil Rights Division at (617) 727-8400.

###