Press Statement  Auditor Bump Signs Letter in 2015 for Support of Equal Access to Public Accommodations for Transgender Individuals

Boston — Dear Chairmen Brownsberger and Fernandes:

I am writing you today in support of HB1577, An Act relative to gender identity and nondiscrimination.

Historically, Massachusetts has been on the forefront of civil rights issues. We have championed same sex marriage and numerous other antidiscrimination measures over the years. Protecting the transgender community from discrimination in all settings must be part of that tradition.

In 2011, Massachusetts took a great step forward in extending civil rights protections to transgender individuals with Chapter 199, An Act Relative to Gender Identity. Discrimination based on gender identity, however, is still highly pervasive in places such as hotels, restaurants, and even hospitals. Without a law clearly banning discrimination in places of public accommodation, transgender citizens of the Commonwealth are still not free to express their identity.

I am proud to have served in the Massachusetts Legislature when we passed the law ending discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1989. I am proud to have supported the law adding gender identity as a protected classification to many of our anti-discrimination laws in 2011. And I will be even prouder when I see Massachusetts go a step further and pass a law to end discrimination based on gender identity in public accommodations. As the State Auditor, I am concerned with making government work better for all of Massachusetts’ citizens, and this bill is a crucial step in doing just that.

Currently, 17 states have passed laws banning discrimination in public accommodations based on gender identity. In Massachusetts, in fact, 12 cities and towns have passed their own ordinances banning discrimination in places of public accommodation based on gender identity. Just this past April, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that denying transgender people access to restrooms or failing to respect their name changes violates federal sex discrimination law. We now have an opportunity to further stand together with our transgender friends, and advance the arc of the moral universe further towards justice.  So I call upon all members of the Legislature to stand with me in support of HB1577.

Thank you for your consideration of this important civil rights bill. I hope that the committee will report it out favorably.

Sincerely,

Suzanne M. Bump

Auditor of the Commonwealth