With a stroke of his pen, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed a bill into law banning the harmful practice of so-called 'conversion therapy' for minors in his state.
That brings the total number of states to prohibit the medically discredited practice to 16.
Massachusetts joins New Jersey, California, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New Mexico, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Nevada, Washington, Hawaii, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New York, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Good news!! Thank you Massachusetts. Only 34 more states to go to ban conversion therapy, a form of child abuse. https://t.co/XfAaJ8QYxW
Great news that Massachusetts will finally put an end to the horrific & illegitimate practice of conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors. But conversion therapy for minors is shockingly still permissible in 34 states. We must abolish this practice nationwide.https://t.co/pRXRv4SJLj
By a vote of 34-0, the Massachusetts state Senate approved a bill banning the practice of so-called 'conversion therapy' on minors.
Previously, the Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a similar bill by a 147-8 vote.
Senator Patrick O’Connor, one of six Republicans in the Senate, voted for the bill. The remaining five GOP Senators voted ‘present.'
The bill now heads to Gov. Charlie Baker (R) who has indicated he intends to sign the bill into law.
'Conversion therapy,' or 'ex-gay therapy' purports to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of people.
Major medical organizations like the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association have all denounced the practice which can lead to depression, anxiety, and in some cases, suicide.
Massachusetts would become the 16th state plus Washington, D.C. to ban the harmful practice.
The new law will allow adults to seek conversion therapy if they want.
While most of the country’s political attention currently revolves around who will control Congress after the November mid-term elections, LGBTs should be aware that an item on the Massachusetts ballot could have widespread effects on the community.
A law passed in 2016 protects transgender citizens in the state from discrimination in regard to public accommodations, including the use of bathrooms that align with transgender folks’ gender identity.
But conservative, anti-trans groups have managed to put the law up for a vote by the general public after only two years.
Question 3 will ask voters in the Bay state if the law should remain (a ‘yes’ vote) or be repealed (a ‘no’ vote).
The “No on 3” campaign has released a new ad spot that stokes fears about “men in women’s bathrooms” predicting male predators will hide out and lie in wait to attack women and children.
In the spot, a woman enters a locker room as a sinister-looking male predator hides inside a bathroom stall.
“What does the Question 3 mean to you?” asks female voice in the ad. “It means any man who says he is a woman can enter a woman’s locker room, dressing room or bathroom at any time, even convicted sex offenders, and if you see something suspicious and say something to authorities, you could be arrested and fined up $15,000.”
During the voiceover, the woman begins to undress but looks up to see the man emerge from the stall.
The voiceover ends: “Vote No on 3. This bathroom bill puts our privacy and safety at risk. It goes too far.”
Here’s the spot.
It's worth repeating that there have been zero reports of straight men posing as 'trans women' in order to get their rocks off preying on women in bathrooms.
While this may seem like an issue in just one state, Massachusetts has a long history in leading the fight for LGBTQ rights.
Massachusetts was the first state to legalize marriage equality, and the second (after Wisconsin) to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
And while many may think Massachusetts is a ‘safe liberal haven’ for civil rights, don’t forget that in ‘liberal’ California, the dreadful Prop. 8 took away same-sex marriage after LGBT folks already had won the right to marry those they love.
That’s a setback we, as a community, can’t allow to happen again.
If Question 3 in Massachusetts were to pass, it would embolden opponents of the community to attack LGBTQ protections anywhere.
Fortunately, there are people fighting for our side and getting the truth out to the public.
Here’s the recent ad from the ‘Yes on 3’ team below. And for more information about how you can help, head over to freedommassachusetts.org.
Big news coming out of Massachusetts today - a Boston City Councilor, Ayanna Pressley, defeated 10-term Rep. Mike Capuano in Tuesday's closely watched Massachusetts Democratic primary.
With no Republican challenger looming in the deep-blue district, Pressley is all but assured to win election in November and become the first black woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress, doing so in a district once represented by John F. Kennedy.
High school students in Massachusetts will soon have access to LGBTQ-themed history, English and health this fall in an effort to help all students see themselves in the courses they study.
The curriculum, developed by a team of teachers with Massachusetts Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students and the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth, will be released this summer. It will feature lessons on the 1969 Stonewall Riots and writings by gay and lesbian authors such as Langston Hughes and Willa Cather. It will also feature lessons like how Nick Carraway’s love for Jay Gatsby may have influenced themes in “The Great Gatsby.”
“We talk about mirrors and windows,” said Jeff Perrotti, director of the Massachusetts Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students. “Students need to see themselves reflected and see others who are different from themselves. It is important that all students feel safe, valued and respected in school so they can be ready to learn.”
“If students don’t see themselves in the curriculum, they are not as likely to pay attention,” said commission director Corey Prachniak-Rincon. “It is a huge demand we hear from teachers. They recognize part of the reason why LGBTQ students feel excluded is they’re not reflected and that part of their identity is ignored.”
The Herald goes on to quote teachers who say students have come back after graduating to say how much it helped them to discuss literature and history that included facts such as poet Walt Whitman being gay.
I am, of course, waiting to hear from the haters who will label this "gay indoctrination."
But the fact is the new gay-themed curriculum will not be required for all schools to teach. The choice to offer the courses will be left to local school districts.
According to a 2015 study, 11% of high school students in Massachusetts identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or questioning their sexual orientation. Almost 3% identify as transgender.
Today, Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed into law legislation extending commonsense, non-discrimination protections to transgender residents and visitors to the state. While Massachusetts state law already prohibits discrimination against transgender people in housing and employment, the new law extends these same crucial protections to public accommodations, such as access to restaurants, malls, restrooms, and locker rooms.
“By signing this bipartisan legislation into law, Governor Baker has joined the growing list of fair-minded Republicans who are standing up for equality,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Equality is not a Republican or Democratic value, it’s an American value. This crucially important measure will help ensure transgender Bay State residents and visitors are protected from discrimination in public spaces.”
Massachusetts becomes the 19th state with non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations, housing, and employment. In addition, similar protections exist in more than 100 cities across the country, including Atlanta, Dallas, and Louisville.
Raw Story has the details on current Republican Massachusetts state Senate candidate Ted Busiek, who recently praised Donald Trump for "putting self-righteous faggots in their place."
Oh - but Busiek didn't mean "faggot" as a slur, however that works.
MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes pointed out during a broadcast last week that Trump had complained to the Native American affairs subcommittee in 1993 that some reservations did not deserve to receive gaming licenses because “they don’t look like Indians to me.”
Ted Busiek, who is running for Massachusetts Senate, responded on Saturday by lauding Trump’s remarks.
“DONALD TRUMP. Putting self-righteous faggots in their place since 1993. How I love this fellow,” he wrote.
Busiek later insisted to State House News Service that he did not use the word “faggot” in a “hateful sense.” The candidate said that term was used to show that the congressman questioning Trump was “obnoxious” and “kind of being a jerk.”
“It’s hard for me to get exercised over naughty words,” he explained. “You can insult somebody without being hateful.”
Busiek, who opposes same-sex marriage and adoption rights, said that he was standing up for “anybody who works for a living,” especially those who had “oppressor status” for being white, male and wealthy.
After months of mixed signals, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has announced he will sign into law recent legislation that provides for public accommodations for transgender folks.
“We’ve certainly listened to a variety of points of view from many sides and have said, from the beginning, that we don’t want people to be discriminated against,” Baker said in an interview with The Boston Globe. “If the House bill were to pass in its current form, yeah, I would sign it.”
The bill approved by the Senate and the version that is set to be passed by the House on Wednesday would allow people to use the restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity and would protect transgender people from discrimination in barber shops, malls, libraries, restaurants, and other public accommodations.
The bathroom provision has raised sharp concern from opponents who assert that male sexual predators, under the guise of being transgender women, could enter women’s restrooms and locker rooms. Proponents of the bill say those worries are unfounded and not borne out by the almost 20 states that already have similar protections.
Baker was booed at an LGBT event in April when he wouldn't endorse the legislation.
Transgender rights and protections have jumped to the forefront of our national discourse in the past year, with many states passing anti-transgender laws like North Carolina's HB2 which dictates to transgender students they must use bathrooms that align with their gender assigned at birth as opposed to their actual gender identity.
Thomas Manning (photo: Massachusetts General Hospital)
A Massachusetts cancer patient has become the first man to receive a penis transplant in the United States.
After a nearly 15 hour operation, 64 year-old Thomas Manning appears to be recovering well and there are no signs of rejection. Most of Manning's penis was removed during his bout with cancer four years ago.
“Today I begin a new chapter filled with personal hope and hope for others who have suffered genital injuries, particularly for our servicemembers who put their lives on the line and suffer serious damage as a result,” Manning said in a statement.
Manning, a bank courier in Halifax, Mass., underwent the operation on May 8 and 9. The surgeons who led the 15-hour procedure, Curtis Cetrulo and Dickens Ko, said they were "cautiously optimistic" Manning will regain full urinary and sexual function.
"He's doing well so far," Cetrulo said at a news conference Monday. "He is up and out of bed. Emotionally he's doing amazingly well. He's a very positive person."
Manning has been cancer free for about four years, the physicians said. He is not married but said the transplant could help make such a relationship possible.
The first ever penis transplant in the world took place in Africa in December 2014.
By a vote of 33-4, the Massachusetts state Senate today advanced legislation that would outlaw discrimination against transgender people.
The bill now goes to the state House of Representatives, where the legislation has strong support. The only real question at this point is whether Republican (but socially liberal) Gov. Charlie Baker will sign the bill into law.
The measure would make Massachusetts the 18th U.S. state to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
As many folks know, with the passage of marriage equality last summer, focus in the world of LGBT rights has shifted in part to transgender protections with many conservative states passing laws which effectively legalize discrimination against trans folks.
Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker was booed off the stage by LGBT activists when he hemmed and hawed about whether he supports rights for transgender folks.
More than 1,000 business leaders packed the hotel ballroom for the 10th Annual Boston Spirit LGBT Executive Networking Night, hosted by Boston Spirit magazine, in the hopes of hearing Baker either declare support for the transgender bill or at least pledge not to veto the measure if it reaches his desk.
But Baker infuriated many in the crowd, some of whom held signs that read “Trans Rights Now,” when he hedged.
Baker said he would “make sure I talk to all the parties involved” if the legislation comes to him. He also did not say whether he would veto the bill.
The bill in question, known as the public accommodations bill, would prohibit bias against transgender people in restaurants, shopping malls, and other public areas.
I have to say - you attend an LGBT networking event, and you can't offer clear, strong support to the people you're addressing?
How embarrassing for what is typically a very progressive state to have such a weak leader regarding LGBT rights. #Sad
Barrett sued, alleging that the Milton school discriminated against him based on sexual orientation and gender. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins agreed, rejecting Fontbonne’s claim that hiring Barrett would infringe on its constitutional rights because it views his marriage to a man as incompatible with its religious mission.
The judge said Barrett’s duties as a food services director did not include presenting the teachings of the Catholic church. The judge also found that a religious exemption to the state anti-discrimination law applies only if a religious organization limits admission to people of a certain religion. Fontbonne is open to students and employees of all faiths, with the exception of its administration and theology faculty.
Ten years ago today, the first same-sex couple got married in Massachusetts.
The first of many "happy dances" in my house.
A decade later, 17 other states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act which had long deterred other states from following Massachusetts’ lead, and gays and lesbians now serve openly in the military without fear of being discharged. President Obama and many elected leaders have come to embrace marriage equality as have a majority of Americans. Just last week, the NFL drafted its first openly gay player.
While many have championed the successful legal strategy that saved same-sex marriage in the state of California, for civil rights activists, it’s hard to overstate the importance of Goodridge which set an example for the country in terms of equal rights and the freedom to marry.
For the detractors - you will note the sky has not fallen.
MassLive is reporting that vehemently anti-gay Scott Lively (currently being sued by a Ugandan civil rights group for crimes against humanity) has launched a campaign to become the next governor of Massachusetts:
His campaign motto is "Qualified. Experienced. Electable." Publicly available campaign finance records show he has about $3,000 in his coffers, including a $2,000 loan to himself.
Lively said he does not believe being the target of a 2012 lawsuit in federal court leveled by Sexual Minorities Uganda in connection with his anti-homosexuality campaign in that country will hurt his chances as a candidate.
"If anything, I think it will help me when people learn how ridiculous the lawsuit is," he said during an interview.
Lively is running as an independent in the "bluest of the blue states," he said. He said he will be a viable option for conservatives whom, he said, have been abandoned by Republicans and have no connection with Democrats, to whom he refers as "Communists."
"The people of Massachusetts need a candidate who can clearly and unapologetically articulate Biblical values without fear or compromise," his campaign literature states. "They need a candidate who will tell the simple truth that abortion is murder, and homosexuality is condemned by God (but that Jesus forgives those who repent)."
Joe Jervis at JoeMyGod points out this shortlist of anti-gay atrocities connected to Lively:
Eighteen-term US House Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) has won the special election to replace John Kerry in the Senate.
Markey beat Republican businessman Gabriel E. Gomez today in a special election for US Senate in Massachusetts that was marked by its brevity and by low voter interest.
Markey had 55 percent of the votes, compared with 45 percent for Gomez, with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
While Barney Frank has clearly stated he'd like to be the interim Senator from Massachusetts (should John Kerry become Sec. of State), he's now endorsed MA Rep. Ed Markey for the special election that would take place:
Markey was the first candidate to announce that he is running in the special election. Frank’s endorsement comes days after Kerry, Victoria Kennedy, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other Democratic groups announced that they are backing Markey, in an apparent attempt to coalesce around one Democratic nominee and avoid a contentious primary. However, not all Democrats are ready to unite around Markey. U.S. Reps. Michael Capuano of Somerville and Stephen Lynch of South Boston and state Sen. Benjamin Downing of Pittsfield are all still considering running.
