An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes was filed in the House by Representative Carl Sciortino and Representative Byron Rushing (H 1728) and in the Senate by Senator Benjamin Downing (S 1687).

Summary and Background

H 1728/S1687An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes adds the category "gender identity or expression" to our hate crime laws as well as to the employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and public education non-discrimination laws.  While the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) has already clarified that state law currently protects all individuals, including transgender persons, from discrimination based on gender identity or expression, this bill makes those protections explicit, uniform, and visible to the general public.

What it would do

This bill updates Massachusetts non-discrimination and hate crimes laws to ensure that they clearly and uniformly protect all people regardless of their gender identity or gender expression, including transgender people.

This bill also amends existing hate crime laws to explicitly protect people targeted for violence and harassment because of their gender identity or expression.

More broadly, An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes will affirm the Commonwealth’s commitment to equality and freedom from discrimination and violence for all its citizens.

What does “gender identity or expression” mean?

“Gender identity or expression” is defined as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of an individual, regardless of the individual’s assigned sex at birth.”

This definition is intended to be consistent with MCAD’s interpretation of existing law and reflects the approach taken in a number of other states to ensure that transgender people are covered by the law.  In addition to covering transgender people, the law protects people who do not conform to stereotypical views of how “real men” or “real women” should look or act.

Why is it needed?

Transgender people in Massachusetts face high levels of discrimination and violence because of widespread prejudice and the assumption that transgender people are "outside" of the law's protections. This bill makes it clear that transgender individuals and people who do not conform to gender stereotypes have equal protection under the law. By addressing critical areas where people experience discrimination, this bill seeks to increase the productivity and safety of employees, consumers, residents, and students.

Is Massachusetts the first place to explicitly protect people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression?

No. Many local and state governments have already enacted such protections.  In Massachusetts, ordinances in Boston, Cambridge, and Northampton prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Nationwide, 13 states, Washington D.C., and 102 cities and counties have passed non-discrimination laws or ordinances protecting people on this basis. The states are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Iowa, Oregon, and Washington.

Furthermore, over 155 employers based in Massachusetts as well as many who are operating in Massachusetts have already adopted non-discrimination policies that include gender identity.

Is Massachusetts the first place to include gender identity or expression in hate crimes law?

No. 10 states and Washington D.C. have included gender identity and gender expression in hate crimes laws: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

Additional Info

No one deserves to be fired, refused work, denied housing, education or credit, or suffer harassment or violence just because of who they are -- but transgender and gender non-conforming people in Massachusetts routinely face all of these for transitioning from one sex to another, or simply for defying expectations of what a "normal"

man or woman looks like.

From 2002-2006, transgender victims of hate crimes comprised over 6.3% of the total number of anti-LGBT hate crime victims -- a number completely disproportionate to their actual population. In the Greater Boston area, a 2006 survey found that fewer than 25% of transgender women were employed full-time, only 20% held part-time employment, and 55% had been homeless at some point. Transgender people in Massachusetts have reported losing their jobs, being harassed by landlords, feeling unsafe in their own schools and even being turned away from local emergency rooms.

Nationwide, 13 states, Washington D.C., and at least 102 counties and cities have passed legislation to ban this discrimination in their communities -- including Boston, Cambridge and Northampton.

"An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes" has been re-introduced for the 2009 legislative session in the House by Representative Carl Sciortino and Representative Byron Rushing (HB

1728) and in the Senate by Senator Benjamin Downing.

This bill will make explicit the Commonwealth's commitment to providing people of diverse gender identities and expressions equal protection under the law, and guarantee transgender and gender non-conforming people the opportunity to contribute to their communities and to the local economy. It sends a clear message that everyone should be able to work, go to school, and live without fear in Massachusetts.