Last year State Rep.
Carl Sciortino, D-Medford, filed a transgender bill that was sent off
for further study. The bill was not acted on and did not become law.

But
with Sciortino returning to the State House after being reelected,
supporters of the bill say further efforts to enact the legislation are
likely. On Sept. 16 at his election victory celebration, Sciortino said
passing "non-discrimination hate crime law for our transgender brothers
and sisters across the Commonwealth" is the third highest priority of
his third term, after the Green Line extension and MCAS reform.

Through a spokesman, Sciortino refused to comment on the issue for this article.

Transgender
is a word applied to either a person or a behavior that divides itself
from the gender role given at birth. A person who is born a man but who
lives day to day as a woman is a transgender person. The consequences
of such a life can be harsh, said Melissa Threadgill, communications
director of MassEquality, a Boston-based grassroots organization.

"Transgender
people are routinely fired by their employers either before or after
transitioning from one sex to another," Threadgill said.

Life
for low-income transgender people can be even harder, said Gunner
Scott, director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition.
"Transgenders are often turned away from homeless shelters. The issue
is more prevalent in low-income situations. Large corporate companies
have regulations geared towards non-discrimination, the smaller
low-paying companies do not."

If passed, the bill would make it
illegal to discriminate against transgender people. "It will add gender
identity and expression to existing non-discrimination laws affecting
employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, public education
and hate crimes," said Threadgill.

The bill would add Massachusetts to 17 other states that employ similar legislation.

The initial bill was introduced by Sciortino and State Rep. Byron Rushing, D-Boston.

Somerville Reps. Tim Toomey and Denise Provost, both Democrats, were two of the bill's sponsors.

Provost
spoke of a situation in Somerville in which a waiter refused to serve a
transgender person and then began to harass them.

"I think eventually this bill will be filed because it doesn't change current law, it makes a statement about it," Provost said.

City spokesman Tom Champion said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone also supports the measure.

"Somerville as a city has a record for promoting issues of equality and taking potential hate crimes seriously," Champion said.

The legislation also has opponents, including The Massachusetts Family Institute, who contend the measure could harm children.

"We
do not support this legislation," said Evelyn Reilly of The
Massachusetts Family Institute. "It would confuse vulnerable children.
The bill would put a fundamental error about human nature into law. It
would take a problem listed as a mental disorder, Gender Identity
Confusion, by the psychiatric profession, and treat it as normal."