Healey To DeLeo: Put Transgender Bill To A Vote

Against the backdrop of Mississippi, North Carolina, and Georgia taking steps to deny or constrain the rights of the LGBTQ community, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey called upon House Speaker Robert DeLeo to bring the stalled transgender rights bill to a vote.

"Let's vote," Healey told WGBH News. "Put it to a vote."

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has vetoed his state's legislation. Healey termed the North Carolina and Georgia actions—which have become law—as "ugly", adding that it is representative of a willingness to roll back equal rights for the LGBTQ community.

"Now is the time, especially in the face of that, that we stand up as Massachusetts has before and say, 'We're going to be a place where everybody is welcome,'" Healey said.

DeLeo himself supports the bill. But the Speaker has said he will not bring it to a vote until he hears more from his members. Last week, DeLeo told reporters that the events below the Mason-Dixon Line have not altered his position.

North Carolina last month passed a law that blocked local governments from passing their own measures to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ people . The backlash was swift and felt even here in Boston, where the City Council   moved to bar city-funded travel to North Carolina .

Meanwhile, in Georgia, Deal rejected a bill that would have allowed religious organizations to deny services to customers based on religious beliefs .

"The last couple of weeks just drive home and bring into starker relief why it's important that we be clear here in Massachusetts that we address this inequity, that we close this gap and we make sure that everybody feels welcome, everyone feels safe here in the state," Healey said.

Healey said she isn't sure what accounts for the House's inaction on the bill, which would put into law specific statutes protecting transgender individuals' rights to access public accommodations.

"Let's be clear about this. This is about civil rights," Healey said. "This is about equal treatment under the law and I don't think that should take a backseat to anything in terms of the agenda."

Healey said there is still misinformation out there about what the bill does and she said she and her office will continue to provide lawmakers and citizens with the legal and law enforcement perspective on the issue.

"You are prohibited from discriminating against an employee based on their gender identity, and yet you can refer or refuse service to someone based on the fact that they're transgender," Healey said. "That doesn't make any sense."

Opponents of the bill say opening up all public bathrooms to transgender individuals could result in predators taking advantage of the law and becoming threats to children.

"There's still a lot of concern about the impact from this bill and that's been voiced by the governor as well as members of the legislature," said Andrew Beckwith, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.

Beckwith says the Legislature got in right in 2011 when they took the accommodations language out of the bill.

"We believe the 2011 bill provided thorough means for addressing discrimination but also did not include the bathrooms and restrooms and other areas without public accommodations, areas very much a concern for children and women in particular," Beckwith said.

Beckwith said he and his organization were "encouraged by what the legislature and governor did in North Carolina in protecting the privacy and safety of their people," and hope that the government here keeps the bill in Committee, away from a floor vote.

Senate President Stan Rosenberg, DeLeo's upper chamber counterpart, has said that if the House-controlled Judiciary Committee releases the bill back to the Senate he will put it to a vote in that chamber. That is a very big "if" on Beacon Hill because of the House-dominated committee system.

Rosenberg will attempt to increase the visibility of the bill Thursday, April 26 at the State House, when he cohosts a panel discussion on the bill with Boston Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz.

In 2011, the state's groundbreaking transgender rights law was passed only after advocates conceded language on public accommodations—like locker rooms, restaurants, transportation and public bathrooms.