There is an informative article on the Mass Live website that gives excellent back story as to why Ballot Question 3, to “repeal the law designed to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity in public places—such as hotels, restaurants, and stores.”, coming in November.
The article is well worth a read, as it details why the repeal is on the ballot, who the organizations are on both sides of the issue, and some personal stories about the impact of this bill.
At 40 years old, Kelly Jenkins lost everything. “I lost my friends, I lost my family, I lost my job. So, I had to rebuild.”
Born biologically male and raised Southern Baptist Evangelical in a family that she describes as “deeply, deeply, deeply religious,” Jenkins struggled throughout her entire life to be her “authentic self.” She transitioned to female in 2004, but she never found acceptance as a transgender woman in Tennessee.
Massachusetts became the place for Jenkins’ rebirth — a place where she felt accepted, felt comfortable being herself and felt protected by the law.
But some of the legal protections for transgender people that once drew Jenkins to the state are now at risk of repeal. The fate of the transgender anti-discrimination bill — a law passed in 2016 to protect transgender people from discrimination in restaurants, stores, movie theaters and other public places — is in the public’s hands this November.
Readers can reach the full article here: “The Massachusetts transgender anti-discrimination law could soon be repealed; How did this happen?”
On the other side of the issue, Christian Headlines.com covers a different perspective on public accommodation for transgender people and how close the vote is based on two polls. It is too close to call what will happen with ballot question 3.
Transgender rights laws have been controversial across the country, but one of the nation’s most liberal states – Massachusetts – could become the first to overturn such protections this fall.
A referendum that would repeal the 2016 state law likely will appear on the ballot in November. The law allows men and women to use the restroom or locker room that corresponds to their gender identity. In other words, men who identity as women are allowed to use the women’s restroom.
Two new polls show the vote could be close. A Suffolk University survey showed that 49 percent of voters would keep the law and 37 percent repeal it. A WBUR poll had 52 percent backing the law and 38 percent wanting to overturn it.
The fact that the law lacks overwhelming support in left-leaning Massachusetts has surprised observers. A Daily Beast columnist wrote, “In theory, an anti-transgender ballot measure shouldn’t stand a chance in a state like Massachusetts.”
“If it were somehow to pass in Massachusetts, it would be very divisive across the country,” MassINC pollster Steve Koczela told WBUR, “and you would start to see these ballot questions popping up in a lot of other places.”
Readers can click the following link to read: “Massachusetts Voters May Repeal Transgender ‘Bathroom Bill’“.