Boston- Transgender bill on the move, chairman sees house vote this week

[SandraJane]

Boston Herald.com

Transgender bill on the move, chairman sees house vote this week

By Kyle Cheney / State House News Service
Monday, November 14, 2011 - Added 2 hours ago

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20111114transgender_bill_on_the_move_chairman_sees_house_vote_this_week/srvc=home&position=recent

A legislative committee has begun polling its members on a long-stalled bill to include transgender residents in the state's non-discrimination laws, setting up a vote in the House this week, according to a top deputy to Speaker Robert DeLeo.

The Judiciary Committee issued a poll Monday afternoon to its 17 members, and committee co-chair Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty (D-Chelsea) said he anticipates the bill reaching the floor for a vote before midnight Wednesday, when the Legislature begins a seven-week recess.

The proposal, he said, is a redrafted version of a bill that would have also required "sex-segregated facilities, accommodations, resorts and amusements" to grant transgender residents access, based on their preferred "gender identity.

[Felix]

followup by the Boston Herald

Transgender rights bill timing attacked
Chris Cassady
http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/2011_1115transgender_rightsbill_timing_attacked

Transgendered Bay Staters would win anti-discrimination protections in a bill lawmakers are expected to take up just before recessing for the year — a move opponents are blasting as both heavy-handed and a case of misplaced priorities.

"I think the ultra left-wing interest groups here are making a push in conjunction with Transgender Awareness Week, and, unfortunately, the leaders are actually giving in to it," said state Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica), who argued the "transgendered bathroom bill" is being given preferential treatment over jobs and the economy.