BOSTON (Reuters) – Legislation outlawing discrimination against transgender people advanced in the Democratic-led legislature in the liberal state of Massachusetts on Thursday at the same time conservative states have put in place laws restricting transgender rights.
The Massachusetts Senate approved the bill protecting transgender rights by a wide margin, sending it to the state House of Representatives, where it has strong support. Governor Charlie Baker, a socially liberal Republican, has not said whether he would sign the bill into law if it secures final legislative approval.
The measure would make Massachusetts the 18th U.S. state to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
The issue of transgender rights has become the latest front in America’s culture wars. Some supporters of the Massachusetts measure described it as a rebuke to a law put in place in March in North Carolina prohibiting people from using bathrooms that do not correspond to the sex on their birth certificates.
“I am deeply proud of (the state Senate) for reaffirming our commitment to value and celebrate the diversity of humanity,” Senate President Stan Rosenberg said following the 33-4 vote.
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http://www.oann.com/massachusetts-lawmakers-to-take-up-transgender-rights-bill/
