Enemies of Equality Are Attacking Again! Contact Massachusetts Congress-critters TODAY!

[Ian David]

From: Marc Solomon, MassEquality Campaign Director
show details 2:15 PM (2 hours ago)

http://www.massequality.org/action/contactleg /


Opponents of equality are at it again.

Their target this time? H1722, a bill that would extend basic protection under the law to transgender people in Massachusetts, which is scheduled for a public hearing in the legislature tomorrow.

They've put the word out to the rightwing talk shows and conservative networks across the country, and now they're flooding the State House with calls from people opposing equal rights for transgender people.

We need to make sure our legislators hear from supporters of equality in their district, and that they know that supporting H1722 is the right thing to do.

Contact your legislator today and ask them to support equality for transgender people.

Tomorrow, the Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on H1722. We can't let opponents of equality dominate the debate. That's why it's so important that you contact your legislators TODAY to make your voice heard.

<snip>

Sincerely,

Marc Solomon
Campaign Director

p.s. We've heard from legislators that they are closely monitoring the calls and emails they get from their constituents on this issue. Your voice can make a difference: please contact your legislators today!

http://www.massequality.org/action/contactleg /

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I can't do much, but I can kick and recommend

:hi:

[Ian David]

2. Advocates, opponents of trans rights bill to have their say on Beacon Hill

Advocates, opponents of trans rights bill to have their say on Beacon Hill
by Ethan Jacobs
Bay Windows
Sunday Mar 2, 2008

Brace yourselves. If opponents of transgender rights have their way, the discussion at a March 4 hearing on the transgender rights bill, House Bill 1722, will be derailed in favor of dredging up age-old arguments about who gets to use which bathroom. The landmark hearing will take place before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and will mark the first time that any committee of the state legislature has heard testimony exclusively related to trans rights. The bathroom argument - essentially, that women will be harassed by men in the ladies room, an argument that was successfully employed to torpedo the Equal Rights Amendment - is an old one.

Already the anti-gay Coalition for Marriage and Family has sent an action alert to its members, warning them of the alleged dangers posed by the bill to bathroom safety. The alert called on supporters to call legislators and parrot that same argument. Meanwhile, on the fringier end of the anti-LGBT movement Amy Contrada of the group MassResistance has been slowly releasing pieces of what she purports to be a 75-page report warning against "the coming nightmare of H.B. 1722." (see"Contrada warns of trans apocalypse.")

But the advocates who drafted the bill and the lawmakers who are pushing for it say the arguments of groups like the Coalition and MassResistance are a red herring, distracting from the bill’s true purpose: to extend the state’s non-discrimination and hate crimes protections to a population that desperately needs them. In the run-up to the hearing the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) and its allies are mobilizing members of the transgender community and their supporters to testify to the discrimination the trans community faces and the impact that passing H.B. 1722 would have on addressing it.

H.B. 1722: The breakdown

Opponents of the bill have accused it of doing some outlandish things. Contrada, for instance, alleges that it would force hotels to host BDSM conferences against their will. But Laura Langley, one of the drafters of the legislation and chair of the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association’s committee on transgender inclusion, gave Bay Windows a breakdown on what the language of the bill actually does. H.B. 1722 will add "gender identity and expression" to the state’s hate crimes laws. It will also add protections based on gender identity and expression to state non-discrimination laws covering education, employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations. The bill requires the inclusion of "people of diverse gender identities or expressions" on the advisory boards of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the state’s lead civil rights agency. Finally, the bill expands the name and mission of the Massachusetts Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth to include transgender and bisexual youth.

More:
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=70964

[Creideiki]

3. What the Hell is wrong with people?

"Oh, no! Someone doesn't fit into my narrow little worldview! Must hate them!"

Isn't there something kind, compassionate and caring that can occupy their time? Like helping to take care of the poor and homeless? You know, something genuinely Christ-like?

[Q3JR4]

4. What's that you say? You want

people to behave Christ-like? What are you some kind of antichrist?

:sarcasm: (as if I really need this)

[Tyler Durden]

5. Equal Rights for only some of the people is an oxymoron.

Which means that the morons who believe that sort of twaddle should be deprived of Oxygen.