By: Heather Waxman
Staff Writer

In November, Governor Deval Patrick signed “An Act Relative to Gender Identity” – a bill that protects transgendered individuals from discrimination in the areas of housing, education, employment and credit. The bill also adds gender identification to Massachusetts’ list of hate crime laws.

After six years of lobbying, the transgender community helped make Massachusetts the 16th state to pass the bill. The law has modified all language concerning gender equality to protect all people, regardless of their gender identity.

“I’m glad we live in such a liberal state that legislation like this gets passed, so we can set an example for all the other states,” said Kristie Bezreh, president of the Pride Alliance, formerly known as the Ten Percent Alliance and Allies.

Bezreh also commented on California’s rejection of Proposition 8 on Tuesday. “Seven states out of 50. We’re almost there!” she said.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the proposition, which banned gay marriage in the state, to be unconstitutional this week.

Despite Republican backlash, Bezreh believes there is promise for the future of the LGBT community. “We’re fortunate to live in a more liberal state, but I don’t think [Republicans] are going to get much support anyway,” said Bezreh. “Thankfully, our country is progressing.”

Carly Burton, director of public policy and political affairs at Mass Equality, a grassroots organization that advocates for equal rights in the LGBT community, said,  “The bill was filed for the first time in 2007, so it has been discussed and worked on for a while now. … It is really historic legislation.”

The act was originally called “The Transgender Equal Rights Bill” before it passed through the judiciary committee, said Burton. Opponents referred to it as the “Bathroom Bill” as a result of the issue surrounding whether transgendered people should be able to use the public restroom of their choice.

“I think [Mass Equality] and the transgender community has done a good job in educating the public and the legislature about who transgendered people are,” said Burton. “As more people feel comfortable coming out and revealing who they really are … fighting for public accommodation protections might be slightly easier.”

According to Burton, Mass Equality has been working toward showing the public and the legislature that transgendered individuals have more public accommodation obstacles than strictly bathrooms. There are also issues concerning stores, public transportation and doctors’ offices.

With the exception of the transgender community, all protected classes in non-discrimination statutes have public accommodations, said Burton, “so the passage of this bill without public accommodations is unique.”

Mass Equality worked with State Representative Tom Sannicandro, Senator Karen Spilka and Representative Chris Walsh in getting the bill passed.

Transgendered students are protected under FSU’s Affirmative Action Plan, said Rita Colucci, chief of staff and general counsel. The plan covers the entire campus community, from students to employees to vendors.

“The Affirmative Action Plan [has] been active on this campus since 2007, and gender identity has been protected here on campus. So I think we were a little bit ahead of the game on this one,” said Colucci.

Under the plan, if an individual feels as though they are being discriminated against because of their gender identity, they can go to Human Resources and file a complaint. HR would then conduct an investigation to determine whether the policy was violated.

There have been no complaints filed regarding the transgender community since the most recent affirmative action plan went into effect, said Colucci.

Kim Dexter, assistant director for Residence Life, said, “Luckily, we’ve been in a little bubble here. We don’t think about the world outside of us all the time, so it’s nice that we can kind of make this issue a little bit more known.”

Dexter hopes the bill’s passing will help closeted transgendered students feel comfortable expressing their identities.

“I think these small victories will slowly build awareness within the community and hopefully make it a safer place for students who identify themselves as transgendered,” said Dexter.

Angelique Bouthot, a freshman, said, “I’ve always been active in gay rights, so I’m really excited to hear the bill passed.”

Kristen O’Brien, a senior, said, “I think it’s something that needed to take effect because [transgendered people are] still widely discriminated against across the country.”

Caileen Norris, a senior, said, “I think that’s awesome. … I think [the bill] makes a lot of sense.”

Colucci says the bill is effective in bringing to light an issue that wasn’t necessarily at the forefront.

“Hopefully, it makes people stop and wonder, ‘Does it matter which gender someone holds themselves out as?’ At the end of the day, we’re all people.”