Question 3 (2018, Massachusetts)

Question 3 is a Massachusetts veto referendum that will be on the ballot on November 6, 2018. A "No" vote would repeal a 2016 law (Senate Bill 2407) that prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of gender identity. A "Yes" vote would preserve the existing law.

Statute

On July 7, 2016, “An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination” (Senate Bill 2407) was passed. It was signed by Gov. Charlie Baker the next day. It took effect on Oct. 1, 2016. It amended Section 92A of chapter 272 of the General Laws to cover "gender identity" in "any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement that lawfully segregates or separates access...based on a person’s sex" such that all individuals shall be treated "consistent with the person’s gender identity."[1] The places of "public accommodation" where discrimination is forbidden include, according to GLAD, "restaurants, libraries, hotels, malls, public transportation, and beyond," as well as "bathrooms and locker rooms."[2]

Support for the "No" vote

Keep MA Safe opposes the 2016 anti-discrimination law and advocates for its repeal. A press release on their website dated Sept. 28, 2016 says that "hundreds of volunteers" had met the deadline to provide the 32,375 signatures required to get the question on the November ballot.[3]

Their campaign finance report filed Sept. 7, 2018 indicated that the group raised $286,000 since the campaign began in 2017. Of this, $106,300 was raised in 2018 to date.[4]

Support for the "Yes" vote

Freedom For All Massachusetts supports the "Yes" vote to preserve the existing anti-discrimination law. This political advocacy coalition, according to their website, includes: 250 businesses, 350 clergy and congregations, 14 labor unions, 16 "women's and victim's advocacy groups," Boston Children's Hospital,[5] "every major New England professional sports team" including the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots,[6] 29 mayors, Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, the state attorney general Maura Healey, politicians from both parties in the state House and Senate, and "the entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation."[7]

Their campaign finance report filed Sept. 7, 2018 indicated that the group raised $2.7 million since the campaign began in 2017. Of this, $1.8 million was raised in 2018 to date.[8]

"Yes" has been endorsed by the city councils of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Melrose, Arlington, and Lexington as of Sept. 24, 2018.[9]

Studies

Forensic psychologists Brian Barnett, Renee Sorrentino, and Ariana Nesbit examined the frequency of crimes committed in restrooms and changing rooms throughout the United States. They found that, since 2004, there have been 13 reports in the US of a cisgender (non-transgender) man dressing up as a woman to enable him to commit a crime in a women's bathroom. The majority of men who commit crimes in women's restrooms neither "attempt to disguise themselves as women [n]or claim to be protected by laws expanding transgender bathroom access."[10] Only once (in Seattle in 2016) did an apparently cisgender man cite an anti-discrimination law that protects transgender people, without attempting to present himself as a woman or otherwise identify as a woman, as an excuse for undressing in a women's changing room.[11] The study found only one allegation of a restroom sex crime against a transgender woman (the person was accused of videotaping inside a women's changing room in Idaho in 2016)[12] and none against transgender men. The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law in June 2018.[13]

Amira Hasenbush, Andrew R. Flores, and Jody L. Herman of the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law examined the same issue more locally within Massachusetts. They determined that citywide transgender anti-discrimination laws (passed by several cities before the 2016 anti-discrimination law was applied statewide) did not affect the rate of crimes reported in restrooms. They examined Massachusetts cities before and after they passed such laws as well as Massachusetts cities that never passed any such law. The study was published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy in July 2018.[14][15][16]

A 2013 study of transgender and gender-nonconforming adult residents of Massachusetts found that 65% of respondents had experienced discrimination in public accommodations (in some cases, regarding bathrooms) within the previous year.[17]

Polling

Date(s) conducted Yes No Undecided Lead Margin of error Sample Conducted by Method
September 13-17, 2018 73.2% 17.4% 9.2% 55.8% - 500 likely voters Suffolk University Political Research Center
June 14, 2018 48.8% 37.2% 14% 11.6% - 500 likely voters Suffolk University Political Research Center
May 22-26, 2018 52% 38% 11% 14% ± 4.4% 501 registered voters wbur Landline and cell phone live interviews

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bill S.2407, 189th General Court (2015 - 2016) An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination". Massachusetts Legislature. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "MA Public Accommodations Q&A". GLAD: Legal Advocates and Defenders. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Transgender Bathroom Law Repeal Effort Hits its Mark". Keep MA Safe. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Schoenberg, Shira (10 September 2018). "Transgender rights groups outspend opponents in Massachusetts ballot question fight". MassLive. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Boston Children's Hospital Endorses Freedom For All Massachusetts Campaign!". Freedom For All Massachusetts. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  6. ↑ Stahl, Shane (3 May 2018). "Freedom For All Massachusetts Launches Campaign to Defend Transgender Dignity at the Ballot in November". Freedom For All Massachusetts. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "About Freedom for All Massachusetts". Freedom For All Massachusetts. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  8. ↑ Schoenberg, Shira (10 September 2018). "Transgender rights groups outspend opponents in Massachusetts ballot question fight". MassLive. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "Cambridge City Council Backs Yes on 3 Campaign to Uphold Transgender Protections in Massachusetts". Freedom For All Massachusetts. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  10. ↑ Barnett, Brian (11 September 2018). "Anti-Trans 'Bathroom Bills' Are Based On Lies. Here's The Research To Show It". Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Man in women's locker room cites gender rule". KING 5 News. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  12. ↑ Chokshi, Niraj (14 July 2016). "Transgender Woman Is Charged With Voyeurism at Target in Idaho". New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Barnett, Brian; Nesbit, Ariana; Sorrentino, Renée (1 June 2018). "The Transgender Bathroom Debate at the Intersection of Politics, Law, Ethics, and Science". Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 46 (2): 232–241. doi:10.29158/JAAPL.003761-18. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  14. ↑ Ebbert, Stephanie (12 September 2018). "Study finds no link between transgender rights law and bathroom crimes". Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "Gender-identity inclusive nondiscrimination laws do not jeopardize safety in public bathrooms". Williams Institute. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Hasenbush, Amira; Flores, Andrew; Herman, Jody (23 July 2018). "Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Laws in Public Accommodations: a Review of Evidence Regarding Safety and Privacy in Public Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Changing Rooms". Sexuality Research and Social Policy: 1–14. doi:10.1007/s13178-018-0335-z. ISSN 1868-9884. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  17. ↑ Reisner, SL; White, JM; Dunham, EE; Heflin, K; Begenyi, J; Cahill, S; The Project Voice Team. "Discrimination and Health in Massachusetts: A statewide survey of transgender and gender nonconforming adults (2014)" (PDF). Fenway Health. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.