[News] [MA, USA] Discrimination now illegal in state; supporters call it a ‘lifechanging day’

[Stephanie Stevens]

Boston Globe, MA, USA


Discrimination now illegal in state; supporters call it a ‘lifechanging day’

By Adam Sege | Globe Correspondent

July 02, 2012


[Photo: <http://bit.ly/KO1Fi6> Ethan St. Pierre of Haverhill, who was
born a woman, said a gender change led to his firing by a previous
employer.]

When Ethan St. Pierre began the transition to life as a man a decade
ago, the Haverhill resident didn’t think the change would cost him his
job as a supervisor for a security company.

St. Pierre, whom his co-workers had known as a woman, had received
raises and positive performance reviews, and when he told colleagues
of his plans, most seemed unfazed, said Pierre, now 50.

So when his employer fired him two years later, telling him the
transition had left St. Pierre unable to perform effectively, he felt
stunned.

“I was such a hard worker,” said St. Pierre, now an outspoken
transgender rights advocate. “And they only cared about this one thing
that really had nothing to do with my job.”

Back then, transgender Massachusetts residents like St. Pierre had
little legal recourse. But as of Sunday, discrimination on the basis
of gender identity is illegal in the state, just as it is on the basis
of race or disability.

‘I was such a hard worker. And they only cared about this one
thing that really had nothing to do with my job.’

Quote Icon

The Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Act bars discrimination in
employment, housing, education, and lending. The law also enables
prosecutors to bring hate crime charges in attacks that target someone
for being transgender.

Supporters praised the law on Sunday as a significant step that will
allow transgender residents to live more openly.

“This is a tremendously historic and life-changing day for transgender
people across the state, and really for anybody that values fairness,”
said Kara Suffredini, executive director of MassEquality, one of the
organizations that lobbied for the law.

The law, which makes the state the 16th to enact a law protecting
rights of transgender residents, took effect Sunday, seven months
after its passage and five years after proponents first filed it.

Governor Deval Patrick signed the law Nov. 23 after it passed the
Massachusetts House of Representatives by a vote of 95-58 and the
Massachusetts Senate approved it with a voice vote.

After the votes, opponents blasted legislators for cutting off debate
before those opposed could introduce additional amendments.

The leader of one group in opposition, MassResistance, repeated on
Sunday his opposition to the law.

“What this bill does, it not only reinforces it [transgenderism], but
it uses the force of law to force society to integrate it into society
as if it were normal,” said the group’s director, Brian Camenker.

That integration concerns Camenker, who describes transgender identity
as a disorder.

But i ntegration is what many advocates of the law are hoping for.

Gunner Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender
Political Coalition, said that on top of its practical implications,
the law makes a meaningful statement.

“It sends a message that transgender youth, adults, and our families
are part of our communities and deserve the same rights as anyone else
in Massachusetts,” Scott said.

Scott said that since the bill’s passage, discrimination complaints to
his coalition have increased from two or three a month to two or three
a week. He said doesn’t believe that discrimination has increased — he
hopes the law will bring a decrease — but rather that more people feel
empowered to report it.

As St. Pierre watched live streaming of the law’s passage last fall,
he felt thrilled thinking about how many transgender people will
benefit, he said. An estimated 33,000 Bay State residents identify as
transgender.

Even before his transition, St. Pierre didn’t identify with women, he
said. When St. Pierre learned about transgender men and realized
gender transition was possible, it felt obvious to him to pursue it,
he said.

“I knew exactly who I was, and to not do something about it would be
to deny who I am,” he said. “There was no other way for me ... to feel
comfortable in my skin.”

Before he started testosterone therapy, St. Pierre gathered his
co-workers and explained his decision. His colleagues, who knew and
accepted him as a lesbian woman, reacted positively, he said.

But soon, a new supervisor began repeatedly “outing” him to new
co-workers, St. Pierre said. Two years into the transition, he was
fired, he said.

Seeking to clarify that St. Pierre wasn’t fired for having been a
lesbian, his employer specifically cited his transition, telling St.
Pierre that it left him unable to work effectively, he said.

Stories like his, backers say, show the need for explicit language
preventing discrimination based on gender identity.

Under the new law, agencies including the state attorney general’s
office and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination can
investigate complaints of discrimination against transgender
residents.

Political battles over transgender rights appear likely to continue in
Massachsuetts.

Under pressure from opposition groups, legislators dropped language
from the bill that would have required public accommodation of
transgender residents, which would have protected their choice of
which bathrooms to use.

Supporters plan to reintroduce public accommodation legislation in January.

The new law will not end discrimination, said St. Pierre, who is now
married and runs a website publicizing days of remembrance for
transgender victims of violence. Still, he said, the law represents a
welcome step.

“I’m just really happy that there are people that will grow up with
this law in place,” St. Pierre said. “And hopefully it gets better
from here.”


© 2012 The New York Times Company

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