Legislature Approves Transgender Rights Bill

A bill that protects transgender people in Massachusetts from discrimination and hate crimes has been passed in both houses of the state legislature.

"Transgender individuals in Massachusetts face unacceptably high levels of violence and discrimination in their daily lives,"

Roughly 33,000 people in Massachusetts identify themselves as transgender

A 2009 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force found that 97 percent of transgender people reported they were harassed or mistreated at work because of their gender identity or expression. And 47 percent reported they were denied a job or promotion or fired.

abcnews.go.com...


So how will this be measured?
I don't think Govt. can play parent and I don't think it should try
However if a transgender gets punched in the face then call the cops, just punching people in the face is illegal and you can go to jail, that simple.

There are already laws in place to deal with such issues

But companies hiring or not hiring transgenders, how does that work?
How can you measure whether a company hires you because you are a man who dresses like a woman or vice versa?

Will transgenderism be part of affirmative action soon?
You can't fake being of another color, but you can fake being a transgender.

I'm already against affirmative action as it is, but will this be added to that monster as well?

The numbers indicate a problem, I don't disagree with that
But I don't think this is the solution either

So wait a minute, if I punch a normal person it's just battery?

But if I punch someone who "claims" to be transgender, than now I have racked up a list of crimes? And the punishments are worse?

If we want to treat them like normal people why are we treating them like special cases?
None of this makes any sense imho.

These types of Laws really bother me. Many years ago I was out at a bar. I do not remember what started it, but two guys had gotten into an argument inside. Just a constant back and forth between the two that eventually was taken outside. One man took a punch at the other and missed. The other guy didn't miss. Unfortunately, the man he hit fell down and hit his head on the curb, he later died.

The man who hit him was then not only charged with murder, but he was charged under hate crime laws because the man who he hit, who swung at him first, was gay. Their argument had nothing to do with the fact that he was gay, they just got into a disagreement like so many other people do. They had a fight, like so many others do. It didn't matter, because the one guy was gay, it was a hate crime.

Hate crime laws are beyond retarded. Punish the crime, not the motive. Why should I get in more trouble for punching a transvestite then a white guy I hate for wearing a Che Guevera shirt ( I hate those shirts ).

reply to post by ModernAcademia


I agree with this idea. Although as a transgendered person, if you touch me you're getting hurt. This world is disgusting and I have met people that felt they had the right to yell at me, follow me around screaming things at me, and even put their hands on me. I carry a telescoping baton in my purse, and anyone that gets physical is getting a clean clock. That's my answer to the problem.

People that commit hate crimes justify the action in their head because they honestly think it is right, and that the victim is clearly wrong and deserving (rapists are sometimes like this too). That unique trait to a hate crime requires a stiffer punishment. I take it upon myself to be that source of stiffer punishment. It's good that they've passed a law that will take care of that for the 30,000 citizens in that state.

It's sad but, these types of laws are necessary. We are well past a time in humanity when it should bother us if someone is "different" than ourselves and treated as such. No factor other than qualifications, should matter when hiring or simply just interacting with another human being.

Hate crimes are truly a seperate crime. Of course assault can happen to anyone but it becomes different when a person is targetted because they are "different". When some ignorant jerk who is otherwise lawful except towards people who are a different race, a different gender or different sexual orientation it is obviously beyond random violence. Everyone has the right to be able to go about their daily existence without expecting to be harrassed or assaulted.