I just received confirmation last night that the MA House has recessed from its final session of the calendar year WITHOUT taking up the Bathroom Bill. This means we will continue to have our safety and privacy in bathrooms, locker rooms, and other single sex facilities protected under existing law. This is a huge win, as transgender activists have been putting incredible pressure on legislators for weeks now. I was even told that lawyers from the Attorney General’s office were calling wavering legislators to try and refute the concerns raised in our MFI legal briefs.
As I wrote to you on Monday, we had heard from trusted sources on Friday that advocates of the Transgender Bathroom Bill were planning to bring it to a vote yesterday. You flooded the State House with phone calls, and we started hearing that the vote would be delayed until today and then, finally, postponed until sometime in 2016. MFI’s legal counsel was on Beacon Hill this evening and was told the following by the Bathroom Bill’s sponsor, Representative Byron Rushing: “We are disappointed, we thought we would get it this time. This means we don’t have enough votes. But not all is lost. We will take it up again in January 2016.”
Great job, everyone! When we work together and make our voices heard, we can impact the political process for good. Rest assured that here at MFI we will be continuing our work to stop the bill in the new year.
Blessings,
