EdgeBoston.com – by Ethan Jacobs – Bay Windows
Supporters of a bill to add gender identity to state civil rights laws far outnumbered opponents at a marathon public hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary at the State House on March 4. The committee listened to 10 hours of testimony on a host of bills related to same-sex marriage, abortion, victim’s rights and other issues. But the bulk of the hearing, which lasted until 11:30 p.m., was devoted to H.B. 1722, the first major piece of transgender rights legislation to come before the Massachusetts Legislature.
The coalition supporting the bill, led by the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition and lead legislative sponsors Reps. Carl Sciortino (D-Medford) and Byron Rushing (D-Boston), pulled together an impressive array of supporters.