Massachusetts: Vote for Privacy and Biological Reality–No on Question 3

Voting “no’’ on Question 3 repeals the “bathroom and shower law.” As a grandmother of small children, I feel my safety as well as that of other women, children, and vulnerable people is at risk because the law’s definition of gender identity is too broad and vague, making it ripe for abuse by criminals and convicted sex offenders. In my view the transgender antidiscrimination law was poorly written and has too many loopholes.

The way this law is written, an attempt to block someone who self-identifies as belonging in a women’s locker room, dressing room, or bathroom — including convicted sex offenders — could result in penalties of up to a year in prison, and fines of up to $50,000 for multiple offenses. So, little or nothing can be done to prevent dangerous predators from using the law’s protections to enter these spaces.

As a result, businesses are now put into the position of creating policies that are not in the interest of protecting the safety and privacy of their patrons or employees. This could lead to a proliferation of incidents such as the case in Hanover last year, where a man allegedly photographed a woman undressing in a Target dressing room.

Also, no law should force a woman to have physical contact with someone if she is not comfortable with it, and she shouldn’t be forced to choose between her livelihood and touching someone she doesn’t want to touch. But this law puts women in that position, as for example a female spa owner on the South Shore who faced a civil rights complaint with the attorney general’s office for declining to wax the genital area of a man identifying as a woman.

The state Legislature passed a law that goes too far, even refusing to include a provision to exclude convicted sex offenders from being covered by its protections. The transgender anti- discrimination bathroom and locker room law needs to be repealed, so that the Legislature can make a better law that protects everyone. That is why I will be voting “no’’ on Question 3 in November.

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