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BOSTON, June 2 (UPI) -- The Massachusetts House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would protect transgender people and permit them to use restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity Bill H.4343 passed 116-36 after hours of heated debate, the Boston Globe reported. The bill protects transgender people from discrimination in shopping malls, libraries, restaurants and other public places.
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Proponents of the bill argued passing the legislation would be a positive step forward in civil rights.
"You can't tell somebody it's OK to work at the diner, but not OK to sit at the lunch counter. We learned that a long time ago," Democratic Rep. John V. Fernandes, who helped write the bill, said.
Opponents of the bill said they worried men would pretend to be transgender women in order to enter women's restrooms and locker rooms for heinous reasons.
"This bill before us today is not a bill that would protect rights," Republican Rep. Marc T. Lombardo, said "This is a bill that would take away rights from more than 99 percent of the population -- the basic right to privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms, the rights of our children to feel safe in a bathroom."
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday said he would sign the House version of the bill if passed. A Senate version previously passed and both versions will need to reconcile. The bill, if signed, would take effect Jan. 1, 2017.
The bill comes weeks after North Carolina passed a law banning transgender people from using the bathrooms of their choice, prompting nation-wide criticism and support. Some companies have pulled business from the state and musicians have canceled concerts there in protest of the law.
The Obama administration, after passage of the North Carolina law, issued a directive saying transgender students across the country should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice at public schools. Eleven states have filed a lawsuit challenging the administration.
