This just in from Freedom for All Massachusetts:
Dignity and respect for our transgender friends and neighbors remains the law in our Commonwealth!
We may not know the final margin until tomorrow, but right now Yes on Question 3 is leading—a powerful, unmistakable message from Massachusetts voters that we value our transgender friends and neighbors, and want everyone to feel safe and welcome here.
The voters said something else too, to the entire nation: We will not let the forces of discrimination use fear and lies to turn us against our neighbors.
Because of this team, we can say tonight that Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to uphold protections for transgender people at the ballot box!
When opponents of transgender equality forced this law onto the ballot mere days after it became law in 2016, we knew we’d have a tough fight ahead.
It was exhilarating to win something that everyone should have—basic protections under the law—but painful to so quickly face the prospect of having them stripped away by a vocal minority relying on fear and stereotypes.
We knew it would be toughest for our transgender community. They pushed through the fear and doubt, and we won tonight primarily because of the courage and sacrifice of the transgender community: Those who took the risk of being public and having conversations with voters about what it means to be transgender and those who worked just as hard behind the scenes.
In the end, we broke through the fear-mongering and voters saw the truth: Thousands of people, from diverse communities and backgrounds, who simply want what everyone else wants—to be treated with dignity and respect.
Transgender people were the core of this campaign, and they had standing shoulder to shoulder with them a massive team of staff, volunteers and more than 1,500 coalition partners: law enforcement, sexual assault prevention advocates, businesses large and small, labor unions, faith leaders, educators, and professional sports teams—including the reining World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.
We turned the tide against discrimination—and we can’t wait to see the ripple effects.
Mason Dunn & Kasey Suffredini
Campaign Co-Chairs, Freedom for All MA
