A new Suffolk University Political Research Center survey shows the ballot initiative aimed at repealing transgender rights in Massachusetts looks to be one of the closest battles the state has seen.
According to a June 14 report just released in the Boston Globe, 37 percent said they would vote to repeal the protections with 13 percent still undecided. The Globe story goes on to report:
The 2016 law, signed by Governor Charlie Baker, bans discrimination against transgender individuals in public places, such as hotels, stores, and restaurants. Most controversially, it allows transgender individuals to use bathrooms that match their gender identity.
Some critics have suggested the ballot’s wording — which asks voters about repealing the law — is confusing. But 68-year-old Cheryl Pasquariello, of Worcester, who participated in the survey, said they understand the issue but are still weighing their vote.
“I have many friends who are gay and are from that community, and I totally get it. Goodness knows I went to a male bathroom many times at a nightclub to avoid waiting in line with 900 people for a woman’s bathroom, so it is no big deal,” said Pasquariello. “But at the same time, why should taxpayers and small business going to have to spend money to fix bathrooms for people’s personal problems?”
On other ballot measures, the survey found voters were more decisive: by a 2-to-1 margin, they said that they wanted to increase income taxes on in-state residents earning at least $1 million annually and that they wanted to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is expected to rule soon on whether the so-called millionaires tax is constitutional.
Respondents also favored, 52 percent to 38 percent, an effort to lower the state’s sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent and to make a two-day sales tax free weekend each August.
