Blog by Reg Calcagno, State Advocacy Strategist, Out For Freedom Team
On November 6, votes cast in states and communities around the country could have a dramatic impact on the dignity, safety, and lives of transgender and nonbinary people.
Nowhere is this more clear than in Massachusetts. Question 3 is a referendum on a nondiscrimination law passed by a bipartisan supermajority and signed by Republican Governor Charlie Baker in 2016. A “yes” vote would keep the law, which prohibits discrimination against transgender people in public accommodations. This includes parks, bathrooms, gyms, restaurants, and hospitals — anywhere that isn’t a person’s work, home, or school. A “no” vote says that discrimination against transgender people is acceptable.
Without the nondiscrimination law, transgender and nonbinary people could be turned away from restaurants, stores and businesses, just because of who they are.
We have seen this at the municipal level before, but this is the first time a law explicitly prohibiting gender identity discrimination is being put to a statewide vote. It should be the last, but if we lose, we are likely to see similar attacks on existing protections for LGBTQ people throughout the country.
Since Obergefell, opponents of equality have turned their efforts toward blocking protections for transgender people, using the same fear mongering tactics — like railing against “predatory men in dresses” — they have used against the LGBTQ community in schools and legislatures for decades. Our opponents claim that acknowledging the dignity of a transgender person by allowing them equal access to our public spaces will make the world less safe — a widely disproven myth.
This fear makes me inclined, as a nonbinary person, to dodge issues relating to my identity — like gender neutral pronouns. But sometimes that’s not an option. No matter what bathroom I go into, for example, I risk harassment. Once, I walked into a women’s room and a woman at the sink told me I was in the wrong bathroom. She followed me to the stall, and waited outside while telling me she was going to call the manager. I was terrified and embarrassed.
Despite being proudly nonbinary and doing trans advocacy work professionally, I was keenly aware that I had violated gender norms and was paying the price. Like so many transgender people, all I could think about was my safety.
Register to vote
Nondiscrimination laws, like the ones that currently exist in Massachusetts, demonstrate that a state and its residents value the dignity, safety, and humanity of all people. No one should be turned away from places open to the public simply because of their gender expression.
I didn’t speak out in that moment, but I’m doing so now. We know that the best way to defeat our opponents’ lies is to familiarize people with our transgender family, friends, and coworkers. That’s how we won in Anchorage, when the community defeated an anti-transgender ballot measure earlier this year. And that’s what we’ve been doing in Massachusetts.
Throughout this campaign, I’ve told the story of that bathroom experience at voters’ front doors and on the phones. When we talk to them about the reality many transgender and gender nonconforming people experience, they understand that this law has made Massachusetts a better and safer place for everyone. They want their transgender friends, neighbors, and loved ones to have the same basic protections they enjoy.
Learn more about voting Yes on 3
In addition to Massachusetts, ACLU voters in every state have the opportunity to vote for equality for trans and nonbinary people. In recent years, we’ve seen more school boards move to protect all students’ right to learn by ensuring that transgender and nonbinary students have equal access to restrooms, locker rooms, and school activities. At the federal level, the Equality Act would fill significant gaps in legal protections, guaranteeing explicit and comprehensive nondiscrimination for LGBTQ people nationwide, as well as updating protections for women and people of color. House and Senate candidates should be asked if they stand with the 70 percent of Americans who support such protections.
Despite our opponents’ attempts to reduce transgender equality to a matter of restroom access, we know it’s about so much more. This is about treating everyone fairly. It’s about dignity and respect. I hope Massachusetts voters remember that when casting their ballots on November 6.
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Date
Friday, October 5, 2018 - 3:30pm
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Geoffrey Pesce tried everything to overcome his addiction to opioids: detox at least four times, Suboxone, Naltrexone.
In 2016, after overdosing three times in less than 48 hours, he was scared for his life and committed to recovery. That’s when his physician prescribed methadone, a prescription medication approved by the FDA for treatment of opioid use disorder.
For nearly two years, Geoffrey has invested in his recovery, rededicated himself to his young son, rebuilt his relationships with his parents, and found a job that he loves. While he also participates in counseling and therapy, he credits his recovery to his medication-assisted treatment (MAT).
Geoffrey generally relies on his parents to drive him to the clinic where he receives the treatment. But on July 19, his mother was unexpectedly unavailable to drive him, and in fear of a relapse, he drove himself. He was pulled over and charged with driving with a revoked or suspended license.
He currently faces imprisonment at the Middleton House of Correction in Massachusetts, where his medication will not be made available to him. In fact, the Essex County jail denies MAT to prisoners diagnosed with opioid use disorder, including those who arrive with a prescription for such medication and are already in sustained recovery as a result — like Geoffrey.
People with opioid use disorder who are denied their medication suffer painful withdrawal. It disrupts their treatment plan, leading to a sevenfold decrease in continued treatment after release. It increases the risk of relapse into active addiction: Over 82 percentof patients who leave methadone treatment relapse within a year. And, most alarming, patients are more likely to suffer from overdose and potential death as a consequence of forced withdrawal.
For Geoffrey, these aren’t just abstract numbers: His former roommate was sentenced to the Middleton House of Correction for six months. He overdosed and died within weeks of his release.
Geoffrey is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed last week by the ACLU of Massachusetts. It challenges the policy and practice of denying MAT to incarcerated people who are diagnosed with opioid use disorder, and asks the federal court to require correctional authorities to provide Geoffrey’s prescribed medication for continued treatment. We’re proud to join other ACLU affiliates in Maine and Washington, who have filed similar lawsuits, in the fight for ensuring adequate medical care for incarcerated people like Geoffrey.
Denying adequate medical care to incarcerated people violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Similarly, the practice violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits the disparate treatment of people in substance abuse recovery programs.
Despite the overwhelming medical evidence supporting MAT as the standard care for opioid use disorder, it is not currently available to the vast majority of incarcerated patients suffering from opioid addiction in Massachusetts. The treatment is only available to people incarcerated at two detention facilities in Massachusetts. After the initial implementation of MAT at a jail in Franklin County, the county saw a 35 percent drop in opioid overdose deaths. Based in part on these results, the Massachusetts legislature recently passed legislation to create a pilot program at five county jails, where people who had a prescription before being arrested will continue to be provided their medications during their incarceration.
But that won’t help Geoffrey anytime soon: The Middleton House of Correction is not included in the pilot program, and the legislation doesn’t require implementation of the pilot program before September 2019.
In the midst of an opioid crisis that has claimed an increasing number of lives in Massachusetts, the Commonwealth should do everything it can to support people in their efforts to overcome addition — not obstruct them.
Blog by Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.
Date
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 - 1:30pm
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A lot has changed in the last three decades: hairstyles, technology, popular music. Another change? There’s been a move – especially since the start of the failed war on drugs, also in the early 1980s – for criminal law reform. Over-incarceration, glaring racial disparities in our criminal legal system, and little accountability for law enforcement officials have provoked conversations about repealing mandatory minimums, ending cash bail, and creating transparency in DA offices. Nationally, new district attorneys in Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis County are rethinking the so-called “tough-on-crime” policies. In Massachusetts, polled voters broadly agree that the Commonwealth needs to fix its criminal justice system. Fewer than half said they think the state’s criminal justice system is working, with huge majorities believing that it works differently for different people.
The voter turnout on primary day – from Boston to the Berkshires – shows that when voters are given a real choice on the ballot and given the information they need about candidates’ records and positions, they will get involved and show up at the polls. In fact, there was a 35 percent increase in ballots cast for DA in Suffolk County, a 16 percent increase in Middlesex County, and a 123 percent increase in Berkshire County.
We’re proud that the “What a Difference a DA Makes” campaign has contributed to a meaningful conversation about the enormous power DAs wield and how best to hold them accountable to the communities they serve. But the work doesn’t stop with the primary election: Again in November, voters will have the opportunity to send a clear message of support for a criminal legal system that works for everyone.
District attorneys are accountable only to us – the public and voters. There’s a lot we can do to hold them accountable to the values that matter to us: We can court watch, write letters to the editor to alert neighbors to DA decisions, demand transparency, request community meetings, and engage our neighbors in action. But most importantly, a fairer criminal legal system begins with our vote for district attorney.
For the first time since 1982, residents in the five contested Massachusetts districts – and many of the uncontested districts – are involved in a public discussion about where district attorney candidates – and incumbents – stand on issues of over- incarceration, racial disparities, mandatory minimums, cash bail, transparency, and more.
To learn more about who’s on your ballot this November, click here.
District attorneys have the power to change the system, and voters have the power to change district attorneys.
Written by Rahsaan Hall, director of the ACLU of Massachusetts’ Racial Justice Program, and campaign manager for the What a Difference a DA Makes campaign.
Date
Monday, September 17, 2018 - 9:00am
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