Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric

On July 14, the day of a legislative hearing on the transgender rights bill currently on Beacon Hill, WCVB’s NewsCenter 5 ran a story about the bill on its evening newscast. Anchor Liz Brunner introduced the story by saying, “It’s being called the bathroom bill, [and it] is essentially meant to end discrimination based on transgender status.” Behind Brunner was an image of the traditional male and female stick figures found on restroom doors, positioned next to the State House dome and above the tagline, “Bathroom Bill.” Yet the only people calling the trans rights bill, House Bill 1728, a “bathroom bill” are its opponents, and the label is a misnomer by any objective criteria.
H.B. 1728 adds trans-inclusive language to the state’s non-discrimination laws in the areas of employment, public accommodations, credit, housing, and education, as well as to the state’s hate-crimes laws, going far beyond simply allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity or expression. Opponents of the legislation, led by the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), claim that the bill will allow male sexual predators to masquerade as women and sneak into women’s restrooms and locker rooms. WCVB’s coverage of the transgender rights bill, as well as the coverage by some other local media outlets, suggests that the work of the bill’s opponents to label the legislation a bathroom bill in public discourse has been at least somewhat successful. See Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric Bay Windows

* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

Published by

Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/local-media-s…

AAG Coakley slaps civil rights injunction on homophobic neighbor from hell

Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office obtained a civil rights injunction Jan. 6 against a Norwood woman for repeated anti-gay harassment of a gay neighbor who lives in the same apartment complex.

“Bias-motivated conduct, such as the harassment and intimidation we allege in this case, are devastating to victims not only because of the immediate physical and emotional harm they cause, but because feelings of fear, anxiety and profound loss of personal security often last far longer than the incident,” said Coakley in a statement. “Beyond their impact on individual victims, hate crimes and other forms of bias-motivated activity are very detrimental to communities, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated.”

In a press release announcing the injunction Coakley’s office details a persistent pattern of harassment by May. In November 2007 May allegedly began spreading rumors that her gay neighbor was a pedophile and sexual predator. Six months later May complained to her landlord after the victim hung a gay pride flag outside his window, and the landlord forced him to remove the flag. May also allegedly shouted anti-gay epithets at the victim on multiple locations within the presence of fellow tenants, and she physically confronted him in the yard of his home. Last August May allegedly made a baseless complaint to Norwood police claiming that the victim had exposed himself to her.

Coakley’s office alleged that as a result of the harassment the victim has feared for his safety and has been forced to alter his routine to avoid having contact with May.
See AG Coakley slaps homophobic neighbor from hell with civil rights … Bay Windows