World | Thu May 12, 2016 7:07am EDT

Massachusetts lawmakers to take up transgender rights bill

BOSTON | BY SCOTT MALONE

Massachusetts' Senate on Thursday is set to take up debate of a bill protecting the rights of transgender people, a move some see as a rebuke to a North Carolina law requiring people to use bathrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates.

The bill, which would make Massachusetts the 18th U.S. state to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, has strong support in the Democratic-controlled legislature, although Republican Governor Charlie Baker has not said whether he would sign it.

The Obama administration and North Carolina are battling in court over the legality of that state's law, passed in March, which the White House contends violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Backers of the law say it will protect women and girls from predators.

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"I'm very hopeful that over the next 90 days, the bill will be on the governor's desk," Massachusetts state Senate President Stan Rosenberg told reporters this week.

Baker, a socially liberal Republican, has said he will make a decision when he sees the final language.

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