Help needed in Massachusetts
The LGBTQ movement is facing a historic moment this November: our first statewide public vote on a transgender non-discrimination law, and it's an all-hands-on-deck moment. A small but vocal group of anti-transgender activists have mounted an attack on the Massachusetts law protecting transgender people from discrimination in public places - a law that their governor signed just two years ago.
LGBTQ supporters can win this campaign - but it's also winnable for the opposition. Ten years ago, here in California, we faced a similar predicament. We didn't think our neighbors, friends, and co-workers could possibly vote against our freedom to marry the person we love, but they did. Proposition 8 was a heartbreaking setback, and now our LGBTQ movement is faced with a similarly terrifying vote - but rather than marriage, it's transgender rights; and rather than here at home, it's across the country in Massachusetts. We need to unite as a movement and fight this together.
Our opponents are a small but vocal minority, and it takes a lot of resources to overcome their myths and lies. The single best way you can encourage Massachusetts voters to vote Yes On 3 is to donate $100, $50, $10, or any amount you can so that our team can talk to every single undecided voter. The campaign to vote Yes On 3 is organizing virtual phone banks to facilitate conversations with voters across the state, and they are even hosting folks on "volunteer vacations" who can travel to Massachusetts and volunteer directly with the campaign by going door-to-door and talking to voters about why transgender equality matters to them. Anyone can make a difference, no matter where you live.
We can win this fight, but we need all hands on deck. Visit www.freedommassachusetts.org and help us win equality in Massachusetts and beyond. Let's put our San Francisco values to work.
Masen Davis
Washington, D.C.