Mycroft Masada is a nonbinary trans and queer Jewish leader with 30 years of experience who moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland (Montgomery County near Washington DC) from their lifelong home of Boston in 2014. A TransEpiscopal Steering Committee member and former Congregation Am Tikva board member, Mycroft is particularly called to pursue LGBTQ+ and fat justice, and is an advocate, organizer, consultant, educator, trainer, writer and artist. They are married to Julia McCrossin, the mas(s)culine fatshion blogger, and with her they co-parent a dogter. Their central online home is MasadArts.blogspot.com.


Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | My artwork (stationery, jewelry & more)

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Massachusetts' An Act Making Discrimination On The Basis Of Height And Weight Unlawful - today’s update!!

This is my home state, where I lived until 2014; if you didn’t get this e-mail today, e-mail Caroline.Sherrard@MASenate.gov.

"Height and Weight Anti-Discrimination Update

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know that the bill has been filed in both the House and Senate as SD. 1581/HD. 1683 An Act making discrimination on the basis of height and weight unlawful. I’ve attached the text of both bills, which is slightly modified from last session to address the concerns of an amusement park industry group that has brought up concerns in the past. There is now specific allowance for restrictions on height and weight due to federal, state, or industry safety standards.

The next immediate action will be to gather cosponsors on this legislation. If you live in Massachusetts, sending an email or calling your state Senator and state Representative asking them to sign on to SD. 1581/HD. 1683 An Act making discrimination on the basis of height and weight unlawful as a cosponsor would be very welcome. This is most effective when the action comes directly from constituents of that legislator, so I ask that you only email legislators who represent you (or, if relevant, ask members of your organization only to contact their own State Senator or State Representative).

You can find out who your elected officials are and their contact information at: WhereDoIVoteMA.com.

Once the clerk has finished processing all of the legislation that was just filed, both bills will be assigned a new number and sent to a committee (the current number is the docket number). We expect this bill to be sent to the Judiciary Committee, where it has gone in recent years. The Judiciary Committee will then sent out a notice for a hearing. We will update the group when a hearing has been scheduled. At that point, we would love if anyone who is available to come testify in person do so and will also be asking interested parties to submit written testimony.

In addition, we heard from a State Rep in Kentucky that she is interested in filing similar legislation in her state. If you/your organization is able to work nationally or has connections with Kentucky, please email Josie.Raymond@gmail.com.

Thank you all so much for your efforts! Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Best,
Caroline

Caroline Sherrard, Chief of Staff
Office of Senator Becca Rausch
Massachusetts Senate
Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District
State House Room 419
617-722-1555 (internal ext. 1556)
Pronouns: she/her/hers"