Canary in the mine

We fondly remember Massachusetts as being the first in the country to legalize same-sex marriage back in 2004 (Wow! Fourteen years ago!). Two years ago the state enacted a transgender protection bill. Great news!

But Keep Massachusetts Safe, opponents of the protection law, gathered enough signatures to put a repeal on the ballot. They hauled out the perennial bogeyman of a man pretending to be a woman invading restrooms and locker rooms intent on assault. If only the law had included a section to exclude protections from registered sex offenders there would be no need for repeal!

But the law does provide for the prosecution of a person “whose assertion of a gender identity is for an improper purpose.” And opponents don’t seem to care about cases where men dressed as men assault women.

Opponents say they’re only interested in overturning the Massachusetts law. But the nation is watching. And if their efforts are successful in Massachusetts then lots of other states will attempt the same thing.

Parker Molloy in a Twitter thread talks about trans people and their rights being the canary in the coal mine. She first quotes Paris Lees:

I see trans people as the canary in the mine. You didn't care that the canary was struggling so you ignored the warning. If anything you hated the canary for complaining. Now you too are realising that it's getting hard to breath.

Molloy adds another slant of how trans people are viewed:

I'm inclined to think it's less "I don't care about the canary" and more "Ha! Dumb canary! Dying in a coal mine like that! Lol."

If those attempts to overturn trans protections succeed we know who is next.