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The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • B4

Publication:
The Boston Globei
Location:
Boston, Massachusetts
Issue Date:
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B4
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

B4 Metro The Boston Globe TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2016 Bill would extend hate-crime protection to police officers 'I think it all goes together. I believe black lives matter. I believe police lives REPRESENTATIVE MICHELLE DUBOIS, Co-sponsor of the bill But Silvia said police officers in some places might "take off their uniforms and put on jeans, but they are still recognized as police officers wherever they go, so they and their families are in danger if people start using prejudice and hate based on the mere fact that they are police officers." Fox said most police officers are injured or killed in the line of duty because they are responding to a crime or making an arrest, not because of underlying prejudices against police. Adding occupations to hate-crime laws would be akin to opening Pandora's box, he said. "What if there are people who don't like politicians?" he asked.

"There are people who assassinate politicians." matter." Legal analysts and some civil rights groups caution against adding police officers to the hate crime statute. They argue it's an occupation that already receives special protections under the law. There are laws currently that make it a crime to assault public servants, including police officers, and Governor Charlie Baker recently filled a bill that would up the charge to a felony. (DuBois does not support this.) "It's already a crime to attack a police officer or kill a police officer," said James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology at Northeastern University. "I'm not sure what we gain from it.

What happened in Dallas is extremely rare." Howard Friedman, a Boston civil rights attorney, said what happened in Dallas "was an act of murder and terrorism, a crime of great magnitude and not one that an en- currently defines a hate crime as the physical assault or battery of a person or the destruction of someone's property "because of such person's race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability." DuBois' and Silvia's bill would add "police officer" to that list. "I was a police officer for 22 years in Fall River and no one knows better than I the danger faced by men and women who put their lives on the line everyday under dangerous circumstances," Silvia said in an interview. "They deserve every protection possible." DuBois said she began drafting the legislation in May after authorities said Auburn Police Officer Ronald Tarenti-no Jr. was shot and killed by Jorge Zambrano, a motorist with a history of assaulting police officers. But, she said, with the legislators' session coming to a close, she planned to wait until next year to file the bill.

Then Dallas happened. Five police officers were fatally shot by a black man allegedly in revenge for the deaths of people of color by police officers. Thursday's tragedy occurred during a peaceful dem-onstration to protest the deaths of two black men by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana. Both DuBois and Silivia said it's unlikely their bill will be voted on this session because it was filed so late. Still, DuBois said her bill should not be seen as her taking sides in the national debate about the criminal justice system and communities of color.

The bill, she said, eliminates the "us versus them" nature of the debate by signaling that support of the Black Lives Matter movement does not mean someone stands against police officers. "I think it all goes together," she said. "I believe black lives matter. I believe police lives But critics say bid is redundant By Akilah Johnson GLOBE STAFF Two Massachusetts legislators filed a bill Monday that would extend the state's hate-crime protections to police officers a response, they said, to last week's deadly attack in Dallas. "When I woke up, like the rest of America, I felt terrible," said state Representative Michelle DuBois, a Democrat from Brockton who filed the bill with Representative Alan Silvia of Fall River, who is also a Democrat.

Last month, Louisiana became the first state to add law enforcement and first respond-ers to the list of those protected under hate crime statutes, which create special penalties for those who target others because of bigotry and prejudice. The Massachusetts statute Backers hail new gender rights By Meg Bernhard GLOBE CORRESPONDENT A gloomy morning did not dampen the celebration of Massachusetts' new transgender accommodations law Monday, as more than 100 advocates joined top state legislators at the steps of the State House. Attorney General Maura Healey kicked off the ceremony, flanked by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo. "This day is yours, and this bill is yours," said state Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, a Democrat from Boston and a lead proponent of the bill, beaming.

Republican Governor Charlie Baker, who signed the bill into law Friday, did not attend. Aides said he was meeting with the Mexican consul general at the time. The new law will allow people to use restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms that match their gender identities. It will also protect transgender individuals from discrimination in public spaces such as museums, restaurants, malls, and libraries. The law will go into effect Oct.

1, though one aspect the prohibition of advertisements of signs that discriminate against transgender people will be effective immediately. Several speakers, including legislators and advocates, took to the lectern over the course of the hourlong ceremony to laud the law, which took nearly a decade to pass. While many decried how long it took the government to approve the law similar bills had been filed but failed to make their way through the legislative process since at least 2007, and 17 other states have hancement in the criminal statue is going to change." The Anti-Defamation League strongly opposed the "Blue Lives Matter" bill that was signed into law in Louisiana, saying in May: "The list of personal characteristics included in hate crimes laws should remain limited to immutable characteristics, those qualities that can or should not be changed. Working in a profession is not a personal characteristic, and it is not immutable." the signing of the bill would send a message to other states debating similar measures. In North Carolina, for instance, the governor signed a bill barring communities from allowing transgender people to use public bathrooms that match their gender identities.

The emotional event was punctuated with loud applause throughout, as each speaker paused to thank legislators and advocacy groups from across the state. Midway through the ceremony, Representative Denise Provost of Somerville looked up briefly and smiled. The sun, she noted, was beginning to shine. Meg Bernhard can be reached at meg. bernhardglobe.com.

Follow her on Twitter meg bernhard. ly been operating in the shadows a quick Google search turns up a few in the area, though none immediately responded to calls from the Globe and the state has been reluctant to impose sanctions, such as fines or license revocation. Borstel called that "the worst kept secret" in the beauty business. But the new law will bring those stylists more fully into the open and make it easier for others to join them, he said. "It's sort of the wave of the future," he said.

"Instead of having it be underground, where there's no regulation and people are doing it anyway." Eric Moskowitz can be reached at eric.moskowitzglobe.com. Follow him on Twitter GlobeMoskowitz. Lorelei Erisis (left), a transgender woman, embraced Robyn Ochs, an activist and board member of MassEquality, at the State House on Monday. Officials hosted a public ceremony to celebrate the state's new transgender accommodations law. Akilah Johnson can be reached at akilah.johnsonglobe.com.

Follow her on Twitter akjohnsonl922. 'It was nobody's intention that undocumented aliens would get access to driver's STANLEY C. ROSENBERG Senate president, on a budget amendment that would fix language pertaining to illegal immigrants Six big bills up before deadline By Jim O'Sullivan GLOBE STAFF Eighteen-and-a-half months into their legislative cycle, and with less than three weeks to go, state lawmakers are running out of time. Legislative leaders met Monday with Governor Charlie Baker and, with both major parties' national conventions due to take place between now and the July 31 close of the session, acknowledged they are squeezed by the clock. House Speaker Robert De-Leo, Democrat of Winthrop, said the loss of two weeks, when neither chamber will hold the types of formal sessions that allow them to advance major bills, "is something that concerns me." "I wish we did have that time," DeLeo told reporters.

Baker, a Republican, said he and the Democratic leaders in the Legislature discussed "the 'big six' items that are out there" during their regular Monday session. Those bills: a municipal modernization package; an energy omnibus; an economic development proposal; legislation imposing new regulations on ride-for-hire firms like Uber and Lyft; a gender pay equity bill; and a proposal to restrict noncompete agreements. "Those are certainly the six items that I think we're all focused on," Baker said. Lawmakers also intend to take up override votes for Baker's vetoes to the state budget. Baker also filed an amendment to that budget that would try to guarantee that illegal immigrants could not obtain driver's licenses.

Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg said lawmakers were reviewing the language. "We know we've got to get this resolved, and it was nobody's intention that undocumented aliens would get access to driver's licenses as a result of the bill," Rosenberg said. "So we just need to make sure that the language is perfected, but we're there in spirit and we need to get this resolved so we don't run into problems with the federal government." Jim O'Sullivan can be reached atjim. osullivanglobe.

com. Follow him on Twitter at JOSreports. State House steps. Adorned in bright-colored clothing and rainbow pins, many people hugged and cried. Dianne Monnin, whose son is transgender, said she was "thrilled" that legislators held a public ceremony Monday.

"I was so sad that the bill got signed so quickly and kind of privately," said Monnin, 64, who said she had testified in support of the bill. "So when I heard about this I was like, 'Great, now we can come and Kassandra Howard, who is transgender, said though she wishes a similar law had passed a long time ago, she was happy on Monday to celebrate with friends and legislators. "I am very proud right now to be a Massachusetts resident." Legislators said they hoped already enacted similar laws they said they were glad for the opportunity to gather publicly in support of the new law. "It puts us back on the forefront of equality on a global scale," Walsh said. Many speakers called the moment historic.

"I believe that these bills where we take a load off people, where we protect a group of people, these are the bills that we will look back on with the greatest pride," said William Brownsberger, Senate chairman of the joint Judiciary Committee. The state passed a law in 2011 prohibiting gender identity discrimination in housing, employment, public education, and credit, but did not include a provision for public accommodations. riaga, a native of the Dominican Republic who studied at Rob Roy Academy's barbering program in Worcester, earning his apprentice license in 2005. "Where I went to school, they told us, 'This is the law, and we can't be doing house Fattman, who identifies as one of three millennials in the 40-member Senate, said he couldn't believe that he could summon a driver to pick him up using his iPhone with an app such as Uber or Lyft but that the law prevented him from calling on a mobile barber or hair stylist in similar fashion. "In this new economy, where technology and innovation are having a dramatic impact on how services are provided, we thought that was Several speakers shared personal experiences lobbying for the bill's passage.

Mimi Lemay, 39, of Melrose, recounted the first time she brought her then 5-year-old son Jacob, who is transgender, to the State House. He was playing on Boston Common, chasing squirrels, but Lemay had to bring him into the building so they could speak with legislators. "I felt bad dragging Jacob away from the squirrels that day," Lemay said to the crowd. "But we had a job to do, I reminded him, a job that couldn't wait. So the squirrels would have to." At the end of the ceremony, Healey invited attendees to sign an enlarged copy of the bill, and a crowd of transgender people and advocates rushed to the pretty arcane," Fattman said.

"That may have fit into the parameters of the old economy, the 20th-century economy, but not necessarily the 21st-century sharing economy and tech economy." Montrez Williams founded Mobile Cuts Boston about two years ago, partnering with master barber Christopher Roberts to build a sleek barber shop on wheels, after reading about similar outfits in other states. But Mobile Cuts has only been "semi-operating," Williams said, while hoping the Division of Professional Licensure would adopt regulations allowing their trailer to pull up and offer cuts in office parks, along city sidewalks, or in clients' driveways. The new law made them fully and immediately legal as of Friday. Lawmakers toss rule banning barbers house calls "It's been a good fight," Williams said, excited to hear about the change. "The state is welcome to come up anytime to make sure that we're up to code, and all that good stuff." The state board overseeing hair, skin, and nail professions already had been advancing regulations that would allow manicurists to make house calls, responding to a proposal from a Manhattan-based startup initially known as Mani-cube.

Laws supercede regulations, so the new law opens the door not just to mobile manicures but to all of the professions that the barbering and cosmetology board oversees, said Borstel, executive director for the state's many licensing boards. Until now, hair stylists who make house calls haven't exact- BILL Continued from Page Bl ing initially from his own hair cutter about what seemed at best like a muddy area of the law. Then Fattman went to a Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting and met licensed master barber Misael "Mike" Arriaga, who was trying to follow the letter of the law but found it put him in a cruel bind. Arriaga, owner of Major League Barbershop in Whitins-ville, said an older client from Uxbridge, homebound and awaiting major surgery, could no longer make it in for his monthly trim and asked if Arriaga could make a house call. Arriaga had no choice but to apologize and turn him down, he said.

"It was hard for me," said Ar-.

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