Gender Identity Protections Article to Lead Arlington Town Meeting Monday

ARLINGTON, MA—Arlington's gender identity and expression protections article has faced very little pushback as it heads into Town Meeting Monday.

Arlington Human Rights Commissioner Mel Goldsipe told Patch that after speaking at precinct meetings covering about 17 of Arlington's precincts, she has received supportive feedback overall. She repots that has not received any negative feedback over the proposed bylaw change.

"No one expressed negative feelings about the proposed bylaw change or expressed any reservations or opposition publicly or later to me in private, even though I invited them to," Goldsipe wrote to Patch." And Arlingtonians are known for being enthusiastic about sharing their strong opinions, as we have seen with the zoning issues."

Goldsipe hopes that the positive reactions call for passage of the article by a wide majority. She believes that the passage of the article could send a strong message to the state legislature, who are set to discuss the Equal Rights Bill later this month.

"It's important for towns to be explicit about their values and state clear expectations for how people will be treated within their borders," Goldsipe wrote."We should set high standards for civility and equality and make it clear that violating that trust will not be tolerated."

Article 18 seeks to amend Title II, Article 9 of the Town Bylaws to add "gender identity and expression" to its group of protected classes. The article was unanimously supported by Arlington's Board of Selectmen.