LOVE TO LOBBY? MAKE IT YOUR HOBBY.
There are many ways you can help Mass. NOW pass our legislative priorities and ensure equality for women and girls across the Commonwealth!
Whether you have five minutes or five hours, there is something YOU can do to help ensure our priorities are movingalong on Beacon Hill!
You can make phone calls, write emails or letters, attend an event or rally, or join Mass. NOW's lobbyist, for a meeting with your Legislators. You can host a community coffee to educate your neighbors on the issue, or make phone calls to other Mass. NOW members.
For more information on how you can help pass legislation that will benefit women and girls in Massachusetts, contact the Mass. NOW office at 617-254-9130 or email our Lobbyist at christina@massnow.org.
Mass. NOW 2009-2010 Legislative Priorities
Mass. NOW tracks and works on over 30 pieces of legislation.
The bills below are some of our top legislative priorities this session. For a complete listing of our bills, please contact State Director and Lobbyist Christina Knowles at christina@massnow.org.
An Act Relative to Gender-based Discrimination and Hate Crimes
Senate Bill 1687/ House Bill 1728
Lead Sponsors: Representatives Carl Sciortini and Byron Rushing and Senator Benjamin Downing
Right now, transgender people in Massachusetts do not have any legal protection from discrimination or hate crimes. This bill would afford the transgender community legal protection with regards to housing, credit, public education, employment, public safety, and more. It also would ensure that transgender victims of violence are protected under hate-crime laws. Mass. NOW is committed to ensuring that trans men and women receive the rights they have for so long been denied.
An Act Relative to Paid Sick Days
Senate Bill 688/ House Bill 1815
Lead Sponsors: Senator Patricia Jehlen, Representative Kay Khan
This legislation would provide 7 earned paid sick days to ALL employees in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, almost half of private sector workers do not have a single paid sick day. Employees without paid sick time risk docked pay, lost wages, harassment, or even termination if they miss work because they or a dependent is sick. Women are disproportionately affected by a lack of paid sick days, as we remain the primary caregivers for children and elderly relatives, and must take time off from our jobs to care for them when they are ill. This bill is an important step towards labor and economic justice, and Mass. NOW is working hard to see that all workers can take time off to care for themselves or a loved one.
An Act Relative to Updating the Public Health Laws
Senate Bill 1610/House Bill 1745
Lead Sponsors: Senator Harriette Chandler, Representative Ellen Story
This bill would repeal outdated, unconstitutional, and archaic laws that remain on the books in Massachusetts. It would repeal language that bans anyone from procuring or providing an abortion, restricts women’s ability to have an abortion, and bans the use of contraception by unmarried couples. Repealing these bills will bring the Mass General Laws in line with our state Constitution, which guarantees women the right to an abortion; it also ensures that abortion rights would be upheld in the Commonwealth should Roe v. Wade ever be overturned at the Federal level.
An Act Relative to Consent and Counseling of Certain Minors
House Bill 746
Lead Sponsor: Representative Ellen Story
Currently, minors in Massachusetts seeking an abortion must obtain permission from at least one of their parents/guardians, or must go through the courts to seek a judicial bypass. The proposed legislation would allow health care professionals and other family members to give consent to pregnant minors who are unable to discuss their situation with their parents. The bill also lowers the age of consent for abortion from 18 to 16. This bill is crucial to young women who need an abortion, but who cannot go to their parents because they fear abuse or violence.
Mass. NOW works on legislation related to reproductive rights, gay and lesbian rights, economic justice, discrimination and harassment, domestic and sexual violence, and women's health. Our efforts depend on women's rights supporters contacting their legislators about bills that affect women and girls in the Commonwealth. Phone calls, letters and e-mail messages are critical in determining whether legislation will pass or fail. Your efforts to get involved will make an enormous difference! To find out who your representative is, please visit
