Strong “culture war” bills filed in Massachusetts Legislature – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Bills filed by MassResistance, LGBT lobby, Planned Parenthood, and others.

The Massachusetts State House often leads the country in radical legislation — but also in pro-family people fighting back! This session there were some extremely good pro-family bills filed, and a number of terrible, destructive anti-family bills. As usual, MassResistance is in the thick of the battle.

Here are bills to watch this session. [NOTE: So far there have been no public hearings or action taken on any of these bills. We will update this page as it happens. Also some bills have been filed in both the House and Senate.]

Major pro-family bills – filed by MassResistance

An Act regarding parental notification and consent
H439  Sponsor: Rep. Joe McKenna  Co-Sponsors: Jim Lyons, Shawn Dooley, Marc Lombardo, Donald Humason, Angelo D’Emilia, Donald Berthiaume, Randy Hunt, Kevin Kuros, Nicholas Boldyga
This is an effective Parents Rights Opt-In bill that has been badly needed for years. It amends the current parental notification law, Ch. 71 Sec. 32A, written by Parents’ Rights Coalition (now MassResistance), expanding upon it and modernizing it to address current conditions. The current law is outdated and prone to abuse, particularly on homosexual and transgender issues. See further description and text of bill here. 
Referred to Joint Committee on Education

An Act regarding surveys in public schools
H382  Sponsor: Rep. Colleen Garry  Co-Sponsors: Keiko Orrall, Nicholas Boldyga, Jose Tosado, Ryan Fattman, Benjamin Swan
This requires parental notification and consent for questionnaires, surveys, and similar evaluations given to schoolchildren regarding certain private, personal and family issues. Many of these surveys are also quite graphic and sexually explicit. It’s become a huge problem for parents. See a further description and text of bill here.
Referred to Joint Committee on Education

An Act protecting children and parents
H2781   Sponsor: Marc Lombardo  Co-Sponsor: Jose Tosado
This bill dismantles the state-funded Massachusetts Commission for Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth. That widely-reviled group includes some of the most radical homosexual and transgender activists in the state. This “Commission” receives hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to push explicit homosexual and transgender programs in the public schools, as well as at off-campus “Youth Pride” day activities. See a further description and text of bill here.
Referred to Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight

Other pro-family bills

An Act relative to parental notification for out-of-school-district counseling referrals
H408  Sponsor: Randy Hunt
This bill was written to protect parents from school officials steering vulnerable kids to hardcore outside homosexual organizations without parents’ knowledge or consent. There was a last-minute phrase added to this bill that we’re not comfortable with, but this bill still should still be passed.
Referred to Joint Committee on Education

An Act relative to privacy and safety in public accommodations
H1320  Sponsor: Colleen Garry
This is a well-meaning bill, but it doesn’t go far enough. It basically protects single-sex public facilities and education facilities from the transgender/cross-dressing agenda and encroachment by the latest push to extend the current transgender rights law into public accommodations. We think that ALL areas of life, including employment, housing, etc., should be protected from this government-forced lunacy.
Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary

Major anti-family bills – filed by LGBT lobby & Planned Parenthood

An Act relative to abusive practices to change sexual orientation and gender identity in minors
H97  Sponsor: Kay Khan
This cruel and dangerous bill is being aggressively pushed by the LGBT lobby across the country. It would ban all professional counseling to youth who want to help work out their unwanted homosexuality or transgender issues. Many youth in this situation have been sexually molested and need help desperately. It is basically the same bill we helped defeat last year, and they’re back again.
Referred to Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

An Act relative to healthy youth
H448  Sponsors: James O’Day, Paul Brodeur  S265  Sponsor: Sal DiDomenico
This “comprehensive sex ed” bill is Planned Parenthood’s major legislative goal for this session. It requires public schools to teach broad sexuality and “relationship” issues, both normal and homosexual, in all grades. It also requires compliance with the infamous radical Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks,which is currently optional for schools. Throwing a bone to pro-family groups, it directs schools to teach about abstinence — but in conjunction with the “importance” of using contraception and “safer sex activity,” which defeats the purpose. The bill also waters down the current Parental Notification Law.
Referred to Joint Committee on Education

An Act relative to gender identity and nondiscrimination
H1577  Sponsors: Byron Rushing, Denise Provost  S735 Sponsor: Sonia Chang-Diaz
This bill is a major goal of the LGBT lobby this year. It extends the infamous transgender rights and hate crimes law passed a few years ago to also cover public accommodations – including restrooms, locker rooms, gyms, and anything used by the public. If this passes, men dressed as women can use all womens’ restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa. This is also being pushed across the country.
Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary

Other anti-family bills

These are important to watch out for because several are very dangerous bills. But they are not the major ones being pushed by the anti-family lobby.

An Act to protect access to confidential healthcare
H871  Sponsor: Kate Hogan  S557 Sponsor: Karen Spilka
This bill, sponsored by Planned Parenthood, allows children to get contraception and other sexual related “health” services (including abortions) that are paid for by health insurance, without the knowledge of the health insurance subscriber (i.e., the parent).
Referred to Joint Committee on Financial Services

An Act An act relative to youth emancipation
S860  Sponsor: Barbara L’Italien
This insidious anti-parent bill initiates a program where “youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning” can declare themselves “unaccompanied and without a guardian” and be handed over to the care of homosexual groups. The parents will have no more parental rights over their child. The homosexual groups can use state funds for housing and support services to “care for” the child.
Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary

An Act to improve health care for young women
H2070  Sponsors: Ellen Story, David Linsky
This is an evil bill that would allow a girl fifteen years old or younger to get an abortion without the consent of her parents. A “medical professional” (i.e., Planned Parenthood employee), other adult family member, or a judge could authorize the girl’s abortion instead of the parents.
Referred to Joint Committee on Public Health

Various bills to repeal the “sodomy laws” and similar statutes still on the books
H1568   H1569   H1572  H1573  Sponsor: Byron Rushing
H1653  Sponsor: Chris Walsh
Most people aren’t aware that Massachusetts law still refers to homosexuality as “the abominable and detestable crime against nature.”  There are also a number of similar laws still on the books. Some examples are found in: Chapter 272, Section 34  (“Crimes against nature”) and Chapter 272, Section 35  (“Unnatural and lascivious acts”). Every session the “progressives” try to repeal them, often by filing multiple bills to do the same thing. So far, we’ve managed to keep them all from passing.
Referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary

An Act providing health education in schools
H339 Sponsor: Marjorie Decker  S248  Sponsor: Harriette Chandler
This bill requires all schools to teach “age-appropriate” sexuality education and requires compliance with the infamous Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks, which is currently optional. It also waters down the current Parental Notification Law.
Referred to Joint Committee on Education

An Act regarding comprehensive sexual education and violence prevention programs
H366  Sponsor: Gloria Fox
Another “comprehensive sex” bill targeting children. This bill uses the excuse of “violence prevention” to require that schools in all grades teach about HIV/AIDS, reproduction, sexual health, “family life,” and similar topics.
Referred to Joint Committee on Education

An Act affirming a terminally ill patient’s right to compassionate aid in dying
H1991  Sponsor: Louis Kafka
This is the “Assisted Suicide” bill that was thankfully voted down by in a state-wide referendum in 2012. Kafka files it every session, but we doubt it will get traction this time.
Referred to Joint Committee on Public Health