Conservatives are waging war against trans youth across the country, and that includes here in Massachusetts.

Last week, Republican state reps put forth an amendment to prevent trans youth from participating in athletics according to their gender identity. This is against the inclusive values that we, as Bay Staters, pride ourselves in and reaffirmed strongly on the ballot back in 2018 with that year’s Yes on 3 campaign.

The good news: the amendment isn’t going anywhere. House Democrats used a tactic called “furthering” where an amendment is redrafted to nullify its content. Additionally, the State Senate has voiced public support for the trans community, and advocates are organizing to block any anti-trans amendment to this bill in the State Senate.

The bad news: By relying on a voice vote (in a near empty room) to defeat the amendment, we actually don’t know how many House Democrats are willing to stand up for trans youth, or if some of them were cowardly hoping to avoid a vote at all. Voice votes don't leave a public record, so constituents can’t hold legislators accountable for their stance.