‘Bathroom Bill’ given legislative push, with revisions

BOSTON – Massachusetts legislative leaders took steps Friday to push through a "bathroom bill" that would ensure access to public restrooms and locker rooms  to transgender people based on their gender identity rather than their anatomy, adding language to one version that would guide law-enforcement action against anyone "who asserts gender identity for an improper purpose."

The revised version is pending in the House of Representatives, according to the Associated Press. It said the redrafted House bill includes the enforcement provision apparently as a way to appease concerns raised by critics who said the original bill would jeopardize the privacy and safety of women and children. Supporters of the measure say those concerns are baseless.