Civil rights & privacy protections - Senator Cindy Friedman

Senator Friedman has co-sponsored the following bills relative to civil rights and privacy protections in the 2019-2020 legislative session:

Summary: This bill would ban child marriage under the age of 18 in Massachusetts, which is currently allowed with parental and judicial consent. Over 80% of child marriages involve girls marrying adult men, which can impact their health, educational opportunities and lead to higher incidence of domestic violence and divorce.

Summary: This bill would prohibit efforts by licensed professionals in Massachusetts who counsel youth from attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a minor.

Summary: This bill would promote the individual right to privacy in electronic and non-electronic communications by limiting law-enforcement access. Under current law, if an Attorney General or District Attorney deems that an electronic or non-electronic communication in possession of a common carrier or service is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation, he or she can issue an administrative subpoena and obtain a record of the communication. This bill would limit the administrative subpoena power to criminal investigations of assault, battery, rape, and abuse of children. Furthermore, the record to be obtained is limited to the subscriber’s name and billing address, and the Attorney General or District Attorney must provide notice to the subscriber at the close of the investigation that such record was obtained. Lastly, the bill would mandate that the Attorney General and District Attorney publish an annual report on its use of such administrative subpoenas to Congress and the general public. Thus, this bill would protect individual privacy rights, while allowing law enforcement the latitude to prosecute crimes against children under a heightened method of accountability.

Summary: This legislation would require each executive department and agency to fully comply with the 2011 transgender anti-discrimination law by drafting nondiscrimination statements creating procedures for ensuring equal access to state services, training officials to prevent discrimination, and investigating reports of discrimination so that they can be dealt with promptly.

Summary: This bill, commonly known as the Safe Communities Act, would establish basic due process rights for people detained in state and local facilities for civil immigration violations, prevent law enforcement from asking people about their immigration status, and bar official collaboration agreements that deputize local law enforcement as federal immigration officials.

Summary: At a time when transgender heroes are being told they cannot serve, Massachusetts has an opportunity to be a national leader in standing up and recognizing the contributions of LGBT service members, many of whom have had to hide their identity in order to serve our country. This bill would create a commission that would be tasked to study an appropriate location for a memorial to LGBT service members and veterans.