This opinion column was submitted for publication by Senator Ken Donnelly:

Before the midsession break, the Legislature passed a very significant piece of legislation, the Transgender Equal Rights Act. The goal of the law is simple – to ensure the essential protections for transgender residents who are not currently protected in any areas of the Commonwealth’s civil rights laws.

As an advocate for the 4^th Middlesex District – Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Lexington and Woburn – I have the responsibility to campaign for the rights of all individuals who reside in these communities. I take this responsibility very seriously, which is why I both cosponsored and supported this legislation.

The act, passed on Wednesday, Nov. 16, on a voice vote includes transgender residents as a “protected class” in the state’s hate crime laws, prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in jobs, housing, insurance, mortgage loans and credit.