Those not swayed by the essential justice of putting an end to this should take a look at the economic consequences of such discrimination.
It costs taxpayers about $3 million annually in public expenditures related to health-insurance coverage, unemployment benefits, housing assistance, and other public programs that are currently spent on transgendered people who are otherwise employable were it not for the discrimination they face.
Another form of discrimination the transgendered suffer is lower pay for performing the same jobs as "straight" workers. If all Massachusetts companies were required to hire and promote transgendered people in a fair and evenhanded manner, the state would stand to gain $2 million annually from increased tax revenues.
By these measures alone, Massachusetts would gain a $5 million advantage at a time when every public penny counts.
In any final analysis, however, transgendered rights are about neighborliness and common decency, and treating others as we ourselves wish to be treated.
The time to do the right thing is now.
