BOSTON, Mass. – Time is running out on a bill to erase Massachusetts’ long defunct sodomy law from the statute books.

The bill, S.2561, which would erase a series of defunct or archaic laws from Massachusetts’ General Laws, passed the state senate in January on a unanimous vote, but since being sent to the state house, has languished in the House Ways and Means Committee, where bills are sent until house leadership deems them a priority. 

The Massachusetts General Court typically sits through the end of July, leaving just under two months to get these bills over the finish line. 

Massachusetts is one of 12 states that still have laws banning gay sex in their criminal statutes, despite a series of decisions from the state Supreme Judicial Court between 1974 and 2002 that held that these laws cannot be used to prosecute people committing consensual acts in private. 

Massachusetts General Law Chapter 272, Sections 34-35 criminalize “the abominable and detestable crime against nature” and “unnatural and lascivious acts with another person.”

Bill S.2551 passed by the Senate repeals the “crime against nature” statute entirely and limits the “unnatural and lascivious acts” statute to acts done “in public with the intent of public exposure.”

It also amends Section 53, which criminalizes certain types of behaviors in public, by removing a reference to “common night walkers, common street walkers, both male and female,” which some activists have said has been used to harass trans people committing no actual offence other than being out in public. 

Senator Will Brownsberger, who sponsored the bill in the senate, says he’s heard “zero pushback” on the bill from members of the house.

“I’ve talked to various colleagues in the house. I made the pitch. It’d be great to do it in Pride Month. There’s no pushback,” he says. “It’s just a question of is this the most important thing we wanna do for the queer community.”

The push to strike sodomy laws from state statute books got a new urgency after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, in which Justice Thomas wrote that the court should review its 2003 decision that found sodomy laws unconstitutional. But Brownsberger says the legality of sodomy in Massachusetts is probably safe from the Supreme Court, as the laws were struck down as incompatible state constitution, not the U.S. Constitution.

“I think it’s just an offensive message to leave these laws on the books which use archaic language and reflect archaic views about sexuality,” Brownsberger says. 

Brownsberger notes that lawmakers are also working on a number of other bills that would deliver benefits for the LGBTQ+ community, including a bill to grant equal parenthood recognition to same-sex parents and a bill to make it easier to get PrEP from a pharmacist. 

The parenthood bill, H.4672, was advanced to the house floor last week, but hasn’t yet been taken up in the senate. The PrEP bill, S.2480, has cleared the senate but has been stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee since last October.

Tanya Neslusan, executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Mass Equality, says the sodomy repeal law is a lower priority than those other bills. 

“The biggest priority we have right now is the Massachusetts Parentage Act. And then we have a couple of book ban bills we’re trying to get through,” Neslusan says. “Massachusetts is actually fourth in the nation for attempts to ban books right now. We’re taking that very seriously right now.”

“That said, there’s also harmful language in [the sodomy law] that needs to be addressed as well,” she says.

Brownsberger has filed similar bills to repeal the sodomy law and other archaic laws in every session since 2019, but they’ve always been stopped at the House Ways and Means Committee. He recommends that that if Bay Staters want to see the bill get passed, they should contact their state representatives.

“I always think constituents should talk to their own reps about what’s important to them,” he says. “The leadership team reflects the priorities of the body. When people are ready to take it up, it will come out of Ways and Means.”

A call to house majority leader Michael Moran requesting comment was not returned before press time.

BOSTON, Mass. – Governor Maura T. Healey nominated Massachusetts Appeals Court Associate Justice Gabrielle R. Wolohojian to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday.

Justice Wolohojian is a former romantic partner of the out lesbian governor, which drew immediate condemnation from the Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale. In a statement Carnevale said: “It is highly inappropriate for the governor to nominate to Massachusetts’ highest court an individual with whom she had a long-term romantic relationship in the past. This nomination clearly demonstrates a lack of accountability inherent in one-party rule.” Carnevale added: “We urge the Governor to immediately withdraw her nominee and, if not withdrawn, we urge the Governor’s Council to reject this nominee.”

“There is no one more qualified or better prepared to serve on the Supreme Judicial Court than Justice Wolohojian. She will bring over three decades of broad trial and appellate experience, including sixteen years on the Appeals Court,” said Governor Healey. “Justice Wolohojian has served on the Appeals Court with distinction and her work is widely respected by members of the bench and bar. She has an exceptional understanding of the law and a strong commitment to the administration of justice. I thank the Supreme Judicial Nominating Commission for their work throughout this process and I am grateful to the Governor’s Council for their careful consideration of her nomination.” 

The Associated Press reported Healey and Wolohojian met when both worked at Hale and Dorr, a Boston-based international law firm.  It’s unclear how long they were a couple. A July 28, 2015 Boston Magazine profile, ‘The Unstoppable Maura Healey,’ reported that the two had been together eight years at that time, however, the date of their breakup hasn’t been reported. The governor now lives with her current partner, Joanna Lydgate. Healey and Lydgate told The Boston Globe in an interview last year they began their relationship in 2020.

During a gaggle with reporters outside her office Wednesday, Healey said, “I don’t want the fact that she had a personal relationship with me to deprive the commonwealth of a person who’s most qualified for the position.”

Asked by a reporter whether this was the only name sent for her consideration by the nominating committee, the governor declined to comment.

“I’m not going to get into how we engage with the judicial nominating committee,” Healey said. She said Wolohojian had the “unanimous and unqualified support of the entirety of the commission.”

Massachusetts public radio WBUR reported that leaders in the state’s legal community said they support the governor’s choice, and downplayed questions about whether the appointment created a conflict of interest.

Massachusetts Bar Association President Damian Turco told WBUR Wolohojian’s past relationship with the governor shouldn’t be an issue.

“The fact that Healey and Wolohojian used to be in a romantic relationship, I don’t believe it causes any conflict or issue here necessarily,” Turco said. “Wolohojian is an extremely qualified candidate on her own and the relationship ended years ago.”

Turco said Wolohojian has devoted much of her professional life to public service. She earned her law degree at Columbia and a doctorate at the University of Oxford, then went on to clerk for judges on the U.S. District Court and the federal 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.

An accomplished violinist, Justice Wolohojian regularly plays and performs with orchestras, including playing with the Boston Civic Symphony Orchestra since 1989. She previously served as President of the Board of Directors of the Boston Civic Symphony Orchestra. Since 2005, Justice Wolohojian has served as an Overseer of From the Top, a nationally-distributed radio program focusing on young children playing classical music. 

The Supreme Judicial Court is Massachusetts’s highest appellate court, consisting of the Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven Justices hear appeals on a broad range of criminal and civil cases from September through May and issue written opinions that are posted online.  

Justice Wolohojian is nominated to fill the seat vacated by Justice David A. Lowy, who retired from the Supreme Judicial Court in February 2024. 

By Rob Salerno | BOSTON, Mass. – The Massachusetts state senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday to repeal several archaic criminal laws that were still on the books, including the state’s sodomy law and a law critics have dubbed the “walking while trans” law. The bill now heads to the state House, where it is expected to pass.

“I’m just really happy that it passed. And I hope that it will pass seamlessly in the house. There’s absolutely no reason for it not to pass,” says Tanya Neslusan, executive director of Mass Equality, a leading statewide LGBTQ advocacy group.

Despite long being considered a leader in passing progressive legislation for LGBTQ rights, Massachusetts is one of 12 states that still have laws banning gay sex in its criminal statutes. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 272, Sections 34-35 criminalize “the abominable and detestable crime against nature” and “unnatural and lascivious acts with another person.” 

Both laws have been limited by a series of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rulings between 1974 and 2002 that held that they could not be used against people committing consensual acts in private, but the laws have never been repealed or amended to reflect that change.

Bill S.2551 passed by the Senate repeals the “crime against nature” statute entirely and limits the “unnatural and lascivious acts” statute to acts done “in public with the intent of public exposure.”

It also amends Section 53, which criminalizes certain types of behaviors in public, by removing a reference to “common night walkers, common street walkers, both male and female,” which some activists have said has been used to harass trans people committing no actual offence other than being out in public. 

“That’s something that hits the queer community. It’s something easy to target when somebody is not creating a disturbance, but they are visibly queer or trans, and you can label them a ‘common night walker,’” Neslusan says. “It’s also really stigmatizing language when you refer to somebody as a ‘common night walker.’” 

During debate, Senators also added a provision to the bill that repeals Section 36, which makes “blasphemy” a crime punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine of $300.

Versions of the bill have been proposed several times over the years, but none has made it this far in the legislative process. The bill was introduced during last year’s session, where it was studied and passed by the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and the Joint Committee on Rules. Earlier this week it was reported out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

In 2003, the US Supreme Court struck down all remaining state sodomy laws as unconstitutional, but they also remain on the books in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. Maryland and Minnesota repealed their sodomy laws last year. A bill to partially repeal Michigan’s sodomy law has been proposed by state Democrats.

There has been a push to repeal sodomy laws and enshrine LGBT rights in legislation since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned the right to seek an abortion. In a concurring opinion, Justice Thomas argued the Court should also overturn previous decisions decriminalizing sodomy and legalizing same-sex marriage. 

“With the Dobbs decision, all of those privacy decisions came into question,” Neslusan says.

Although Democrats hold a commanding 135-24 majority in the state House, Mass Equality says it cannot take for granted that the bill will pass, especially since the state has failed to pass previous iterations of the bill in the past. 

“I would hope that it will go through without any challenge. I would like to think that’s the world in which we live. But I’m not going to take it for granted that we’re going to have a unanimous vote to move forward for that,” Neslusan says.

******************************************************************************************

Rob Salerno is a writer and journalist based in Los Angeles, California, and Toronto, Canada.

NORTH BROOKFIELD, Mass. – The ACLU of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the North Brookfield Select Board and two of its members last week after they refused to grant permission for a 2024 Pride celebration on the Town Common because the event will include drag performance.

 The new lawsuit is filed on behalf of the Rural Justice Network. According to the new complaint, the Select Board’s actions continue a pattern of discriminatory treatment, violate free expression and assembly rights, and unlawfully discriminate on the basis of gender. 

“This is discrimination based on the viewpoint our clients seek to express: that all members of the community deserve to live and participate fully, openly, freely, and joyously,” said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Let’s be clear: The government has no right to censor LGBTQ+ people or their right to assemble and express themselves.” 

In October, the Rural Justice Network requested permission to host its fourth annual Small Town Pride celebration on the North Brookfield Town Common in June 2024. During a November Board meeting, after event organizers confirmed the celebration would include a drag performance that would not be hidden from public view in a tent, the Chair and Vice Chair refused to approve the Rural Justice Network’s request and explained that the decision meant that the application for the event permit “doesn’t go forward.”  

These actions follow the Chair and Vice Chair’s attempts earlier this year to deny the Rural Justice Network the right to include any drag performance in its 2023 Small Town Pride celebration simply because they personally believe that such performance is “wrong.” The event ultimately went forward as planned after the ACLU and North Brookfield’s legal counsel became involved. In the face of the clear legal advice previously provided, the new lawsuit alleges that the latest action by the Chair and Vice Chair is a blatant and intentional violation of free speech, assembly, and anti-discrimination laws.  

“Historically, people identifying as LGBTQIA+ have been barred from being who they truly are,” said the Rural Justice Network. “We simply want to host a community, family-friendly event that provides a safe and fun space to celebrate people of all gender identities, orientations, and expressions.”   

The lawsuit, filed in Worcester County Superior Court, seeks relief to allow the Rural Justice Network to host its 2024 Small Town Pride celebration, including drag performance, and to prevent further obstruction in the future. 

The North Brookfield Select Board’s actions come as states across the country are trying to restrict how and when LGBTQ+ people can be themselves, limiting access to books about them and trying to ban or censor performances like drag shows. The ACLU is tracking 507 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S. 

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts is raising alarms over actions by a Great Barrington Police Department plainclothes detective who executed a search for the book, “Gender Queer” in an eighth grade classroom after school wearing a bodycam.

Ruth A. Bourquin, senior and managing attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts, told the local newspaper the Berkshire Eagle that the search at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School was extremely unsettling. “Police going into schools and searching for books is the sort of thing you hear about in communist China and Russia. What are we doing?” she said.

Bourquin also noted that use of a body-cam and the search itself raised legal questions and constructional concerns.

The Berkshire Eagle reported that it was an anonymous complaint that led Great Barrington Police to open a probe about whether parts of the book, “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe, could be considered obscene material or pornographic.

The book has been praised in some circles for how it talks about identity — but it’s also drawn a lot of rebuke from people who cite its sexually explicit nature and the illustrations. Gender Queer has been challenged and banned more than any other in the U.S., according to PEN America.

Gender Queer includes a handful of sexually explicit illustrations which have been used to argue that the book is inappropriate for minors. The age recommendations for the book varies, the School Library Association say it is appropriate for ages 9 and older. Barnes & Noble booksellers says it’s appropriate for ages 15 and older.

Police notified school and district administrators they were coming to the classroom, and the officer was escorted there by the school principal. The teacher, who kept the book in her resource library, was surprised to see the officer. The officer announced he was turning on his body camera and then looked for the book and did not find it, The Berkshire Eagle reported.

The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, which was also notified about the search as required by departmental policies, closed the investigation.

In a letter sent out to parents and families impacted by the search, the Berkshire Hills Regional School District stated:

“Faced with an unprecedented police investigation of what should be a purely educational issue, we tried our best to serve the interests of students, families, teachers and staff. In hindsight, we would have approached that moment differently. We are sorry,” BHRSD said.

School district officials they would work to collect feedback starting by hosting a community meeting on Jan. 11. 

“It is the obligation of the district to use its policies, existing or amended, to select curriculum. In this case, the content was not the issue. The process challenging it was. We want to ensure that students and staff feel safe and supported and that families’ voices are heard,” the letters said.

This past Friday LGBTQ + students organized a walkout at Monument Mountain Regional High School to protest the police search and what appeared to be a target ban affecting that book and potentially other books with LGBTQ+ themes. More than 100 students and staff participated in the walkout.

Massachusetts’ openly queer Democratic Governor Maura Healey on Monday expressed disapproval of what appeared to be an attempt to ban and censor, releasing a statement that applauded the high school students for their walkout.

“Book banning has no place in Massachusetts. Our administration stands with educators who are committed to ensuring that their students have inclusive, comprehensive resources. I’m proud to see these students stepping up to support their teacher, their peers and an inclusive learning environment,” the governor said.

BOSTON, Mass. – This past Friday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office filed suit against a neo-Nazi white nationalist/supremacist group the Nationalist Social Club a.k.a. NSC-131, alleging conduct that violated state civil rights laws and unlawfully interfered with public safety.

The lawsuit filed in Suffolk County Superior Court names two NSC-131 leaders, Christopher Hood and Liam McNeil, noting that the pair were responsible for fomenting an escalating series of unlawful and discriminatory incidents.

These incidents include situations where NSC-131 members repeatedly attempted to disrupt and shut down events organized by LGBTQ+ community groups, and targeted hotels providing emergency shelter to recently arrived immigrants through the Commonwealth’s Emergency Assistance program.

The Attorney General’s Office alleges that, in connection with these incidents and others, NSC-131 members engaged in violent, threatening, and intimidating conduct that violated state civil rights laws and unlawfully interfered with public safety. The complaint asserts claims for public nuisance, trespass, civil conspiracy and violations of the Civil Rights Act and Public Accommodations Law. 

“NSC-131 has engaged in a concerted campaign to target and terrorize people across Massachusetts and interfere with their rights. Our complaint is the first step in holding this neo-Nazi group and its leaders accountable for their unlawful actions against members of our community,” said AG Campbell. “My office will continue to do all it can to protect our residents’ and visitors’ civil rights and public safety.” 

The complaint alleges that between July 2022 and January 2023, NSC-131 repeatedly targeted Drag Queen Story Hours, which are children-oriented events commonly hosted by the LGBTQ+ community and others to promote inclusivity of LGBTQ+ individuals.

In late 2021, NSC-131 announced that its members would “SHUT DOWN DRAG QUEEN STORY HOURS IN THE NEW ENGLAND AREA UNTIL ALL RELATED EVENTS CEASE.” NSC-131 subsequently targeted four events in Massachusetts, during which NSC-131 members allegedly attacked members of the public; engaged in other threatening, intimidating and coercive behavior; and unlawfully interfered with access to event spaces in public libraries.

The events targeted by NSC-131 took place in July 2022 and August 2022 in Boston, December 2022 in Fall River, and January 2023 in Taunton.  

The complaint further alleges that on at least five separate occasions between October 2022 and October 2023, NSC-131 targeted hotels providing emergency shelter to recently arrived immigrants.

On social media, NSC-131 has stated that it targeted the hotels because they were providing housing to “invaders” from “Haiti,” “Central America,” and “Africa,” while espousing conspiracy theories promoting the idea that the shelters were part of a plot to implement “White replacement.” 

During the incidents, NSC-131 members trespassed on hotel property and engaged in other unlawful conduct to intimidate and threaten employees and guests and interfere with the operation of the hotels.

The group’s targeting of the migrant hotel shelters, trespassing on their property and intimidating and harassing their residents and employees, occurred in an October 2022 incident in Kingston, on three occasions in August 2023 in Woburn, and a September 2023 incident in Marlborough.  

Additionally, the complaint alleges that since at least 2020, NSC-131 has regularly conducted “patrols” of various residential neighborhoods and public spaces across the state. During such “patrols,” NSC-131 regularly trespassed on, vandalized, and damaged both public and private property.

Moreover, while publicizing the “patrols” on social media, NSC-131 revealed that members carried weapons, including knives and batons, while engaged in the “patrols.”  

Through filing this complaint, the AG’s Office seeks injunctive relief against the defendants in relation to each of the alleged claims, along with monetary awards related to civil penalties, damages, and other costs, amongst other forms of potential relief.

Related:

BOSTON – Anti-LGBTQ+ far right extremists are targeting Boston Children’s Hospital threatening its employees and medical staff after falsehoods and disinformation spread online recently about the healthcare facility’s treatment of transgender youth.

In a statement posted online, a spokesperson for Boston Children’s wrote: “In response to commentary last week critical of our Gender Multispeciality Service (GeMS) Program, Boston Children’s Hospital has been the target of a large volume of hostile internet activity, phone calls, and harassing emails including threats of violence on our clinicians and staff fueled by misinformation and a lack of understanding and respect for our transgender community.”

The statement notes that the false information, with special attention being cast on the lies that Boston Children’s was performing hysterectomies (transgender gender care related) on minors. The age of consent for that gender-affirming procedure is 18.

“We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms, and we reject the false narratives upon which they are based,” the hospital continued. “We are working with law enforcement to protect our clinicians, staff, patients, families, and the broader Boston Children’s Hospital community and hold the offenders accountable. We will continue to take all appropriate measures to protect our people.”

pic.twitter.com/Sx3ATUDxSL

— Boston Children’s (@BostonChildrens) August 16, 2022

Journalist Martha Bebinger with WBUR,  Boston’s NPR news station, noted the campaign started last week with criticism of a video posted on the hospital’s website about hysterectomies. Several conservative social media accounts shared posts about the video on Twitter. The hospital performs hysterectomies on patients 18 and older, but not on children as some of the posts claimed.

The social media account LibsofTikTok, which has often promoted “groomer” discourse that falsely linked LGBTQ teachers and parents to pedophilia, began to make a variety of false claims. One allegation included the lie about Children’s offering gender-affirming hysterectomies to children under 18 years old.

Surgeons at Boston Children’s have said they would consider performing other procedures, including phalloplasty, or penis construction, on 17-year-old male transgender patients. But hospital staff say that hasn’t happened because no 17-year-old has met required legal and other criteria.

Conservative journalist and anti-LGBTQ+ activist Christopher Rufo, who has helped incite white Christian nationalist right-wing uproar over the critical race theory being taught in the nations’ secondary schools and also fabricated a story that queer theory was also being taught to kindergarteners up through high school, took aim at Boston Children’s in a tweet Wednesday.

Yes, American doctors are performing “vaginoplasties” on minors—castrating young males and creating artificial vaginas out of their penile tissue.https://t.co/LzLsZpeeRU pic.twitter.com/6NgBGitZZh

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) August 17, 2022

Then adding to the far-right extremist pile-on, Media Matters for America reported Wednesday that anti-Trans pundit Matt Walsh also attacked the hospital.

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh falsely accused Boston Children’s hospital of putting “every toddler who has ever been born…on a path to sterilization and butchery before they can even talk.” Two days later, the hospital’s staff was deluged by violent threats. pic.twitter.com/uoyb35VPM6

— Media Matters (@mmfa) August 17, 2022

Christina Buttons, a Nashville-based radical anti-LGBTQ far-right journalist for the Canadian anti-LGBTQ conservative publication, the Post Millennial, which features other transphobic writers, attacked NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny on Twitter over her reporting on Boston Children’s.

God help me, I know I shouldn’t bother, but just quick before I log off: the “evidence” for this lie, that a children’s hospital is performing genital surgery on minors, actually shows that the center provided ZERO of these surgeries on minors.https://t.co/elQ7nF1dCU https://t.co/478VyUsx4U pic.twitter.com/L6BP11HHDc

— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) August 17, 2022

A spokesperson for Twitter told the Blade Wednesday afternoon that the company support team was looking into the reports of harassment.

NBC’s Brandy Zadrozny reported: Anti-trans activists also targeted the individual doctors who appeared in the YouTube videos from Boston Children’s Hospital, leaving vulgar and harassing comments on their social media accounts and flooding their online pages with negative reviews. Some hospital staff have since made their social media profiles private.

This isn’t the first time that far-right activists have targeted doctors and medical institutions — or even Boston Children’s Hospital.

Lee Leveille, co-director of Health Liberation Now, a trans rights advocacy group that investigates the effects of policy on trans health, said the hospital was also a target in May 2021 for providing gender-affirming care amid a similar wave of targeted harassment on medical facilities.

“The original organized network that jump started the clinic protests has been slowing down a bit and is more decentralized,” Leveille said over email. “Local pockets will still operate here and there, but they’re less connected to a central organized push than the original ones. Now we’re seeing new faces rallying the cause — including the likes of Matt Walsh and Libs of TikTok.”

A spokesperson for the Boston Police said the department is aware of the threats and is working with Boston Children’s staff.

BOSTON – The neo-Nazi leader of a white supremacist group and two others were arrested Saturday afternoon in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston as they marched and chanted in an effort to disrupt a drag queen story hour event at the Loring Greenough House.

According to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, Boston Police officers arrested Chris Hood, 23, the founder of the National Socialist Club, (NSC-13) which has been listed by the the Anti-Defamation League as a white supremacist neo-Nazi hate group with six active chapters in the New England regional area.

Boston Police said that Hood was arrested while engaged in a physical altercation with a counter-protester, 27-year-old Seth Rosenau, which officers broke up. Both men were charged with disturbing the peace, and they will both be in West Roxbury Court on Monday.

Members of the white supremacist neo-Nazi hate group were standing across the street from the drag queen story hour event at the Loring Greenough House holding a banner that read:“Pedo Scum Off Our Streets.” In witness videos of the event that neo-Nazis can be seen wearing hats with masks covering their faces.

Boston Police say that a group of counter-protestors had shown up as officers ushered the children out of the book reading and away from the group of neo-Nazi white supremacists. Verbal arguments ensued culminating in a couple of fist-fights, one of which led to the arrest of Hood.

“We are prepared and will not be intimidated in our work to make Boston a city for everyone,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement. “We remain ready for citywide deployment of extra public safety resources with a zero tolerance approach to any groups looking to intimidate or harass residents in our city.”

The Suffolk County District Attorney issued a statement in which he called it an “organized white supremacist action” and noted that Boston was a “way point in the crusade of hate” launched in Charlottesville, Virginia five years ago during the infamous “Unite the Right” rally.

“The presence of white supremacists at a Jamaica Plain book reading today, like their downtown Boston march earlier this month, is at once a disgrace and a warning,” said Hayden. “Society everywhere is targeted by these groups, and society everywhere must reject them.”

3 men arrested after white supremacists protest outside drag queen story hour reading:

BOSTON – Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood residents and others gathered The William Barton Rogers School Project at 15 Everett Street on Sunday hours after homophobic slurs and messages stating “die by fire” and “die slow” were found spray painted on banners hung at The Pryde, a 74-unit housing development for LGBTQ+ friendly senior housing.

Reactions to the blatant homophobic graffiti include Boston Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 who tweeted, “Hate & acts of vandalism will not be tolerated at the Pryde—or anywhere in Boston.”

Hate & acts of vandalism will not be tolerated at the Pryde—or anywhere in Boston.

This affordable, LGBTQ+ senior housing development has been led by local residents, boosted by neighborhood voices & fueled by united support. We will move even faster to get it done. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ pic.twitter.com/cG9knQnKqt

— Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 (@MayorWu) July 10, 2022

Ruthzee Louijeune, a Boston City Councilor, organized the gathering outside of The Pryde Sunday evening to condemn the homophobic vandalism.

The Pryde building in Hyde Park has been vandalized with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

We won’t stand for this.

Not in my neighborhood.

Not in our city.

No matter how emboldened some people are getting.

Stand with us in solidarity at 4pm, 15 Everett Street in Hyde Park. #bospoli https://t.co/V2EABW3wJG

— Ruthzee Louijeune (@Ruthzee) July 10, 2022

A spokesperson for Boston Police Department Captain Joe Gillespie, who commands the BPD District E-18 where The William Barton Rogers School Project is located, said that investigators are checking all local video surveillance systems and asking residents for assistance.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden denounced the vandalism in a statement:

“It breaks my heart to see these ugly threats targeting a project — and a community — of such importance to our city,” Hayden said. “This is the second straight weekend of Boston being marred by hatred and intolerance. This cannot stand. My office will prosecute threats to the LGBTQ+ community wherever and whenever they occur.”

Hayden also referred to the march last weekend where members of the Patriot Front white nationalist group marched through downtown Boston.

A state lawmaker, House Rep. Mindy Domb condemned the vandalism on Twitter:

“We must condemn hate in all its forms and stand with all of its targets,” Domb said. “Rising incidents of anti-LGBT, anti-Semitism & anti-Asian activities are connected and happening in a climate of growing threats to our communities. Our collective rejection & outrage is urgently warranted.”

We must condemn hate in all its forms and stand with all of its targets. Rising incidents of anti-LGBT, anti-semetism & anti-Asian activities are connected and happening in a climate of growing threats to our communities. Our collective rejection & outrage is urgently warranted. https://t.co/7DTVlrOSp9

— Mindy Domb (@MindyForMA) July 11, 2022

BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced yesterday morning that she is running for governor after months of speculation and following a record fundraising month.

Healey,  who was the first out LGBTQ person elected to a state attorney general position in the U.S. – could make history again with a victory in November. No out lesbian has ever been elected governor in the U.S.

Only two out LGBTQ people have ever been elected governor in the U.S. and both are sitting governors: Oregon Governor Kate Brown (who is a bisexual cisgender woman) and Colorado Governor Jarod Polis (who is a gay cisgender man), both of whom are Democrats.

Healey made the announcement on Twitter: “Massachusetts, I know the years of the pandemic have been really hard, but I see a state that is coming together with courage, grit and caring to great things,” Healey says, before detailing her upbringing and her work as attorney general.

“I have stood for you as the people’s lawyer and now I am running to be your governor, to bring us together and come back stronger than ever,” Healey adds

I'm all in!

I’ve spent my career standing up for the people of Massachusetts. Now I'm running for Governor to bring our communities together and build an economy that helps every family thrive. Will you join me? https://t.co/qVhhZgbF6D pic.twitter.com/3JL2kICz9U

— Maura Healey (@maura_healey) January 20, 2022

“Maura is a fearless advocate for marginalized communities and chooses the battles that create a better and more inclusive future for her state and country. She led the first state challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, stood up to the Trump administration’s attacks, and is a proud champion for LGBTQ youth,” Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement about her organization’s endorsement of the Massachusetts Attorney General.

“As a lesbian woman, Maura knows well the frequent failures of our political and legal systems to address bias and discrimination and that awareness informs her commitment to society’s underdogs. Maura’s values and determination – along with her public service experience – make her the governor Massachusetts needs at this critical moment. While a victory for Maura will make history, she is running because she can make an even greater positive impact on the lives of Bay Staters as their governor,” Parker added.

Healey said the following about the Victory Fund endorsement;

“I’m very honored to receive Victory Fund’s endorsement in this race and proud to work alongside them to ensure every Massachusetts resident can thrive. Our state has made important strides in protecting the rights of our LGBTQ+ residents, but there is always more to do. As Governor, I will continue this critical work towards a fair, safe, and just world for our trans and non-binary residents, LGBTQ+ youth, and the entire LGBTQ+ community.”

In 2009, Healey led the first successful federal challenge to a state law barring same-sex couples from marrying while working in the Massachusetts attorney generals’ office. Many of the arguments from Massachusetts played a significant role in the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.

As attorney general, she filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, successfully pursued cases against corporations that fueled the opioid pandemic, and won numerous lawsuits protecting immigrant rights.

Attorney General Maura Healey front-runner for Massachusetts governor, political analyst says: