Happy National Coming Out Day Boston! In showing his support for the LGBTQ community at large, State Rep. and Boston mayor contender Marty Walsh outlined his plan for Boston politics to make the Bay State and its capital region more tolerant, while protecting the rights of those who identify with that population, from youths to the elderly.
Taking the podium at his Jamaica Plain headquarters, Rep. Walsh stated, “As a legislator, I’ve held a longstanding commitment to protecting the rights of Boston’s LGBTQ population and my record strongly reflects that. When equality is comprehensively supported and promoted, all of Boston is enriched. As Mayor of Boston, I will work to confront the issues that remain in our communities, including caring for our LGBTQ elders and supporting our LGBTQ youth.”
A top-to-bottom initiative like Walsh’s in the LGBTQ community is something Boston has yet to see, let alone embrace, and is a step in the right direction towards making Boston, and Massachusetts as a whole, a refuge for those who have endured hateful prejudice.
Included in his policy are methods poised to defend the individual rights of LGBTQ identifiers regardless of age. For example not only does Rep. Walsh aim to establish “safe spaces” at Boston Public Schools, develop LGBTQ student leadership programs, establish transitional housing for homeless LGBTQ youth, and kick off a “pathways to inclusion” program that will provide mandatory anti-bullying workshops, but he also plans to work with those on the other end of the spectrum.
He also hopes to allow for senior care centers to apply for LGBTQ-friendly designation at their own accord by advocating for city-funded organizations that serve seniors also be trained and certified in providing LGBTQ-appropriate care. Also on the horizon could be an LGTBQ Commission “to serve as advisors to the City, and to create a LGBTQ City Hall Liaison position to provide resources and access to services through the City.”
Just yesterday, Rep. Walsh received a much-coveted endorsement from equality activist Arline Isaacson, co- chair of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus and one of the most influential LGBT advocates statewide. Isaacson commended for his steadfast commitment to the LGBTQ community and thanked him for opposing a Beacon Hill bill that would ban gay marriage in Massachusetts. The Bay State then became the first state in the union to legalize gay marriage.
To better digest the blueprints for Walsh’s plan of action, check out the in-depth platform on his website here.
[Photo courtesy of the Committee to Elect Martin J. Walsh]
