Senate Criminal Justice Bill Would Let Inmates Dictate Prison Based On Gender Identity

A convict would be able to tell state authorities whether to send the convict to a men’s prison or a women’s prison based on the convict’s stated gender identity, according to a bill passed by the Massachusetts Senate.

The little-noticed provision is tucked away in the massive criminal justice reform bill House members are now considering.

The Senate passed the bill in the post-midnight hours of October 27, 27-10. The provision calls for housing prisoners “in a correctional facility with inmates with the same gender identity, provided that the placement is consistent with the prisoner’s request.”

The bill also mandates that prisoners claiming a gender identity “that differs from the prisoner’s sex assigned at birth” would be allowed to determine their housing even without an official diagnosis of “gender dysphoria.”

More