A gender identity bill which had been criticized by some transgender activist groups for failing to include "public accommodations" has been sent back to committee by the Maryland Senate, MetroWeekly reports:
The Maryland Senate just sent the Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Act, House Bill 235, back to the Judicial Proceedings Committee during the bill's second reading, 27-20, killing the bill in this year's legislative session.
The development comes two days after supporters of the legislation were relieved when the bill passed favorably in the Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee on April 9, with a 7-4 vote with only one amendment from Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery), which according to Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland, was non-substaintial.
The "public accommodations" clause had been removed from the bill in order to help its chances of passage in the Senate.