Maura Healey has spent her career fighting to protect and expand civil rights, including for LGBT+ Americans. Before her election as Attorney General in 2014, Healey served as Chief of the Office’s Civil Rights Division, where she oversaw key initiatives to promote equality and inclusion. Most notably, in 2009 Healey worked with Gay and Lesbian Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) to file the first successful state challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a significant milestone on the road to national marriage equality. Since her election as Attorney General, Healey has continued her record of civil rights advocacy. Healey and her team worked closely with the Massachusetts Legislature to pass one of the strongest transgender protection bills in the country, which prohibits transgender discrimination in restaurants, parks, and other public spaces. In response to reports of harassment of vulnerable populations after the 2016 election, Healey set up a bias-motivated hotline to collect these reports and coordinate investigations with local law enforcement. And since January of this year, Healey has been a strong and passionate voice in defense of transgender students and individuals in the military, LGBT+ employees, and others who have been targeted by the Trump Administration.
