BOSTON (AP/WHDH) — Massachusetts officials are decrying the Trump administration’s rollback of federal public school bathroom protections for transgender students.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday he was disappointed with the decision, adding in Massachusetts “kids are going to be protected and kids are going to be able to feel safe and secure in the communities they live in and the schools that they go to.”

Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey held a press conference with families of transgender students. She said if the Trump Administration won’t protect people’s rights, Massachusetts will. She also invited Trump to Massachusetts to see how their law that protects transgender rights works.

Democratic congressmen Joe Kennedy and Stephen Lynch said the country should be expanding protections against discrimination for students, not rescinding them.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” said Mimi Lemay of Melrose, the mother of a 7-year-old transgender boy, Jacob. “It’s bullying.”

Jacob’s 8-year-old sister, Ella, also spoke and defended her brother’s rights:

Baker signed a law last year guaranteeing transgender people can use restrooms that correspond with their gender identities in Massachusetts.

(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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