Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has spent months keeping mum about whether or not he would sign a bill protecting transgender people's right to access public accommodations.

That has now changed.

We’ve certainly listened to a variety of points of view from many sides and have said, from the beginning, that we don’t want people to be discriminated against.

If the House bill were to pass in its current form, yeah, I would sign it.

--Baker

The bill, approved by the Senate and set to be passed by the House on Wednesday, would protect transgender people from discrimination in barber shops, malls, music halls, restaurants, and other public accommodations — and would allow people to use the restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.

The bathroom provision has raised sharp concern from opponents who claim that male sexual predators, under the guise of being transgender women, could enter women’s restrooms and locker rooms. Proponents of the bill say those worries are unfounded and not borne out by the almost 20 states that already have similar protections.

The House version, unlike the Senate’s, would require the attorney general to issue guidance on when and how legal action may be taken against people who assert gender identity for “an improper purpose.” That’s partly to address safety worries from opponents, House leaders say. But it’s also seen as an overture to Baker and to representatives from socially conservative districts hesitant to embrace the bill.

I support the House version, which, I believe, supplies the right amount of clarity with respect to the public safety questions that other people have raised.

--Baker

But he tempered fears of predation, noting that all K-12 schools and most colleges and universities “have been operating under what, in effect, is a policy that’s pretty similar to this one for the better part of the past several years without incident.”

The House version also mandates that the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination make rules and regulations protecting transgender people from discrimination. House leaders say that language, together with the requirement for the attorney general, would set rules of the game for people to work by so that transgender people won’t be unreasonably harassed for proof of their gender identity. It will, they say, also help businesses know what they can legally ask about if there is some question about a person’s identity.

We like to think that our lives are not a game...but other than that, I guess this is progress.

The Senate passed the bill 33-4.