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Opponents of a new transgender anti-discrimination law officially kicked off a campaign to repeal it with a Statehouse rally on June 20, 2016.

(SHIRA SCHOENBERG / THE REPUBLICAN)

BOSTON -- Opponents of a new transgender anti-discrimination law officially kicked off a campaign to repeal it with a Statehouse rally on Wednesday.

"There's nothing in that bill that keeps our children safe," said Bobbi Newman, of Royalston, who worried that the bill would provide cover for sex offenders to prey on children.

Gov. Charlie Baker signed the law earlier this month prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in places of public accommodation, such as restaurants or public transit. It allows transgender people to use the bathroom or locker room of the gender with which they identify, rather than their biological sex.

Opponents, led by the socially conservative Massachusetts Family Institute, are organizing an effort to get a repeal of the law on the ballot in November 2018. To do that, they must collect 32,375 signatures within 90 days after the law was signed.

The opponents say repealing the law is a matter of public safety.

"I think anyone with common sense can know that it's a threat to young girls or any woman of any age if a man or even a teenage boy is in the same restroom, or even worse shower facilities, locker facilities," said Ashley King, a mother of four from Westford.

The law prohibits the assertion of gender identity for an improper purpose.

State Rep. Jim Lyons, R-Andover, joined opponents of the bill. Lyons said supporters of the bill framed the debate around preventing a transgender person from being denied service in a restaurant. But he said the biggest change is allowing transgender people into sex-segregated facilities. He said the public deserves a chance to vote on the law, after considering the issues involving showers and locker rooms. "I want to talk about the issues and let the public decide," Lyons said.

Matt Wilder, a spokesman for Freedom Massachusetts, the coalition that advocated for the transgender law, said the opponents represent "a very small fringe minority" in the state.

Wilder said groups representing domestic violence victims have come out in support of the bill, and the opponents' claims about public safety and privacy "are patently false."

"The vast majority of people who are harassed or assaulted or experience discrimination in public sex-segregated spaces are primarily transgender people, and that's who we're looking to protect here," Wilder said.

Wilder said his group is currently focused on making sure transgender people know their rights under the new law and on ensuring that the law is properly implemented.