Byron Rushing
Encyclopedia
Byron Rushing serves the Ninth Suffolk district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
. A Democrat
, first elected in 1982
, Representative Rushing, serves as the Second Assistant Majority Leader. A graduate of Harvard College
and MIT, Representative Rushing's priorities are human and civil rights and liberties; local human, economic and housing development; environmental justice and health care.
Representative Rushing was an original sponsor of the gay rights bill and the chief sponsor of the law to end discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation in public schools. He is a spokesman against the restoration of the death penalty in Massachusetts and for a moratorium on executions in the nation. He leads the effort for size acceptance and anti-discrimination on the basis of height and weight. He led the Commonwealth's anti-apartheid efforts and was the co-author, with Simon Billenness, and chief sponsor of the Massachusetts Burma law that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. He was the chief sponsor of the health reform law ending pre-existing condition
refusals by insurance companies. He is a chief sponsor of legislation for needle exchange programs and over-the-counter sale of sterile needles.
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
. A Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, first elected in 1982
, Representative Rushing, serves as the Second Assistant Majority Leader. A graduate of Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
and MIT, Representative Rushing's priorities are human and civil rights and liberties; local human, economic and housing development; environmental justice and health care.
Representative Rushing was an original sponsor of the gay rights bill and the chief sponsor of the law to end discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
on the basis of sexual orientation in public schools. He is a spokesman against the restoration of the death penalty in Massachusetts and for a moratorium on executions in the nation. He leads the effort for size acceptance and anti-discrimination on the basis of height and weight. He led the Commonwealth's anti-apartheid efforts and was the co-author, with Simon Billenness, and chief sponsor of the Massachusetts Burma law that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. He was the chief sponsor of the health reform law ending pre-existing condition
Pre-existing condition
A pre-existing condition is a risk with extant causes that is not readily compensated by standard, affordable insurance premiums. Pre-existing condition exclusions by the insurance industry are meant to cope with adverse selection by potential customers. Such exclusions have become a topic in the...
refusals by insurance companies. He is a chief sponsor of legislation for needle exchange programs and over-the-counter sale of sterile needles.