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As the Trump administration considers a change to Title IX that would define sex as immutable and determined by a person鈥檚 genitals at birth, Massachusetts voters chose a different course on Tuesday.

Through a ballot , voters chose to uphold a 2016 anti-discrimination law that protects the rights of transgender people to use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity, . With more than half of precincts reporting, the measure had 68 percent support.

Massachusetts is the first state to consider transgender rights on a voter referendum. Though the law would affect transgender youth, the state has a separate law that protects transgender youth in schools.

Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement the vote shows Massachusetts is a place 鈥渢hat fiercely defends our basic values of dignity and respect for everyone.鈥�

鈥�Tonight, we sent a message not just to transgender people and their families and friends here in Massachusetts, but to the entire country,鈥� Rose said. 鈥淎t a time when transgender rights are being threatened nationally, we absolutely must preserve the rights we have secured at the state level.”

Massachusetts is the first state where voters have approved a law allowing transgender people to use public facilities that match their gender identity

鈥� BuzzFeed LGBT (@BuzzFeedLGBT)

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