The vote upholds language which was already present in the state anti-discrimination statute, defeating an attempt to veto it by public referendum.

It amended Section 92A of chapter 272 of the General Laws to cover "gender identity" in "any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement that lawfully segregates or separates access...based on a person’s sex" such that all individuals shall be treated "consistent with the person’s gender identity.

A press release on their website dated September 28, 2016, said that "hundreds of volunteers" had met the deadline to provide the 32,375 signatures required to get the question on the ballot.

[6] An older group, MassResistance, founded by Brian Camenker in 1995, feared that Keep MA Safe's campaign was inadequate.

[7] Several days after the election, MassResistance published an article undercutting Keep MA Safe's main argument.

[26][27][28] A 2013 study of transgender and gender-nonconforming adult residents of Massachusetts found that 65% of respondents had experienced discrimination in public accommodations (in some cases, regarding bathrooms) within the previous year.