'Bathroom Bill' becomes focal point of District 7 House race
Published Date: Thursday, 01 November 2012 18:09
By Erik Eisele
http://conwaydailysun.com/index.php/newsx/local-news/93573-bathroom-110212CONWAY — For most voters, this election is about jobs and the economy, but one local contest may hinge on something very different: ladies' bathrooms.
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Tregenza, in his first advertisement in the newspaper, raised exactly these concerns with a paragraph pointing out that Butler was the prime sponsor of "The Bathroom Bill."
"All women's bathrooms and locker rooms would be open to predators or to men," the ad said, implying rapists and pedophiles would have been able to use the language to avoid prosecution.
The issue hit a nerve among voters, with a handful writing letters expressing outrage about legislation that would give predators such protections.
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another letter in the same paper from yours trulyThanks to Butler for sponsoring important, necessary bill
Zythyra
Published Date: Friday, 02 November 2012 21:29
http://www.conwaydailysun.com/index.php/opinion/letters/93604-zythyra-austen-thanks-to-butler-for-sponsoring-important-necessary-billI would like to express thanks to Ed Butler for originally introducing HB 415, an important and necessary bill. HB 415 wasn't about bathrooms, as those who wished to defeat it have negatively portrayed. It was actually about guaranteeing our transgender citizens protections against discrimination, including in areas such as employment. I hope that similar legislation will be introduced again in a future legislative season.
Sixteen states plus Washington DC, and 143 cities and counties across the nation have passed anti-discrimination bills similar to HB 415. New Hampshire is the only remaining New England state that hasn't passed such legislation.
Contrary to the fear mongering, there haven't been any incidents of men invading women's bathrooms in jurisdictions which have passed such legislation. A bill containing protections for gender identity and expression would not make it legal for men to engage in predatory behavior, in restrooms or anywhere else. It is also important to mention that due to anti-transgender violence, it can be quite dangerous for a transgender person to use a restroom other than the one that matches their gender presentation. Looking back in history, these current bathroom arguments sound remarkably similar to the arguments that were previously used against racial desegregation.
