Transgender rights bill draws referendum challenge

[Amelia Pond]

Transgender rights bill draws referendum challenge
August 19, 2013

Opponents of a new law allowing transgender students to use the school facilities reflecting their gender identity have submitted a referendum to nix the law.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1266 last week, angering opponents. They said the law, written by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, (right) would undermine parental choice and cause discomfort for students. Republican lawmakers denounced the move on social media, and Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, said he would pull his children from public school.

On Friday, some of those detractors filed a referendum to overturn the law, which they have dubbed the "the co-ed bathroom bill."

[Vicky]

This was predictable, but if successful, will  probably be moot, since recent Federal actions, including a Consent Decree to provide this type of access to students occured in a school district that neighbors mine here in Southern California.  Failure to comply with the decree was looking at millions of Federal dollars not reaching the district bank account. 

[Beth Andrea]

Sadly, a neighbor of mine was talking about seeing "a man dressed as a woman, he--I mean she--had breasts and hair done up, and she just walked right into the lady's room! A security guard almost went after him, but then another guard stopped and talked with the first guard...is that legal? Can you (meaning me) do that, just go into the lady's room?"

I said yes, in fact we're required to, as part of the one-year RLE prior to getting The Surgery...you just explain to the guard or the women that you're trans, and they understand.

The neighbor smiled, and said, "Shoot! I'm gonna have to say I'm trans! That'd be great (as in, "fun") to be able to just walk into the lady's room."



I was like, "Why? There's stalls and all they do is go to the bathroom, it's not like you're gonna see anything."

He just thought it would be a cheap thrill to go in there, knowing there were women nearby with their pants down...

Straight men can be such creeps...then they try to accuse us of *their* transgressions.

[musicofthenight]

Well, having cleaned restrooms before - both kinds - I can say that while women leave messes of their own, they are somewhat less inclined to defecate on the walls.

You should have reminded him he's not allowed to pee in the sinks. 

(Public service note: misandry is a terrible thing, but I do believe that, only sometimes, there is a place for offensive humor.  Gently setting offensive people on the right track is one of them.)

[TiaNadiezja]

Sadly, a neighbor of mine was talking about seeing "a man dressed as a woman, he--I mean she--had breasts and hair done up, and she just walked right into the lady's room! A security guard almost went after him, but then another guard stopped and talked with the first guard...is that legal? Can you (meaning me) do that, just go into the lady's room?"

I said yes, in fact we're required to, as part of the one-year RLE prior to getting The Surgery...you just explain to the guard or the women that you're trans, and they understand.

The neighbor smiled, and said, "Shoot! I'm gonna have to say I'm trans! That'd be great (as in, "fun") to be able to just walk into the lady's room."



I was like, "Why? There's stalls and all they do is go to the bathroom, it's not like you're gonna see anything."

He just thought it would be a cheap thrill to go in there, knowing there were women nearby with their pants down...

Straight men can be such creeps...then they try to accuse us of *their* transgressions.

To be honest, if a neighbor ever spoke to me like that, they'd come off my list of people I talk to at all.

[TiaNadiezja]

By the by, living in California for five years totally soured me on the whole idea of the ballot initiative and the referendum.  The whole time I was there, it seemed, only three types of initiative passed:

1. Initiatives preventing taxes from being raised, thus blocking the government from raising money to pay for either other initiatives or essential services
2. Initiatives requiring the government to do things that cost money, which would, because the tax-blocking initiatives kept passing, require rerouting money out of essential services
3. Proposition 8.

So now I don't sign initiative petitions, and I vote no on initiatives and Approve on referenda.  I let the state's legislators make law, and if I don't like the law being made, I vote against my legislator in the next election.