FL Bathroom Bill is Dead

[traci_k]

Florida's Trans Bathroom Bill Dies
It's the final flush for Florida's proposed bill to restrict public bathrooms by "biological sex."
BY  Dawn Ennis
April 28 2015 2:18 PM ET

http://www.advocate.com/politics/2015/04/28/breaking-floridas-trans-bathroom-bill-dies

The office of Florida State Rep. Frank Artiles confirms his controversial bill, aimed to punish anyone who uses a public bathroom that doesn't match the sex they were assigned at birth, is dead — and cannot be revived, as this legislative session is over.

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Yea!

[Dee Marshall]

Well, I'm safe for my planned trip to Florida next October. Beyond then, who knows? This bill, like many, could be revived session after session. We can't ignore it when it is, 'cause it could still be snuck in.

[awilliams1701]

Thank God! Hopefully that discourages other similar bills from happening in other states.

[Mariah]

I hope so too. I have been paying closer attention to the one in Arizona and the proposed initiative in California considering both could affect me due to my traveling to and from Arizona.
Mariah

[suzifrommd]

I hope so too. I have been paying closer attention to the one in Arizona and the proposed initiative in California considering both could affect me due to my traveling to and from Arizona.
Mariah

The Florida one is the truly dangerous one, because it splits our community between those who have the wherewithal to get our documentation changed and those who can't or haven't yet.

[Kira357]

I think the recent debacle in Indiana played a significant role in FL HB-583 and SB-1464 being dropped from the current FL Legislature sessions. Also a LOT of campaigning and petitioning in Tallahassee by LGBT activists. I'd bet the Bruce Jenner interview will be helpful also, as he it portrayed TG/TS in a positive way, and many people saw the "normal" human side of transgender people as compared to the side-show freak portrayals of the past like on the Jerry Springer show.

Most of these potty-panic bills are pointless, as protective statutes have long been on the books to discourage sexual predators from entering public restrooms inappropriately or with nefarious intent. Florida has a very strict and proactive sex-offender program, and registered sex-offenders here already know the rules and harsh penalties for violating 5hem. I think it's mostly political, the extreme right using scare tactics to build a voter base composed of religious extremists. I also think recent events have put these extremists into a minority of their own.

[awilliams1701]

We have a long way to go, but I'm glad things are getting better. I keep hearing about how brave I am. I'm like if I was really brave I would have come out 16-17 years ago. Coming out now isn't nearly as scary as it was back then. Being a much less nerdy nerd than all the other nerds was bad enough and I thought about killing myself (but never tried). I don't know that I would have made it through highschool as Ashley. To make things even worse my parents were homophobic back then. Ellen was evil. I'm not sure what made them change, but I knew when it was my time to come out I didn't need to worry about my parents.

[suzifrommd]

It's a bit premature for us to celebrate the demise of the Florida Bathroom Bill

By Suzi Chase on May 6th, 2015

https://www.susans.org/2015/05/06/bit-premature-us-celebrate-demise-florida-bathroom-bill/

The next bill will be even harder to defeat, and this one was not a cakewalk. Even in the face of the national #WeJustNeedToPee movement, it won overwhelming support in two committees. We need to pay careful attention to how we approach the next assault on our restroom rights.

To confront the supporters of these bills, we need to understand where they're coming from. I am troubled at the usual "haters gonna' hate" reaction from our community. Ultimately stopping the movement toward these restrictions involves educating people about why they are harmful. That, in turn, requires understanding their supporters' point of view.