Texas Lawmaker Wants To Make It A Crime For Transgender Individuals To Use The Restroom That Matches Their Gender Identity
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/texas-transgender-bathroom-bill_n_6735368.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/texas-transgender-bathroom-bill_n_6735368.html)
The Huffington Post | By Paige Lavender
Posted: 02/23/2015 11:11 am EST
A Texas state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it a criminal offense for a transgender person to use a bathroom according to their gender identity.
On Feb. 20, Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle (R) introduced HB 1748, which would make it a felony for building owners to allow individuals over age 7 to use a restroom that doesn't match their gender, and would make it a misdemeanor for a person over the age of the 13 to use a restroom that doesn't match their gender. The bill says "the gender of an individual is the gender established at the individual's birth or the gender established by the individual's chromosomes."
This might be a good thing, if it prompts a public discussion of why we need to use the correct restroom, and raises awareness of intersex people whose chromosomal makeup doesn't fit on the xx/xy binary.
For this to happen, the trans community would need to generate vigorous debate.
Lone Star transfolk, this is your wakeup call!
I lived in North Texas for a long time, and seeing this legislation being proposed there doesn't surprise me one iota. Unfortunately I believe that she will find plenty of bigots in the Texas legislature who will support a bill such as this and it will most likely pass. It will take some kind of a court challenge to get their attention, and even then it highly depends on which judge hears the case since the judges there aren't above applying their personal views to cases. Texas is just one state away from the buckle on the bible belt (Oklahoma) and the view taken by a majority of people in Texas is a religious one.
If such a law passes then trans people will be faced with a choice between a possible felony charge or getting assaulted by someone in the "proper" restroom. Ugh.
It does bring up the delicious scenario of unintended consequences - can you imagine someone like Buck Angel using the women's room because, hey, it's the law? Or a group of trans women streaming into the men's room at a sporting event for the same reason?
Legislators should be accountable to the public - a group of Texas trans people needs to schedule a meeting with her and maybe her fellow Texas legislators and educate them why this bill is wrong, pointing out that this bill increases the chances of violence against us.
Also an increase in violence against cis people mistaken as trans people.
It would make more sense to outlaw single sex bathrooms.
Unless someone is looking at what is between my legs during use of the bathroom. I think this bill is full big law suits if passed. By store owners, trans, and others. Are they going to card us or ask to exam us without a warrant. It is a far reach to control the restroom. I hope this bill never passes.
Considering it is against the owners of the business, I can see them removing bathrooms and telling people to find one somewhere else.
Yes, the Texas Legislature continues to embarrass we Texas residents with measurable IQs with nonsense like this. If this passes I will do whatever I can to back anyone who wishes to challenge it in court. The clincher, I think, that blows this sort of thing out of the water is that this would block every AIS woman from walking into a ladies room. People with AIS are genetically male, but typically spend their whole lives looking exactly like women and often don't even know their situation until adolescence. Every community in Texas has AIS women. Probably most schools even do.
And, of course, this isn't even considering the absurdity of restricting transsexuals, who, apparently this bill is aimed toward. That is simply bigotry in grand Texas fashion. Thank goodness Texas will always have a few of us around fight back with these moronic bullies do try to pull this sort of thing.
It never seems to be a good thing when an article begins with "Texas Lawmaker...", "Arizona Sheriff...", "Indiana Governor...", or "Alabama Judge..."
There are some great things about living in Texas. This is not one of them.
I'm surprised that they didn't try to make being transgender a crime in itself.
Do we really need the Feds to step in on this?
Quote from: Eva Marie on February 24, 2015, 08:58:15 AM
I lived in North Texas for a long time, and seeing this legislation being proposed there doesn't surprise me one iota. Unfortunately I believe that she will find plenty of bigots in the Texas legislature who will support a bill such as this and it will most likely pass. It will take some kind of a court challenge to get their attention, and even then it highly depends on which judge hears the case since the judges there aren't above applying their personal views to cases. Texas is just one state away from the buckle on the bible belt (Oklahoma) and the view taken by a majority of people in Texas is a religious one.
If such a law passes then trans people will be faced with a choice between a possible felony charge or getting assaulted by someone in the "proper" restroom. Ugh.
It does bring up the delicious scenario of unintended consequences - can you imagine someone like Buck Angel using the women's room because, hey, it's the law? Or a group of trans women streaming into the men's room at a sporting event for the same reason?
Legislators should be accountable to the public - a group of Texas trans people needs to schedule a meeting with her and maybe her fellow Texas legislators and educate them why this bill is wrong, pointing out that this bill increases the chances of violence against us.
As I read it, the building owner could face felony charges, the transgender person could potentially face misdemeanor charges?
Quote from: suzifrommd on February 24, 2015, 08:05:18 AM
Texas Lawmaker Wants To Make It A Crime For Transgender Individuals To Use The Restroom That Matches Their Gender Identity
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/texas-transgender-bathroom-bill_n_6735368.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/texas-transgender-bathroom-bill_n_6735368.html)
The Huffington Post | By Paige Lavender
Posted: 02/23/2015 11:11 am EST
A Texas state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it a criminal offense for a transgender person to use a bathroom according to their gender identity.
On Feb. 20, Texas state Rep. Debbie Riddle (R) introduced HB 1748, which would make it a felony for building owners to allow individuals over age 7 to use a restroom that doesn't match their gender, and would make it a misdemeanor for a person over the age of the 13 to use a restroom that doesn't match their gender. The bill says "the gender of an individual is the gender established at the individual's birth or the gender established by the individual's chromosomes."
How are they going to enforce this? I mean, I have a DL that says I'm a woman and nobody looks at me twice in the restrooms, but some of us are not as lucky. So do they only enforce this when someone doesn't look especially male or female? Are they going to hire pecker checkers or require chromosome tests?
Ann Coulter has a prominent adam's apple, so would she be drawn into question? >:-)
This is going to cause a lot of problems and solve none.
I hope there's a brave enough transman to enter the same ladies room as Rep. Riddle to show her the absurdity of her bill.
Quote from: rachel89 on February 24, 2015, 09:12:30 PM
It never seems to be a good thing when an article begins with "Texas Lawmaker...", "Arizona Sheriff...", "Indiana Governor...", or "Alabama Judge..."
Don't forget Oklahoma Legislature.
Possibly the sort of person who doesn't go sailing in case they fall off the edge of the world?
Quote from: Cindy on February 25, 2015, 12:33:48 AM
Possibly the sort of person who doesn't go sailing in case they fall off the edge of the world?
I always make a hard left turn at the horizon.
A lot of the south is like Texas. Filled with bigots. I live in Alabama and even though gay marriage is "legal" the probate judges and citizens are all raging.
I'm going to make a point of investigating this one. I'd love to hear the justification for it. I can't imagine anyone thinks it's solving some problem. A women is far more likely to be assaulted by another genetic female in a restroom than by a transsexual or crossdressing male. Almost without exception, that category of restroom user tends to desire as little recognition in the facility as possible.
This seems to be nothing less than an attempt at legislated hate to me. I'm certainly writing my rep about it.
I have little fear of this actually happening. To me, the real fear is that there exists a mindset of people who seem to think this sort of thing is OK. This would be the same thing as if some lawmaker were to propose reinstitution of legal slavery. It's the brain of this person (and his disciples) that's broken, and that he may be listened to and considered seriously is troubling.
But the actual imposition of this law doesn't seem to be likely. The last credible legislation banning trans folk from using the needed bathroom was in Maryland a few years ago, and it was defeated. Every other attempt in any other state since then has largely been political posturing without the necessary support needed to make it fly. It's a sad attempt by said legislators to get some press coverage so they can look good in front of their redneck constituents.
And if they fail in their holy mission - great! They're political martyrs, and they can blame the defeat on the alleged overwhelming liberal bias that is creeping into our society and destroying it instead of on the fundamental impossibility of the task.
In a practical sense, I see nothing but problems with this proposal. I also live in Texas, and such legislation would have a huge trickle down effect. How would this affect the fact that I (and thousands of others) have a Texas driver's license with my correct name and gender marker? Would those be rescinded, and how? How does this affect my court order, granted by a Texas judge, that changed my name and gender in the first place? How does this affect birth certificate changes for those who have done their physical transition? Unless someone is willing to fund and carry out statewide blood tests for everyone to determine everyone's original genetic configuration this will be unenforceable.
This reminds me of the Texas constitutional ban on same sex marriage. One of the unintended outcomes was that it made hetero marriages (where one partner is trans) illegal and same sex marriages (where one partner is trans) legal, in both instances where the personal documentation had not yet been changed. And it made marriages to pre-op trans folks entirely legal if a driver's license with the new info was presented to obtain a marriage license, even though the preponderance of (or absence of) penises would, by legal definition, make this an illegal same sex marriage. When confronted with this outcome, the author of the original bill responded by saying, "Yeah, we really didn't see that coming."
Genetic testing. If this were to pass the first cis-woman arrested under this law and subjected to testing would be the last person arrested.
Not that I don't expect this to lead to some form of trouble for us.
Quote from: Michelle-G on February 26, 2015, 10:01:36 AM
I have little fear of this actually happening.
Never underestimate the potential of evil in politics. This is the state that elected George W. Bush governor, then re-elected him, the managed to shoe him into the presidency. Then it followed up with that jack--ss Rick Perry. I don't trust the Texas state government for a second these days. The decent citizens of 1930s Germany were saying about the same thing you did.
Michelle-G and Dee, I wish I had your confidence.
I worry about our non-passing sisters. If such a law were to happen, those who pass will not experience hardship, however those who don't pass, whether because it's a physical impossibility or because they have other priorities, would be in constant fear for their safety when using restrooms in public.
Quote from: Lyric on February 26, 2015, 11:49:56 AM
Never underestimate the potential of evil in politics. This is the state that elected George W. Bush governor, then re-elected him, the managed to shoe him into the presidency.
Yeah, I know. I live here. But I'm too busy worrying about credible threats to be too concerned with stupid political posturing.
Legal housing and employment discrimination against trans people? Real problem.
People being killed for simply being trans (and the low rate pf prosecution for the killers)? Real problem.
Disproportionate unemployment / underemployment, homelessness and poverty among trans people? Real problem.
Lack of readily accessible and affordable health care for trans people? Real problem.
Recent political history has shown that attempts to restrict access to bathrooms for trans people are a concern, but those efforts lack the steam to become law. Not a real problem.
Quote from: suzifrommd on February 26, 2015, 12:35:33 PM
I worry about our non-passing sisters. If such a law were to happen, those who pass will not experience hardship, however those who don't pass, whether because it's a physical impossibility or because they have other priorities, would be in constant fear for their safety when using restrooms in public.
This is already the present threat, law or no law. The problem isn't the legislation, it's lack of trans visibility leading to tolerance and ultimately acceptance, and the lack of enforcement of existing laws that ban assault and battery.
We can take a cue from the gay community. They made themselves visible and now they don't experience near the same level of discrimination they once did.
Quote from: suzifrommd on February 26, 2015, 12:35:33 PM
Michelle-G and Dee, I wish I had your confidence.
I worry about our non-passing sisters. If such a law were to happen, those who pass will not experience hardship, however those who don't pass, whether because it's a physical impossibility or because they have other priorities, would be in constant fear for their safety when using restrooms in public.
Actually, I think you have it backwards.
I keep hoping that such a law WILL pass and go on the statute books, because the media circus that will result from the first trans-man in the ladies (as the law would require) or the first butch cis-woman to be charged with being "trans" in the ladies would effectively end these idiotic "laws" for once and for all.
As long as none of the laws get on the statute book there will be no reason for the idiots who draught them to stop trying. For these "laws", success in getting them passed would also be their death knell.
I hope you're right, Michelle. I've just seen too many disasters begin with a seemingly minor issue that gets the ball rolling.
I'm not sure transgenders will ever make the gains the gay folks have because of the inherit differences, but have certainly seen huge changes since I first became aware of my personal situation back in mid-1980s. Even the gays in Texas are miles behind many other states with public acceptance, though.
Quote from: skin on February 25, 2015, 12:03:55 AM
I hope there's a brave enough transman to enter the same ladies room as Rep. Riddle to show her the absurdity of her bill.
I would love to be that transguy! >:-)