I have to ask....what the eff, America?

Here's what I don't understand. Why does it matter how people choose to live their lives? How does another person's sexual orientation or gender identity or choice to not conform to any gender at all affect your life as an individual?

Are you forced to participate in their sexual interactions?

Are you discriminated against because you choose to have a gender that reflects your sex?

Are you harassed for conforming to the social gender norms?

I mean, WHO CARES? Other people's choices regarding these issues in no way affect the way you live your life, which is why it blows my mind that people of our country, who are not discriminated against, feel the need to discriminate against others because their actions disagree with their beliefs. I completely agree that religious institutions should have their rights and they should be protected, but I do not agree with their protection when they start to infringe on the rights of others.

Here's the thing, the way I see these religious freedom bills is that they mostly pertain to Christianity, instead of all religions. I know Republicans defending the bills say they are meant to be inclusive of all religions, but they really aren't. For example, CNN posted an article on March 31 describing the Mississippi religious bill. In the section titled What's Included, it says:

This bill states that it is protecting from discrimination anyone who believes marriage is between one man and one woman, sexual relations are reserved solely for marriage and the terms male and female pertain only to a person's genetics and anatomy at birth.

Anyone who is familiar with Christianity knows these are their values. So, here are three things that are wrong with this statement:

First, if you believe marriage is between a man and a woman, then don't marry someone of the same gender. It's as simple as that.

Second, waiting to have sex before marriage is an outdated value that the majority of people no longer follow. Denying services to people who have had sex before marriage will cause some serious economic issues. Plus, it's none of your business.

Third, the terms male and female do only pertain to a person's genetics and anatomy at birth. I believe what they were trying to say is the terms man and woman should only pertain to a person's biology. You would think educated people, such as people in congress, would understand the difference between sex and gender.

That's another thing I would like to point out. Removing gender from the equation, there actually isn't as direct of a division between male and female as we all think. There are a lot of people in the world who are actually considered intersex, which is a person who is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. This can be any range of things from a child born with the sexual anatomy of both a male and female to a child born with a male sexual anatomy, but has XX chromosomes. There are so many degrees of intersexuality and they aren't always present at birth. Sometimes it isn't discovered that someone is intersex until they are dead and an autopsy is performed.

This, among other things, is why I don't understand North Carolina's new bathroom law that makes using public restrooms difficult for transgender people. When I'm at home, I share a bathroom with my brother and my whole family shares our downstairs bathroom. In other words, two males and two females are all sharing the same bathroom. Small businesses, such as some restaurants, have one or two unisex bathrooms. It isn't uncommon for us to have shared bathrooms with the other sex, so why is it such a ridiculous idea to share a bathroom with someone who identifies with the same sex? They're not there to assault you; they are there to use the bathroom like any other human being.

I'm sure many people have seen the news stories on Charlie Comero, a transgender man who lives in North Carolina and is now being subjected to the new law. Charlie has gone through a transformation and does indeed look like a man. Now, according to the new law, he has to use the women's bathroom. As you could imagine, this has created many awkward situations. Charlie, however, has used this opportunity to inform the public of how ridiculous this new law is. When he uses the women's room and someone approaches him about being in the wrong bathroom, he hands them a card that reads:

My name is Charlie. I'm following the law that was passed on March 23. I am a transgender man who would rather be using the men's room right now. This is likely uncomfortable for both of us. Please contact your legislature and tell them you oppose HB2.

Charlie is completely right. In all honesty, it is probably more awkward for transitioned transgender people to use the bathroom of their sex because they do not look like their sex. It's not only awkward for them, in fact, I'm sure it's more awkward for everyone else.

Mississippi and North Carolina are not the only states with bills like these waiting to be passed. There are nine other states with bills like these pending. And what's the point? We all saw what happened with Georgia and Indiana (Indiana has actually lost $60 million in tourist revenue since they passed their Religious Freedom Restoration Act).

What a shame it is that in today's world we are still dealing with these issues. Instead of moving forward, we are reverting back to the old ways of discrimination by denying a certain group of people basic human rights. There is so much effort being used against the people of the LGBTQ community that could be used in a much more productive and positive way and instead we're wasting it on issues that should no longer exist. So again I ask, what the eff America?