Notes: In this article, I mostly refer to transgender people as being affected by the Bathroom Bill, however, it is very important to remember that gender fluid and non-binary individuals are also impacted by this law. I also make use of the term LGBT+, which is merely for saving space and the inclusivity of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

The year is 2016. The North Carolina legislature convenes a special session to pass HB2 at the request of Republican lawmakers. The special session overturns an anti-discrimination ordinance passed in Charlotte, which extended rights and protections to members of the LGBT+ community. The main point of the bill? To force transgender people to use the bathroom that correlates with the gender on their birth certificate. No, this isn't a dystopian novel, this is reality.

Since HB2 was hastily approved by Republican lawmakers and Governor Pat McCrory this past March, I have seen a LOT of comments about the issue. Fortunately, most comments have been outrage: why in the world do Republican lawmakers need to waste time legislating what bathroom people use? Sadly though, I have seen many comments in support of the Bathroom Bill, which cause me to ask myself: WTF? So in this article, I'm going to make it crystal clear why supporting HB2 makes you a bigot, and why there are no legitimate reasons to support this (or any) pro-discrimination bill.

Chances are, you've already shared a bathroom with a transgender person.

And, judging by the simple fact that you're reading this article, you lived! Chances are, you went into the bathroom, did your business, (hopefully) washed your hands, and left. Did you take an inventory of every person who was also in the bathroom? Did you scrutinize their features to determine their gender? Probably not. You used the bathroom just like you always do, and you didn't police the people who were also there just trying to use the bathroom. Because decent human beings understand that everybody has to use the bathroom at some point.

Transgender people aren't using the bathroom to spy on you.

See the last bit about how everyone has to use the bathroom at some point. No, I don't mean that everybody has to use the bathroom so that they have the opportunity to look at one another, I really do mean that everybody has to use the bathroom. So why would you assume that trans people are using the bathroom specifically to spy on you? No offense, but whatever sinister business you're doing in the bathroom probably isn't interesting to anybody but you. It's more than self-centered to convince yourself that people come into the bathroom with the sole purpose of watching or exploiting you.

Your biology vs. psychology argument is archaic and has more holes than Swiss cheese.

Recently, I had the misfortune of viewing a video by a local pastor from my hometown. His main argument was that gender is about biology, not psychology. Okay, I want all of you to join me in a little exercise. I want you to spend a few days being the opposite gender. "But Lydia, I can't do that. I'm a man and gosh darn it I don't want to think or act like a woman. I know who I am." Imagine your same mindset, only now you are physically female. You know in your mind that everything about you is male, but your biology betrays you. Imagine how lost, frustrated, and angry you would be if you had to live your life as a lie, knowing in your mind and in your heart that this isn't who you are. As a cis female, I cannot tell you about the personal struggle that transgender people face each and every day, but I'm guessing if you took off your prejudiced lenses and initiated a conversation with a trans person, you would get an authentic and informative answer to most of your questions.

You are not protecting women and children.

I don’t know how much I can emphasize this one. By discriminating against transgender people, you are not protecting “our women and children.” I’m also going to take this opportunity to ask: who in the hell decided that women and children needed protecting from trans people, anyway? Spoiler alert—it was Republican men who apparently only take interest in women’s issues when they’re deciding what they are in the first place. While you guys are so interested in women's issues, let's get rid of that luxury tax on pads and tampons, yeah? Let’s just call it what it really is: conservative men are not answering the cry of women and children to be protected by “scary trans people.” Conservative men supporting this bill are viewing women and children as their property, and are offended by the miniscule chance that a cis man masquerading as a trans woman will “violate” their women and children. Which leads me right into my next point…

This law is discriminating an entire group of people because cis men (might) do gross things to women.

So let me get this straight: you’re okay with telling transgender people that they can’t use the bathroom that they feel most comfortable with because there are a handful of cis men out there who might abuse it? To discriminate an entire group of people because a few guys might mess it up is the same as sending a girl home from school because too much of her shoulder is showing and it might distract a few boys from learning. But we would never do that in this country, right? Instead of discriminating against an entire group of people, target the few people who abuse the law and call it a day. And up until now, how many instances can you think of where a trans person was caught acting inappropriately in a public restroom? Oh, that one article from 2013 that conservatives started sharing after this controversy about the creepy straight guy in the women’s restroom? Why do trans people get punished for the disgusting actions of cis men? I really can’t wrap my head around this one, probably because it's not rooted in any logic.

It perpetuates discrimination and violence against transgender people.

So the women and children are safe to use the bathroom, now that those nefarious trans people can’t get in there. But imagine a beautiful young woman, strolling into the men’s restroom. On her birth certificate it says she is a male, and with the new law, she must enter the men’s restroom. Ironically enough, a woman that was probably just being catcalled and whistled at by straight men now has a target on her back by entering the men's restroom. Yes, this woman was probably being objectified just like the rest of us, up until the moment she entered the male restroom revealing her gender identity at birth. Best case scenario, everyone in the bathroom will continue to mind their own business as they should. The most likely scenario, however, is that this woman will be stared at, scoffed at, and probably much worse. I’m sure you know over a hundred people right now that would not hesitate to make a demeaning comment towards a transwoman in a male restroom, just like I do. Sadly, I can think of a hundred more people that would physically harm this woman just for being trans. In a secluded area, this transwoman is at risk of being brutally beaten or murdered, an issue which North Carolina deliberately overlooked in its mission to “protect” women and children. In contrast, would women feel more comfortable with personal trainer Shawn using their female restroom?

Of course not, because on the outside, Shawn “looks” like a man. That’s silly, you say. Shawn could clearly get away with using the men’s restroom, so why doesn't he just go in there? Nobody will ever know. But wait! Isn’t that the exact goal of this law? To prevent trans people from using whatever bathroom they best identify with? But you say he looks like a man, so it’s ok. Congratulations, you have just admitted that your legal beliefs are based solely on appearances. Now we know how Donald Trump has gained so much support in this country. Transgender people are human beings, and should have their gender identity respected regardless of how "male" or how "female" they look. You always told your kids not to judge a book by its cover, now it's time to follow your own advice.

Your religion doesn’t get to decide the law.

Indeed, many of these “reasons” are merely fronts for the real issue at hand--most supporters of HB2 are conservative Christians that don’t support any LGBT+ rights. Although I am not a Christian and cannot speak for the religion as a whole, I know that the Bible does say something about loving thy neighbor and good will to others, or something to that effect. Would your God be proud of your discrimination against His children? When I ask Christians that don’t support LGBT+ rights this question, they cite some unclear passages while eating shrimp with their left hand in their polyester/nylon/cotton sweater. Another response I’ve heard is that God doesn’t make mistakes. Well, think about it from this perspective: if your God is as awesome and all-powerful as you believe, who’s to say that he didn’t create trans people on purpose? Maybe God spent extra time sending us trans people as test to see if we really did pay attention to that bit about loving thy neighbor. Maybe trans people are here to teach us how to accept one another, regardless of our differences. I am not religious by definition, so I cannot say, but these are a few questions I have asked Christians who do not support LGBT+ rights, and I usually get a whole lot of silence in response. Either way, our country has a separation of church and state for a reason. Freedom of religion doesn’t just mean the freedom of your religion, and if religion is your main reason for discrimination, it has no place in lawmaking.

The excuses always boil down to bigotry.

Behind every feeble reason to support HB2 is the not-so-hidden bigotry that has no logical and legal presence in the issue. Regardless of the reasons you give (protecting the women, it’s about biology, etc.), it all boils down to the fact that you are discriminating against a group of people simply because you don’t understand them. Fear, or lack of understanding almost always produces anger. You might have your list of reasons to support this bill, but all of them boil down to a simple lack of understanding and information on the issue. I’m going to hazard a guess that most of the people supporting this bill have never taken the opportunity to sit down and talk with a trans/nonbinary/gender fluid person. No, instead, it is much easier to look at the caricatures of trans/nonbinary/gender fluid individuals filling your carefully curated newsfeed and to decide, “Yeah! These people are different and weird, I don’t want them around me!” You cannot condemn an entire group of people based on the representations you see of them in the media. You do not get to decide you don’t like a group of people if you’ve never interacted with anyone from that group. You then become the 5-year-old that screams about how much he hates Brussel sprouts, when everybody knows you’ve never tried them before. Conversely, you cannot form an opinion on a group of people based on one poor interaction with a member of this group. Humans are complex and very different from one another, so you can't say you know about every trans person if you've only allowed yourself to meet one.

Transgender people are not the label that society gives them. They are brothers, sisters, daughters, mothers, fathers, coworkers, doctors, lawyers, pharmacists—human beings. HB2 tells these human beings that because a few men might ruin it, they cannot use the bathroom that fits their gender identity. HB2 tells these human beings that there is more value placed in appearance rather than substance. Trans people are only accepted when they “pass” for the gender they identify with, reinforcing a childish and uneducated notion of judgment which we should be fighting to eliminate rather than strengthen. Transgender people are not here to make you uncomfortable, they’re just here to use the bathroom. If anything, you should be disturbed by the massive amount of people that leave the bathroom without properly washing their hands.