I'm sure there are a lot of people who will become angry with not only the fact that I am writing about this subject, but that I am also going to state my opinion. If you are one of these people I am going to please ask you to do two things; one hear me out and two please note that the following argument is not projecting any hostility toward any certain group of people.
Pushing for gender neutral bathrooms has become a hot topic in politics during the last few months. This could arguably be linked to the recent growth in the transgender community. For those who don't really know what the argument is, it's this: should transgender Americans always be allowed to use the restrooms where they feel the most comfortable? This argument is so fragile because, bathrooms and fights for civil rights go hand-in-hand. Bathrooms, along with water fountains and many other amenities, use to be places that would be marked "whites only." It took years for people to get use to the idea of allowing multiple different races to use the same bathroom. So, of course this fight would be no different. The bathroom is a place that people feel vulnerable and exposed, therefore resisting change is even more evident.
However, this is a change that we must take. A study from UCLA shows that more than half of transgenders refuse to use the public bathrooms due to discrimination. People need to start viewing the other side of the argument from a point a different point of view. I am sure that if you were in this situation and you were terrified to use a public restroom, you would be very happy about a law being passed to enable you to use whichever bathroom you feel most comfortable in. Yes, discrimination will still happen, just as racism is still an issue. But, African Americans have no issue with sharing bathrooms, water fountains, and buses now. Why shouldn't transgenders be allowed the same freedoms and feel safe in acting upon these freedoms? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice have found that discrimination against transgender people—including denying them bathroom access—is a form of sex discrimination covered under the Civil Rights Act. The way we are treating these people is unfair and definitely unequal.
The biggest argument against this law being passed is the fear of women and children being put in danger of being assaulted. Ann Coulter, a writer from the Huffington Post said, “It’s not that transgender people are going to go and molest children. It’s that once you say men can go into women’s bathrooms — men who are out shopping with their little daughters and don’t have mommy to bring her in there. It’s not that the trans are going to molest them, it’s that a child molester now has the right to go into that bathroom.” Dan Savage, a popular activist, shot her down pretty quickly, pointing out that predators don’t need to dress up as another gender in order to assault someone. “That’s bullshit,” he responded. “A child molester doesn’t need to put on a dress to go into a bathroom. You can Google ‘sexually assaulted in a restroom’ and you get thousands of examples of cisgendered straight men.” The argument that this puts kids and women at risk is absurd and has no proof that this would escalated the risk any higher than what it is now. This video below is a great conversation between a few people that have different views on the argument. It really makes you think about where you stand.
If someone plans on attacking a woman or child they are going to do so. Even if the law doesn't pass, they will just stand outside the bathroom or hide behind their car. Allowing transgenders to pick which bathroom they are more comfortable in will in no way put others at anymore risk than they are currently.
