NY Times: Transgender Bathroom Debate Totally Like Civil Rights Era!

27 Jul, 2015 by William Teach

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Alternate headline: Paper Of Record Very Concerned Over Girls Pretending To Be Boys Forbidden From Using Boys Bathrooms. These are the types of things that keep Lefties up at night, rather than concerns over terrorism, Iran getting a nuclear weapon and a sweetheart deal, joblessness, and so on

For Transgender Americans, Legal Battles Over Restrooms

Gavin Grimm sat quietly in the audience last November as dozens of parents at a school board meeting in Gloucester County, Va., demanded that he be barred from using the boys’ restrooms at school. They discussed the transgender boy’s genitals, expressed concern that he might expose himself and cautioned that being in a men’s room would make the teenager vulnerable to rape. One person called him a “freak.”

When Gavin, 16, got his turn at the podium, he was remarkably composed. “I didn’t ask to be this way,” Gavin said. “All I want to do is be a normal child and use the restroom in peace.”

On Monday, Judge Robert Doumar of Federal District Court in Virginia is scheduled to consider whether the school board’s decision to prohibit Gavin from using the male restroom is unlawful discrimination. The case addresses one of the main unresolved battles in the fight for transgender equality.

Gavin is a girl. She may “identify” as a boy, but she has all the girlie bits. At least we should assume that, because nothing in the article states that she has had any sort of reassignment surgery. She may not have asked to be this way, but, she is this way, and needs to use the girl’s bathroom.

It is interesting to note that, suddenly, the opinions of dozens of parents is unimportant, when, normally, something must be totally stopped, usually having to do with religion, Christmas stuff, Halloween stuff, Easter stuff, and so on, because one parent Is Offended.

A favorable decision for the student would be the first time a federal court has ruled that refusing transgender students access to proper restrooms is discriminatory. Any other outcome would reinforce cruel policies that deny dignity to some of the most vulnerable students and subject them to more bullying and stigmatization.

Really? What about the dignity and privacy of girls being subjected to boys pretending to by girls using the girl’s bathroom and visa versa? Does the NY Times Editorial Board actually think that kids will suddenly stop being cruel because of bathrooms?

Here’s the kicker

Access to public restrooms has been a divisive issue in past civil rights struggles. During the 1950s, African-Americans challenged Jim Crow laws that barred them from so-called white restrooms.

There’s a vast difference between Black men and women being barred from using, respectively, certain men’s and women’s bathrooms, simply because they were Black, and people pretending to be the opposite sex and wanting to use those bathrooms. The former is certainly about respect and stopping discrimination, the other is about pandering to a tiny, tiny interest group, placing opposite sex members in the wrong bathrooms.

And right next to that bit is a button asking this tiny minority group to “share your story”. No, really.

The Department of Justice has submitted filings supporting both plaintiffs. The plaintiffs and federal officials argue that preventing transgender students from using restrooms that match their gender identity is a violation of Title IX, a federal law that bars discrimination based on gender in schools that receive federal funding. The Justice Department’s statement of interest in Gavin’s case notes that singling out transgender students makes it more likely that they will be bullied and harassed.

This is the same Obama DOJ which essentially ran guns into Mexico which resulted in the deaths and injuries of hundreds (that we know about) and no one was prosecuted. A DOJ which has virtually ignored the IRS targeting Conservative groups. A DOJ that sides with releasing criminal illegal aliens onto the streets of America. A DOJ that has ignored many, many subpoenas. A DOJ that refused to investigate voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers in Philly. A DOJ that stated it would not uphold duly passed laws, such as DOMA and marijuana. A DOJ that has essentially decided to enforce some things and ignore others.

But, hey, people pretending to be the other sex using bathrooms is apparently a good use of the DOJ’s time.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.