A bill sponsored by Rep. Ken Fredette that would mandate the use of a restroom based on a person’s biological gender seems to lack merit on all fronts.
Although some situations may arise involving whether a person should be using a particular restroom, the occurrences are few and far between.
Currently, the Maine Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, and this act would in effect repeal that law in the case of restrooms. Setting a law that requires biological males to use men’s facilities and biological females to use female facilities does not respect the rights of those who have made the choice to become another gender ”“ which is discrimination.
Also, trying to let businesses off the hook for making their own decisions on how their restrooms and showers are used may not save them from legal challenges. Just because the legislature says it’s so does not mean a court would agree.
It seems like a decision about where one feels comfortable going to the bathroom should be left up to the individual and not the government. It is surprising that Fredette and Gov. Paul LePage, who has said he supports the bill, would advocate for government intruding into a personal decision like this.
Whitefield resident Max Katler, who identified himself as transgendered at a public hearing on the bill this week, said it would create new problems for people like him.
“Until today, I have never had a problem using a public restroom, have never gotten so much as a dirty look. That would all change under this bill. Every day, whenever I was involved in public or civic life, like attending this hearing, I would be subject to public inquiry invading the most private aspects of my life,” he said.
It is our feeling that Katler and other transgendered Maine residents ”“ and visitors to the state ”“ use restrooms of their choice all the time without any issues or objections.
Before making a decision and possibly starting a battle over the legality of such a bill, lawmakers in Maine should consider the individuals they would affect and the possible implications on business and tourism from such a change.
Major backlash ensued in Arizona over their show-me-your-papers immigration law, which was seen by many groups and minorities in particular to be unfriendly and unwelcoming. Maine should be careful not to offend people who are LGBT and supporters of equal human rights for the same reason of appearing unfriendly, unwelcoming and unaccepting. Laws like mandating which bathrooms people must use do not help Maine’s image.
Rather than setting restrictions, Maine should look to creating more “gender-neutral” bathrooms that could be in addition to men’s and women’s bathrooms. Gender-neutral restrooms are much like family or handicapped accessible, single-stall bathrooms that allow people privacy and avoid the need to question or explain a choice of bathroom.
Some establishments already use gender-neutral bathrooms and that is the only option they have. Offering these types of choices makes Maine more appealing to visitors while safeguarding businesses. Establishments with gender-neutral bathrooms could not be subject to discrimination lawsuits because their facilities are open to all genders.
We hope the legislature will consider a better solution to this issue than Rep. Fredette supposed fix. Creating a requirement for gender-neutral bathrooms, which in addition to solving challenges for discrimination, would allow a mother to take her son to the bathroom or people with disabilities who need the assistance of an attendant of a different gender to use facilities with no questions asked. This solution would solve all the issues surrounding bathroom use.
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Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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