Show Me Your Papers Before You Go Potty

PHOENIX — A prominent Republican lawmaker in Arizona wants to link public bathroom use to birth certificates in what civil rights advocates are calling the nation’s toughest anti-transgender measure.

The bill would require people to use public restrooms, dressing rooms or locker rooms associated with the sex listed on their birth certificate or face six months in jail.


The proposal had been scheduled for a vote Wednesday during a House of Representatives committee. But in an unusual scene for the usually staid halls of state government, men in dresses, women in business suits and other transgender supporters crowded into the committee room and the lobby of the House to protest the legislation.

Minutes after the meeting started, state Rep. John Kavanagh said he would delay the debate on his bill because of a paperwork error.

Arizona’s measure — and the response it received on Wednesday — reflects a growing national debate over what kind of restroom can be accessed by men and women presenting as a gender other than what they were born as.

With more people identifying as transgender, state and local governments are increasingly banning gender-identity discrimination to ward off legal battles, but opponents and proponents alike complain the laws don’t explicitly demand businesses provide equal access for transgender people, creating confusion over how governments, restaurants, clothing stores and other establishments must act.

One local TV station has dubbed Arizona’s legislation the “Show Me Your Papers Before You Go Potty” bill, a reference to the state Legislature’s sweeping 2010 immigration law.

Among those waiting to speak out against the bill on Wednesday was Phoenix resident Erica Keppler. She was born a man, but doesn’t feel comfortable in men’s bathrooms or locker rooms with her earrings, long hair and feminine clothing.

If the measure becomes law, Keppler said she will be forced to go to jail or expose herself as a transgender woman each time she uses a public bathroom, dressing room or locker room, which could potentially make her vulnerable to threats from men unsettled by her appearance.

“Most transgender people try to slip through public places without being noticed,” Keppler said. “This will turn us into criminals.”

The term transgender covers men and women whose identity does not match with their birth-assigned sex, including cross-dressers and people who don’t want to alter their bodies hormonally or surgically.

Transgender people often have a hard time changing the gender on a birth certificate because many states require proof of gender treatment surgery, which is expensive and often not covered by health insurance. Other states, including Idaho and Ohio, do not allow birth certificate changes for gender, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Discriminating against transgender people is illegal in at least 16 states. The protections vary. Minnesota prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, education and public accommodations, while Hawaii’s law only applies to housing, according to the ACLU.

More than 100 cities and counties have passed laws prohibiting gender-identity discrimination, including Phoenix, Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas. Those laws are also not uniform. For example, Baltimore County in Maryland approved a measure in 2012 protecting transgender people from discrimination. It did not apply to “distinctly private or personal” facilities. Tennessee lawmakers tried going in the other direction with a proposal similar to Arizona’s in 2012, but it failed to gain support.

Some state laws are being tested in court. In one case, a Colorado family filed a complaint with the state’s civil rights office after their first-grader, who was born a boy, was prohibited from using the girl’s bathroom at her elementary school.


In recent weeks, Massachusetts and California took steps to clarify their gender-identity discrimination bans and ensure equal access for transgender students at gender-segregated facilities.

In Arizona, where Republicans control state government, Kavanagh said government shouldn’t allow people to use facilities based on “you are what you think you are.” He said he was worried an anti-discrimination ban passed in Phoenix last month would serve as a cover for pedophiles who want to expose themselves to children of the opposite gender.

“This law simply restores the law of society: Men are men and women are women,” he said. “For a handful of people to make everyone else uncomfortable just makes no sense.”

Some fret anti-discriminatory laws force businesses to spend money on renovation projects in order to provide unisex facilities and avoid complaints from customers who don’t want to share bathrooms and dressing rooms with transgender people. They say Arizona’s proposed law would instead protect businesses from bogus complaints from people who aren’t transgender.

“Someone can just say ‘oh, I feel like I am a woman,’” said Aaron Baer, a spokesman for the Center for Arizona Policy, a powerful conservative group. “That person can just say, ‘you are discriminating against me.’”

But Masen Davis, executive director for the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, said Arizona’s proposed ban would target people who look different, regardless if they are transgender or not.

“No one should have to live in a world where they have to show their papers to pee,” Davis said.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/a...ory_1.html

Hey Arizona SPers, get out while you can!
Can we give Arizona back to Mexico or something? With all the insane people in it?

Hey Arizona SPers, get out while you can!
Can we give Arizona back to Mexico or something? With all the insane people in it?

Why would we want that crazy state? We have enough problems over here already!
You asked for it, now you keep it!
JEEZUS ARIZONA WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?

Damn, I love the east valley. This really doesn't affect me directly anymore, but I feel concerned for my friends in Arizona, especially the ones in the LGBT community. Things like this make me cringe. >_<

Hey Arizona SPers, get out while you can!
Can we give Arizona back to Mexico or something? With all the insane people in it?

Oh no, keep it. Why would you want us to have such insane people here? You do not remember they have made it almost impossible for us to be on that state?

Some Republicans just want to find a way to single out people who don't go by their church standards. This proposed bill sucks.

By the way, when will the U.S. separate their religious beliefs from their goverment?

BUT THE STALLS ARE PRIVATE NOBODY WOULD KNOW

Oh no, keep it. Why would you want us to have such insane people here? You do not remember they have made it almost impossible for us to be on that state?

Some Republicans just want to find a way to single out people who don't go by their church standards. This proposed bill sucks.

By the way, when will the U.S. separate their religious beliefs from their goverment?

The same time the oil companies stop bankrolling our politicians.

Arizona is like a whole other world. jesus.

So much for the idea that republicans don't like to play the nanny state.

The same time corporations stop bankrolling our politicians.

Fixed that for you.

Man Arizona is such a backwards place. This country really has some problems we need to deal with

Wow guys I'm surprised no one has said it yet but this clearly belongs in shenanigans @Netto; request move pls@@

[MENTION=8519]Eliseo[/MENTION];

When all the fat old people in the senate/congress retire or die.

My girlfriend needs to get out of there ASAP because I've seen enough things in Arizona against the LGBT community as it is.

My girlfriend needs to get out of there ASAP because I've seen enough things in Arizona against the LGBT community as it is.

How in the living hell did your girlfriend find out* she was gay in a state like that!? I would think the bible thumping hypocrisy would leave her in a life long stupidity coma!

Okay, Arizona.

Some fret anti-discriminatory laws force businesses to spend money on renovation projects in order to provide unisex facilities and avoid complaints from customers who don’t want to share bathrooms and dressing rooms with transgender people. They say Arizona’s proposed law would instead protect businesses from bogus complaints from people who aren’t transgender.

pineapple the corporations. What do they have to do to change a bathroom from male/female to gender neutral? Change the sign on the door(s). I'm sorry if that huge expense is too much for them. If people don't want to share bathrooms with opposite gender people, then they should be the ones who wait until they go home, not the people who want to use a bathroom but apparently can't because some cow stuck in the past would be offended.

Wow guys I'm surprised no one has said it yet but this clearly belongs in shenanigans @Netto; request move pls@@

[MENTION=8519]Eliseo[/MENTION];

When all the fat old people in the senate/congress retire or die.

How does this belong in Shenanigans? This is a current event and is a news article. More people other than myself are talking about this issue in real life, as well.

How does this belong in Shenanigans? This is a current event and is a news article. More people other than myself are talking about this issue in real life, as well.

Ahh netto we haven't talked in awhile but you should know I was being sarcastic!

I was mocking the fact this was an actual law they are considering haha

Republicans: I want the government to stay out of everyone's personal business. Like, y'know, guns and stuff. But hey, feel free and intrude when it comes to women's rights, immigration, gay marriage, and religion.

Lel.

Man, I certainly do love living in Arizona...
Why does this state suck so fucking much?

Time to black out Arizona on my map so I know to never go there ever.

Honestly, at first I thought this was an immigration thing based on the topic title...but I never expected this at all. Some people are just fu'cking insane.

In Arizona, where Republicans control state government, Kavanagh said government shouldn’t allow people to use facilities based on “you are what you think you are.” He said he was worried an anti-discrimination ban passed in Phoenix last month would serve as a cover for pedophiles who want to expose themselves to children of the opposite gender.

ROFL

I'm curious, do these people even USE public bathrooms? They must see public bathrooms as some sort of degenerate orgy room, where everyone strips naked as soon as they enter, peeing on the walls and screaming profanities.