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Local officials push effort to repeal transgender student law

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Sen. Steve Knight speaks at a press conference in front of Antelope Valley High School Tuesday afternoon to launch a local effort to protect children's privacy.
Sen. Steve Knight speaks at a press conference in front of Antelope Valley High School Tuesday afternoon to launch a local effort to protect children’s privacy.

LANCASTER – Local elected officials and community leaders are asking for your help in fighting a new law that allows transgender students access to school programs, activities, locker rooms and bathrooms, based on their gender identity.

“This isn’t a Republican issue, this is a parent issue,” said Sen. Steve Knight. “If you’re a parent at home and you’ve got a 15-year-old daughter, I don’t think you’re thinking about politics.”

Designating a third neutral facility is deemed discrimination, thus threatening the privacy rights of all public school children, Runner said.
Designating a third neutral facility is deemed discrimination, thus threatening the privacy rights of all public school children, Runner said.

Knight joined Board of Equalization member George Runner and dozens of school officials, parents and teachers Tuesday afternoon in launching a local effort to “protect children’s privacy” – namely by attempting to overturn Assembly Bill 1266.

AB 1266, also known as the School Success and Opportunity Act, amends a section of the Education Code to permit a student to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.” The law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2014.

"Where do your rights end and mine begin?" Hearns asked.
“Where do your rights end and mine begin?” Hearns asked.

The bill’s author, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), says the new law is intended as a clarification of existing California law that bans discrimination against transgender students in public schools.

“We had children testify in the Assembly and Senate that this law will mean they no longer must hide who they are, nor be treated as someone other than who they are,” Ammiano said in a press release.

Los Angeles Unified School District, the state’s largest, has had such a policy in effect for nearly a decade and it has solved problems without causing new problems, according to Ammiano.

Not so, said officials at Tuesday’s press conference. They say AB 1266 threatens public school students’ privacy in restrooms, locker rooms, gym showers and even on overnight school trips.

“The two things we expect in a bathroom are privacy and comfort. We’ve just taken that away from 99.99 percent of the student population in public schools,” Knight said. “That’s not fair to our kids; it’s not fair to parents.”

“Not only is it a poor law in regards to what I think are the basic values that we have as citizens, but it’s actually a very poorly drafted piece of legislation that cannot be implemented effectively at all,” Runner said.

Fred Jarimillo, an eighth grade teacher in the Palmdale School District, said the new law was not needed because there were already measures in place to protect transgender students.

“It’s not necessary because right now if a kid doesn’t feel like he’s a boy, or she doesn’t feel like she’s a girl, she can go to the health office and use the facilities there,” Jarimillo said, adding that the new law was dangerous and needed to be repealed.

“I feel like this bill violates my right to privacy,” said Eastside High School student Holly Monte.

The group is calling on residents to support a referendum filed by the Privacy For All Students coalition to overturn AB 1266. The coalition has until November 12 to submit the signatures of about a half a million voters to qualify the referendum. If the signatures are gathered, the new law will be suspended and would appear on the November 2014 statewide ballot, where voters would have the opportunity to approve or reject the legislation.

To help qualify the referendum, visit Privacyforallstudents.com/sign-the-petition.

Opponents of AB 1266 say parents can further protect their children by submitting a “Notice of Reasonable Expectation of Privacy” to teachers and other school officials.

View the Notice of Privacy here.

Also attended Tuesday’s press conference in opposition of AB 1266 were Lancaster councilmembers Marvin Crist and Sandra Johnson, Palmdale councilmember Tom Lackey, Lancaster Mayor Emeritus Henry Hearns and several members from local school boards, including Antelope Valley High School board members Barbara Willibrand, Donita Winn and Jim Lott, Westside Union School District board member Joan Sodergren, and  Lancaster School District board member Keith Giles.

For the full text of AB 1266, click here.

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66 comments for "Local officials push effort to repeal transgender student law"

  1. How rightly are you refered to as the “left coast”. In order to be anti-right you throw all common-sense to the wind. Your twisting of society to bow to the minutest elements is idiotic and unsustainable.

  2. I DO know students that DO have a problem with the opposite gender being in a gender assigned restroom….. it’s NOT fair to the heterosexual students that DO NOT feel comfortable….. Why can we not have a gender/sexual neutral restroom, kinda like we have “family” restrooms in malls and restaurants now. There should be SOMEWHERE were everyone feel comfortable! Not just one place where potentially several might feel uncomfortable?

  3. Okay, you know what? this is flat out discrimination, this has nothing to do with protecting children unless you have the option of NEVER LETTING THEM OUT INTO THE WORLD, where there are transgendered people. You would rather honestly not allow these students rights to a proper education because you’re trying to hide your children away from reality? this is no better then the segregation that happened in this country since it was initially devised. Actions like this set the country back at least 60 years. Every single child has a right to an education, and the beauty of this country is our diversity. Stop utilizing your own personal fears as a weapon to stifle others rights. Sometimes people can’t help who they are, and this is what I tell myself when dealing with these kinds of closed minded, inside of the box views. We’ve come a long way in this Valley thus far with it’s expansion over the past few years, people like myself have been actively involved in community projects to bring people together, and all the while you are tearing us apart. If you try to keep transgendered children out of school then all you are doing is telling your children that it’s wrong to be different. Doing this will erupt into your kids alienating and inevitably picking on those that are not like them. We should be teaching tolerance and not hate. Wake up people it’s 2013 and we live in a world full of many different types of people, cultures, and lifestyles. Do not ill equip your children through the growing process, you’re taking away their ability to think for themselves, as well as the ability for understanding social equality and acceptance.

    • You have to love the bigoted, closed-minded fools who actually believe teenage boys are going to just start showing up to school in dresses, have their parents register them as females, etc., just to sneak a peek in the ladies’ room. Some people just aren’t worth the facepalms they inspire.

      • Not directed at you, Michelle. just pointing out my favorite “dumb-as-dogsh*t” defenses of this garbage.

      • Oh look, it’s a bunch of people who has no clue what it’s like to be transgendered. But instead of learning some facts, they just write about how scared they are.

        I love the teacher. “Oh yeah we got them covered! They can go to the nurse’s office.”. No, that’s treating them like there freeks!
        If you would do some fact checking, you would learn that being transgendered, isn’t just something you just choose one for [removed] and giggles. It’s a timely process, that spans for your whole life.
        Please show me a guy who would choose to wear girls clothes for years just for a sneek peek.

        [removed] that!
        (Sorry to the person above. This was the only way to post)

    • Beautifully said, Michelle.

      I wonder if the same people upset by this have responded the same way to the bullying issue or did they just ignore it.

      I love how their minds can generate so many scenarios that ‘might’ happen but haven’t yet happened and may never happen.

    • Michelle, wow! I’m not sure what article or comments you thought you were responding to but its not here. No one says they can’t go to school. The two problems people sre worried about are the restroom & sports teams.

      Is it fair to allow a 6’4″ 200lbs male to play on the girls softball team bcuz he thinks he’s a girl.

      Why should my daughter feel uncomfortable in the shower standing next to a male who who has a birth defect. Mother Nature made him male. Just bcuz too much female hormone was released since birth making him feel feminine, doesn’t mean re-write the laws. How would you fell if I walked into your restroom and said I was late & didn’t have time for makeup anda wig? Would it be ok for me to change right there with you there? Single use bathrooms will fix one problem. Not sure about the other.

      • Why is your daughter taking a shower at school? That’s gross. She should shower at home in the privacy of your bathroom when she gets home from practice. There is no bonding in the shower room!

      • Your comment about the 6’4″ 200lb male playing on the girls softball team…strikes me as humorous. Girls get on boys football teams as kickers all the time and it makes the news.
        What advantage does a 6’4″ 200lb guy have over a 6’4″ 200lb girl that would make a difference on a softball team. Remember the outside maybe boy, but the inside is girl.

        • exactly!! people are just using “children’s privacy” as an excuse to be prejudiced against those they don’t understand. i would not be the least bit offended or uncomfortable (now as an adult, or when i was a teen) by a transgender person who identifies herself as a woman using the same bathroom or locker room as me. in fact, i’d probably be more uncomfortable with a female transgender who identifies himself as a man being in the women’s, regardless of whether he was born a girl…if he identifies himself as a man, then he should have the same rights and privileges as a man. furthermore, if this is a problem for some non-transgender students, or their bigot ass parents, then those children could use the facilities in the health office just as easily as a transgender student could! that’d be basically the same thing as saying all the black kids should have to ride different buses or be in different classes because some racist parents didn’t want to take the chance that their white daughter might date a black boy!! it’s ridiculous to me that this day in age, people are still so blatently and openly hateful and prejudiced.

    • So what you are saying there in your second sentence is that if we never let our children out into a world where there are transgendered people we are, in fact, protecting them right? So in REALITY, YOU ARE SAYING that there IS A PROBLEM with transgendered people right? And so I think, are you asking if they should be denied a “proper” education because theirs isn’t ? If they should be allowed to be here to ” mingle” with our children, planting thoughts and ideas into their heads about what they have been taught or how they live? Well I think we have seen how that has gone. They did not come here for a ” proper” education but ONLY To impose their thoughts, ideas and actions according to THEIR WAY onto us/ children in particular because for the most part they are the most vulnerable. And to use something as personal and beautiful as our bodies/ sex is the worst possible violation. This is EXACTLY WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON. And when was segregation ” initially devised” ? With the breaking up of the land/ people into different areas of the world? Because the people, their cultures and their lifestyles WERE,IN FACT DIFFERENT? So different in fact that for their survival it was best if they did not live TOGETHER because their death would be the ultimate outcome? History has shown us over and over that this REALITY is, in fact TRUE ( and probably a reason why history, as a subject in education, has been almost completely been taken out or been attempted to be re-written (preservation) ) ? I think there may have been several times in history where we may have come close to reaching that point where it may have been possible for our world to come together once again; when honesty and integrity and a true purpose for the well being of all was acknowledged and sincerely being persued by many. But unfortunately after 1964, all was used against this purpose in the worst way to twist, manipulate and distort all that had been done and would be done in word and deed, thought and action. And you are right all of this sickness and dis-ease HAS ERUPTED INTO OUR KIDS! And just because we do not agree with the concept of ” tolerance” does not mean we promote hate. I can say that something is wrong, that someone is doing something wrong and should be told so or stopped or be held accountable for their actions, but that does not mean I hate them. Now hate comes from a very empty place that someone may feel after they are violated, attacked or watched or been part of theses violations over and over again and nothing is done ( including an individuals own personal ability to stop or hold themselves accountable) but then you see those are the things that make us different from one another. And just because you can “hide it” well doesn’t make it ok either

      Beautiful country you say? Not anymore. Everything is fake…. False…. Manufactured. Run by machines, expendable just like people today. Use for a short time and throw away….. Everything is contaminated. People, land, water even our ability to grow food/ sustain ourselves is all but gone, exploited, depleted. So you who think that what was created here was done just to satisfy lustfull desires YOU ARE WRONG. it was created to all work together in a delicate balance of give and take. Male and female a BALANCE a perfect balance. And if by social equality you mean that people love and RESPECT one another and realize their place and part in the world at there moment in time then yes. But social equality will never mean that EVERYONE has as much or the same things as the next person or everyone else here because that will never happen or can never happen at once to keep that natural balance in place. We must be right, honest, truthful SPIRITUALLY – no jealousy, lust, greed etc

  4. What about the boy that “identifies” with his feminine side, just to get into the girls room? Who’s to say he’s lying?

    • If you think teenage boys are going to live as a female just to sneak a peek at girls in the bathroom, you’re far more twisted than ANY of these poor kids…

      • This is a situation where students who feel or has been lead to believe that they are of a different sex already have a mental disorder. There are many students with IEP’s as well as adults who lack moral fiber. They could be acting out what’s happening within their home or they were maliced as a child and never informed their parents. There are too many sernarios outside of the school setting that should not be premitted within the school. Schools are for educating the mind not indoctrinating sexual misguided behaviors. That’s why the childres are so distracted now and the California School System is 47th in the nation. Once all non-traditional sexual behaviors are prohibited in the schools (they can do whatever they wish outside of the school ) they true education will begin again. Right now,
        immoral adults are pushing illicit behaviors upon our youth.

  5. PLEASE EVERYONE WHO READ OR COMMENTED ON THIS SUBJECT READ MY POST Entitled ” former student leader concerned….”

    This request goes out to local elected officials Marvin Crist, Sandra Johnson, George Runner, and oh umm Henry hearns. If you really and truly are concerned about this and other relevant issues please reply to the information on my comment. Keep in mind that this is only a portion of the issues and problems that have/ are occurring. As long as we continue to put unethical and morally unconcerned people in a position of leadership and power over our children the problem will only continue to get worse….

  6. ”They are different! MOTHER NATURE made “Man & Woman”! Each has acted a certain way for millions of years. Mother Nature also makes mistakes. Birth defects, mentally ill, & the criminally insane to name a few. Why do we want to try to make them a “Protected Class”? My daughter also has a right to take a shower without some MALE standing next to her. We aren’t ready for a society yet with CO-ED everything. That’s why we still have “TWO SEXES”!The EASY and simple solution is to have SINGLE use bathrooms on every campus. Then a boy playing girl won’t infringe on anyone and won’t be infringed upon. SIMPLE!

    • It’s not about making a “protected class”. It’s about making someone who already feels very different than everyone else, comfortable in their own skin. Having a sense that they are not annexed to special restrooms, discriminatory behavior, or narrow minded comments and treatment. Once upon a time, African Americans were forced to use separate facilities because people feared something that never existed. It seems that the LBGT community are the new African Americans to single out. And to be frank, it’s real sad and disgusting. How many teenage boys do you think will really go through all of this hassle, not to mention social torture from their peers, just to catch a glimpse of some bras and panties?? You really need to look at the scope of it and realize that narrow minded thinking is only spreading fear and hate to those that are less informed. Think about it logically and if any incidents have actually happened since this became law. Take your message of bigotry and hate and take it somewhere where people of tolerance can’t hear it.

      • Don’t include African Amerians in your sick train of thought. Admit it, you are a deviant and you want the whole world to be like you.

  7. For those of you with genuine concern for your children – please ask yourselves this.

    Some places in the USA enacted such laws over 30 years ago. Currently, 40% of the US population lives in such areas.

    If these fears of yours were well-grounded, not the result of a deliberate and methodical scare campaign – then there would have been hundreds of such incidents, right?

    Or at least dozens.

    Or at least ONE.

    There haven’t been any though. Not one. Not in 30 years. Not in the entire USA.

    You’re being played for chumps.

    It’s likely that many people involved in this scare campaign don’t know the facts. They’ve been misled by the political con-artists too. Often far right-wing ones.

    ““Adol T. Owen-Williams II, a Montgomery County Republican Central Committee member, … shouted “Heil Hitler!” immediately after the vote to allow Intersexed women and men to be allowed to drink from public drinking fountains. “Wait until little girls start showing up dead all over the county because of freaks of nature.”

    That was in 2008. We’re still waiting for the forecast horrors to eventuate.

  8. It’s so disappointed to see such a one-sided article about an issue that affects some of the most vulnerable and attacked youth in our public schools. It’s clear the author is biased towards the anti-transgender perspective, as there was no representation from educators who support this law. Hearing from the people who actually work with trans youth in the Antelope Valley would have made a huge difference in providing readers with a truly unbiased perspective about this issue. Given all the lies and confusion that anti-trans youth groups are spreading about this important and much needed law, it sad to see the Antelope Valley Times contributing to the discrimination of trans youth.

      • I don’t think you fully understand what it is that makes one a transgender. There won’t be a boy in locker rooms and restrooms, but a girl who was born as a man. And before indulging in the ignorance of arguments against the truth of what I just said, let’s be real: your freedom is not at risk here. You are free to go to the bathroom where you choose, and this act is about equality, not about letting men call themselves girls and rage into women’s bathrooms. The rights and freedoms in question here are for people to identify themselves by who they know they are, not by their anatomical predisposition. This bill is being entirely misrepresented, and not only their social identity but even self identity will be severely affected by the repeal of this law.

        • “The rights and freedoms in question here are for people to identify themselves by who they know they are, not by their anatomical predisposition”. – I love that we are now rewriting the laws of nature not by what they are, but by how they are interpreted.
          We’ve seen in many cases that the human brain can distort one’s reality. As an (extreme) example, take Schizophrenia. Obviously the perception of the patient’s reality is inaccurate according to what’s really going on (voices, images, fictional occurrences, etc.). The logic that fuels and represents this type of bill is the enabling of perception and public opinion, versus the enforcement of reality.
          This case isn’t about morals and/or beliefs; this is about physical boundaries based on what is physically factual, not what is mentally perceived.

  12. I think a compromise is needed to meet the privacy concerns of the M and F and transgender students. We could have bathrooms that are M and F and M/F. Instead of the open showers that many schools and colleges have, we could have individual shower stalls. Instead of a controversy about transgender, we could turn this issue into one respecting the privacy issues of ALL students. I think young people are more privacy-orientated today. This is an opportunity to respect everyone’s rights. What do you think?

    • I think you are spot on, Michael.This was a poorly thought out bill and should have been subject to a lot of input before being passed.It puts all kids at risk and feeds animosity.
      After watching the news yesterday regarding absentee voting by legislators, where they have their fellow legislators push the button for them because they didn’t want to sit around all day doing their job, I can understand how this was passed.

      • Put kids at risk of what, exactly?

        Having had a similar law in the UK for years, no children have ever been at risk of anything. Here, it’s just common sense.

  13. I’m a member of the LGBT and identify as Bi-Sexual. I’m also a mother, so my worry about this is those children that will use this bill to pretend to be the other gender so they can harass or sexually assault others. I agree that there should be some measure taken to ensure those who are requesting to use the other gender bathroom and so on, need to have something official. What is going to stop a boy that isn’t very good at baseball from playing on the girls team, cause he’s better then the girls. What about those who have ill intentions and want to abuse this new law.

    This law can be great, but it needs some safety measures to protect our children, all of them no matter gender or gender indentite.

    • Here’s the problem with your argument:

      That isn’t the fault of transgender students. That’s the fault of STRAIGHT boys who apparently can’t be trusted.

      • It’s pretty simple Mr Pink, if you have a male organ, stay out of the girl’s room and if you have female anatomy, stay out of the boy’s room.Simple unless you work in Sacramento and want to appeal to special interest groups.

        • ^^This^^

          I am an atheist, a liberal, and I agree with equal rights…. So I am not just some Christian Neo-Conservative. I am a person who understands actuality.

          But “identifying” as a different gender doesn’t make you one. If I “identify” as another race, does that make me a member of that race?

          How you “identify” and reality may be two different things, but law should side with reality.

          • I don’t think you understand the word ‘identify’ and in particular, how it is being used here.

            There is a ton of scientific evidence that supports the fact that some people can be born with the brain of one gender and the body of the opposite gender. The same cannot be said for race, there is not even a theory, let alone one backed up by peer reviewed studies that can even explain anyone identifying as a different race.

            So you see, the law is obviously on the side of reality. It doesn’t get more real than Science…

          • Well if there’s a law put in place that allows a male who says he’s a girl to pretend he’s a girl, you guys have some really solid arguments. The only issue is this: gender identity isn’t a half-baked decision made on a Saturday night. 85% of folks in the A.V. are uneducated in regards to transgender people. Transgender does not mean gay, lesbian, bisexual, cross-dressing, or being feminine/masculine. It’s a disagreement between an individuals psychology and physiology. It’s just so obviously fallacious that should this law be passed, students would be allowed to claim themselves another gender at the drop of a hat and “infiltrate” the other sex’s bathroom. What an ignorant statement to make. Give me ANY example of a High School student who is willing to entirely identify as another gender. I mean, seriously? Boys just REALLY want to play on girls’ teams. And those girls’ bathrooms are just SUCH an attraction. And girls’ locker rooms? Well that wouldn’t be awkward at all. Educate yourselves, everybody. Seriously consider what the outcome of this will be.

      • I understand it is not any transgender students fault if this law is misused, but it won’t stop people from blaming the transgender students. Some boy or girl is going to use this to assault someone else and then everyone is gonna blame the transgender students because if it hadn’t been for them then so and so couldn’t of used the others restroom and assault so and so.

        That is why I am saying we need guidelines and standards in place to ensure the safety of all students. Transgender students need to feel safe that they aren’t gonna be blame cause so e jerk abused the law to hurt some one else.

    • I think there is some misunderstanding of this issue. I recently took a sexology class and the step to be acknowledged as a trans individual is complicated. Not anyone can “pretend ” to do so. For an individual that official labeled trans needs to go through years of psychological evaluation to receive the green light. It is not as easy as Knight and this people state it is

    • There are so many kids out there that are unsure of the sexuality, they bounce between strait and gay sometimes just to fit in. Allowing this in our schools is a rape case waiting to happen you will see unscrupulous kids using it just to get in there for all the wrong reasons. this was a very bad Idea. And before anyone starts hating on this post as I know you will, Life is what it is i’m not against it I just see the blatant negative side to this.

      • This is simple scaremongering. Where is your evidence to say that this is “a rape case waiting to happen”?

        You just have to look at other places where trans people are already allowed to use the appropriate facilities. I live in the UK, we have had protection for trans people for YEARS and I have not heard of a single case of the law allowing any kind of rape or sexual abuse. It just doesn’t happen.

        The only reason anyone would think otherwise is if they are wilfully ignorant to the facts, and hold an anti-trans bias.

    • No, it pretty much ends at marriage equality and equal rights for LGBT people. The sooner you give them, the sooner they will shut up about it!

    • Yeah! Let’s get those pet sex changes going. There’s such a high demand. And while we’re at it, let’s give rights to them too! And call them people and give little dog people bathrooms and kitty people bathrooms. But wait how many new bathrooms would we need? You can’t just have an All animal bathroom, think about the privacy of those cats and dogs? Bathrooms are all about safety and security, not dumping body waste. This isn’t a republican issue, it’s a pet-owner issue. If you have a dog at home, i doubt you’re thinking about politics. We need to act against this, and fast, before the animal rape count doubles, because gays want to push lucifer’s gay intentions upon us.

  15. There are some flaws in the thinking of the elected. If this student identifies as the other gender, regardless of how they were born and they truly are seeking medical help to transition then there are ways to help avoid the issue people are worried about. Schools require doctor’s notes for students with diabetes to do insulin, why not require a note from the licensed therapist the child is being treated by? If it is all a fallacy to get into the other locker room or restroom, they won’t be seeing a therapist, and they won’t get the note. Also, if this child is transgendered, they probably aren’t even interested in the sex they are transitioning to sexually anyway. My questions are: what is stopping boys or girls for that matter from going into the unlocked restrooms on every school campus now? How many times in middle school and in high school are students punished for being in the same restroom inappropriately?

  16. How long before boys make false claims of transgender status just so they can get into the girls locker room after gym class?

    • First of all, by law you have to identify as female for a YEAR before you can actually use the facilities. I don’t think boys will be dressing as female for a year JUST to get a peek at the good stuff. This isn’t the 70s; we have porn for that now.

      Additionally, that isn’t the fault of transgender students. Their rights shouldn’t be hindered because apparently you can’t teach your STRAIGHT sons to respect other people’s privacy better.

    • Forever. We have this law throughout the UK and to date, not a single case of this happening has arisen. It’s just scaremongering by bigoted anti-trans people.

  17. Thank you for this helpful list of people to NOT vote for in future local elections. They often don’t publish their hate so it’s difficult to weed them out.

    • UGH! It’s not even about hate … it’s about safety and a law that was poorly written. When someone disagrees, it’s automatically called hate…jeez. Let’s just leave the little ones out of this, all they want to do is play and learn.

      • “Let’s leave the little ones out of this”

        You’re implying that “the little ones” doesn’t include transgender kids, gender dysphoria usually makes itself known around the ages of 4 or 5.

        Transgender teens should be able to play and learn too, and they can’t do that if they’re going to school in a hostile environment with discriminatory policies.

    • Come on Meg. If it has to do with the misuse or perceived misuse of the male “unit”, then it’s criminal and they are dangerous. arghhhh

  18. Who has time to fight anything anymore coming from the liberals that have hijacked California.The common people are too busy working to pay their taxes and their own living expenses on top of the illegal and legal freeloaders that have overtaken this state…face it this state has gone down the toilet…the only way to protect your kids is to find your way out of this hell hole and move somewhere else where some sense of decency still exists!

  19. This is ridiculous. Of all the things that make our students uncomfortable, we choose this to fight against? What about violence, bullying, budgeting? What happened to teaching kids tolerance? This is unnecessary and seems to be another cheap shot at the LGBT community.

  20. As an educator I have mixed emotions regarding this issue. I personally don’t believe in discriminating anyone due to their race, gender, sexuality, etc…but I think that it’s important to protect every student. This issue is a lot more complicated than people realize. I think that schools should allow transgender students to use the health office bathrooms or the private bathrooms the special ed students use. I wouldn’t see it as punishment or discrimination, it’s for their protection and privacy. In a perfect world this wouldn’t be an issue but we don’t live in a perfect world. We have to compromise with each other and this law would force students outside their comfort zone.

    • Somehow I think being forced to use the disabled or teachers toilet wouldn’t be very good for a transgender students self esteem.

      Additionally, we have all shared a bathroom with a transgender person at some point, except you didn’t know they were transgender because 1. they were in a cubicle and 2. I trust you weren’t peeking at their genitals to determine their sex

    • “I think that schools should allow Black students to use the health office bathrooms or the private bathrooms the special ed students use.”

      Nothing racist about that, is there?

      Oh wait… there is.

    • It really isn’t a complicated issue at all. In the UK, we have anti-discrimination laws allowing trans people to use the appropriate facilities and it has been working well for years.

  21. I am all about marriage equality, and freedom to live your life as you choose, however I have a problem with many of the transgender “rights” issues. Gender-specific restrooms, sports, and other programs being open for enough commingling that there might as well not be any gender-exclusive programs at all.

    You may “identify” as another gender, but you have the genetics you were born with. What next? Someone who “identifies” as a female who is born male will no longer have to register for selective service?

    • GOD FORBID WE DON’T REGISTER FOR SELECTIVE SERVICE, WHEN WE GET IN ANOTHER STUPID WAR HOW WILL UNCLE SAM KNOW WHERE AND HOW TO FIND OUR KIDS TO GO DIE FOR HIM?

    • “Gender-specific restrooms, sports, and other programs being open for enough commingling that there might as well not be any gender-exclusive programs at all.”

      I agree. Sexual Apartheid should be abolished. Believe it or not; boys and girls can share facilities without it turning into a chaotic scene of rape and pillage

    • Why should anyone, other than my doctor, care about my genetics? When I interact with people, do they have any idea which set of chromosomes I have? Nope.

      Gender identity mismatches are rooted in science – there are widely accepted medical studies as to why this happens.

  22. Jobs? Healthcare? Public Safety? NOPE. Let’s do what we do best. Attack social minorities, demonize them and then use them as election tools. This is why the GOP is dying in California. Seems like the Grand Old Party has run out on any Grand New Ideas…

    • The GOP hasn’t had a new idea since they started buying women instead of clubbing them over the head.

    • Bill Maher did a beautiful commentary the other night on his Real Time Show about California, telling the other states that the tea party got rode outta town, so to speak and now we can get things done and the rest of the states will eventually have to follow cause we’re the biggest, baddest state of all. I’m paraphrasing. But, he really let it rip.