PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers delayed a scheduled debate over equal access rights after dozens of transgender people flooded the Arizona House of Representatives Wednesday to fight a proposed law that would have made it illegal for them to use the bathroom of their preferred gender.
Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills, Ariz.) said he would delay his bill that seeks to make it a misdemeanor for anyone to use a public facility not associated with their birth gender.
Kavanagh’s announcement came during the beginning of a House committee meeting filled with dozens of transgender advocates.
Advocates say the measure would be the toughest standard in the U.S. for transgender people and bathroom use, requiring Arizona residents to use the restroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate.
One local TV station has dubbed it the “Show Me Your Papers Before You Go Potty” bill, a reference to the Arizona Legislature’s sweeping 2010 immigration law.
In Arizona, where Republicans control state government, Kavanagh said he was outraged by Phoenix’s effort to increase protections for transgender people. The state’s capital city passed a human rights ordinance last month prohibiting gender identity discrimination at public accommodations.
Kavanagh’s proposal would make it a misdemeanor for a person to use a public restroom, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or locker room associated with a gender other than what’s on his or her birth certificate.
Penalties include the possibility of six months in jail.
Phoenix city councilman Tom Simplot, who is openly gay and pushed the city’s human rights ordinance, said if Kavanagh’s proposal becomes law, it would criminalize the “very nature” of being transgender.
Among those waiting to speak out against the bill on Wednesday was 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.”
Masen Davis, executive director for the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, said the 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.
The hearing has been rescheduled for next week.
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if you still have male genitalia then use the maile restroom. it seems pretty easy to me.
No Jeremy. This is WRONG. Transgender people male AND female have troubles with this. It is not safe for a trans woman presenting as female to go into a mens restroom. So NO, it’s not EASY. That is a foolish and ignorant view.
Why not use whichever bathroom you want to or whichever is empty? I am 60 and female and I use men’s toilets all the time for practical reasons. Why is anyone so worried about which bathroom someone else uses? We were in Turkey recently — a Muslim country — and older conservative women tourists coming into the city to see the sights walked right into the men’s restrooms because the women’s are always over crowded. Don’t we have more important issues to worry about?
I agree with Jeremy. Transgendered men and women should be treated the same as Cis-gendered men and women.
If you can think it shouldn’t be tough. What do you people do in the restroom anyway? Who give a s#!t what plumbing the person in some other stall has? How is that your business at all?
Some places have a family bathroom. I think this bill is stupid. If u are tran and your id dose not match some people are prob in the transition stage.
I disagree with Jeremy. I honestly think unisex restrooms are better.
this is someone being hateful to core…
Is is not something that has been done to someone, it is who someone is. transgendered? What does that mean? And sure, men should be treated as men, and women should be treated as women… or if you want to be even more concise, people should be treated as people. now before you can shit, poeve you are one!
This is such a huge issue in the daily lives of transgender people. Of course they should be able to use the bathroom that fits with their gender identity. The very idea of separate gender bathrooms is heteronormative.
.,i don’t know what to say…
I agree with a friend of mine in that gender specific bathrooms are stupid. We live in a culture dominated by a distinction between male and female. It’s pathetic that we still have these barriers up because they do nothing but restrict individuality.
Unfortunately, while we still live in a culture with such barriers, cis-genders like Jeremy won’t understand why a biological male transgender person feels uncomfortable using the men’s bathroom and vice versa for biological female transgender people.
The Arizona republicans have spent way too much time under the desert sun! Idiots!
Hey Arizona, What’s so tough about this issue? If someone identifies as Male, they use the Mens Room. If someone identifies as Female, they use the Ladies Room. There I fixed it. I’ll be sending you my bill for the consultation.
It”s embarrassing when a she-male has a bigger package than you at the urinal…
I doubt you’d get the opportunity to compare. Most trans women would use the stall, even if they’re pre-operative.
“She-Male in NOT an ok term to use to describe Transgender Women. NOT OK. Tranny is not either. ~The more you know~
Camille Hopkins told me about this, what bizarre shit these people in
Arizona are into.
Arizona get your shit together and educate yourself on gay issues because your way behind the 8 ball on a lot of things
Arizona republicans, fuck you.
Alexander..sending them bad energy by your verbage doesn’t help or solve anything
I think the first thing that needs to happen is transgendered people need to do a better job at communicating to the public about who they are and why. Many in the gay community don’t understand transgendered, so I’m sure the majority of straight America doesn’t as well.
Wow AZ. “Preferred gender”. Cause people out there have a “preference” as to who they are. I propose adding a unisex bathroom requirement. My awesome brother Zachary Glavin took me to a bar in Cali where the bathrooms were unisex. I thought it would be totally weird but it wasn’t. There were straight people and gay people all trying to hurry up, do what they gotta do and get out. It was actually MORE comfortable than walking into the ladies locker room at the gym!
Are they kidding? Every girly-guy and tom-boy girl prepare to be flagged down to use the bathroom….