The bill says:
"Sex" means a person's biological sex, either male or female, at birth. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "male" means a person born as a biological male and the term "female" means a person born as a biological female.The crime:
A person who knowingly and willfully enters a single-sex public facility designated for or restricted to persons of the other biological sex commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
The supposed purpose:
The purpose of this act is to secure privacy and safety for all individuals using single-sex public facilities.It even provides that you can sue the person who enters the restroom and the owner of the restroom:
A person who knowingly and willfully enters a single-sex public facility designated for the other biological sex is liable in a civil action to any person who is lawfully using the same single-sex public facility at the time of the unlawful entry for the damages caused by the unlawful entry, together with reasonable attorney fees and costs.And
An owner of public accommodations, a school, or a place of employment who maintains single-sex public facilities and advertises, promotes, or encourages use of those facilities in violation of subsection (2), or fails to take reasonable remedial measures after learning of such use, is liable in a civil action to any person who is lawfully using those facilities at the time of the unlawful entry for the damages caused by the unlawful entry, together with reasonable attorney fees and costs.So let's think about the effect of this really stupid bill. Here are just some of the ridiculous consequences that will result if passed:
- You're a business owner. A harried mom with a baby and a male toddler asks for directions to the ladies' room. You don't stand and bar the door. Instead, you're a human being. You direct her to the restroom. You can be sued. The male toddler can be arrested. If the baby is male, he can possibly be arrested, or the mom could be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
- You're a business owner. A major client was born male but dresses as a female, considers herself female, and has had the operation to become female. You can't let her use the ladies' room. Bye, bye client.
- You're in the ladies' room. A person who dresses like a male, has a beard, and a low voice enters the ladies' room. Oh, yeah. He has a penis. It turns out the male was born female. Not only do you have to let him use the facility, but the business owner will be sued if they try to prevent this.
- You were born male but dress as a female. You consider yourself female. Your coworkers and boss have accepted you as a female. It is a crime for you to use the ladies' room. You have to use the men's room, explain to customers why you are in the men's room, and risk being attacked in the men's room by anyone who is either homophobic or just a rapist.
- You're a middle school principal. Some 12-year-old boys think it's hilarious to toss a mouse into the girl's room. The girls scream. You catch the boys running away. The school can be sued if it fails to take unspecified "remedial measures" regarding the prank, and the boys just committed a crime.
- You're an employer. Your employee is a female who identifies as male. She dresses like a male, has taken hormones that cause her to have a beard, and goes by a male name. You have to require him to use the ladies' room. Your female employees object and say it's sexual harassment to have him there. Female customers object. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't let him use the men's room. You're sued either way.
As a female who identifies as female, I really don't appreciate the Florida legislature telling me that I have to share the ladies' room with a female-born who identifies as a male, nor that I would have to leave a male toddler outside the ladies' room in order to use it. As a business owner, I don't appreciate the Florida legislature telling me I have to humiliate a client or an employee.
This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen out of the Florida legislature, and that includes the fact that they failed to pass a law against bestiality for years, until it finally passed in 2011 (apparently the pro-bestiality lobby is strong in Florida). Hopefully the Florida legislature will realize this bill for the dumba** proposition it is and vote it down.
I'm not optimistic.
This is looney! So as a business owner, it's on you to somehow be able to determine the "true" gender of everyone in your restrooms? How exactly is an average business owner even qualified to make this determination?
ReplyDeleteAnd, the transgender community aside, what about women who simply appear mannish, or men who appear effeminate, but who don't actually identify as the opposite gender? Are we all now to question anyone who doesn't meet some pre-defined criteria of when a man or a woman Must look like? And who exactly gets to set that definition in the first place?
Frankly, I have more important things to do in the bathroom that question the gender of everyone else in there. Lunacy!
The transgender community is constantly met with harassment. Often times especially in situations that require employment it could be beneficial to have a Harassment lawyer. Harassment lawyers in Los Angeles specialize in handling these types of situations. As a transgender woman I am often faced with harassment and discrimination over the simplest things such as using the restroom.
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ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to how big of a problem this is. FWIW, I often encounter males in the women's bathroom at (drum roll please) church. Why? There's not a diaper changing table in the men's restroom so if Dad wants to change a diaper, he comes into the women's bathroom.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this not a problem? Because unlike American bathrooms, stalls here in Switzerland have full sized doors that have no gap around the outside. You can tell if they are occupied by the little dot that turns red when you lock the door.
I mean, why is a man in the same room as me only scary when it's a bathroom? Maybe Americans should just build better bathroom stall doors and this problem will go away. It's a mystery to me why they still build those stupid doors with the gaps around them. We don't do doors like that for any other purpose.
Suzanne, that's a sensible solution. I agree that it's a non-problem. I think the reason that it's being made a "problem" is to discriminate against the LGBT community. This proposed law is hateful and really stupid.
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