Tag: bathroom laws

Posted on

Supreme Court Ruling Allows Virginia School To Continue Transgender Discrimination

The U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow to transgender rights today as the high court voted 5-3 to allow a Virginia school to continue to block trans students from using the public bathroom the students gender identity aligned with while the case itself is being appealed.

The Court was responding to request from a Virginia school board to stay a lower court’s ruling which found its transgender bathroom ban to be discriminatory and illegal.

Posted on

A Bathroom Break At Broadway’s KINKY BOOTS

Harvey Fierstein, Cyndi Lauper, and the cast of Broadway’s Tony Award-winning “Best Musical” Kinky Boots shares this upbeat rewrite of the show’s finale – “Just Be” – weighing in on the current rash anti-transgender bathroom laws. #JustPee

In related news, Lauper performs tonight in Raleigh, North Carolina. According to reports, the proceeds from her concert will be donated to the campaign seeking to repeal the state’s HB2 bill; word is her concert rider requires the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts must have a gender-neutral bathroom.

Posted on

Security Guard Charged After Assaulting/Ejecting Trans Woman From Grocery Store Bathroom

Ebony Belcher

From NBC Washington:

D.C. police have charged a security guard at a Giant grocery store with simple assault after a transgender woman said the guard forced her out of the women’s restroom.

Ebony Belcher, 32, said she went to the Giant in northeast D.C. with a friend to pick up a delivery from the Western Union.

While at the Giant, she asked a store employee to point her to the restroom and passed a female security officer standing in the hallway.

The officer came into the restroom and told her to get out, according to Belcher.

“She opened the door and came in and started calling me derogatory names,” Belcher said.

She said the officer put her hand on her shoulder and arm, grabbed her and pushed her out of the store.

Belcher said the guard told her, “You guys cannot keep coming in here and using our women’s restroom. They did not pass the law yet.”

She said she called police and reported the incident after she left the store. According to a police report, officers arrested the guard at the Giant after the confrontation.

And so it begins…

Posted on

Megyn Kelly Asks Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick About Transgender Bathroom Rights: “Is This A Problem?”

Fox News’ Megyn Kelly interviewed virulently anti-LGBT Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick last night regarding his opposition to newly issued guidance on transgender students rights in public schools by the Education & Justice Departments.

Kelly attempted to move Patrick past his talking points towards answering her questions, rather than give him airtime for spouting dangerous lies and myths about alleged “transgender bathroom predators.” But Patrick continued to diminish the value of trans students by saying they make up a tiny part of the population.

At one point, Patrick mentioned his role in defeating Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance last year, saying the legislation would have “allowed men in ladies’ rooms”, but Kelly was quick to challenge him. “Allow men in ladies’ rooms or allow trans women in ladies’ rooms?” she asked.

Patrick quickly deflected, saying, “Megyn, you’re missing this.” But Megyn wasn’t having it. “I don’t think I’m missing anything,” she replied.

Watch below.

Posted on

Obama Administration To Public Schools: Allow Trans Students To Use Gender Identity-Matching Bathrooms

Big news for transgender students!

The Obama administration is set to release directives that will instruct all public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

From the New York Times:

A letter to school districts will go out Friday, fueling a highly charged debate over transgender rights in the middle of the administration’s legal fight with North Carolina over the issue. The declaration — signed by Justice and Education Department officials — will describe what schools should do to ensure that none of their students are discriminated against.

It does not have the force of law, but it contains an implicit threat: Schools that do not abide by the Obama administration’s interpretation of the law could face lawsuits or a loss of federal aid.

The move is certain to draw fresh criticism, particularly from Republicans, that the federal government is wading into local matters and imposing its own values on communities across the country that may not agree. It represents the latest example of the Obama administration using a combination of policies, lawsuits and public statements to change the civil rights landscape for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people.

Posted on

Target CEO Brian Cornell: We Are Not Backing Down On Transgender Policy

Target CEO Brian Cornell

Brian Cornell, CEO of Target Corp. told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the super-department store will stick with its policy of allowing transgender customers to choose the bathroom they wish to use.

Cornell also announced the company is expanding the number of family restrooms in its stores from 1,400 to 1,800 for people who worry about the mixing of sexes in bathrooms.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports:

“We want to make sure we provide a welcoming environment for all of our guests,” Cornell said. “One that is safe, one that is comfortable.”

“Everyone deserves to feel like they belong,” Target said in its initial statement. “And you’ll always be accepted, respected and welcomed at Target.”

“We took a stance,” he said. “We’re going to continue to embrace our belief in diversity and inclusion, just how important that is to our company. But we’re also going to make sure our focus on safety is unwavering.”

He noted Target took a lot of criticism in the 1960s when it was one of the first retailers to use black models in its advertising.

“Back then, it wasn’t well received,” he said. “We had a lot of tough feedback. But sitting here today, we know we made the right decision.”

Posted on

North Carolina Lawmakers Will Defy U.S. Justice Department Over Anti-LGBT “Bathroom Law”

Speaker of the House Tim Moore

The Charlotte Observer is reporting that state lawmakers plan to defy the recent notice from the U.S. Department of Justice that the state’s anti-LGBT “bathroom law” – HB2 – violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act:

House Speaker Tim Moore said Thursday that legislators won’t meet the U.S. Department of Justice’s Monday deadline to repeal or stop enforcing House Bill 2.

The department sent state leaders a letter Wednesday saying that the law violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act and Title IX – a finding that could jeopardize billions in federal education funding. Those laws ban discrimination in education based on sex and employment discrimination.

“We will take no action by Monday,” Moore told reporters Thursday. “That deadline will come and go. We don’t ever want to lose any money, but we’re not going to get bullied by the Obama administration to take action prior to Monday’s date. That’s not how this works.”

Moore said state leaders are still trying to determine their next steps. “Right now we’re talking with our attorneys to see what our options are,” he said. “We’re going to move at the speed that we’re going to move at to look at what our options are.”

White House press secretary Josh Earnest distanced Obama from the order in his press briefing Thursday afternoon. “These kinds of enforcement actions are made independent of any sort of political interference or direction from the White House,” Earnest said. “Those are decisions that are made entirely by attorneys at the Department of Justice.

Stay tuned for more details.

Posted on

Justice Department Says North Carolina “Bathroom Law” Violates US Civil Rights Act

The Justice Department has issued a statement saying North Carolina’s recently passed HB2, which prohibits transgender folks from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, violates Title IX, which bars discrimination in education based on sex, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination.

Via CNN:

The Justice Department has sent a letter to the governor of North Carolina notifying him that the state’s transgender law violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act, according to a Justice Department official.

House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, puts in place a statewide policy that bans individuals from using public bathrooms that do not correspond to their biological sex. The law also reserves the right to pass nondiscrimination legislation to the state government, saying state laws pre-empt any local ordinances.

Should the ruling be upheld North Carolina stands to lose over $860 million in federal education funds.

State Rep. Chris Sgro, who is also the executive director of Equality NC, issued a statement which said in part, “The letter confirms what we’ve already known – that HB2 is deeply discriminatory, violates federal civil rights law, and needs to be repealed as soon as possible. We’ve already lost $500 million in economic impact and now we are violating federal civil rights law and risking Title VII funding.”

From the letter to North Carolina:

“Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual on the basis of sex and from otherwise resisting the full enjoyment of Title VII rights….

“Federal courts and administrative agencies have applied Title VII to discrimination against transgender individuals based on sex, including gender identity….

“Access to sex-segregated restrooms and other workplace facilities consistent with gender identity is a term, condition or privilege of employment. Denying such access to transgender individuals, whose gender identity is different from the gender assigned at birth, while affording it to similarly situated non-transgender employees, violates Title VII …

“HB 2…is facially discriminatory against transgender employees on the basis of sex because it treats transgender employees, whose gender identity does not match their biological sex, as defined by HB2, differently from similarly situated non transgender employees…

Based upon the above, we have concluded that in violation of Title VII, the state is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of Title VII rights by employees of public agencies…

“Please advise the department, therefore, no later than the close of business on May 9, 2016, whether you will remedy these violations of Title VII including by confirming that the state will not comply with or implement HB2….

No response yet from Gov. Pat McCrory.

Posted on

Ted Cruz Continues Making Anti-Trans “Bathroom Bills” Part Of Campaign Talking Points

Even though the right-wing myths about what happens have been debunked many times (as recently as last week by FOX News anchor Chris Wallace), Ted Cruz continues to hammer home his fear-mongering about the consequences of transgender “bathroom bills” and according to the NYT, the strategy is working for him, at least in Indiana.