Transgender debate in local City Hall

Posted by Lance Gravlee on January 29, 2008 
Filed Under In the news

According to the Gainesville Sun, last night’s debate over a proposed city ordinance against gender-identity discrimination attracted a large crowd to City Hall. The ordinance would add transgered individuals as a category of people protected from discrimination.

The Sun reports that the ordinance drew both support and protest from the overflow crowd, but that most people spoke out against the proposal:

Those in favor of the ordinance lauded it as a step toward increased human rights for transgender individuals, who some said are marginalized in society. . . . Those opposed reiterated oft-cited concerns of having a man in a woman’s restroom, as well as the burden it would place on business owners to provide accommodations in the case of changing facilities.

According to the Sun, opponents of the ordinance argued that the anti-discrimination measure would constitute special treatment for a small class of people. Others, including several local pastors, objected to the ordinance on religious grounds.

Yet among the supporters were at least two UF students who spoke in favor of the proposal, according to the Sun. One commissioner also noted that several other cities and counties in the state have policies that protect transgendered individuals from discrimination.

At the moment, there’s still no word on how the City Commission voted. What’s your opinion about whether gender identity should be included in anti-discrimination policies?

Update, 4:30 p.m.: In a 4-3 vote, the Gainesville City Commission passed the ordinance to protect transgendered people from discrimination.

Comments

4 Responses to “Transgender debate in local City Hall”

  1. Andrea on January 29th, 2008 5:52 pm

    I am completely in favor of the proposal.

    I understand the opposition’s opinions and religious views but like most LGBT issues, people have to try to see both sides of the spectrum, and in this case the opposition should think about the true hardships and discrimination transgendered people encounter everyday.

    Transgendered people are just expressing on the outside who they really feel they are on the inside.. In my opinion, they’re just taking freedom of speech to a whole new level, and this shouldn’t and doesn’t make them harmful, or perverted.

    So in regards to those who were concerned about “having a man in a woman’s restroom,” i understand how they might feel uncomfortable but these people should try to be, in my opinion, a little more rational and a little less paranoid or transphobic; if a true transgendered man goes to a women’s bathroom i assure you she is really just going to go to the bathroom, as well as a transgendered woman to the men’s bathroom, because at the end of the day, they truly are and want to be treated as the person they resemble on the outside.

  2. Christine on January 29th, 2008 10:24 pm

    This issue is quite complicated in many aspects. Transgendered people feel more comftorable in bathrooms of their choice, right? Well, that is understandable. However, it has been brought to my attention that this new tolerance for such facilities can lead to many dangerous situations. One of which being the fact that anybody of any sex would be able to walk into bathrooms of the opposite sex and claim to be transgendered when they in fact have bad intentions. Who is going to monitor the bathrooms? No one is going to stand outside and say “hey I need to see your ‘goods’ just to make sure you are legit”. The opportunity to use these facilities can lead to sexual molesters and perverts going into opposite bathrooms and hurting young children, or even adults that cannot defend themselves. Obviously this can happen in same sex bathrooms, but it is more likely to occur when the bathrooms are not facilitated as they are now. Therefore, I must say that I do not agree with the city ordinace and I hope it is not established.

  3. Cheryl on January 30th, 2008 11:29 pm

    This is an interesting topic that has come up. When I think of anti-discrimination legislature the first thing that comes to my mind is equal housing and equal employment which I am completely for. However, on the same note, I find it sad that we have to have legislature to direct us to behave this way. Isn’t that part of the beauty of living in this country? We are a melting pot made up of all different cultures, all different backgrounds and all different make-ups. Isn’t it sad that we have to have politicians telling us to behave with just a bit of etiquette or respect for one another? Shouldn’t we already be appreciating the fact that we are not all alike?

    I also find it interesting that the issue that overshadows all that in this debate is someone’s use of a public restroom or dressing room. I understand what you all are saying (we spoke of this in discussion today too) but isn’t there equal risk when you’re sitting next to someone in a dark movie theater or walking in a park, etc, etc, etc? One never knows the intent of the person sitting next to you. If we did we’d all be able to read minds. So putting the rapist or general criminal out of the equation (because I think that’s a different category altogether) why CAN’T a man and a woman use the same restroom (private stalls, of course)?

  4. Transgender debate back in the news : ANT 2301: Human Sexuality & Culture on February 3rd, 2008 5:12 pm

    [...] people from discrimination has attracted national attention. The Sun’s original story, which I wrote about last week, also appeared on the widely read Drudge [...]

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