XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: felchers@democrats.org   
      
   SALT LAKE CITY –  A Utah lawmaker has proposed a bill that would   
   prevent transgender students from using bathroom facilities of   
   their choice, joining a debate playing out in a handful of other   
   states sparked by a California law that broke new ground on   
   transgender rights.   
      
   Republican Rep. Michael Kennedy says his plan would pre-   
   emptively block Utah from allowing transgendered students to   
   choose between the girls' or boys' restrooms, locker rooms and   
   sports teams, depending on the gender they identify with.   
      
   A law that provides those protections for public school students   
   in California took effect Jan. 1 over the objections of those   
   who said it would violate the privacy of most students and lead   
   to false gender identity claims.   
      
   Supporters of the California legislation say it will reduce   
   discrimination against transgender students.   
      
   But Kennedy disagrees. "For these individuals," he said, sharing   
   a restroom or showers in the locker room is "probably not going   
   to be the best way to use the facilities" because it could make   
   the transgender child and other students uncomfortable.   
      
   Rather than allowing transgender students to use facilities set   
   aside for the gender they identify with, Kennedy's proposal   
   would require schools to provide additional bathrooms for   
   transgender students who desire one or whose families request   
   one.   
      
   Utah education officials say the issue hasn't come up often, but   
   this is how they have typically handled such cases.   
      
   Critics say Kennedy's measure violates civil liberties of   
   transgender students and points them out as different.   
      
   Sara Jade Woodhouse, a transgender Utah woman and adjunct film   
   professor at Salt Lake Community College, says they rule would   
   further relegate transgender students to secondary status.   
      
   "It's basically hanging a sign around someone's neck that says,   
   'I'm not like you.' And that is so damaging to a person's self-   
   worth," Woodhouse said. "Really, it's kind of frightening what   
   it actually could mean."   
      
   Brandie Balken, the executive director of lesbian, gay, bisexual   
   and transgender advocacy group Equality Utah, said the measure   
   would step on parents' role in negotiating what's best for their   
   children.   
      
   "It's a misguided solution at best," she said Tuesday.   
      
   Similar debates are taking shape elsewhere. A proposed   
   referendum aims to overturn the current California policy.   
   Maine's Supreme Judicial Court recently found school officials   
   there violated state anti-discrimination law when they required   
   a 16-year-old transgender student to use a staff restroom   
   instead of the girls' room. And national attention turned to a   
   Texas high school in November after officials said a transgender   
   boy couldn't take a yearbook photo in a tuxedo, a decision they   
   eventually reversed.   
      
   Gay rights have been at the forefront of Utah politics in recent   
   weeks. Same-sex marriage was legalized briefly in December,   
   leading to more than 1,000 weddings. A court challenge blocked   
   the practice and a judge is expected to rule on the matter this   
   spring. And Republican state Sen. Stephen Urquhart has proposed   
   a bill that would ban housing and job discrimination based on   
   gender identity and sexual orientation.   
      
   Kennedy's proposal stands little chance of becoming law this   
   year. The Utah Senate and House have agreed to hold off on bills   
   dealing with religious liberties and LGBTQ issues this session,   
   Senate President Wayne Niederhauser said Tuesday. They don't   
   want to risk interfering with the state's pending court case   
   over its gay marriage ban, Niederhauser said.   
      
   Kennedy earlier said he sees the issue as distinct from gay   
   marriage but added "I can't say what leadership's going to say   
   about that."   
      
   Kennedy's proposal would rely on a doctor's exam or birth   
   certificate to settle any questions concerning which bathroom   
   students may use.   
      
   The proposal is "misguided, sad and, really, pretty creepy,"   
   Urquhart said. "Any time we pass legislation that deals with   
   inspecting someone's genitalia, certifying that person's   
   genitalia, that's just really odd. I think it highlights how   
   people with sincere beliefs can come up with some pretty odd   
   approaches to opposing something that scares them."   
      
   Carol Lear, the director of law at the Utah State Office of   
   Education, said it's up to school districts to decide how to   
   handle instances concerning transgender students and restrooms.   
   She recalls two cases of families requesting schools to   
   accommodate transgender children in recent years, she said, and   
   in both cases, school administrators set aside a separate,   
   private bathroom.   
      
   http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/05/utah-bill-would-   
   dictate-transgender-use-school-restrooms/?intcmp=obinsite   
      
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)