North Carolina - The Bathroom Law

Yesterday, I touched base on Mississippi's controversial HB1523. Today, we're going to take a field trip to North Carolina. So, pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable and let's get started.

Last week, Governor Pat McCrory signed the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (HB2) into law. In a nutshell, the new law requires individuals, when in a government facility, to use the bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex. This is the sex that is defined on the individual's birth certificate. For those who are having trouble following this, it basically means that if you have a penis, you point it toward the men's room.

So, you're probably thinking, "So, why is this such a big issue?"

Well, in a country where everyone seems to be offended about something, the new law has ruffled the feathers of the LGBT community, as well as their supporters. As in Mississippi, they view this as another instance of open discrimination against them. The new law specifically targets transgender individuals who view themselves as the opposite of what's on the birth certificate.

As with the Mississippi law, the North Carolina law can also cause you to scratch your head. Although it seems quite simple, it can get quite complicated. Let's try to make some sense of it...

Most people have probably heard of Caitlyn Jenner. So, let's use her as an example. Once upon a time, as most of you know, Caitlyn was Bruce. But somewhere along the way, Bruce discovered that he was essentially a woman trapped in a man's body. So, after several years of cross-dressing and hormone replacement therapy, Bruce officially became Caitlyn. However, because Caitlyn never had sexual-reassignment surgery, she still (I assume) possesses a penis. So, by North Carolina law, if Caitlyn has to take a leak, she would have to head into the men's room. No doubt, there would be some serious double-takes as Caitlyn waltzes up to a urinal. But it's the law...

(On a side note, I can somewhat relate to some of the bathroom scenarios. For instance, at a concert years ago, I had a woman pull up to the urinal beside me in the men's room at Merriweather Post Pavilion. It was a bit weird to say the least. But my most traumatic bathroom experience came at the Southwest Bowling lanes several years ago. If you want to read the details of both of these, search for my blogs "One Crazy Concert" and " Charming The Cobra".)

If we were strictly dealing with "legitimate" transgender folks, it would be complicated enough. But supporters of the law also cited that without the law, women and children would be vulnerable to sexual predators. I think this is a fair point. For those who think that it's not, let me ask you this. Would you want a grown man walking in on your wife or daughter in a public ladies room?

And while there are some people who have taken that full step into "transgenderness", how do you determine who's legit and who's not? Let's say that after watching a Lifetime movie marathon, Joe is feeling rather feminine. Is this grounds enough for him to drop trou in the ladies room? Or maybe someone just happens to be a good old fashioned pervert. How do you keep him from casually exploring what's behind the door #3 in the ladies room? Will the legitimate transgender folks have ID cards? Are you starting to see how crazy it can get?

Keep in mind, the new NC law only applies to public restrooms. Private companies are free to make their rules regarding who uses which bathroom. I highly suspect that the overwhelming majority of these companies and businesses will adopt the state law as their own. However, if any of these companies have an issue with the new law, then they should open up their bathroom doors to everyone.

While many people see the law as discriminatory against homosexuals, it's really not. The law simply dictates that penis-wielding men, gay or straight, must use the men's room. And the same thing holds true for ladies. This is the way it's been forever and no one really seemed to have an issue with it. So, I'm not quite sure why it's become such a big deal now...

kw