When I first heard about the "Bathroom Law" on television, my immediate thought was WTF???, followed very quickly by, "Good luck to them trying to enforce that one." And then, I'll admit, I didn't give it much thought, because I didn't know the full implications of the bill. As a result of Bruce cancelling this show, I've read more about it in the last few days than I ever would have otherwise, so I guess the boycott accomplished its purpose in that regard. The more I think about it, it makes me angry. There's still a lot of hatred and bigotry in this country, it's just not out in the open. I agree with Steven- I think it's time to shed some light on it, and hopefully by doing so, try to stop it before it spreads.
(Some further reading:
http://wunc.org/post/sifting-through...ill-2#stream/0)
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Originally Posted by AndrewG
I can also sympathise with some of the law support camp who say they wouldn't want a man go into the women's toilets when your 10 year old daughter is in there just because he feels like he a woman that day. I know this is an extreme scenario but I have no idea what toilet rape statistics are etc. I'm just saying there is something there that the bill seems to cover so makes sense to me
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Right, and there's the rub; they snuck the other civil rights issues in attached to a piece of legislation that makes sense to many people, apparently, a tactic which is not uncommon in legislation. Lawmakers contend it's a matter of "safety", which if you look at it from a logical standpoint is rather ridiculous (not to mention, as a woman, I find somewhat condescending). I have no idea what toilet rape statistics are either, but I'd surmise they are rather low. A sex offender, unfortunately, is going to find ways to commit their crime regardless of what restrictions are placed upon them. Truthfully, I'd be more worried about males who would prey on young boys in the men's room. Just because someone is transgender, that doesn't make them a sex offender.
I would think that most young girls (and likely many adults) would not know a trans woman if they saw one (not to mention ladies' bathrooms have private stalls, so no one is watching the person next to them), but I could see a girl feeling uncomfortable seeing a person in the restroom with the outside appearance of a man. Under the current law, Caitlyn Jenner would not be allowed in the ladies' room, but this person would be:
Now, does that make sense?
As far as changing a birth certificate, that's not as simple as it sounds. In North Carolina, in order to have their birth certificate changed, a transgender person would have to have a doctor certify that they have completed gender reassignment surgery, which not all transgender people do, for various reasons.
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Originally Posted by AndrewG
I'm convinced I would never buy a ticket again for a Bruce show if it happened to the one I was going to (fingers crossed it doesn't)
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Well, that's certainly your prerogative to feel that way- you wouldn't be alone. And, for your sake, I hope it doesn't happen to you. As it happens, I have a ticket to see Bruce in Michigan this Thursday, and I'm not worried he's going to cancel. If he did by some chance, I'd be very disappointed (I wouldn't be out money- to the contrary, I'd have more in my pocket), though I'd get over it.
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Originally Posted by AndrewG
Just because the latter see things differently or are possibly afraid or do not know etc doesn't mean they deserve a whole tirade of hate / abuse just like Bruce doesn't (the hateful messages on his FB are absolutely insane, one even wished for the rape of Bruce's wife!).
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Seriously?! That's disgusting.
That's why I avoid reading a lot of crap that's out there on the net- the fan boards are bad enough!
As I said, lots of hate...