(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Fighting in the Airport Bathroom [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-19 This is America. The GOP continues to police womanhood. It’s been more than 40 years since someone first asked me if I was “a boy or a girl”. Personally, I’ve always known the answer, and it’s neither as simple nor as complicated as you might imagine…but that’s another conversation for another day. How I self-identify hasn’t kept people throughout my life from challenging me—directly or indirectly—when I’m trying to use a Women’s public restroom. I’ve even had someone threaten to call the cops on me. This isn’t an unusual experience for folks like me—a butch dyke of a certain age. You learn to live with it. But some states are taking the policing to new levels. In addition to all kinds proposed/enacted ‘bathroom bans’ in public schools, a handful of states are now looking to police public bathrooms, writ large. Florida joined those ranks in a meaningful way today. The Florida House passed HB1521 today. It would make the following a criminal (misdemeanor) offense, with “sex” being defined as the “sex assigned at birth”: (7) A person 18 years of age or older who willfully enters . . . a restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite sex and refuses to immediately depart when asked to do so by another person present in the restroom or changing facility. If this passes the Senate (and there’s no reason to expect any different), it will become that much more physically unsafe for anyone like me, any trans* person, any masculine-of-center presenting woman to travel in Florida. It encourages direct policing of womanhood a bathroom by the people inside it (and the dudes nearby). People who may be armed. People who do not mean well. People who have been whipped into a frenzy of a conjured ‘danger’ they’ve been convinced trans* folks present. If it passes, I will honestly not be safe travelling in Florida and…phew. My job requires travel, and often to Orlando. What are those calculations? How much is it fair to ask to risk? What about the folks that live there? Just because I could not be convicted doesn’t mean a damn thing. I’m at higher risk of assault, violence, harassment, investigation, detention, and arrest because of this bill. No, I’m not exaggerating. This is very, very real. All for a power grab. Florida is also about to pass its horrible/awful bill regarding a trans health care ban—they’re just resolving differences, as SB254 passed the Florida House today, as well. I’ll write that one up in the next day or two. There are two other states with more sweeping ‘public’ bathroom bans: Arkansas: passed SB270 in February. Arguably, it’s not as problematic because of the intent provision that was added at the last minute, but it still creates an increased risk for trans* folks of all kinds: A person commits sexual indecency with a child if: (6)(A) being eighteen (18) years of age or older, the person, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying a sexual desire of himself or herself or any other person, enters into or remains in a public changing facility [includes a public restroom] that is assigned to persons of the opposite sex while knowing a minor of the opposite sex is present in the public changing facility… A conviction for this offense is a misdemeanor. And, of course, “sex” is defined as “sex assigned at birth”. And again, just because you wouldn’t get convicted doesn’t mean this can’t cause all kinds of problems. Indiana: HB1520 was introduced this year and would have created a misdemeanor offense of “restroom trespass”, whenever a (1) male who knowingly or intentionally enters a restroom that is designated to be used only by females; or (2) female who knowingly or intentionally enters a restroom that is designated to be used only by males. Fortunately, this bill did not pass. After this vote in Florida tonight, those who walk this walk with me are thinking along similar lines: that in just the last few days we’ve seen completely innocent kids shot for (1) knocking on the wrong door; (2) driving up the wrong driveway; and (3) opening the wrong car door and then going back to their own car. We’re a country gone trigger-happy and, frankly, mad. We’re off the rails. This bill in Florida is making some of us—even me—think really hard about what decisions we need to make simply to stay physically safe. I may cut off or at a minimum seriously limit any travel to Florida, going forward. And yes, I know all to well we’re not the first people and won’t be the last who have to make those calculations in this country. But here we are. This is America. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/19/2164865/-Fighting-in-the-Airport-Bathroom Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/