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Virginia now has a McCrory of our own


GreyhoundFan

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Because it worked SO well for North Carolina: "Virginia lawmaker proposes a ‘bathroom bill’ to restrict public bathroom use by transgender people".

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RICHMOND — A Virginia legislator has filed a bill to regulate transgender people’s use of restrooms in schools, at highway rest stops and in other government buildings — a proposal akin to a controversial North Carolina law.

The legislation from Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) goes further than the North Carolina measure in one regard: It requires school principals to notify all parents if a student at their children’s school asks to be treated as a member of the opposite sex — whether by being allowed to use a different bathroom or being addressed by a different name or pronoun.

Marshall said his Physical Privacy Act addresses a pressing social concern about student safety — one that, he noted, drew hundreds of parents to school board meetings on the subject in Prince William and Fairfax counties. He expressed fear that men and boys will pretend to be transgender to infiltrate bathrooms and locker rooms used by women and girls.

“Some guys will use anything to make a move on some teenage girls or women,” he said. “Mere separation of the sexes should not be considered discrimination.”

The bill does not prohibit a government entity from providing “an accommodation, including the use of a single-occupancy restroom.”

The proposal drew immediate condemnation from legislators and organizations supportive of gay, lesbian and transgender rights, with Equality Virginia calling it “hateful and discriminatory.” Few predicted it would pass into law.

Even Marshall said leaders of his own party are unlikely to embrace the bill given its potential to turn off moderate Republican and independent voters ahead of this year’s elections for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

“My intuition, based on experience, is the speaker’s going to want to duck this,” Marshall said, referring to House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford).

A spokesman for Howell, Christopher E. West, was highly dismissive. “That’s just Bob being Bob,” West said. “He knows the House doesn’t operate that way.”

Even if the bill passed the GOP-controlled General Assembly, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) would veto it.

“Governor McAuliffe has been clear that he will veto any bill that restricts the rights of Virginians based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said in a written statement. “As we saw in North Carolina, these bills don’t just hamper civil rights — they kill jobs. The Governor is hopeful that Republicans in the General Assembly will drop these counterproductive bills and turn their focus toward building a stronger and more equal Virginia economy.”

Marshall’s proposal drew praise from the conservative Virginia First Foundation. The group issued a written statement from board member Travis Witt, the pastor of Gilboa Christian Church in rural Mineral and the former chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation.

“Public school facilities are not the place for social experiments that permit early exposure to sexual issues when there is ample evidence that such exposure can lead to long term developmental damage,” his statement said. It noted that the bill “makes adequate provisions for children seeking single-use restrooms when needed and ensures that children are not forced to experience forced physical exposure to the opposite sex against their will.”

One of the most outspoken conservatives in the General Assembly, Marshall often rankles GOP leadership with bills to regulate social issues — which just as often die in committee. Among Marshall’s other bills this year is one that would declare pornography a public health hazard.

The bill comes as the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case filed by transgender student Gavin Grimm, now a senior at Gloucester High in Gloucester, Va., who sued the school board in 2015 after it passed a policy barring him from using the boy’s bathroom. In April, a federal appeals court ruled in Grimm’s favor, citing the Obama administration’s position that such bathroom restrictions are a violation of Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in public schools. But the incoming Trump administration may stake out a different position, in which case the Supreme Court could remand the case to a lower court.

Legislatures around the country have clashed over transgender issues in recent years. North Carolina’s so called “bathroom bill” immediately ignited a firestorm, causing businesses like PayPal and Deutsche Bank to abandon expansions and prompting the NCAA and NBA to relocate sporting events. The bill also spurred a series of lawsuits, including dueling suits filed by the state and the Justice Department.

It appeared the law may have been on its way out late last month, when North Carolina lawmakers met for a special session specifically so they could rescind the measure. However, after an acrimonious day that saw Republicans feud over whether to fully or partially repeal the bill, they left it in place, prompting scathing criticism from Gov. Roy Cooper (D) as well as from gay and transgender rights groups.

Political analysts were dubious that Virginia will replay North Carolina’s script on the bathroom bill.

“I would bet my bottom dollar that we will never see such a bill emerge from the legislature,” said Larry J. Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. “The Senate would kill it, even if the House passes it. I doubt it even gets out of the House.”

Sabato said that the bill would face an almost automatic veto from McAuliffe. Democrats, he said, would be eager to use such a veto to highlight to Virginians what one-party Republican rule could mean for the state.

University leaders appeared to be leery of wading into the debate. Most are probably anxious to avoid generating friction with lawmakers as Richmond weighs other issues that affect their schools, including public financing of higher education.

Peter Blake, director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, declined through a spokesman to comment, saying he had not yet reviewed Marshall’s proposal.

“We tend to follow pretty faithfully a rule of not commenting on proposed legislation, particularly at the start of the General Assembly, when there are so many bills out there and it’s impossible to say what might move forward,” said Justin Pope, chief of staff at Longwood University, a public institution in Farmville.

Representatives of the state flagship University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary and other prominent public universities did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia, said the bill “would cause immediate harm to our transgender community and economy.”

State Sen. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), a vocal proponent of gay and transgender rights, said Marshall’s bill would be highly problematic.

“I personally know one transgender man who, though born a woman, now has a full beard, shaved head, deep voice and a bulky build,” he said. “It would create much more controversy to require him to go into the ladies’ room without Bob Marshall telling him where he has to go to the bathroom.”

Robert Rigby, a Latin teacher at West Potomac High School in Fairfax County and an advocate for LGBTQ students, said he is “horrified” by the proposed requirement that school principals notify parents when transgender students ask to use different bathrooms or be referred to by different names or pronouns.

“Parents and children need to deal with this at their own pace without the schools taking charge,” Rigby said. Some transgender students tell their teachers and classmates before broaching the subject with their parents, and school becomes a safe haven. But if teachers are required under certain circumstances to inform principals of a student’s transgender status, “this will set up an atmosphere of distrust in the only place they have left to feel safe,” Rigby said.

Under Marshall’s bill, any government entity that owns or rents a building would have to ensure that restrooms and changing facilities “provide physical privacy from members of the opposite sex.” The bill states that “sex” “means the physical condition of being male or female as shown on an individual’s original birth certificate.”

 

Luckily, it's not likely to pass the entire General Assembly, and our current Governor will veto it, but good grief. I wish we could maroon all these crazy nutjob extremists on that uncharted desert isle where I'd like to banish Drumpf, Pence, Ryan, Kellyanne, Rudy, and all the folks in their orbit.

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Once again, it'll be the liberal parts of Virginia that have to save the rest of Virginia from themselves. 

I'm also irritated that lawmakers like Mr. Marshall waste our taxpayer money, and everyone's time trying to introduce stupid shit like this. As a woman who was not too long ago a schoolchild, I think there are more important things then the genitalia of someone who uses which bathroom, and I'm annoyed that this has to be some people's hill to die on. 

 

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Is every citizen in Virginia employed?  Is Virginia's poverty rate 0%?  Does everyone in Virginia have access to affordable healthcare?  Is Virginia's school system ranked number one in the nation?  Does Virginia have no crime?  Then I think Virginia has bigger problems to address than where people take piss.

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Did they not look at how this went down in NC?! It did not end well for the guy pushing the bill. Good way to get the whole state to hate you. 

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I was reading a New York Times article that stated through a poll or two that basically said men care a LOT more than women about who uses a bathroom. *sigh* I hope one day that men will eventually be like hmm maybe I should focus on something actually time worthy, but it isn't going to happen for years.

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4 hours ago, candygirl200413 said:

I was reading a New York Times article that stated through a poll or two that basically said men care a LOT more than women about who uses a bathroom. *sigh* I hope one day that men will eventually be like hmm maybe I should focus on something actually time worthy, but it isn't going to happen for years.

You know, it's funny. I mentioned this article to several people today. Without fail, the women were like, "why does anyone care who uses which bathroom?" and men were all up in arms. One of the guys I talked to, a Drumpf supporter (boo hiss) was especially upset. I asked why did it matter. He said that "those trans people were in the 'wrong' bathroom to seek out people to hit on." I pointed out that a transgendered male would not be likely to even look at him, just like a transgendered female would not be in the restroom to look at or pick me up. I also pointed out that a transgendered male may not have the physical equipment to use a urinal, so he would likely be using the stall anyway, so what's the big deal? The guy just kind of stammered and said that it "just isn't right." Good grief.

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I mean, I'm one of many women who has used the men's room before in an emergency. I've used communal restrooms, even. I have also been sexually assaulted. However, I have not been sexually assaulted while using the men's room. In fact, I have not, to my knowledge, been sexually assaulted in a public bathroom, or any kind of bathroom as a matter of fact. 

Is this a thing of men worrying about their self control? Because that's their own fault. 

Regardless, I think I'm way more at risk for being raped by a cis man than a trans woman, but of course this isn't really about sexual assault because they can't be bothered to hold one of their own accountable.

Disgusting. 

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11 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

You know, it's funny. I mentioned this article to several people today. Without fail, the women were like, "why does anyone care who uses which bathroom?" and men were all up in arms. One of the guys I talked to, a Drumpf supporter (boo hiss) was especially upset. I asked why did it matter. He said that "those trans people were in the 'wrong' bathroom to seek out people to hit on." I pointed out that a transgendered male would not be likely to even look at him, just like a transgendered female would not be in the restroom to look at or pick me up. I also pointed out that a transgendered male may not have the physical equipment to use a urinal, so he would likely be using the stall anyway, so what's the big deal? The guy just kind of stammered and said that it "just isn't right." Good grief.

I find that men tend to be a lot more insecure about their sexuality (really anything to do with sex period) than women.  It's odd.

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I love this new nickname: "Virginia’s ‘Minister of Private Parts’ deserves scorn for his dreadful transgender bathroom bill". The author, Petula Dvorak, is sometimes prone to hyperbole, but I like this piece:

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Apparently, Virginia has its very own “Minister of Private Parts.”

His name is Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), and the residents of his district keep electing him to keep talking about other people’s nether regions.

I’m not exaggerating here.

Marshall’s legislative record reads like a conversation between my 10-year-old son and his friends. It’s all potty this and p---y that. (Okay, my 10-year-old doesn’t say p---y, but the president-elect does.)

It’s hard to believe that Marshall is a 72-year-old man. He has devoted much of his public life to people’s sexual and reproductive behavior, questioning the intelligence of women who use long-term contraception, arguing that some incest is voluntary, pushing for women to be legally required to have transvaginal ultrasounds before abortions, worrying that U.S. troops would catch sexually transmitted diseases if they had to serve alongside gay colleagues, calling porn a public health hazard.

And this is from a guy who identifies with the party of small government. So much for personal freedom.

Just in time for the new year and a new session of the General Assembly, Marshall has crawled even deeper into the sewer and unleashed his version of a transgender bathroom bill. It will limit people, kids in school especially, to using the bathrooms of their gender at birth. Because he can’t stop worrying about kids going potty, I guess.

Marshall explained that his bill is based on his fear that men and boys will pretend to be transgender to infiltrate bathrooms and locker rooms used by women and girls.

“Some guys will use anything to make a move on some teenage girls or women,” he said. “Mere separation of the sexes should not be considered discrimination.”

Too much information there, Bob. Because I’m not sure all guys are onboard with your teenage get-the-girl capers.

The Physical Privacy Act, as he ironically calls it, is just like the irrational bathroom bills being considered in other states, which are designed to arbitrate who can use which toilet in schools and other government buildings.

Under this scenario, Marshall — and all the legislators in other states who have pushed this issue, as well as the freaked-out parents who show up at school board meetings — believe that an ill-intentioned guy is willing to go all Mrs. Doubtfire to be able to pee in the stall next to a super-cute cheerleader?

It’s not like that.

A transgender kid usually spends years feeling trapped and confused, trying to figure out the discrepancy between his or her mind and body. If that child is fortunate, his or her gender transition is guided by parents, doctors and psychologists, based on decades of studies and science.

It’s not a “Porky’s” remake, sneaking a peek at the girls’ locker room.

And stigmatizing that transition could be devastating.

This whole psychological blind spot could be solved if Marshall and a few others did a little bit of research and talked to some trans folks.

Heck, one of the most influential transgender women is right in Marshall’s neighborhood. Before Caitlyn Jenner, there was Diane Schroer.

I met her in 2005, right after she left her life as David Schroer, a former Special Forces colonel who had jumped from airplanes, had grueling combat training, commanded hundreds of soldiers and was one of the Pentagon anti-terrorism specialists who regularly briefed Donald H. Rumsfeld and Richard B. Cheney after the 9/11 attacks.

Schroer left the military and was about to take a big job at the Library of Congress. But the library rescinded the job offer after Schroer told them that David would start work as Diane.

Schroer sued and eventually won in federal court, three years later, setting a powerful precedent for transgender folks everywhere.

I double-dog-dare Marshall to try to force Schroer, in her long hair and high heels (and combat training), to use the men’s potty between high-level meetings at defense industry offices.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has made it clear that he would veto Marshall’s ridiculous bill, if it ever made it to him. It’s not going to even make it that far in Virginia.

And that makes it even more preposterous that Marshall is spending his valuable time and his constituents’ trust to troll the very tiny transgender population in Virginia.

This is that real swamp everyone’s talking about:

Politicians who fixate on their personal obsessions rather than putting their power to work solving real issues in their districts — schools, traffic, unemployment, housing — deserve our scorn.

Try keeping private parts private, Bob. It’s what adults do.

 

Yeah, I agree with her, many of the nutjob right-wingers do act like 10 year old boys.

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I wonder if all these men who fixate on women's reproductive issues (particularly their use of contraception) aren't really racists.  Think about it.  White people in this country are the racial demographic with the lowest birth rate.  Perhaps they think forcing women to have kids by shaming their use of birth control (or removing it outright) is the solution.  Of course these same nimrods will also then complain about women on welfare and tell them to stop having kids they can't afford, so then I wonder if I'm wrong.  Or maybe they're just idiots who can't foresee cause and effect.

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A senator in Texas has also introduced a bathroom bill. 

Keep it up Republicans. The last time you wasted months fixating on non-existent bathroom issues, your governor lost the next election. 

 

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Trump's election has gotten them overly confident. All the companies and businesses that boycotted NC need to make it clear they will do the same to these other states. The boycotts that lost the state money is what caught the attention of lots of people. 

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"First days of 2017 bring new 'bathroom bills"

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In the first days of 2017, legislators in five states have introduced so-called "bathroom bills" restricting access to public accommodations.

Legislative moves this week in Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas and Virginia represent the latest efforts at the center of a broader public debate over transgender rights.

Additionally, lawmakers in Alabama, South Carolina and Washington filed so-called bathroom bills last year for introduction during the upcoming sessions.

Since 2013, at least 24 states have considered restricting access to restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities on the basis of biological sex, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The American Civil Liberties Union in May filed a lawsuit challenging Mississippi's religious freedom law, which critics say will discriminate against gay and transgender people. Part of the law, known as HB 1523, allows employers and school administrators to dictate access to bathrooms, spas, locker rooms "or other intimate facilities and settings."

North Carolina is the only other state to enact the controversial legislation banning people from using public bathrooms that don't correspond to their biological sex as listed on their birth certificates.

Already, backlash against House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, has caused huge economic losses for the state, such as businesses canceling plans to expand and the NBA moving its All-Star game from Charlotte to another city.

The economic costs, however, have not deterred other states from following suit:

Kentucky

Only three days into 2017, House Bill 106 was introduced in the Legislature. The bill would require bathrooms in public buildings "only be used by persons based on their biological sex."

Groups such as the Fairness Campaign and American Civil Liberties Union have opposed the legislation.

Minnesota

On Thursday, House Bill 41 was introduced. It would require "all school restrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms, and changing rooms for use by multiple students be designated for and used by male or female students only. Defines sex as being determined by chromosomes and sex assigned at birth."

The bill would allow "schools to provide separate accommodations (single-stall facilities or faculty facilities) in special circumstances."

Missouri

Senate Bill 98, introduced Wednesday, would similarly require "all school restrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms accessible for use by multiple students be designated for and used by male or female students only."

House Bill 202 would require "all public restrooms, other than single occupancy restrooms, to be gender-divided."

Texas

House Bill 6 was prefiled before the regular legislative session begins. Known as the "Texas Privacy Act" and pushed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the bill would prohibit local governments from adopting ordinances regulating bathroom and locker room access of private businesses.

In addition, dressing rooms, locker rooms and bathrooms in government buildings and public schools and universities must be designated for use based on a person's biological sex -- as listed on the birth certificate.

Chase Strangio, a staff attorney with the ACLU, wrote this week: "Riddled with constitutional violations, the proposed bill is nonetheless another terrifying attack on an already vulnerable group of people. Patrick and others are playing on fears of trans people — the type of fears that contribute to the epidemic of violence against and suicide within the trans community — to push legislation that will result in expelling trans people from public life."

Virginia

House Bill 1612, introduced Tuesday, would requires that a government entity provide for members of the opposite sex separate restrooms and other facilities, and prohibits a person from entering a restroom or other facility designated for use by members of the opposite sex.

Responding to 2016 federal guidance

The controversial bills come after the Obama administration in May issued guidance directing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.

A letter from the departments of Education and Justice was sent with guidelines to ensure that "transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment," the Obama administration said.

The administration directive went beyond the bathroom issue to touch on privacy rights, education records and sex-segregated athletics. It unleashed a fierce backlash from ministers, parents and politicians who say the federal government has gone too far.

 

Republican = Bathroom whiners

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Pardon my language, but where the fuck do these evil Republicans want people to pee, because I guarantee they would also be throwing a fit if a woman who transitioned to a man waltzed into the women's restroom or if a man who transitioned to a woman tried to pee in the men's restroom. 

I'm so fucking sick of Republicans lawmakers pretending to care about things they don't really care about and then hiding behind that to justify their hatred of others. This bill was never about bathroom safety , just as anti-abortion bills were never about saving fetuses. Its'a about hating everyone who isn't a rich, white man.

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22 minutes ago, RoseWilder said:

I'm so fucking sick of Republicans lawmakers pretending to care about things they don't really care about and then hiding behind that to justify their hatred of others. This bill was never about bathroom safety , just as anti-abortion bills were never about saving fetuses. Its'a about hating everyone who isn't a rich, white man.

AMEN!

I love how they phrase it as "privacy". Um, well let's give the people in question their right to privacy, are you going to make people wear DNA tests as a badge before entering a public restroom? Even more than Drumpf "winning" the election, the freedom his "victory" has given every nutjob to pursue his or her agenda is infuriating.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Old Dominion's bathroom monitor has his panties in a bunch: "In Virginia, Republican-led committee kills transgender ‘bathroom bill’"

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A Virginia lawmaker blasted fellow Republicans as “disgusting” cowards Thursday for rejecting his bill to regulate the use of bathrooms and locker rooms in schools, highway rest stops and other government-owned buildings.

“You campaign one way and come down here and kill things silently,” Del. Robert G. Marshall (Prince William) fumed at members of a GOP-controlled House subcommittee after they used an unrecorded voice vote to dispatch with his bill.

Marshall had proposed legislation similar to what passed with great controversy in North Carolina last year. His bill would have required people to use the restroom that corresponds with the gender on their original birth certificates.

He softened the measure somewhat as the House General Laws subcommittee took it up in an afternoon hearing, proposing an amendment to strike the word “original” from the legislation. The amendment would have allowed those who undergo sex reassignment therapy or surgery, and has their birth certificates changed to reflect that, to use the bathroom associated with their new gender identity.

“If someone goes through the process of changing their sex — I don’t think it’s very smart because such people have very high rates of self harm. That’s documented, not from me,” he said. “But if they go through that, fine. Let them use that bathroom.”

Marshall said the purpose of the bill was to protect women and girls from predatory males who might pretend to be transgender to gain access to areas where females are undressed.

Dubbing his bill the “Physical Privacy Act,” Marshall bristled at its more common description as the “bathroom bill.” He said his main concern was not bathrooms, where stalls provide a measure of privacy, but public locker rooms, where females could be forced to undress and shower in full view of males who claim to be transgender.

A handful of conservative and liberal activists testified for and against the measure. Then, with no discussion among the subcommittee’s five Republicans and two Democrats, Del. Barry D. Knight (R-Virginia Beach) moved to lay the bill on the table. The action kills the bill unless the subcommittee reverses itself within a week’s time, Marshall said.

One member, Del. Thomas C. Wright Jr. (R-Lunenburg), raised a finger in a manner that seemed to indicate he opposed the motion. The vote tally was unrecorded, as is typical for voice votes.

Subcommittee members continued with their meeting after the vote and were not immediately available for comment.

“They don’t even want to defend their oath,” Marshall said later. “That’s disgusting.”

Marshall had never expected the bill would become law, at least not under Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who had vowed to veto it if it got to his desk. But he hoped to pressure Republican leaders to let it get to the floor of the House.

One of the most vocal conservatives in the General Assembly, Marshall has often accused Republican leaders of killing his social-issue bills to avoid controversy.

No, honey, maybe they kill your "social-issue" bills because you're crazy as a tick.

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