There's an old saying in politics that who ever gets to define the terms of the debate wins. That seems to be the case with the HERO ordinance in Houston. It became less about equal treatment before the law and more about bathrooms (the "ick" factors we talked about early in class) and public safety.
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Four years ago, Massachusetts passed an anti-discrimation law offering protection to transgender people in areas such as employment, housing, lending and education. Legislators specifically avoided including public accommodations in the law, but the idea that transgender people would use bathrooms and locker rooms that didn't conform with the sex they were assigned at birth caused concern for some.
That issue is still controversial. The legislature is now considering a public accommodations bill that once again has triggered heated opposition.
"We think it's important for all Massachusetts citizens to have their privacy and security protected in intimate spaces," said Andrew Beckwith, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. "If this were passed, women would be forced to change next to anatomical, biological males."
The same argument is taking place all over the country. Legislators in states including Florida, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin have introduced bills that would limit students or adults to using bathrooms appropriate to the gender listed on their birth certificates, as opposed to their current gender identity.
