Transgender ‘Bathroom Bill’ Would Void Local Protections

A second North Carolina-styled “bathroom bill” introduced last week by an Oakland County legislator would erase protections for transgender people in place in nearly three dozen local Michigan jurisdictions, jeopardize federal education funding and make the state a laughingstock, civil rights activists say

Proposed legislation sponsored by Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, would not only outright ban transgender people from using the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity, but also void the various civil rights protections extended to transgender Michiganders in 33 township and city ordinances around the state.

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HB 5717  is a more strident version a bathroom bill introduced last month, Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, who framed his proposal around parental rights. It would allow transgender students to use the appropriate bathroom, but only if they got a note of permission from their parents. The bill doesn’t spell out protections for transgender students whose parents refuse permission.

“People have an expectation when they go into a public bathroom that they’re not going to be exposed, or have their children exposed, to a stranger whose body is of the opposite gender,” he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan quickly denounced Runestad’s bill as a violation of the federal civil rights law. In a statement, ACLU-Michigan said:

“ALL Michiganders deserve to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of who they are. Our Michigan values tell us we should be lifting up and helping those who are at risk for discrimination — not making life harder for them by legislating a problem that does not exist. This bill ostracizes and excludes transgender students and residents of our state. This is not who we are.

“The fact is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men, period. Barring transgender people from using public restrooms and other facilities is the very definition of discrimination — and discrimination is not a Michigan value.”

House Democrats rejected the arguments in both bills and said in a statement they don’t solve problems, but “actually create hazards for transgender people — especially transgender students, who are already very likely to be bullied, and who would be further ostracized if these bills are signed into law.”