As early as next week, the “Gender Identity” bill, also known as the “Trans Bill” or “Bathroom Bill,” could be voted on by the Judiciary Committee in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. House Bill 1319 (HB 1319), AN ACT prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity, is based on the lie that trans people don’t have the same protections against discrimination as everyone else in the State of New Hampshire. They do.
For years, trans people have been using the exact same laws to fight against discrimination as every other Granite Stater. The ramifications of the law, if passed in New Hampshire, are far reaching but one of the biggest and most egregious ramifications of the “gender identity” bill is that women of New Hampshire will become second class citizens if it is passed.
How? The bill specifically allows men to enter into sex-segregated spaces that are reserved for women only. In other words, anyone who claims to be a trans woman will be allowed to use these spaces, despite the fact they are sex segregated in order to provide privacy and some semblance of safety to women.
Legislation Lies
Of course, the legislation claims trans women will have to “show their papers” to prove they are truly in transition but there is nothing in the bill that states a “trans guard” will be at every bathroom entry way, locker room door, domestic abuse shelter or rape center to inspect the papers. This means that any man claiming to be a trans woman will be granted access and if they aren’t, the place of business can be sued.
In the meantime, any woman who dares to object to an obvious member of the male species in a normally sex-segregated space, will be labeled a transphobe or a bigot and again, could be met with the consequences of a lawsuit.
Women have been using these spaces with actual trans women for years without issue. Trans women aren’t getting arrested for using sex-segregated spaces in New Hampshire. There is; however, a history of predatory men using these same spaces to victimize women. These predators prey upon women who are at their most vulnerable – going to the bathroom, changing in a locker room and any other area where women believe they need privacy and safety.
Predators
What this legislation does is now open up the door to enable predators to more easily seek out victims. And Granite State women are supposed to just shut their mouths and get to the back of the bus. Never mind that women fought to have these protected spaces. Never mind that women are already victimized in these spaces. Women simply don’t matter in this legislation unless they are men who believe they are women.
It has already been proven that crimes against women indeed occur thanks to gender identity laws in other places where similar laws have been passed. In case after case, there have been men who claim to be trans women who use these laws to victimize more women. In some cases, actual trans activists, who pushed for these types of laws, have also used them to victimize women:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzwMJAFWLtQ]
Gender Identity laws erode “sex-based legal protections for females:”
Specifically, the proliferation of legislation designed to protect “gender identity” and “gender expression” undermines legal protections for females vis-à-vis sex segregated spaces, such as female-only clubs, public restrooms, public showers, and other spaces designated as “female only.” Females require sex-segregated facilities for a number of reasons, chief among them the documented frequency of male sexual violence against females and the uniquely female consequence of unwanted impregnation resulting from this relatively common form of violence. Public policy, therefore, rationally permits sex segregation in certain settings where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists.
No one is denying any individual the right to believe whatever they want for their own selves. Again, women have been using these spaces with true trans women for years. This legislation is denying women the right to privacy and safety, even if said safety is merely perceived. This doesn’t even touch on the ramifications of men demanding to be part of women-only organizations or the intrusion of boys into girls’ sports but that’s what this legislation will enable.
The gender identity bill is not only based on the lie that trans people don’t have the same protection against discrimination but it is discriminating against actual women and girls and turning them into second class citizens.
Cross posted from NH Political Buzz
