California recently passed a law permitting K-12 students who self-identify as “transgender” to pick which bathroom they use at school and which sports team they try out for; this means a biological boy who considers himself a girl could use the women’s restroom and try out for sports like girls’ basketball.
Needless to say, the law is extremely controversial. It violates the privacy of students, but a California group has been gathering petition signatures to repeal the law.
Privacy for All Students has submitted 620,000 petition signatures to get the repeal on California’s November 2014 ballot. To qualify, they need 505,000 valid petition signatures from registered California voters — meaning they have submitted 115,000 more signatures than the law requires.
Privacy for All Students has listed its concerns about the California law on its website, saying,
The law ignores the security and privacy concerns of students while they are in the most vulnerable areas of a school – showers, restrooms and locker rooms. … Imagine your daughter or granddaughter having to share a shower with a male student. All the male student has to do is claim a female gender identity, and [this law] gives him the absolute right to shower with female students!
Concerns over this California law echo concerns over the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) recently passed by the United States Senate. ENDA would allow men who consider themselves women to use women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and shower facilities at work. It would also permit cross-dressing in the workplace, and limits the abilities of religious employers to manage their organizations in a manner consistent with their faiths.
The U.S. House of Representatives has an opportunity to put a stop to ENDA. If you are concerned about ENDA, contact your Congressman and make your concerns known.
