Is it fair to force a school to open girls restrooms to male students?

Oct 16, 2015 | 2 comments

Many of the concerns with the “Fairness Act”—the proposal that would add “sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression” to Pennsylvania’s non-discrimination law—may not hit very close to home to a lot of people. After all, only so many Pennsylvanians own their own businesses, and an even smaller number own wedding-related businesses.

 

Of course a threat to religious liberty is a threat to all of us—once it’s been established that a baker can be forced to bake a cake in order to enforce “gay rights,” the expansion of this idea to other parts of life can’t be far behind. But even so, this can all feel a bit distant for now.

 

Bathroom signThat’s why it’s important to talk about another side of the proposed “Fairness Act”—the changes to personal facilities mandated by introducing “gender identity” (the gender one feels oneself to be) and “gender expression” (the gender one’s outwardly appearance suggests) into state law. What this means is that, under the so-called “Fairness Act,” requiring someone to use restrooms, locker rooms, or other personal facilities in line with their biological sex as opposed to their self-defined gender would be illegal.

 

It goes farther. In Maine, an elementary school boy considered himself to be a girl. In order to comply with state “non-discrimination” law, the school permitted the student to use a faculty restroom instead of the girls’ room.

 

But state courts ruled that this was not enough! After the student’s family and the Maine Human Rights Commission sued the school (Orono School District in Southern Maine), the state Supreme Court ruled the school violated the Maine Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The school district was fined $75,000 and ordered to allow the student to use the girl’s locker room and restroom facilities.

 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are sadly more stories about the harmful effects laws like the “Fairness Act” have on schools, gyms, and other places used as social experiments. Now is the time to contact your legislators to encourage them to do all they can to oppose this bill.