Maine Transgender Rights Up For Vote!
A new bill recently introduced in the Maine Legislature would repeal the protections that transgender people have already had for five years under the Maine Human Rights Act. Maine Rep. Ken Fredette (R, Newport) says,
"The concept here is that there is not an absolute right for the transgender to go into a bathroom, there's not an absolute right for the transgender to go into a locker room of the sex that they simply identify with," Fredette said. I mean, that's it: "that they simply identify with." I wish somebody'd make Fradette go into the ladies' room for a month and see how that made him feel, since he apparently has no right "to go into a bathroom...a locker room of the sex that he simply identifies with"--oh wait, I forgot that it's only cis people who have the right to use the right bathroom or changing room in Maine.
The bill is LD 1046. According to this article on the website of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, (which I think is an NPR affiliate) and which also has an audio clip about the bill: "Fredette's bill, LD 1046, says that--unless otherwise indicated--a restroom or shower facility designated for one biological sex is presumed to be restricted to that biological sex and that a transgender person would no longer be able to claim discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act if denied the use of the facility of their choice."
It's a gross article--people are using the term "transgender" left and right (and not just in quotes, either, but in the article text itself) instead of "transgender person," but people need to hear about this. There are hopeful quotes from cis gender advocates, and people like Jennifer Finney Boylan, who gave testimony to the legislature, and is a very public transgender person and trans activist who teaches and lives in Maine. But they are going to need more than hopeful quotes to get this thing passed; it looks like there's a fair amount of popular/political/organization support.
People in Maine, and people who know people in Maine, please write your legislators and let them know that they shouldn't support this bill. Write the governor, who supports this bill, and let them know that Maine shouldn't be known for taking away its citizens' rights. If your legislator already supports this bill, let them know your're pissed off. And feel free to link to this post as much as you like.
Here is information about the bill from the Maine Legislature Website, plus full text, current action status, sponsors, and other information. The text of the bill is specifically crafted to remove a right transgendered people have already had for five years under the Maine Human Rights Act.
As if that weren't problematic enough, the criterion for bathroom/locker room allowal/denial is "Unless otherwise indicated, a rest room or shower facility designated for one biological sex is presumed to be restricted to that biological sex." So...what bathroom do intersex persons use? You gonna post cameras or people by the door to make sure that everyone who pisses passes? I sense a lot of undesignated restrooms in the future, except that a lot of time building codes require bathrooms to be designated--not sure how it is in Maine.
This is nasty,in terms of how it's being supported politically as well as in terms of the language being used to report on it.
I want to go to Maine in a little while and give them my tourist dollar, but will plan on staying out of the state if this bill passes and so long as it is in effect.
Maybe that sounds like an overreaction, but if I take a roadtrip to Maine, I know I'm gonna need to stop at some roadside diner to pee, or decide to eat in a restaurant my friends from college recommended to me, and if I'm not dressed "right" that day (ie, in accordance with the gender roles of whoever I ask to tell me where the bathrooms are), I really don't think I should have to get into a public fight with the staff and have to drag out my license to prove I'm a woman--no matter what the waitress or the guy behind the counter at the gas station thought about me when I walked in the door. I especially shouldn't have to get into a fight in order to fulfill a basic biological need, wash my face, and comb my hair. Nor do I want to.
If you would like to support the work being done to fight this bill, please volunteer or give to organizations working for rights for transgendered and queer people in Maine, such as Equality Maine.
Please, please repost this. Mainers, we're counting on you.
Update: After reading Boylan's testimony to the judges, I have to say that my initial impression that the bill is about passing people vs. non-passing people (I assume that both trans and cis people who didn't pass would be equally screwd over) was absolutely right. Here's Boylan's conversation with a legislator:
A supporter of the bill (remember that “supporting” means being against trans rights; “opposing” means being for them) said as much. One of the Senators asked, “If a trans person has had surgery, and appears to be female in every sense, how would you be able to know they were in violation of the law?” And the supporter of the bill-another Republican legislator-said, “Well, if I have no way of telling, the person wouldn’t be in violation.” He then looked around and said, “I mean, if you can’t tell, what’s the difference?”
If you meet his standards, whatever they happen to be, then you're not the person this bill is aiming for. Everybody's standards are assumed to be the same. Everybody's understanding of "male" and "female" is assumed to be the same. And if your standards aren't the same? If your understanding isn't the same? If you're a dykey dyke or a really slender guy? If you're wearing the "wrong" clothes or walking the "wrong" way or your facial structure makes people come up to you and ask what's between your legs? If your head is shaved and you're dressed in a hat and coat because it's winter and all the person can see is the tip of your nose, and your eyes and they have to guess your gender because you're all bundled up (not that such a thing would ever happen in sunny Maine)? Well, this bill's for you!. Specifically and deliberately.
"The concept here is that there is not an absolute right for the transgender to go into a bathroom, there's not an absolute right for the transgender to go into a locker room of the sex that they simply identify with," Fredette said. I mean, that's it: "that they simply identify with." I wish somebody'd make Fradette go into the ladies' room for a month and see how that made him feel, since he apparently has no right "to go into a bathroom...a locker room of the sex that he simply identifies with"--oh wait, I forgot that it's only cis people who have the right to use the right bathroom or changing room in Maine.
The bill is LD 1046. According to this article on the website of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, (which I think is an NPR affiliate) and which also has an audio clip about the bill: "Fredette's bill, LD 1046, says that--unless otherwise indicated--a restroom or shower facility designated for one biological sex is presumed to be restricted to that biological sex and that a transgender person would no longer be able to claim discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act if denied the use of the facility of their choice."
It's a gross article--people are using the term "transgender" left and right (and not just in quotes, either, but in the article text itself) instead of "transgender person," but people need to hear about this. There are hopeful quotes from cis gender advocates, and people like Jennifer Finney Boylan, who gave testimony to the legislature, and is a very public transgender person and trans activist who teaches and lives in Maine. But they are going to need more than hopeful quotes to get this thing passed; it looks like there's a fair amount of popular/political/organization support.
People in Maine, and people who know people in Maine, please write your legislators and let them know that they shouldn't support this bill. Write the governor, who supports this bill, and let them know that Maine shouldn't be known for taking away its citizens' rights. If your legislator already supports this bill, let them know your're pissed off. And feel free to link to this post as much as you like.
Here is information about the bill from the Maine Legislature Website, plus full text, current action status, sponsors, and other information. The text of the bill is specifically crafted to remove a right transgendered people have already had for five years under the Maine Human Rights Act.
As if that weren't problematic enough, the criterion for bathroom/locker room allowal/denial is "Unless otherwise indicated, a rest room or shower facility designated for one biological sex is presumed to be restricted to that biological sex." So...what bathroom do intersex persons use? You gonna post cameras or people by the door to make sure that everyone who pisses passes? I sense a lot of undesignated restrooms in the future, except that a lot of time building codes require bathrooms to be designated--not sure how it is in Maine.
This is nasty,in terms of how it's being supported politically as well as in terms of the language being used to report on it.
I want to go to Maine in a little while and give them my tourist dollar, but will plan on staying out of the state if this bill passes and so long as it is in effect.
Maybe that sounds like an overreaction, but if I take a roadtrip to Maine, I know I'm gonna need to stop at some roadside diner to pee, or decide to eat in a restaurant my friends from college recommended to me, and if I'm not dressed "right" that day (ie, in accordance with the gender roles of whoever I ask to tell me where the bathrooms are), I really don't think I should have to get into a public fight with the staff and have to drag out my license to prove I'm a woman--no matter what the waitress or the guy behind the counter at the gas station thought about me when I walked in the door. I especially shouldn't have to get into a fight in order to fulfill a basic biological need, wash my face, and comb my hair. Nor do I want to.
If you would like to support the work being done to fight this bill, please volunteer or give to organizations working for rights for transgendered and queer people in Maine, such as Equality Maine.
Please, please repost this. Mainers, we're counting on you.
Update: After reading Boylan's testimony to the judges, I have to say that my initial impression that the bill is about passing people vs. non-passing people (I assume that both trans and cis people who didn't pass would be equally screwd over) was absolutely right. Here's Boylan's conversation with a legislator:
A supporter of the bill (remember that “supporting” means being against trans rights; “opposing” means being for them) said as much. One of the Senators asked, “If a trans person has had surgery, and appears to be female in every sense, how would you be able to know they were in violation of the law?” And the supporter of the bill-another Republican legislator-said, “Well, if I have no way of telling, the person wouldn’t be in violation.” He then looked around and said, “I mean, if you can’t tell, what’s the difference?”
If you meet his standards, whatever they happen to be, then you're not the person this bill is aiming for. Everybody's standards are assumed to be the same. Everybody's understanding of "male" and "female" is assumed to be the same. And if your standards aren't the same? If your understanding isn't the same? If you're a dykey dyke or a really slender guy? If you're wearing the "wrong" clothes or walking the "wrong" way or your facial structure makes people come up to you and ask what's between your legs? If your head is shaved and you're dressed in a hat and coat because it's winter and all the person can see is the tip of your nose, and your eyes and they have to guess your gender because you're all bundled up (not that such a thing would ever happen in sunny Maine)? Well, this bill's for you!. Specifically and deliberately.