Should the city of Houston keep its equal rights ordinance? Believe it or not, this is a real question being asked of Houstonians leading up to the Nov. 3 mayoral election, according to the Guardian.
It sounds like a no-brainer for the city to keep the equal protection ordinance, but apparently the issue is not so simple for Houston.
The ordinance, No. 2014-530, or Proposition 1, as it’s known, “prohibits discrimination in city employment and city services, city contracts, public accommodations, private employment and housing,” according to the Guardian.
Although the ordinance would seem entirely devoid of reasoning for debate, prohibiting discrimination of gender identity has incited a battle over the ordinance possibly violating religious freedom and aiding sexual predators.
The religious freedom argument is fairly ubiquitous for Christians who feel like their values are being discriminated against, but their claiming the equal protection ordinance helps sexual predators violate people seems pointed. You guessed it. The controversy is pointed directly at transgender people, specifically transgender women.
Proposition 1 has been portrayed to the public as a law that has one purpose: to allow for transgender women to enter women’s restrooms and locker rooms. While the law would allow transgender women to use restrooms of their identifying gender without discrimination, it is not the focal point of the law.
Adversaries of Proposition 1, such as former Houston Astros player Lance Berkman, claim Proposition 1 “will allow troubled men who claim to be women to enter women’s bathrooms, showers and locker rooms,” according to a “Campaign for Houston” YouTube video.
Wow, the ignorance is upsettingly real. To call a transgender women a man is incredibly insulting. They have worked hard to overcome obstacles to discover their true identity. Also, to claim transgender women are using a female guise to help them go into women’s restrooms, showers and locker rooms so they can sexually violate other women is simply ridiculous. Such assumptions demonstrate just how deep the transphobia runs.
Houston removed language from the equal protection ordinance last year that required Houston business owners to allow transgender persons to use bathrooms that correspond to their gender identities after many protests.
The fight over transgender rights went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court, which told the city it either has to repeal the ordinance or vote on the issue. To date, there is no evidence of a transgender woman trying to assault women in Houston bathrooms, according to the Guardian.
The entire “bathroom predator” argument surrounding the vote on Proposition 1 is fueled by nothing more than pure ignorance and an extreme fear of people who are different.
Here’s the thing, Houstonians: transgender identity has nothing to do with you, and it’s certainly not a threat to the unfortunate gendered use of bathrooms. The religious freedom argument against Proposition 1 is one thing, but the “bathroom predator” argument is blatant fear-mongering, pure discrimination and should be rejected as reasoning to vote against the proposition.
rcm2@indiana.edu
@RachelCMiller1
