Transgender Bathrooms

[Jeff Dreger]

I think your lifestyle is wrong and hurtful to you

and many would say the very same thing to you

just look at the depression and suicide rates

yes, indeed, caused in large part by people telling them that "your lifestyle is wrong"

As a Christian I cannot try to expect non believers to live in a Godly way

in the church that I grew up in, your words here would be considered not living in a Godly way

but as an American I sure can fight for high moral standards because we have the right to do that

I consider myself to be fighting for high moral standards - I don't see the fight against equal rights to be either American or moral

(our society's weird attitude toward the natural/normal human body is another aspect of this that I keep thinking of too... but that's too much thread drift even for the deck)

Why are you so worried about protecting "innocent" girls and women, yet you've never mentioned protecting men and boys from being "observed?" That right there is so sexist and paternalistic - and you don't even seem to realize that aspect of your postings!

this - here and elsewhere I wonder what the consideration is for the Hastert's and Sandusky's; the focus is all on men in the women's room (of course the answer is that regardless of who's in what room, unless you're just using the facilities you are likely committing a crime)

[Amy Martin]

By Julie -

Ryan-you obviously pick and choose what you read from everyone’s post unless they totally agree with you –as is human nature.
You don’t know me so how can you say my lifestyle hurts me? I share a home a life with a woman that has supported me through job loss, illness, loss of loved ones. That sounds anything but hurtful. My marriage to a man 25 years ago was far more hurtful.
I respect the rights of everyone – you obviously don’t. I think some people are suffering from ignorance and refuse to educate themselves therefore feel those of us that believe in LBGT rights must be deviants. Who are you to define what is moral? You are implying that I am immoral because I because I believe a person should be able to pee where they are comfortable? You think it is more moral for a biological male to use the men’s room and get the crap beat out of her than to let her use the ladies room where there are stalls and privacy? Really? Your hate and ignorance is growing by leaps and bounds dude.
The suicide rate in the LBGT community is high because of the hate and intolerance that spews from self-proclaimed “Christians” such as yourself.
Since I am a lesbian I can’t be a Christian according to you. So when I help an elderly person across a snow bank as I am walking home from work that is not Christian. When I helped a double amputee get back to his apartment with ice and snow covering the sidewalks because his electric wheelchair broke down, I guess I wasn’t being Christian. When my partner and I shopped weekly for an elderly shut-in I guess we were being deviant again. I think maybe the world needs more deviants like us.
You seem to be ignoring all of the well informed posters who keep pointing out that there are still laws regarding rape and sexual assault. And the fact that the majority of rape and sexual assault perps are known by victims. There are no documented cases of a transgendered person assaulting someone in a bathroom. If there is, please enlighten me.
We will agree to disagree. I respect your opinion. I still think it is based on ignorance because you will not allow yourself to be educated but that is your loss.

[Missy Limkemann]

Ok..time for Missy to go on a rant....and get very (VERY) personal. Now i am warning you...this may be hard to read for some of you..and those that know me, you will be shocked.
First off....I don't care who uses what bathroom. I have to pee...I am peeing where ever I can. I have never looked around the bathroom at anyone else there because if I did, I would pee my pants (I have a massive fear of public bathrooms anyway...so if I am in one, you know it is an emergency)
Now here is where I get personal. I was molested as a child...by a family member....for YEARS!!! I was too ashamed to say anything, I was made to feel ashamed to say anything. As a teen when it finally stopped, I almost committed suicide because of it. How could a family member do that to me. It all came out, and to this day I still struggle with this.
Then one day at 20 years old, i was raped. Brutally raped. And now I have a wonderful 19 year old special needs son from that rape. Yes I chose to keep the baby, and chose to raise him. That was my decision and my decision alone. No one helped me come to that. But I was raped by a close friend. Someone I trusted more than anything. Someone I confided in, and shared my life with. Again causing a downward spiral of depression and anxiety. To this day I still have social anxiety and my job requires me to be social. (confusing right)
I am not worried about who uses what bathroom...I am worried about what family member is hurting another family member. I am more worried about women being raped and a society blaming the woman. Saying we asked for it because of how we dress, how we look etc. I cannot help being blonde with blue eyes (ok so my hairdresser helps me with the blonde). Should all women now dress like they do in the middle east? No..because they are being raped there.
I am more concerned with the lgbt community being lynched for being who they are. I support all of them, I walk with them in their fight. Everyone deserves love and peace. This world is so out of control, that if you can find one person to love you and support you and be there for you, I don't care what the gender is. You deserve that!!!
And again why are we saying "protect the young girls, the women"...are we not supposed to be protecting the little boys? Everyone saying that "oh men will go into the women's bathroom and be a pervert" you right there are calling all men perverts and maybe with that thinking....maybe we should be worried of you!!!

[Ryan Salo]

maybe we should be worried of you!!!

Missy no need to be worried about me. I am fighting for both sexes to have protection, I use the girls as a primary example because based on my studies and my experience as a teenage boy, boys are less offended by the exposure of a female body as girls are to boys. I know that isn't true 100% of the time but that is why I used that as a primary example.

Thank you all for the opportunity to share my opinions and I appreciate all the emails and facebook messages of support. I know this is a tough issue to publicly speak out against because of the personal attacks you receive for your beliefs. You cannot show someone something who doesn't have eyes to see and ears to hear (which one of you will try to throw this back in my face first? ). Those that believe in decency and high moral standards please continue to stand strong in the face of judgement and I encourage you to call your elected school board members and state/federal officials to let them know how you feel.

Peace

[Bridget Conant]

Those that believe in decency and high moral standards please continue to stand strong

So only you are decent and have high moral standards?

[Jeff Dreger]

I know this is a tough issue to publicly speak out against because of the personal attacks you receive for your beliefs.

such as this:

Those with mental illnesses, which it is (read about how it changed) need help to fix their problems not a country to encourage deviant hurtful lifestyles.

of course, that's not just an attack on beliefs, it's an attack on who a person IS

Those that believe in decency and high moral standards please continue to stand strong in the face of judgement and I encourage you to call your elected school board members and state/federal officials to let them know how you feel.

We most certainly will...

[Amy Martin]

I find it curious that JOB hasn't weighed in on this topic, with the amount of activity on the post. Maybe he is afraid to expose his own views. At least Ryan is being honest with his opinion . .. .

[Amy Martin]

the typical blow-hards are keeping quiet on this one . . .prolly sending Ryan e-mails of support . .

[m buckley]

Ms. Martin, I'm not sure if you consider me a blow hard or not but I'll take the opportunity to weigh in on this.
I find Mr. Salo's comments to be offensive and disturbing and the longer he keeps spewing what is clearly an entrenched position, the more disturbed I get.
I stand with Iris Nedjedlik, Jeff Dreger, Missy Limkemann , your partner Julie and all the others who have posted here in support of LGBT rights. Who have posted in
support of human rights, human dignity and tolerance towards all.
Mark Buckley.

[Lori Allen _]

Missy, thank you for sharing your story. You are a great mom! All this BS against persons who don't fit the societal normal mold is ridiculous. This is just one of many reasons why I left the catholic church. I believe when Bishop Lennon was in Boston, he sent the pedophile priests to Rome! I have lived next door to the most wonderful couple for ten years who are lesbians. I have never met such caring, giving and compassionate neighbors. I would trust them to raise my children. I just wonder, how many of the self righteous persons out there in the world have actually died, gone to heaven and consulted with God about all this?

[Kate McCarthy]

No matter what I try to say, I don't think I can say it better than this.

[Stephen Eisel]

This policy will probably be as successful as the "everyone should have the opportunity to own a home" policy .. We saw that policy bear its fruits in 2008. Rome is burning and the former acorn leader is worried about a policy that impacts less than 1/2% of the US population. This policy like his Iran policy only endangers US citizens, especially children.

[Alex Belisle]

Ms. Martin, I'm not sure if you consider me a blow hard or not but I'll take the opportunity to weigh in on this.
I find Mr. Salo's comments to be offensive and disturbing and the longer he keeps spewing what is clearly an entrenched position, the more disturbed I get.
I stand with Iris Nedjedlik, Jeff Dreger, Missy Limkemann , your partner Julie and all the others who have posted here in support of LGBT rights. Who have posted in
support of human rights, human dignity and tolerance towards all.
Mark Buckley.

I'm glad to have you as my neighbor Mark. Sometimes Christians miss the point about what it means to be Christ-like. Legalism was an issue for the Pharisees back then as it is now for Conservative Christians. Love is not restrained by the letter of the law. When one understands grace, it is truly amazing.

[cmager]

Mr. Salo, is it possible that you are projecting what you view as a teenage heterosexual fantasy onto those who harbor no such interest? You continue to view this through the prism of sex, when the issue is one of identity and safety.

Beyond the bathroom thing, I'm all for happiness and love and self-actualization. This world needs more of all of that, and wherever people find it, I'm for it. To me, those institutions that are historically opposing or controlling have done so out of fear, to exert power, or to collect taxes. History will relegate them.

[Stephen Eisel]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... -children/

problems? what problems?

Man in women’s locker room cites gender rule

Seattle Parks and Recreation is facing a first-of-a-kind challenge to gender bathroom rules. A man undressed in a women’s locker room, citing a new state rule that allows people to choose a bathroom based on gender identity.

Man Dressed as Woman Arrested for Spying Into Mall Bathroom Stall, Police Say

A man dressed as a woman was arrested in Virginia on Monday after police say he was caught peeping into restroom stalls three times in the past year.

Richard Rodriguez, 30, filmed a woman in a bathroom stall at the Potomac Mills Mall, Prince William County Police said on Tuesday. A 35-year-old woman was in the stall when she saw a bag moved toward her under the stall divider. Rodriguez apparently had been filming her, police said.

Palmdale man arrested for videotaping in women’s bathroom

PALMDALE – A 33-year-old Palmdale man who allegedly dressed as a woman while secretly videotaping females using a department store bathroom was charged with several misdemeanor counts Tuesday, authorities said.

Jason Pomare was charged with six counts of unlawful use of a concealed camera for the purposes of sexual gratification, according to Sergeant Brian Hudson of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau.

Sexual predator jailed after claiming to be ‘transgender’ to assault women in shelter

A biological man claiming to be ‘transgender’ so as to gain access to and prey on women at two Toronto shelters was jailed “indefinitely” last week after being declared by a judge a “dangerous offender.”

Pro-family leaders are pointing out that this is exactly the type of incident they warned of as the Ontario government passed its “gender identity” bill, dubbed the “bathroom bill,” in 2012.

University of Toronto Dumps Transgender Bathrooms After Peeping Incidents

The administration at the University of Toronto was recently enlightened on why two separate washrooms are generally established for men and women sharing co-ed residencies.

Here are nineteen more stories of predators using public bathrooms to criminally victimize women and children:

Man accused of filming women in Smyrna park’s bathroom

SMYRNA, Tenn. – Authorities believe a man arrested in Wisconsin filmed women inside Smyrna restrooms.

William Davis was charged in Smyrna with felony especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.

Fullerton man arrested on suspicion of filming people in a Chapman University bathroom

A 24-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after a hidden cell phone was found recording video inside a Chapman University bathroom, police said.

A female employee told campus public safety officials at 1 a.m. Tuesday she had seen a cell phone while inside a unisex single-person restroom in the Leatherby Libraries, said Lt. Fred Lopez of the Orange Police Department. The bathroom is located on the first floor Rotunda Commons.

Campbell man, a teacher, arrested for secretly recording people inside bathroom

SAN JOSE – A private elementary schoolteacher accused of secretly recording people in the bathroom of his home was charged Wednesday with three misdemeanors, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities say the arrest Thursday of 31-year-old Andrew Donahue of Campbell was not related to his role as a teacher at Challenger School in San Jose. Donahue has been charged with three counts of taking photographs or filming someone who is in a bathroom or in a state of privacy, according to prosecutor Luis Ramos.

Teacher among 16 facing child porn charges, also accused of filming with tablet in bathroom

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. – A teacher, a school bus driver, and a high school student were among 16 people facing child pornography charges in New Jersey, authorities announced Wednesday.

Thomas Guzzi Jr., 36, of Pitman… is also charged with third-degree invasion of privacy for allegedly hiding a tablet computer in a bathroom stall at the theater to record video of others using the toilet. A video found on his computer allegedly revealed him installing the camera.

Colfax man arrested for allegedly filming women in bathrooms

COLFAX, Wash. – A man was arrested after deputies believe he had been secretly filming multiple women using the bathroom. Court documents indicate the recordings were taken both in his home, as well as one of the alleged victim’s homes. The recordings dated back several years, according to court records.

Michael A. Novak was arrested as deputies arrived with a search warrant for his home. His alleged victim’s said they knew and trusted him.

Man arrested after camera found in restaurant bathroom

MIAMI – Beyond the outer walls of La Perla, inside the women’s bathroom, is where a customer said she found a recording device facing the direction of the restaurant’s toilet.

The woman was assisting her child in the bathroom off Southwest 152nd Street and Southwest 137th Avenue Saturday when, according to a Miami police report, she noticed a strange device tucked away under the sink.

Teen arrested in Perrysburg Jr. High Investigation

PERRYSBURG, OH – Police have arrested a 14-year-old student in connection to an investigation involving two teens from Perrysburg Jr. High School.

The incident happened on March 18., after an alleged 14-year-old boy video-taped a 13-year-old student in the bathroom and forwarded the video to other students.

Maryland teacher charged with filming sex videos in school bathroom

A Maryland volunteer teacher and choir leader charged with sexual abuse and child pornography directed children in sexually explicit videos filmed in a school bathroom, according to court documents released on Tuesday.

NY School Security Guard Took Snapchat Video of Boy in Bathroom: Police

A security guard at a Long Island high school has been arrested, accused of taking video of a student going to the bathroom and posting it to Snapchat, police say.

Police said at a news conference Wednesday that the guard at Roosevelt High School followed the 16-year-old boy into the bathroom and videotaped him in the stall from outside.

Victim videotaped in bathroom 13 times, police say

WILTON MANORS, Fla. – A Wilton Manors man arrested on sexual battery and video voyeurism charges last year is facing additional charges after another victim came forward, authorities announced Friday.

Former Martinsville Chili’s Manager Arrested After Videotaping Women In Restroom

(MARTINSVILLE) – A former manager of the Martinsville Chili’s has been charged with allegedly videotaping eight women changing clothes or using the bathroom in the local restaurant’s restroom. His fiancée found the videos on a home computer and called police.

40-year-old Justin Carl Behnke of Indianapolis has been charged with 15 felony counts of voyeurism.

Man Admits to Videotaping Men in Bathroom 50 Times

CORALVILLE, Iowa – A Johnson County man is accused of secretly videotaping dozens of men using the restroom at a Coralville business.

A victim came forward to police Sunday morning saying he was using a stall at Scheels Sporting Goods at Coral Ridge Mall when he saw a man take a photo of him.

Ex-firefighter accused of videotaping girls in bathroom offered plea deal

LYNDHURST – The former fire captain and youth football coach accused of videotaping teen girls as they used his bathroom pleaded guilty Thursday to fourth-degree invasion of privacy, according to northjersey.com.

Sikeston YMCA employee arrested after videotaping in locker room

SIKESTON, MO – A 19-year-old Sikeston man was arrested after allegedly videotaping at least three people in the YMCA men’s locker room.

Earl Madison, a four-year, part-time employee of the YMCA of Southeast Missouri, is facing three counts of invasion of privacy in the first degree, according to the Sikeston Department of Safety.

Edmond man arrested for recording child in shower

LOGAN COUNTY, Okla. – A man, 43-year-old James Curt Rose, sits behind bars for video-taping a 13-year-old taking a shower.