Here I was, taking a leak at the one urinal in the rather small restroom at a local bar / restaurant in Fort Lauderdale and all of a sudden, I hear a little girl's voice. Her father had brought her into the men's room in order for her to wash her hands. I wasn't taken aback or upset about this father's action. It was a man helping her child wash her hands. I was more concerned with the splash back from the urinal's extremely low reservoir than having a female in the restroom with me while i tinkled.
It reminded me of what my dad had said he had done one day when taking care of my niece. He told us that he's walked right into the women's room on many occasions with my 9 year old niece to make sure everything was fine. My brother-in-law chimed in, "You could have been arrested for doing that!" The response from the 70 year old man was that he didn't care. You never know what might happen in there. We continued our conversation and it was clear his worry was in regard to cis female on cis female attacks. A man of 70 years from rural Maine doesn't know the word cis, but the discussion did not involve the current transgender concerns the nation is dealing with.
Going back to my urinal experience. I would not have known the little girl was in there if she did not say anything. I would only have heard someone come in, wash his / her hands, and go out. You go in, you do what you have to do, and you leave.
Since May of this year, many states have not liked Obama and his restroom policies (Obama Administration To Issue Directive To Public Schools On Transgender Bathroom Access and 11 States Sue Obama Administration Over Transgender Bathroom Directive). This Thursday (August 18, 2016) Obama extended his policy to federal establishments and buildings.
A new regulation from the Obama administration allows individuals to use whatever bathroom they decide is consistent with their gender identity when visiting or working at properties managed by the General Services Administration, the government agency responsible for managing federal workspaces.
The new bathroom mandate was added to the Federal Register Thursday, a GSA spokesman told The Daily Signal, “clarifying that the nondiscrimination requirement includes gender identity as a prohibited basis of discrimination.”
The regulation promises to bring sweeping change. It applies to the approximately 9,200 properties managed by the GSA nationwide, an expansive federal list that includes post offices, courthouses, research laboratories, and administrative offices that house agencies like the Social Security Administration. – dailysignal.com
Is this a practice what you preach move for Obama? If he is dictating that states need to move forward with letting people pee freely, government buildings should, too. Maybe this should have happened first? Or would that have given states time to enact silly Bathroom Bill laws like North Carolina?
The GSA regulation governs more than just restrooms though. A bulletin circulated to government agency heads explains that the regulation dictates access to “restroom facilities and related areas,” like locker rooms and showers.
Employers are also prohibited, the bulletin states, from asking for proof that an individual has undergone “surgery or any other medical procedure” before allowing them access to the facilities of their choice. – dailysignal.com
We think it's a wise move by the President. Go to www.gsa.gov for a list of GSA managed buildings in DC. Does this policy also go for the White House? Good lord! Does this mean the Capitol building, too? I didn't see the Capitol on the list, but the White House is.
So no, he is not changing the White House restrooms to All-Gender facilities, but instead, if he sticks with all GSA managed buildings, they'll be restrooms that allow "individuals to use whatever bathroom they decide is consistent with their gender identity." But why don't we just go all the way and just let people pee when and where they need to, no matter how they are dressed, addressed, or identify? A full bladder is a full bladder .
Here are some of the buildings from the GSA list.
National Archives
Veterans Administration
Department of Education Headquarters
Commerce
White House
Federal Trade Commission
Interior
IRS
Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office
Harry S. Truman Building
J. Edgar Hoover
HUD
Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary
Jackson Place Complex
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
h/t: www.gsa.gov
Because of separation of
Because of separation of powers (the three branches of government) the Capitol building doesn't fall under the Executive branch (GSA), it is run by the Architect of the Capitol.
Thanks Jason! Awesome info!
Thanks Jason! Awesome info!