Choosing which public restroom to use can be a complicated proposition for transgender people who often face threats and violence for walking through the “wrong” door.
A 2013 study by the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles found 70 percent of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals face serious threats when using gender-specific restrooms. These threats include being verbally harassed, denied access or physically assaulted.
This injustice must not continue. Bathroom access is a basic biological need. I authored Assembly Bill (AB) 1732, which just passed out of the State Legislature, to ensure safe, fair and convenient bathroom access for everyone. If signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, it would establish the most progressive restroom access law in the country.
The bill requires single-occupancy restrooms in government buildings, businesses, and places of public accommodation to be universally accessible to all genders. Sponsored by Equality California, the Transgender Law Center, and the California chapter of the National Organization of Women, AB 1732 would create restroom safety, fairness, and convenience for everyone.
Compliance with AB 1732 is easy. It simply requires placement of gender nonspecific or inclusive restroom signs on single use restrooms by March 17 of next year. That is why businesses are supporting the bill, including many from the Bay Area such as PayPal, Salesforce, and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.
Some critics believe men will leave restrooms too dirty, creating a nuisance for women. That misses the point of this bill, which is that all of us should get in and out of public restrooms on the same terms. Since most buildings have an inadequate number of restroom facilities for women, this bill will increase convenience and fairness for women who disproportionately wait to use a public restroom.
AB 1732 will also help parents and caretakers of oppositely gendered dependents who need help in the restroom. As a father of two girls, I know how this simple change would help parents on the run be parents.
This bill is not just about California. If signed by Governor Brown, it will send a powerful message to the nation that everyone’s rights must be respected and protected. We have seen hundreds of efforts to curtail LGBT rights in statehouses across the country ever since the U.S. Supreme Court declared marriage equality to be the law of the land. Access to public bathrooms has become the new battleground of discrimination. The most notorious of all occurred in North Carolina, which requires people to use public restrooms consistent with their gender at birth, and Mississippi, which allows anti-LGBT discrimination on the basis of religion.
California is ahead of the curve on these issues. In 2013, we enacted the transgender student bill of rights to ensure that transgender students at public schools may access restrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identify. A public outcry ensued but, fortunately, referendum efforts failed dramatically.
By signing AB 1732, Governor Brown can set an alternative example of expanded equality for the nation. He has until the end of September to act on the bill. Please join us in this movement for change by urging him to sign it. You can contact Governor Brown through his website at
www.gov.ca.gov
Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City, and South San Francisco.
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