Not In My Shower
Posted on May 30, 2008
Filed Under News Flash |
Mary is fourteen. She attends a local public school here in Colorado Springs. Like the other students in her P.E. class, Mary hit the locker room after a grueling 40 minute workout. She had just minutes for a quick 
shower and change of clothes before heading to her next class. With just a towel wrapped around her, she gathered her shampoo and soap. Without warning, a 15-year-old boy walked into the girl’s locker room, disrobed in front of Mary, and headed for the girl’s showers.
Meanwhile, Amy, a six-year-old girl playing on a playground in the park across town, needed to go potty. Her mother pointed to the public restroom across the way and assured Amy she’d be waiting for her by the monkey bars. While inside the toilet, a man walked into the same bathroom where little Amy was using the facilities.
Neither of the above stories has happened–at least not yet.
But, now that Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 200 yesterday, stories like these will be just the beginning. This legislative measure is designed to eliminate discrimination against people in all places–such as a locker room–regardless of their “sexual orientation.” Hard to believe? You bet. Listen to how the bill defines sexual orientation: “a person’s orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender status or another person’s perception thereof.”
So, if you believe that your “orientation” is male, but you happen to be a female, this law would permit you, as a woman, to use the men’s locker room, bathroom, showers, or other private places traditionally reserved for men. Likewise, if you, as a man, desire to explore your feminine side, no problem. The law, if passed, would permit you access to women’s facilities.
Talk about opening the door to sexual predators.
But the insanity doesn’t stop there.
The measure covers both public and private run accommodations. Every hotel, movie theater, bagel shop, private school, home-based business, educational facility, or church would be required to permit men and women, cross-dressers, transvestites, bisexuals–as well as those who just want to explore their orientation–access to enter areas that have been previously designated as for men or women only.
What’s worse is the provision in this bill which actually makes it illegal–a crime–to vocalize a complaint about such actions! If you were to criticize or attempt to prevent a male from entering and using a female’s locker room or bathroom, or visa versa anywhere in the state of Colorado, guess what? You would be subject to up to a $5,000 fine and up to one year in jail. That’s unthinkable.
I wish this was an isolated case. It’s not.
Eight County Council members in Montgomery County, Maryland, actually approved a similar bill back in November, 2007 (Bill 23-07). The bill places sanctions against anyone who would “discriminate” on the basis of “gender identity.” The council defined “gender identity” as “an individual’s actual or perceived gender, including a person’s gender-related appearance, expression, image, identity, or behavior, whether or not those gender-related characteristics differ from the characteristics customarily associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.”
Translation: Your sexual identity is what you feel inside.
While I agree that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, forcing you and I to open our showers and bathrooms to the latest newfangled sexual trend defies common sense and civility. Unfortunately for Coloradans, there is no recourse to reverse SB200. However, if you live any place in the country where a handful of policy makers are planning to follow Colorado’s lead, now is the time to let your voice be heard.
Comments
9 Responses to “Not In My Shower”
Leave a Reply
Comments are moderated and will not appear on jimdalyblog.com until they've been approved. While we are eager to facilitate conversation by publishing most comments, we may withhold one from time to time if we deem it offensive, vulgar, overly personal, cynical, disrespectful, irrelevant, redundant or unnecessarily contentious.
Comments on Jim Daly’s blog may not refer specifically to any current electoral candidate, or any measure on a current ballot – at any level of local, state, or federal government. Focus on the Family is a non-profit 501(c)(3) entity, and therefore cannot take a position on specific votes. Nor can we display any such statements on our Web sites. Likewise, we cannot discuss here the personal viewpoints of people like Dr. Dobson or Jim Daly on political candidates or ballot measures. Any posts to this forum which violate these rules will be removed. There is an alternative venue for this type of discussion. Some activities of this nature are undertaken by Focus on the Family Action, a 501(c)(4) organization, and its media outlet, Citizenlink. Citizenlink maintains an Election Forum of its own, where political discussions are allowed and welcomed so long as they comply with the posted guidelines.
Finally, if you would like to contact our ministry directly, please feel free to do so from one of our FAQs.
Jim Daly is the President of Focus on the Family. He has been married to his wife, Jean, since 1986. They have two sons. The Daly family resides in Colorado Springs. Finding Home represents Jim's musings on work, family and faith.
-
Recently Written
-
Categories
-
Monthly Archives
-
Blogroll
-
Subscribe
Subscribe in a reader
© 2008 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved.
Wow. I remember when we threw a kid into the girl’s locker room as a prank. He came out faster than a frog out of hot water.
Haven’t any of these lawmakers ever seen movies like “Porkys”, “Animal House”, or “Fame”? Teenage boys do whatever they can to LOOK into the locker room. Now they don’t have to dig.
Of course, someone is bound to point out that there are hundreds of colleges in our Union that have co-ed bathroom/shower facilities in their dorms.
Too bad I’m not a locksmith in Colorado. I’d make a fortune right now as tons of businesses, churches, and schools make their bathrooms 1-person-at-a-time no matter how many “holes” there are inside.
This is so outrageous!!! I can’t believe anyone in their right mind would approve something like this. What has happened to our lawmakers?? I think they have lost their minds!!! You can bet if my child goes into a restroom and someone of the opposite sex is in there I’ll make a big stink about it. Protecting my children is my #1 priority, whatever it takes.
As a female, you can be sure that I WILL have a fit if some man walks into the women’s restroom. There is no doubt that stinks will be raised across the state. How is the law going to handle the backlash? How many men would stand idly by while a man dares to enter the restroom his wife just went into?? This is beyond INSANE. Who drafts lunacy like this????
I may take a self-defense course. I know that I am buying a can of pepper spray. Any male caught peering into my bathroom stall will get an eye-full, indeed!
Pepper spray … what a wonderful invention!
Europe has bathrooms where men or women can use them. If I found out the bathroom was one of these two-gender ones - I’d turn around and walk out.
Thanks for letting us know about this measure. I pray bold voices will halt it in its tracks.
There needs to be three restroom choices: Men, Women and a combo one, as in the sign above, for those that aren’t sure which one best fits their needs. Look out consumers, as all public facilities will have to charge extra for adding more restrooms! What is this world coming to?
This is nuts.
Let’s make the legislators see their actions in progress. Use the restrooms at the capital the way they have just legislated.
Praying God intervenes…too close to home. I must consider home schooling and make sure our daughters are informed of this horrific bill.
Anyone who lives outside of Colorado and is concerned about this ridiculous bill and the affect it will have on all people living or traveling in the state should cancel their travel plans to Colorado. When Colorado’s tourism industry is adversely affected, perhaps there will be a greater outcry. Why would I want to travel to a state where my family couldn’t use a restroom safely?