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Cleveland City Council is considering legislation that would open all public restrooms to both men and women.

(The Plain Dealer file photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In an effort to help transgendered people feel more comfortable using public restrooms, Cleveland City Council is considering an ordinance that would require businesses to make their restrooms, showers and locker rooms available to both sexes.

And barring one gender from using a facility designated for the other would be a crime, punishable by a $1,000 fine.

The measure, which will be discussed at a Workforce and Community Benefits Committee meeting Wednesday, is part of a package of ordinances that update the city's existing anti-discrimination laws to include the transgender community. (Read the legislation in the document viewer below.)

Councilmen Joe Cimperman and Matt Zone, who sponsored the legislation dealing with the "public accommodations" of private businesses, said in interviews Thursday that the measure is designed to give transgender people the power to use whichever restroom aligns with their gender identity.

"This is common sense legislation, and it's long overdue," Zone said. "We're in the 21st century, and it would allow Clevelanders to feel comfortable in their own environment and to use facilities that they're most comfortable with."

Zone and Cimperman emphasized that the ordinance does not require businesses to build separate facilities or change signs on restrooms.

They contend that similar laws have been enacted in dozens of other cities and rarely, if ever, have been abused by pedophiles and voyeurs.

Alana Jochum of Equality Ohio said in an interview Thursday that entering a restroom with the intent to harm or harass would obviously remain illegal. The new law would simply allow transgender people to choose a restroom in which they feel most safe.

"A transwoman who is forced to enter a male restroom is subject to a much greater safety risk than if she uses the restroom she most identifies with," Jochum said.

Stay tuned to cleveland.com as we continue to report on this story.