Enquirer editorial board

Ohio needs to steer clear of discriminatory, anti-LGBT laws that seek to dictate which bathrooms transgender people can use.

State Rep. John Becker is actively working on a bill that would require transgender people in Ohio to use unisex or single-stall bathrooms. The Clermont County Republican called the bill his "No. 1 priority" and says it is a way to protect Ohioans from sexual predators posing as transgender people to gain access to women’s bathrooms.

The legislation would be a variation of a recently passed North Carolina law that requires individuals to use the bathroom associated with the gender on their birth certificates. Becker contends his bill will be different - a "template, a model for the nation" - though details at this point are still sketchy.

Even as other states consider similar legislation, North Carolina has been battered by boycotts and criticism for its law. Companies, conventions, entertainers and travelers are avoiding the state. Several Ohio municipalities, including Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, have limited their employees' work-related travel there, as well.

Given the heavy price North Carolina is paying, it’s hard to fathom why even a conservative lawmaker would want to drive Ohio down that same dead-end street. Cincinnatians remember well how the anti-gay ordinance, Article XII, cast the city as an unfriendly place for the LGBT community and led to a mass exodus of gays, lesbians and economic opportunity before being repealed by voters in 2004.

Becker has a simple theory: Use the bathroom that matches your genitalia. “It’s unfortunate that legislation might be necessary to enforce common sense, but that’s the world we live in,” he said.

Common sense should prevail, but not Becker's brand of it.

He mistakenly tries to oversimplify what is a very complex issue. Saying that a person has to use the bathroom that matches what’s on his or her birth certificate essentially sends the message that transgender people don’t exist or that somehow their understanding of themselves is wrong.

Well, transgender people do exist, according to many researchers and psychologists. There are some 700,000 people nationwide whose brains tell them they're a different gender than the sex organs they were born with. There is a medical diagnosis for transgender people, and doctors who specialize in treating them.

We are not talking about people who occasionally enjoy wearing clothes of the opposite sex. People like the late Leelah Alcorn and Zay Crawford felt all their lives that they were in the wrong body, and they are driven to live as the gender they identify with, regardless of their body parts.

To invalidate a transgendered person's identity isn't right or fair and strikes us as discriminatory and impractical as well as economically costly.

First, it is already illegal in Ohio to enter into a public restroom with the intent of harming, harassing or sexually assaulting someone. This added layer of protection is totally unnecessary.

Second, it's virtually unenforceable and any attempts to enforce the law would create some incredibly uncomfortable situations. Do we really want law enforcement posted outside of restrooms inspecting people's private parts or some form of creepy bathroom surveillance system in place? Do we really think we can accurately profile who looks too feminine or too masculine to be in a certain bathroom? Chances are some of us have already been in the restroom with a transgender person without even knowing it.

And do we really want our police agencies - many of which are cash strapped and short staffed - using precious manpower to stand guard outside of restrooms? Maybe we'll all have to start carrying our birth certificates with us?

Lastly, these types of laws don't really provide more protection for women and children, they just stigmatize and create more angst for a vulnerable group of people trying to make an already difficult transition. Police agencies in North Carolina - many of which are still struggling to figure out how to enforce the new law - say they most likely would respond only after receiving a complaint. That hardly seems like the proactive, preventative solution bills like these promise.

It's important not to downplay or belittle the concerns that some women might have about safety. Statistically, one in five women will be raped at some point in their lives. The men in their lives can't be blamed for wanting to keep their wives and daughters safe. After all, the idea of men in women's restrooms sounds scary.

But we cannot and should not legislate by fear. Transgender people are not the ones assaulting women or children and should not be penalized or scapegoated. In fact, transgender people are probably more at risk of being assaulted in bathrooms because of intolerance. One in two transgendered individuals are sexually abused or assaulted at some point in their lives, often coupled with physical assaults, according to the Office for Victims of Crime, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Becker himself could not point to an instance in Ohio where a sexual predator posed as a transgendered person. He says his intention is not to be anti-transgender, but rather anti-sexual predator. Becker also says he doesn't want transgender people to be "collateral damage."

Unfortunately, that's exactly what these type of bills do. We shouldn't outsource fears of sexual assaults on transgender people. Perhaps Danni Askini, executive director of the Seattle-based Gender Justice League, summed up the feelings of transgender people best: "We just want to go to the bathroom."

Becker's proposal seems, at best, a solution in search of a problem. Even if the bill gets introduced, its chances of success appear slim. Gov. John Kasich recently said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he wouldn't have signed a law like North Carolina's in his state, "from everything I know."

Wise words from our governor. Ohio needs to stay far away from this unnecessary law because it's both the smart and right thing to do.