“I’m just trying to pee, y’all.”

Some lawmakers are saying we have to pass anti-transgender bathroom laws for the sake of “safety” – and there are so many reasons why they’re wrong.

Here are several of those reasons in under two minutes, with insights on the public restroom debate that show what the real danger is here.

Hint: The danger is not from the trans and non-binary people targeted by these discriminatory laws. So what’s the real story?

With Love,

The Editors at Everyday Feminism

Click for the Transcript Speaker 1: If you’ve been anywhere near TV recently, you’ve seen it. “North Carolina now and the law has become a flashpoint—” “…discriminatory laws designed among other things to prevent trans people from using the restroom of the gender with which they identified…” “…religious freedom. This is just discrimination. It’s like proposing a law to kill all kittens and then calling it the Bird Protection Act…” Speaker 2: Conservatives are saying that you need to keep transgender people out of bathrooms to protect women and kids you know to protect us from them. Speaker 3: Under these bills, if the bathroom I use is different than what’s written on my birth certificate, I’m breaking the law. Speaker 4: Lawmakers say that they’re trying to protect women from men in dresses, but I’m not a man in a dress – and I’m not trying to trick anyone. I’m just trying to pee, y’all. Speaker 5: There has never been a single incident where a transgender person has harassed or assaulted someone. Speaker 6: We are the ones who encounter violence and harassment on the subway, on the street, and even at school. Speaker 5: Think of how many times a day you have to go. Now imagine fearing for your safety each time. Speaker 6: In fact, two-thirds of trans students avoid using school bathrooms because they already feel unsafe. It doesn’t have to be this way. Speaker 7: These bills create fear where there was no fear. Speaker 8: Gender is a spectrum. Not all trans people want to be categorized as male or female, and we shouldn’t have to be. Speaker 9: By the way, trans people are not the only ones who are hurt by these laws. North Carolina’s law also walked back protections for all LGBTQ people by stopping towns and cities from passing protections. Like stopping discrimination at work. Speaker 10: Having to pee shouldn’t be an invitation for violence, harassment, or exclusion from spaces. And do you really want me using the women’s restroom? Speaker 1: Not all states like North Carolina and Mississippi are going back to the Stone Age. Some states are actually getting it right. Speaker 2: From California to Rhode Island, nineteen states and 200 cities and counties have made laws to protect trans people. Speaker 3: So even if bigoted legislators want the right to discriminate against trans people, you can still refuse to discriminate.

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