All I Want to Do Is Pee

by: PerfectStormer

Wed Oct 21, 2009 at 11:54:51 AM EDT

Before we go any further, it's worth noting that the Kalamazoo nondiscrimination ordinance doesn't mention restroom access even once. It's aimed at stopping employers from firing employees because of their sexual orientation and ensuring fair and equitable access to city employment and services...but I digress.

I'm not transgendered and I wouldn't dare dream of speaking for the transgendered community in most cases, but in this case I think it's pretty fair to assume that if a transgendered person is fighting for access to a bathroom, all they want to do is pee.

I want what you have.

I want the ability to go to work and not live in fear of being fired because of my sexual orientation. I want to be able to secure housing and not be thrown out because of my sexual orientation. I want equal (not special, equal) access to city services, and my sexual orientation should never come up in such a conversation. I want to apply for a job with the City of Kalamazoo and not have to check a box on the application disclosing my sexual orientation. And occasionally (several times a day, in fact), I want to pee. That's it.

On a related note, the following story appeared on WOOD TV8 in Grand Rapids highlighting the case, and I have to say that it's one of the most onesided and factually inaccurate pieces of junk I've ever seen on a local TV station. In the report, WOOD reporter Marc Thompson shows a picture of the flyer with a voiceover that says: "they (the Yes on 1856 folks) say that if the ordinance passes, men like this will be able to use the women's restroom." Thompson fails to note that under Michigan law, a person who has undergone sex reassignment surgery and had their gender legally changed at the federal level is entitled to have their gender changed on their state vital records. In other words, the "men" referred to in Thompson's report are legally, technically, officially, biologically women.

Nevermind the fact that putting on a dress, wig and makeup is a ridiculous length to go to if you're hellbent on raping someone...but to suggest that a person would actually undergo sex reassignment surgery, fight with the federal government for months over their vital records, and then fight with the State of Michigan for months over their vital records...well, by then I'm sure the urge to rape someone has long since passed, but that's beside the point.

Now if you'll excuse me, I drank a cup of coffee while writing this post and I have to pee. Fortunately I can do it at home without fear of being accosted by a cough citizen voting no on special rights discrimination.