It’s the Law

It is one thing to pass a gender inclusive anti-discrimination law; it is entirely another thing to get the word out about the law. When we were working to pass the law, one of the topics that we discussed was should we try to pass it off the radar as an amendment to another bill or pass it as its own bill. One of the factors that went into the decision was about educating the public about the bill.

Now that the bill has passed and it is the law, on the most part people do not know about the law. We are still being kept from bathrooms of the gender of our gender identify and are still facing discrimination. The CT TransAdvocacy Coalition (CTAC) and the CT Women Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) held a training workshop last October and sadly it was sparsely attended. Next Wednesday the Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and The Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities is having a summit on the anti-discrimination and anti-school bullying laws for school administrators, educators and students. I am hoping that they have a large turnout for the event because we need to get the word out about the laws. The CHRO has on their web-site an excellent FAQ publication, Guidelines for Schools on Gender Identity and Expression about the anti-discrimination law for students and administrators that was created by the Safe School Coalition.

Even though it was created for students and school administrators much of the Q & A pertains to everyone, such as…

Question: What restrooms should students use?

Answer: Students should have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity asserted at school. Schools may maintain separate restroom facilities for male and female students provided that they allow students to access them based on their gender identity and not exclusively based on student’s assigned birth sex. If the student and administrator feel that there is a reason or desire for increased privacy and safety, regardless of the underlying purpose or cause, any student may be provided access to a reasonable alternative restroom such as a single stall “unisex” restroom or the health office restroom. In all instances, decisions about alternative restroom use should be governed by the school administrator’s judgment concerning the safety and best interests of the student in question. Under no circumstances may a student be required to use a restroom facility that is inconsistent with that student’s asserted gender identity. [My emphases added]

This applies to all bathroom use for trans-people. It is important that we get the word out there about the law to prevent misunderstandings. At the training workshop last October a lawyer for a hospital asked the question, “What if a hospital patient complained about a transgender patient in the room? We offered to move the transgender patient to a private room at no additional cost.” The CHRO lawyer said that was wrong. They asked the hospital lawyer what the hospital would have done if the patient complained about a roommate’s race or religion, the lawyer for the hospital said that they would move the patient who complained and the CHRO lawyers said that this was no different than that case. It is important that the public be educated about the law for two reasons, the first is so that the public does not break the law or second, so we can pee in peace (get a job or an apartment or a loan or eat at a restaurant).