Peeing In Peace

The Rolling Stone magazine has an interesting take on why the conservatives are so tied up with bathrooms.

Why Conservatives Increasingly Care Where You Pee
There's alarming overlap between states where bathroom access is being debated and those with contested Congressional seats
By S.E. Smith
March 8, 2016

With trans visibility growing year by year, so too are bathroom bills. Republicans aiming to capture or retain Congressional seats in this year's election are particularly focused on promoting such bills in their home states. These lawmakers, known for campaigning on "values" platforms, are appealing to a deeply conservative base, and they're set to do real damage to the trans community. (It should be noted that Gov. Daugaard didn't veto the South Dakota bill out of concern for transgender rights — he was worried the bill might expose the state to litigation.)
[…]
There's a reason bathroom bills are exploding right now. It's not just about trans visibility and a growing sense of transphobia in conservative communities as they're forced to come to grips with the existence of the trans community. It's also closely associated with the 2016 presidential election, in which Republicans want to maintain their stranglehold on Congress. For them, opposing trans rights dovetails neatly with the interests of the right, allowing candidates to come out swinging against civil rights to appeal to conservative voters. Moreover, reintroducing constant fear brings voters out for downticket races, as right-leaning voters will turn out in force to prevent state houses from passing inclusive legislation and they'll also vote for Republican Congress members.

There's alarming overlap between states where bathroom access is being debated and those with contested Congressional seats: Florida, Indiana and Nevada all face open seats, since Marco Rubio, Dan Coats and Harry Reid don't intend to seek reelection. Representatives with a history of introducing and supporting bathroom bills could enjoy an edge with conservatives who want to limit trans rights.

This is what I have been saying that they do it to energize their base and bring in donations. They don’t care about us; it all boils down to votes and money.

It's troubling that bathroom bills could be used in a naked ploy to dominate downticket races in this election, as it further demonstrates that American conservatives have perfected the art of striking fear into worried audiences. All it takes is the suggestion of danger to create a highly reactive response that could restrict trans rights even as the community makes its way into the daylight.

We are the low hanging fruit (no pun intended)

I remember when we tried to pass the gender identity and expression non-discrimination bill. the first time that the bill was voted on in the Senate was in 2007 the vote was 30 – 4 and when the bill passed in 2011 the vote was 20 – 16. Most of the senators who voted for the bill in 2007 were still in the Senate in 2011, so what changed? The bill became a campaign issue, that was what changed.