Trans activist says supporters of I-1515 are just ‘fear-mongering’
Jun 1, 2016, 6:00 AM
The argument that certain laws allow men with ill-intent to march into women’s facilities without repercussion is nothing but a “fear-mongering tactic,” according to trans activist Danni Askini.
Askini, the director of the Gender Justice League, told KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross that Initiative 1515 and the fight for it is “very cynical and absolutely not true.”
“It’s about playing to people’s anxiety and fears about how the culture in general is changing,” she said.
Related: Opponent of transgender access says law violates women’s boundaries
I-1515 would do several things, including allowing businesses to discriminate against transgender people, Askini explained. It would allow businesses to force women — born as men, or visa versa — to use a restroom or locker room for the sex they were originally born. It would require schools to do something similar and open schools to lawsuits.
From Dave’s understanding, the people fighting for I-1515 say it gives “male perverts” the ability to go into the women’s restroom and violate the people using the facility.
Askini says she doesn’t know of any cases where transgender people are guilty of such a thing. There are strict laws against assault and harassment; and a sign on a door is probably not going to stop someone anyway.
“Unfortunately, we live in an unsafe world,” she told Dave. “But it does not mean transgender people should not have rights and protections ….”
If laws protecting transgender rights are changed in Washington, Dave wonders how anyone could enforce them. There are transgender people who look very much like the gender they identify with, so how would someone know unless they checked? Dave asked. Businesses and schools would have to scan people before they allowed them to access a facility.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
