Stop whining about ‘joke’ and prove your point on transgender bathroom bill

Hey activists: it’s time to stop whining about what seems like a joke and use the latest transgender bathroom controversy to your benefit.

Volunteers across the state are aiming to collect enough signatures to put Initiative 1515 on the ballot in November. If passed, transgender individuals would not be able to use the bathroom or locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity.

To help gather signatures, Joseph Backholm, the director of the Family Policy institute of Washington, has asked volunteers to employ a controversial tactic: men should go into women’s bathrooms to collect signatures. He says this proves a point.

Related: Man caught undressing in front of girls at Green Lake locker room

In audio recordings delivered to the anti I-1515 group Gender Justice League, Blackholm can be heard telling volunteers about this strategy:

For the gentlemen, what I would encourage you to do, if you are so bold and to make the point, take your petition and stand outside the women’s restroom at the mall. If any of the women don’t want to sign it, just go ahead and follow them in [laughter from crowd]. Maybe this will be a better time to sign our little petition, and we can make the point that way.

Blackholm wouldn’t respond to questions for KIRO 7 but the comments seem to indicate he’s joking. Gender Justice League’s Danni Askini isn’t laughing, telling KIRO 7, “I take security and safety very seriously. I think most transgender people do, and I think most women take security and safety, especially in bathrooms seriously, and I think joking about it is incredibly irresponsible.”

No, telling a joke that you find inappropriate is not irresponsible. We might be a bit happier if we learned to take a joke.

But, I agree the tactic is inappropriate – and illegal. So why not use this to your advantage?

Activists have said that there aren’t widespread issues of men pretending to be transgender to use women’s locker rooms and bathrooms. They say there are already laws on the books covering this crime.

While there’s no doubt that some people do, in fact, sneak into these spaces with nefarious purposes, activists are right to say it’s not a widespread problem and laws are in place to handle this.

So why not make that point by encouraging people to call the police if a signature gatherer enters a bathroom or locker room they don’t belong?

You would be making the most powerful point that there are laws in place to protect people from those who might abuse the law. You would quickly and effectively counter I-1515’s main concern.

So rather than complaining about what may or may not be a joke, take the opportunity to show the very people who complain about the “loophole” that it doesn’t exist and the law will be enforced against people taking advantage of transgender access to locker rooms and bathrooms. You’re being handed an easy win.

Join AM 770 KTTH for their next Freedom Series: Transgender Restroom Rights: Values, Safety, and the Law on June 29th in Tacoma. Jason Rantz moderates the debate between talk show hosts Michael Medved & Todd Herman and transgender activist Mac McGregor and LGBTQ advocate Aleksa Manila. Tickets starts at just $15 and can be purchased here.

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