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I read a rant by some last night about this, arguing about how this could be taken advantage of, what about the safety of our children, etc.

It upsets me so much to read those arguments. People looking to harm people are going to do it, and have been doing it regardless of this law. It seems like a shell of an argument to lightly cover bigotry to me.

I think the way this is heading is turning public bathroom into a bunch of single stall, "family style" bathroom. I'd imagine this type of arrangement will cost businesses a lot more, but it basically gets rid of any potential gender issue.

I read a woman's open letter to Target shaming them for their decision and arguing that this opens the door for perverts and serial killers everywhere. I think at the heart of it, she doesn't agree with the whole transgender issue, and the "concern" about perverts isn't the real issue.

I don't know the stats, but it's hard for me to imagine serial killers and child molesters everywhere rubbing their evils hands together and hatching plans to do horrible things in the Target bathroom under the guise of being transgender. And if you're that concerned, stick near your child. It's not like you have to spend hours of unsupervised time in there.

I worry about the legal protection from prosecution and also where the line stops. What about a teenage girl that wants to go into the boys restroom to see boys use the urinal?

@Mamaof2: wow, yes. Agreed!

@Mamaof2: Exactly.
I hate hate.

And to add I am more concerned about my DS going into the mens bathroom and being molested by a "regular" man!

The arguments against allowing transgender persons to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify are so old and stale to me. They sound indistinguishable from those against civil rights, miscegenation, and equal rights for LGB individuals. They've been disproven, and it's time to stop.

But those who have an issue with this can stop going to these businesses, that's perfectly within their rights. [And yay, less people in Target.] But they need to stop acting like it has anything to do with actual viable threats against their children or themselves.

I would guess that post transition transgendered have been using the bathroom they identify with and none of us have been any the wiser. If someone is pre-transition it will be clear to most people that the identify with female or male. In my IRL my sample size is 1 and the person I know who transition she started dressing more typically female. Her clothes, long hair, etc didn't make people say "Omg. a boy in our bathroom". (Note: I Know not everyone dressed stereotypically female\male. just my IRL example).
I'm just envisioning these scenarios: a typical teenage girl with typical female clothing or a "pervert" man with no outward signs of transitioning trying to go in the mens or womens bathrooms. 1. they would have to be pretty ballsy and 2. I'm sure the other customers will make comments.

Last point: I saw on fb that most boy children are preyed on by men. No one is stopped older men and young boys from sharing a bathroom. .

@travellingbee: But who is to stop that man from saying he felt like identifying as a "woman" on that day and he gets off scott free for whatever he wants to do.

@T.H.O.U.: Just what I said. He could've done that before anyway. He could've dressed up as a woman and gone into the women's room regardless. You are making it sound like this law says that he can just dress up as a man and walking in the women's room and every right to do so.

@travellingbee: hypothetically yes that's how it should work. But if that's the case you could then wind up questioning a trans woman just to make sure they identify as female.

I feel like a lot of the point is to make it so people don't have to prove which gender there are, which would make if difficult to stop anyone from using whichever bathroom they want.

Does Target have common dressing rooms? I've never actually used a dressing room there. Or the bathroom. My assumption is that they are the stall kinds.

@Mamaof2: that's perfect, totally sums it up.

@T.H.O.U.: I think the point people are making is that there's no policing of bathrooms right now, and if someone wanted to do that today, they probably could. So by legitimizing people who feel they are the opposite gender of what they present to be, we aren't really making anything more dangerous. We're just making it slightly more comfortable/ok for them.

@T.H.O.U.: But that just doesn't make sense! You are saying that some child molester is going to go into a restroom, not even bothering to dress up as a woman, so that he can molest someone in there. He is now able to do that because the law says that he can. Or rather that some stores policy say that he can. Because A child molester is so worried about breaking store policies that he wouldn't have done it before?

I said how I feel. I don't think that these arguments against it hold any weight.

@snowjewelz: So obviously I am not a transgender expert but I would imagine that true transgender people would use the bathroom they are dressed as, right??? I can see someone using that excuse but it shouldn't hold up.

Did Bruce Jenner use the womans restroom before he was Cait? I wouldn't think so

@snowjewelz: you wont EVER let them in a public bathroom alone?

I struggle with this as DS is 7.5 and yes I am starting to get looks when he comes in with me. HE isn't comfortable going into the mens bathroom alone yet so I haven't pushed him. But at some point do they HAVE to?