“In general (there are exceptions) the New York State building code requires you to label one Male and one female.”
This was in Indiana, fwiw. (Both rooms labeled identically with both the make and female symbol.). I haven’t noticed that labeling here in Illinois but I can’t say I’ve really looked.
From The US Commission of Civil Right s Today :
These laws and policies can be found to violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. These laws can also be found to violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which forbids discrimination against transgender students in any school that receives federal funding.
The Commission recently approved a report, which will be released shortly, on the issue of religious liberty. In our findings and recommendations the Commission makes clear:
• Civil rights protections ensuring nondiscrimination, as embodied in the Constitution, laws, and policies, are of preeminent importance in American jurisprudence.
• Religious exemptions to the protections of civil rights based upon classifications such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity, when they are permissible, significantly infringe upon these civil rights.
• Overly broad religious exemptions unduly burden nondiscrimination laws and policies. Federal and state courts, lawmakers, and policy-makers at every level must tailor
religious exceptions to civil liberties and civil rights protections as narrowly as applicable law requires.
Commission Chairman Martin R. Castro stated on behalf of the Commission, “Religious freedom is an important foundation of our nation. However, in the past, ‘religious liberty’ has been used to block racial integration and anti-discrimination laws. Those past efforts failed and this new attempt to revive an old evasive tactic should be rejected as well. The North Carolina and Mississippi laws, and similar legislation proposed in other states, perverts the meaning of religious liberty and perpetuates homophobia, transphobia, marginalizes the transgender and gay community and has no place in our society. #####
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising the President and Congress on civil rights matters and issuing a federal civil rights enforcement report. For information about Commission’s reports and meetings, visit http://www.usccr.gov.
http://www.usccr.gov/press/2016/PR_Statement_LGBTDiscrimination.pdf
For some reason It didn’t copy on my computer the full report …which condemns BOTH CAKE AND BATHROOMS LAWS DISCRIMINATING AGAINST LGBT
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Statement Condemning Recent State Laws and Pending Proposals Targeting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community
The United States Commission on Civil Rights strongly condemns recent state laws passed, and proposals being considered, under the guise of so-called “religious liberty” which target members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT”) community for discrimination.
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory recently signed into law H.B. 2, legislation blocking local governments from passing anti-discrimination rules that grant protections to gay and transgender persons. The law also repeals existing municipal anti-discrimination laws which protected LGBT people from bias in housing and employment. Critically, the new legislation also forces transgender people to utilize public bathrooms and changing facilities based on the sex issued on their birth certificates, and not according to their gender identities. This jeopardizes not only the dignity, but also the actual physical safety, of transgender people whose appearances may not match societal expectations of the sex specified on their identification documents.
In Mississippi, Governor Phil Bryant recently signed HB 1523 into law. The new statute is far- reaching and allows people with “religious objections” to deny wedding services to same-sex couples. It also clears the way for employers to cite religion in determining workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom access. The physical safety concerns for transgender people are the same as in North Carolina.
The laws enacted in North Carolina and Mississippi are not isolated, but are part of a larger, alarming trend to limit the civil rights of a class of people using religious beliefs as the excuse. Similar laws were passed by the legislatures in Georgia and Virginia, but those were vetoed after significant public pressure. The Tennessee legislature just passed a bill which, if signed by Governor Bill Haslam, will permit mental health professionals to deny counseling services to LGBT people based upon “sincerely held religious beliefs.” Kansas is considering a non- legislative, administrative policy change which would make it more difficult for transgender people to change the sex listed on their birth certificates.
These laws and policies can be found to violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. These laws can also be found to violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which forbids discrimination against transgender students in any school that receives federal funding.
The Commission recently approved a report, which will be released shortly, on the issue of religious liberty. In our findings and recommendations the Commission makes clear:
• Civil rights protections ensuring nondiscrimination, as embodied in the Constitution, laws, and policies, are of preeminent importance in American jurisprudence.
• Religious exemptions to the protections of civil rights based upon classifications such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity, when they are permissible, significantly infringe upon these civil rights.
• Overly broad religious exemptions unduly burden nondiscrimination laws and policies. Federal and state courts, lawmakers, and policy-makers at every level must tailor
religious exceptions to civil liberties and civil rights protections as narrowly as applicable law requires.
Commission Chairman Martin R. Castro stated on behalf of the Commission, “Religious freedom is an important foundation of our nation. However, in the past, ‘religious liberty’ has been used to block racial integration and anti-discrimination laws. Those past efforts failed and this new attempt to revive an old evasive tactic should be rejected as well. The North Carolina and Mississippi laws, and similar legislation proposed in other states, perverts the meaning of religious liberty and perpetuates homophobia, transphobia, marginalizes the transgender and gay community and has no place in our society. #####
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising the President and Congress on civil rights matters and issuing a federal civil rights enforcement report. For information about Commission’s reports and meetings, visit http://www.usccr.gov.
Re: high school changing. Most of my classmates learned how to change clothes without being anywhere near naked. We slipped shirts under our other ones and changed our pants very quickly. Some of us even went into the few stalls to change. That’s what I did after getting comments asking if I was anorexic. (I was pretty underweight in high school.)
Now as an adult, I don’t remember the last time I saw a naked woman in a locker room. I go to area pools and really the only people I see naked are young children being changed into their suits by their parents.
I, and most other women it from my experience, change in stalls. I do it because I have scars all over my stomach that people tend to stare at and it bothers me.
I’m not sure what is going on in some people’s communities that people walk around nude. I have no problem with men or women been nude- you do you, boo boo is my philosophy- it’s just not something I’ve ever noticed.
But, as I have believed from the beginning, this is a “solution” without a problem. The very last thing a trans person wants to do is for people to find out that their “anatomical” sex is different from their presented gender.
"
But, as I have believed from the beginning, this is a “solution” without a problem. The very last thing a trans person wants to do is for people to find out that their “anatomical” sex is different from their presented gender."
this!
The additional costs for proper private bathroom accommodations will become prohibitive. Our very small town has been trying to build a theater for 4 years. The never ending changes to ADA have increased the costs exponentially. A whole new set of lawsuits regarding the appropriate bathroom/locker room/shower facilities will be created. One good lawsuit will set down the gym, or theater, or coffee shop or other small business which will not be able to pay for the newly mandated changes.
We, as a country and as a society, have a strange obsession with nudity. OMG…a wardrobe failure during Super Bowl, a nipple was exposed, it’s the end of the world as we know it. If we were simply comfortable with some public nudity - no, not the kind one sees in the Castro - but in saunas, locker rooms, showers - those places where one would NEED to be nude to accomplish the task at hand - maybe the hysteria surrounding this issue would drop. Gender mixed saunas (yes with kids) are the norm in Europe.
As for the cake issue…hey…buy a tube of frosting and write on the thing yourself. Get those cute little pre-made letters from the decorating shop, be campy. Problem solved! But not nearly as flashy and headline grabbing. And hey, with any luck you can shut down the those hateful, nasty small family businesses.
Well, let’s say it the way it is - people want all sorts of things for themselves, but want others to pay for it. We are turning into a handout society. Moreover, if people do not get the handout, they have no concern the damage they do to others.
But, we are not Europe (Thank God). We have our own values and morals etc. If Europe wants to have that as a norm, it really has no bearing on us as Americans. They can keep their free college, 20% unemployment and social welfare nanny states as well.
All in all, I do agree with your post.
Of course. Straight couples: come on in and get a beautiful, professionally done cake. Gay couples: Meh, do it yourself. How silly that anyone would have a problem with that.
Lol. Thanks for confirming something I said earlier today, that 30 years on, some still can’t accept the idea that disabled people are entitled to access. What’s the DIY remedy for them?
Yes, LaMas your right. Having to reconfigure an entire parking lot that was ADA compliant 18 months ago when the plans were approved but is no longer compliant because …well…because… is perfectly acceptable. Having to rip out entire ramps because an ADA lawyer noticed they were 1/4 inch out of compliance is perfectly acceptable. I get it…no access for anyone. Good plan.
Ah, the good feeling of righteousness when extremes get to scream.
So you believe it’s OK that some places are inaccessible to disabled people?
Very interesting how you have to make up something that no one has said or even implied. Definitely living in your own world.
What the post says is that the ADA raises costs exponentially, which is very true. I know several community pools that had to close down because they could not afford the $90K ramp that was mandated. I even donated a couple ramps to keep a couple open. Specifically, it was not because no one could not accept that disabled people should be able to use the pool that they closed down; the issue was there was no one to pay for the darn thing and to pay for the yearly maintenance as well.
And even crazier, one of the pools had no disabled persons in their complex at all, yet the pool had to close because they could not afford the ramp. That is absolutely ludricous and government stupid. 300+ people lose their community pool because they could not afford to accommodate a device that no one in the community would even use. Only an idiot would think that makes the community better off. No, it made the community worse off.
The same goes for private businesses as well - someone has to pay for the things and if there is no additional money there to pay for the construction, then the only recourse is to shut down, tis taking what the business provides away from other people. You completely made it up, and it is disingenuous to say that the reason was the owners “can’t accept the idea that disabled people are entitled to access,” as that is flat-out a maligning statement about people you do not even know.
This happened Yesterday (Tuesday). Federal Court Rules In Favor of Virginia Transgender Teen:
I have to think this may help over throw the NC law.
Gov of NC already has to call session to examine how that ruling impacts his law…
http://wncn.com/2016/04/19/court-overturns-virginia-schools-transgender-bathroom-rule/
Just go to the next bakery and they will make you a cake.
For your special "corner case’ when the next bakery is 100 miles away then you will have to do writing yourself on a beautiful, professionally done cake.
But you really do not care about the cake - you want to make a scene.
20+ years ago Mayor Giuliani tried to introduce French automatic toilets to NYC. This idea got killed because disabled people could not use them so 8 millions people continue living without public toilets. Everyone won!
ADA ramp compliance codes are straightforward. Wouldn’t the better thing be simply to build them within code?
Also, just because a complex doesn’t have a disabled person present today doesn’t mean there won’t be one tomorrow, or one who wants to move in, or one who is someone’s guest.
The ADA has helped millions of people. I don’t understand the logic of using a few extreme cases in order to try to demonstrate that it is merely a “handout” to some. It is no more a handout than the government providing airports so we can fly, or highways so that we can drive.
@dietz199 Your statement “As for the cake issue…hey…buy a tube of frosting and write on the thing yourself. Get those cute little pre-made letters from the decorating shop, be campy. Problem solved! But not nearly as flashy and headline grabbing. And hey, with any luck you can shut down the those hateful, nasty small family businesses.”
HAS nothing to do with the facts… the bakeries at hand (that have been sued) are refusing
to sell ANY wedding cakes to lgbt (with or without writing) bc they don’t believe in the “celebratory message” a cake sends to same sex weddings… The courts ruled that “We conclude that the act of designing and selling a wedding cake to all customers free of discrimination does not convey a celebratory message about same-sex weddings likely to be understood by those who view it,”
The court ruled that a bakery constitutes a public accommodation, which bars it from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA).
EVERY SINGLE COURT HAS FOUND THAT REFUSING TO SELL TO LGBT WEDDINGS IS AN ACT OF DISCRIMINATION… not one has ruled otherwise
So please do not minimize the discrimination that is being waged on the lgbt population. Parents of lgbt kids can’t even send our kids to colleges in certain states without fear for their safety…
The reason I feel so passionate about this is bc my lgbt son has been beaten up, bullied and discriminated against in real life and it still keeps happening no end in sight…this isn’t a game or an opinion. He is 18 years old. No one should have to go through what he has experienced already…
LGBT are victims of hate crimes, transgender individuals are being murdered in cold blood … and states are trying to enact laws over things that haven’t ever happened to encourage more hate and anathema towards them… this isn’t crying over spilled milk.
The costs of the ADA are huge. I’ve been traveling recently. All the hotels, motels now have those lifts at the side of the pool. No one is ever using them and they create a tripping hazard.
^and your point is???
They don’t create a tripping hazard for someone who can’t walk.
The intent of the transgender person is irrelevant; it is the effect that matters, and that is what so many here seem not to get. And, more importantly, the effect is from differing beliefs, not hate of the person.
Does anyone really wonder how women would react if a facility in the name of art (art is good thing and the total intent is education about art) put up a full nude sculpture of an anatomical male in the female locker room? How many single women would stand for that? I bet none, as it would be called misogyny or something to that effect.
Additionally, how many moms would stand for that sculpture being displayed given that their little girls use that locker to change and to shower? I bet none there as well.
And how many males would stand for that sculpture being displayed given the fact their little girls use said locker room to change and to shower? I bet more than none, as it would really piss them off and some Dads would have the anger of several Dads combined.
Furthermore, guess what? The intent of the facility would be irrelevant re the reaction and its effect on people because it does not belong there - it belongs in an art museum or a private home. In short, the sculpture would be taken down faster than it was put up there.
Therefore, if a nude sculpture would have that effect, why should a live nude transgender with the same body parts not get it that that is the effect on others of the opposite sex, regardless of his (the transgender’s) intent?
The intent of the transgender is irrelevant, for like the sculpture, it is the effect on people that is truly relevant. And this effect comes not out of hate, but out of a different belief that nude adult body parts of the opposite sex should not be displayed to young kids if their parents do not approve or to other adult people who choose not to be exposed to the opposite sex nude, especially nude strangers.
Too many on this thread seem not capable of separating beliefs and people. Because I hold a different belief and moral system and stand by those does not mean I hate another person who holds a different belief. Very easy to understand, but sure seems difficult for others to grasp for some reason.