8/22/16: Bill tearing down 'men,' 'women,' 'boys,' 'girls' restroom signs sent to Gov. Brown
SAVECALIFORNIA.COM NEWS RELEASE
August 22, 2016 -- For Immediate Release
Bill tearing down 'men,' 'women,' 'boys,' 'girls' restroom signs sent to Gov. Brown
"If familiar 'men' and 'women' restroom signs are torn down, people will ask 'who did this?'"
Sacramento, California -- A leading family values organization in California warns that "men" and "women" restroom door signs, and even "boys" and "girls" door signs, will be eliminated if a radical bill becomes law.
Today on the floor of the California State Assembly, 49 Democrats and 4 Republicans combined to give final approval to AB 1732, which replaces "men," "women," "boys" and "girls" signs on the doors of single-person restrooms at all private businesses -- including home businesses -- religious businesses, schools, church schools, and even churches.
Today's vote to approve Senate amendments means AB 1732 will next go to Governor Jerry Brown for his signature or veto.
"AB 1732 would tear down 'men' and 'women' signs and replace them with pro-transgender 'all gender' signs at single-occupancy restrooms," said Randy Thomasson, president of SaveCalifornia.com, which promotes moral virtues for the common good. "There's no exemption for home businesses or religious entities. This is a vast overreach that tramples average people's constitutional rights. And ironically, this bill incentivizes small businesses to go from two restrooms to one restroom."
"Governor Brown should veto this radical state takeover of the private sector's restroom policies," Thomasson said. "AB 1732 is so far reaching, it would place new mandates on all 'places of public accommodation' -- religious schools and colleges, home businesses, day care centers, senior centers, and everybody else who wants to keep restrooms safely separate between men and women, boys and girls."
SaveCalifornia.com analysis of AB 1732 "single-user restrooms"
What 2 key sentences mean + definition/application problems
(a) All single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or state or local government agency shall be identified as all-gender toilet facilities, facilities by signage that complies with Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, and designated for use by no more than one occupant at a time or for family or assisted use.
This means:
1. All the "men," "women," "boys," and "girls" signs and symbols currently on single-occupancy restrooms at applicable venues must be removed.
2. "All gender" signs and symbols (could be transgender symbols) must be posted instead.
3. Small businesses that wish to save time and money can go from having two restrooms (men and women) to only one restroom ("all gender").
4. Even home businesses come under the "any business establishment" phrase.
5. "Place of public accommodation" is undefined in the bill and by default means private entities of several types. Federal law, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, says the only places of public accommodation are private entities. Under AB 1732, which private entities are included and which are excluded? Small businesses, home businesses, religious businesses, schools, church schools, churches -- where in the bill does it say who is included and who is exempt? Besides the lack of definition of "public accommodation," there is no religious exemption in AB 1732.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "single-user toilet facility" means a toilet facility with no more than one water closet and one urinal with a locking mechanism controlled by the user.
This could mean:
1. For businesses that must have restrooms -- such as food service or gas stations -- under this definition, must they now pay to install men's urinals in current women's restrooms? Why or why not, since "single-user toilet facility" is officially defined as "a toilet facility with no more than one water closet and one urinal."
2. For home businesses, must they now pay to install a men's urinal in addition to paying for and posting an "all gender" restroom sign? Again, AB 1732 defines "single-user toilet facility" as "a toilet facility with no more than one water closet and one urinal."
"AB 1732 would result in unforeseen, negative consequences," Thomasson concluded. "What woman wants a man poking his head in the restroom door that somehow didn't shut or lock? How many women want to use a urine-stained toilet seat? What conflicts will erupt among strangers from mixing or eliminating gender differences at restrooms? What lawsuits will occur? If familiar 'men' and 'women' restroom signs are torn down, people will ask 'who did this?'"
Campaign for Children and Families
P.O. Box 511, Sacramento, CA 95812
(916) 265-5650
-- end --
SaveCalifornia.com is a leading West Coast nonprofit, nonpartisan organization standing strong for moral virtues for the common good. We represent children and families in the areas of marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, financial freedom, and back-to-basics education.
