As if 665 anti-trans bills in legislative bodies across America wasn’t enough, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) decided to add insult to trans Americans’ injury with a new attack on trans rights.
Johnson announced that trans women are not allowed in women’s bathrooms in the Capitol, according to a recent policy. “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” said Johnson in a statement, adding “women deserve women’s only spaces.” When asked about the decision in a followup interview, Johnson said his decision comes from his belief that “a man cannot become a woman.”
He made this announcement on Transgender Day of Remembrance, as if things couldn’t get any worse. George Behizy, a Trump supporter with a large following on X, expressed his admiration of Johnson’s statement, calling his words “savage.” In a followup post, he celebrated Johnson’s statement, along with a slew of other anti-trans legislative decisions, as a sign that “normalcy” was returning to public life.
Johnson’s decision comes on the heels of the election of Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly transgender woman to serve in Congress. It isn’t the first time that sitting members of Congress have shown opposition to McBride’ election. Days after McBride’s win, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a bill to bar transgender women from women’s facilities on Capitol Hill.
When asked about whether or not he considered McBride to be a man or a woman, Johnson refused to answer the question. He claimed that he and his colleagues “treat all persons with dignity and respect,” evidently by blocking them from using the bathroom. Real nice, Mike. Jon Root, a Christian YouTuber, said that Johnson’s answer didn’t go far enough. “As a Christian, you failed here” said Root in a post on X. “God made us male or female.” Apparently God made you a bigot, Jon.
Is Johnson allowed to ban whoever he wants from Capitol Hill bathrooms? Bafflingly, the answer appears to be yes. As House Speaker, Johnson is allowed “general control” of the facilities in congressional chambers. I don’t think that telling people where they are and aren’t allowed to do their business is the kind of decision that Thomas Jefferson thought the House Speaker needed “general control” over when he wrote The Manuel of Parlimentary Practice, but here we are.
Sadly, bathroom bans are all par for the conservative political course. A Republican sponsored Ohio bill that would ban trans students from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity is slated to reach the desk of state governor Mike DeWine. Similar bans have been signed into law in Arkansas, Iowa, Alabama, and Utah along with numerous other states across the nation. While the Biden administration has issued a federal rule prohibiting bathroom bans, this legislation is currently being challenged. Considering that Trump has pledged to roll back protections for trans Americans, the ruling is unlikely to remain in effect. The upcoming administration will be savage indeed, in the negative sense of the word.
Published: Nov 21, 2024 06:43 am