Dear Future President,

The Election is nearing and many issues still need to be addressed. Yes we have come very far in technological advances, and somewhat in the LBTQ+ rights, though I believe we can work even harder on this subject, especially in the transgender department. The crucial problem is the House Bill 2 which North Carolina has recently passed. This Law has forced people to go to the bathroom of their biological sex. Not only is this the most ignorant law to have ever been enforced, it permits discrimination against the transgender community and is very unconstitutional. This is why we must terminate the transgender bathroom laws!

Many people in North Carolina claim that the House Bill 2 doesn’t cause any discrimination as it was only made to keep men out of the women’s restroom. This is completely false and utterly idiotic. The new bathroom laws fabricates segregation, making it seem as if transgender people are a whole different species. To me, this seems as if history is repeating itself from when people of different races were separated. These laws also make kids who are transgender feel out of place as Obama states here, “They are vulnerable, and I think it’s part of our obligation as a society to make sure everybody is treated fairly, and our kids are all loved and protected, and that their dignity is affirmed,". This is basically saying that it is our job to make sure everyone should be treated equally and that this right should be secured. Another interesting fact is that most people assume that in the past things were worse than they are now with hate. Although that is true for most occasions in history, it is the opposite in this case. Being transgender was completely acceptable when the Native American tribes still populated most of America. They called masculine women and feminine men the “Two-Spirit” people. They were considered blessed and more spiritually gifted since they had both the spirits of men and females. These people tended to partner with someone of the same gender but with the opposite attributes and it was completely reasonable.

Ever heard of, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”? Not only are the transgender bathroom laws morally wrong, but they are completely and utterly violating these rights. Not being able to use the bathroom you identify with goes against everything that single phrase stands for. Also, Scott Skinner-Thompson shared that, “These bills would violate an individual’s constitutional right to informational privacy.” This is because, if the victim does not happen to have their birth certificate on hand at all times, which I doubt anyone does, they will have to use other means to identify the person’s gender, which I doubt anyone would be comfortable with. Not only this, but House Bill 2 also goes against basic human rights we have such as freedom from discrimination and the right to equality before the law. As I explained earlier, this law causes alienation but also by not being able to use the restroom without feeling uncomfortable, it is putting your equality, your rights second to the law.

Some may say that transgender people don’t exist, it’s just a mental disorder,or that we need the bathroom laws to protect women from the disgusting, vile men entering the restroom. First of all, transgender people do indeed exist. They feel uncomfortable in their own skin, unsure what’s wrong with themselves. But when they act on how they truly feel, they are free from society's restraints. Gender and our attitudes about our own gender are an integral part of our identity and all transgenders have identified as that since they were very young. Mental illness implies that there is a cure, but there are no reliable records of transgender people ever turning cisgender. Finally, “men” are not going into the women’s restroom they are women and should be addressed as such. Plus, this law is unintentionally affecting people that are not even transgender. For example, one youtube video shows a woman dressed in more masculine clothing standing in line inside a woman’s restroom only to be dragged out by a male police man claiming that she was a man because she wouldn’t prove otherwise. This also shows how this law not only causes prejudice against trans people but enforces gender stereotyping and sexism as well.

House Bill 2 is an unnecessary and discriminatory law pretending to be concerning the safety of women, when in fact it puts transgender women and all transgender people in danger by encouraging and enforcing bigotry that can physically and mentally harm these individuals. This law is unconstitutional because it works as a way to enforce sexism and discrimination. This is why we must end the transgender bathroom laws now!

Sincerely,

Cecilia Rose De Leon-Wilson

Bibliography:

http://easybib.com/key/3fe00d