A city in Alabama has approved a new bathroom and changing room policy that will punish anyone not using the facility that matches their sex as assigned at birth with up to six months jail time. Oxford city officials unanimously approved the new ordinance which reads “‘Citizens have a right to quite [sic] solicitude [sic] and to be secure from embarrassment and unwanted intrusion into their privacy while utilizing multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facilities by members of the opposite biological sex. “Single sex public facilities are places of increased venerability [sic] and present the potential for crimes against individuals utilizing those facilities which may include, but not limited to, voyeurism, exhibitionism, molestation, and assault and battery.” Unless a trans person has undergone gender reassignment surgery and has gone through the process of changing their birth certificate, they will be required by law to use the bathroom that matches the sex assigned to them at birth. Police Chief Bill Partridge says "If somebody sees something that makes them uncomfortable, they would call the police. ”If the person is still there when the officer arrives, the officer has to witness the crime. Then we take down the person's information, and the person who reported it has to sign out a warrant." Being in violation of the ordinance will land someone with either a $500 fine or six months jail time.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 28th April 2016 - 2:24pm