A city council in a Dallas suburb has rejected a proposal by its mayor to adopt a proposal to use birth certificates to determine what bathroom people use. The ordinance is similar to a law passed in North Carolina and was aimed to address the use of women’s restrooms by men.
Protesters opposing the ordinance were out in force prior to the start of the city council meeting. The group of less than fifty, carried posters inscribed with “TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS” and “#GENDER JUSTICE.” Someone also had an American flag with stripes made of rainbow colors.
The mayor of Rockwall presented the ordinance on Monday saying that it was necessary to protect women and little girls from sexual predators in women’s restrooms.
The Dallas Morning News reported that Mayor Jim Pruitt also mentioned the recent Target Corporation policy announcement that transgender persons are now allowed to use the restrooms in which they gender identify.
After hours of deliberation and listening to approximately thirty concerned citizens, the rest of the city council members did not agree with Mayor Pruitt’s proposal as written and it failed for lack of second to his motion.
The Dallas paper reported that four city council members initially liked the idea, and its goal to protect public safety, but said the intent was not captured as written in the proposal. Rockwall City Councilman David White was reported to have opposed the measure from the first read. Councilman John Hohenshelt had to leave the meeting early but reported to have been against the ordinance citing his “strong libertarian bent.”
The audio of the entire meeting is posted on the Rockwall City website.
The recent law in North Carolina has not been without its critics. Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Ringo Star, Cirque du Soleil, and other groups and celebrities, cancelled appearances over the “hateful” North Carolina law, as reported by Breitbart News.
North Carolina’s HB 2 became law in April but the LGBT community and gay lobby and others have called the law discriminatory. The law provides that people must use public restrooms designed for their biological sex. The law also prohibits cities in the state from passing contrary ordinances.
The first openly gay mayor in Houston, Annise Parker, presented her “bathroom” ordinance two years ago. The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, dubbed “HERO,” would have given transgender people the right to use the women’s restroom and given them other rights and protections. The fight against the ordinance lasted over a year and included a battle through the courts all the way to the Texas Supreme Court. The matter was extensively reported by Breitbart Texas. The ordinance was eventually submitted to voters and was soundly defeated by a margin of 69 to 31 percent.
President Obama has called the bathroom laws passed by North Carolina and Mississippi “wrong” and said they should be overturned, as reported by Breitbart News.
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2
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