California Gov. Brown signs transgender-student bill

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California Gov. Brown signs transgender-student bill

August 12, 2013

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a controversial bill into law Monday afternoon allowing the state’s transgender public school students to choose which bathrooms they use and whether they participate in boy or girl sports.

The law would cover the state’s 6.2 million elementary and high school kids in public schools.

Supporters say the law will help cut down on bullying against transgender students, The families of transgender students have been waging local battles with school districts around the country over what restrooms and locker rooms their children can use.

"Now, every transgender student in California will be able to get up in the morning knowing that when they go to school as their authentic self they will have the same fair chance at success as their classmates,” Masen Davis, Executive Director of Transgender Law Center said.

While California is the first state to pass a law of this magnitude, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Washington and Colorado have all adopted policies designed to protect transgendered pupils.

Not everyone is on board.

Opponents of the bill say allowing students of one gender to use facilities intended for the other could invade the other students' privacy.

Randy Thomasson, of http://savecalifornia.com , says the law would “damage” kids.

"This radical bill warps the gender expectations of children by forcing all California public schools to permit biological boys in girls restrooms, showers, clubs and on girls sports teams and biological girls in boys restrooms, showers, clubs and sports teams," Thomasson said. "This is insanity."

The California bill, which was backed by a coalition of organizations including Transgender Law Center, Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Gender Spectrum, Equality California, ACLU of California, National Center for Lesbian Rights and statewide teacher and parent organizations.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08 ... dent-bill/

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Many schools in Thailand already have a similar policy in place, but actually carry it a step further. Instead of "biological" boys being able to use a girls' restroom and vice-versa, they simply have installed a third restroom for transgender and lady boy students. That makes very good sense to me. In those schools, now nobody has to worry about feeling uncomfortable about who is using the restroom. Problem solved.

It also demonstrates that in some ways Thailand is far ahead of the USA when it comes to recognition of the existence of the "third sex." Even some of the paperwork Thais have to fill out no longer have a place to check off M or F. Instead, the question asked is equivalent to "What was your gender at birth?"