SPRINGFIELD – Parents of D211 who want their children protected from mixing sexes in school bathrooms, dressing rooms and showers are calling for help in opposing a Senate resolution that condemns two states for outlawing mixed gender bathrooms.
Two Chicago area senators – Democrat Senators Emil Jones III and Heather Steans – have filed a resolution condemning North Carolina and Mississippi for passing laws that call for biological sex to determine which public bathrooms a person should use.
"Please take one minute to fill out an online witness slip to OPPOSE a horrible Senate Resolution that misrepresents the truth," the D211 Parents for Privacy's Facebook page says, and provides a link to the State Government and Veterans Affairs Committee. The resolution was assigned to the committee on May 3rd.
Senators Jones and Steans want Governor Rauner to prohibit all non-essential state travel to North Carolina or Mississippi until the states repeal those laws.
SR 1752's synopsis says the resolution
Affirms our support for protecting and advancing the constitutional rights and equitable treatment of all and our opposition to discrimination, prejudice, homophobia, and transphobia. Strongly urges the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act" and for the Mississippi Legislature to repeal the "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act" at the earliest opportunity. Encourages all businesses providing public accommodations in North Carolina and Mississippi to demonstrate their support for the dignity of all people by openly welcoming LGBT people to their places of business and by providing gender non-specific bathroom facilities for their customers and employees wherever practicable. Urges the Governor to prohibit all non-essential State travel to North Carolina and Mississippi until those states take the proper measures to repeal these laws.
The parents make clear their position:
Any access, even so-called "restricted access" with the condition of using a stall within locker rooms, still does not protect the basic privacy rights of minor girls in the locker room. The female students are undressing/dressing while someone of the opposite sex is walking past on the way to or from the privacy stalls. Our daughters' basic right to privacy is clearly being violated. This is already happening.
Allowing students to use opposite-sex restrooms and locker rooms seriously endangers students’ privacy and safety, undermines parental authority, and violates other students’ free exercise rights. The dangers are so clear-cut that a school district allowing such activity would clearly expose itself to real legal liability.
D211 Parents for Privacy support the bathroom policy suggested by the Alliance for Defense Fund, which sets aside private bathrooms and dressing rooms for students that have special privacy needs – but those facilities should not provide access to "uni-sex" dressing rooms or bathrooms.
