Missouri state Representative Jeff Pogue's recent submission of HB1338 is an unnecessary and unwarranted affront to the transgender community. HB1388 states: "All public restrooms, other than single occupancy public restrooms, shall be designated as gender-divided restrooms." First of all, the bill does not address a pressing issue in the state of Missouri. The vast majority of public buildings with multiple restrooms are gender assigned. Legally mandating something that is already a societal norm is unnecessary. Additionally, implementing this bill would only further disenfranchise the already uncomfortable transgender community. Transgender rights activist Teagan Widmer, a trans woman, outlines the issue with gender assigned restrooms: "In a woman’s restroom I might get called a man and yelled at, but while using a men’s restroom I might get called a faggot or a tranny and then beaten up." The unfortunate truth is that many transgender people like Ms. Widmer already experience societal backlash for merely choosing to identify on the outside what they feel inside. The adoption of HB1388 would essentially be the Missouri State Legislature's way of saying "we don't like you, and we're going to do whatever we can to make your lives more miserable" to the entire transgender community. Please sign this petition as a show of support to not only the transgender community, but as a demonstration of basic human decency. Let our legislature know that social issues cannot be fixed through petty politics.
