In minutes, the House Committee on Appropriations is expected to may way for SB1432, that sneaky little amendment that's going to mandate what bathrooms we can used based on our birth certificate.

Here's the press released issued by Wingspan late yesterday, followed after the jump with a letter from James Scott P. Pignatella, who gave us his OK to share it on the Range.

Say “No” to Arizona Legislation SB1432:

The freedom to access public spaces without fear of persecution is a fundamental human right. If
approved, this legislation would deny safety to countless Arizonans and disproportionately
expose transgender and gender diverse people to harassment and discrimination.
—Casey Chimneystar Condit, Programs Manager, Wingspan

Tucson, AZ March 19, 2013, Wingspan, Southern Arizona’s LGBT Community Center, takes a
stand in opposition to SB1432, a State Bill that would mandate Arizonan’s to use only the public
facilities (including bathrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms) that match their birth
certificate.

What’s happened?
The Center for Arizona Policy has filed a use of public facilities (including restrooms, dressing
rooms and locker rooms) bill in the state legislature that is an assault on the transgender and
gender non-conforming population of this state.

There is a hearing on this bill in the AZ House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday,
March 20th at 2:00 p.m. Wingspan and the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance are asking that
our community come together and stand up against this legislation.

Why is this a problem?

This bill would make it a misdemeanor to use a restroom, locker room, or dressing room “that a
sign indicates that the room is for the exclusive use of persons of one sex and the person is not
legally classified on the person’s birth certificate as a member of that sex."

This bill is in conflict with the newly passed nondiscrimination law in Phoenix and the current
city wide law in Tucson. It would put transgender and gender non-conforming folks in danger of
harassment and violence regardless of the restroom they use.

It will disproportionately impact transgender people and gender non-conforming people, which is selective enforcement against a harmless, struggling community. And this isn’t just about transgendered folks, but about folks who are gender fluid/gender non-conforming who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and even our heterosexual allies! This is discrimination that will affect our entire community. The legislation indicates that “this act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety.” This legislation solves no problem. There are no documented incidents of anyone being harmed in this state from a transgender person using a public restroom.
It is unconstitutional per the Romer v. Evans decision to write a law that specifically attacks a minority.

What can we do?
• Attend the AZ Trans Alliance planning meeting in Phoenix tonight at One Voice Community
Center (1VCC) Tuesday, March 19, 2013, at 6:00 PM to discuss this crisis. 4442 N. 7th Ave.,
Phoenix, AZ.

• Attend the rally at the State Capitol at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, 2013. 1700 W.
Washington, Phoenix, Arizona, 85007

• Come to TransAction Day at the University of Arizona Mall tomorrow, Wednesday, March
20, 2013, between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM and show your support.

• Share this information with your friends and family and help get the word out in our
community.

• Please call and/or write to committee members today:
Chairman: John Kavanagh (R) [email protected] 602-926-5170
Vice-Chair: Justin Olson (R) [email protected] 602-926-5288
Lela Alston (D) [email protected] 602-926-5829
Rick Gray (R) [email protected] 602-926-5993
Michelle Ugenti (R) [email protected] 602-926-4480
Paul Boyer (R) [email protected] 602-926-4173
Adam Kwasman (R) [email protected] 602-926-5839
Chad Campbell (D) [email protected] 602-926-3026
Stefanie Mach (D) [email protected] 602-926-3398
Thomas Foreset (R) [email protected] 602-926-5168
Andrew Sherwood (D) [email protected] 602-926-3028

For more information, please contact:
Rae Strozzo
Southern Arizona Gender Alliance Program Coordinator, Wingspan
(520) 624-1779 x120, [email protected]
Casey Chimneystar Condit
Programs Manager
Wingspan, Southern Arizona’s LGBT Community Center
(520) 624-1779 x127, [email protected]

Members of the AZ House Committee:

I am writing you today in regards to SB1432.
I can not express how outraged I am over this bill's content.

With everything else that is going on in our state that deserves attention, from finances, keeping our government running, fixing roads and infrastructure, improving our schools and the education of our kids for the next generation, you see fit to waste time debating the rights of people to be able to use a public restroom. How incredibly short sighted!

It is appallingly obvious that the only targets in this bill are transgender people - or anyone else "perceived" to not meet someone else's gender presentation standards. This is a minority of a minority population in our state to begin with. I assume that the framers of this bill have vitriolically decided to target "dangerous transpeople" - despite the fact that there never has been a recorded problem of a transgender person assaulting anyone else; in fact, the opposite is usually true; transgender people, or those who don't conform to rigid gender stereotypes, are generally in the most danger from nothing more than the most basic human act of needing to relieve themselves. I'm sure the framers of this are also not thinking about folks who were born with any one of dozens of intersex syndromes, which are also recognized medical conditions, the same as gender identity disorder, who may not have a birth certificate that matches who they are now.

This is a minority population that, quite honestly, already struggles enough with day to day living without additional prejudice being put into Arizona law.

How are you planning on enforcing this law, should you pass it? Are you planning on starting a "gender police" state where people will have to present paperwork or be physically patted down to use a restroom? Let me assure you, that while you think might be able to "tell" that some people are "not the same gender as their birth certificate stated"; there are many more that you would never be able to tell just by looking at them. (Do you clock every one's racial background correctly 100% of the time too? OH, by the way, is enforcing prejudice over perceived gender much different than prejudice over perceived race?)

Please think about the waste of time and resources as well as the inherent prejudice that this bill is trying to put into Arizona law. Government intrusion into people's lives should be kept to a minimum, intrusion into someone's pants or skirts is going too far.

Regards,

James Scott P. Pignatella