One of the loonier moments of the Arizona Legislature this year involved what reporter Brahm Resnik dubbed the “Show Me Your Papers Before You Pee Act,” a bill that Rep. John Kavanagh unveiled last week in what appeared to be yet another effort to lure the Daily Show into opening an Arizona bureau.
Kavanagh is now backing off on the idea of criminal penalties for men who enter the ladies’ room and women who enter the men’s room, according to political reporter Dennis Welch:
Facing mounting public criticism, Rep. John Kavanagh said he no longer wants to make it a crime for transgendered people to use the bathroom of the opposite sex.
Now, the Republican says he pushing a law that protects businesses from criminal prosecution and lawsuits if they deny transgendered people from entering the restroom in which they identify with.
This marks a big change from last week when Kavanagh introduced a bill that would have made it a Class 1 misdemeanor for a transgendered person to enter a public restroom that’s designated for the opposite sex.
“I have scrapped that idea; I was criticized because it involved criminalization and more laws and you know what, it’s right,” Kavanagh said Sunday on 3TV’s weekly talk show
This article appears in Mar 21-27, 2013.
Gees and to think I used to be a Republican. This guy gives me the creepers anyway. I think I would leave the bathroom if I saw him approaching.
Does he have nothing better to do??
John Kavanagh seems to have taken the mantle, previously worn by Russell Pearce, as the leader of the Republican conservative legions in the Arizona State legislature. Doesn’t Arizona ever produce a state leader who actually isn’t a joke?