Editor’s note: A previous version of this column incorrectly stated that children over 8 were not allowed to enter restrooms of the opposite sex with their parent or guardian and that elderly people with caregivers would be impacted by Senate Bill 244. According to SB244, children over 9 are not allowed to enter restrooms of the opposite sex with their parent or guardian. The bill also makes specific exceptions for caretakers helping disabled individuals in private facilities. The online version of this story has been updated with the correct information.
While it’s not written in the Constitution, I feel like having the right to pee in a bathroom where you feel comfortable should be a guarantee.
Unfortunately, Kansas lawmakers have decided to revoke this right for many people with their recent passing of Senate Bill 244, though the enforcement of the bill has been delayed until March 26.
The driver’s licenses of many transgender Kansans who previously changed the gender markers on them have been revoked and state entities are facing fines in the six figures if they don’t “clearly label” restrooms. One of the other policies SB244 would enact is the ban of multi-stall gender-neutral bathrooms. In the exact words of the bill, “Requiring the designation of multiple-occupancy private spaces in public buildings for use by only one sex.”
As of now, there aren’t any multi-stall gender-neutral restrooms in most state-owned buildings, but that doesn’t eliminate the need.
While this would allow single-stall bathrooms to be preserved, it’s still unnecessary and detrimental to everyone.
This is obviously an attack on transgender Kansans — it takes exactly ¼ of someone’s brain to draw this conclusion. The lawmakers of our state apparently hate to see a trans person literally just exist peacefully.
Lawmakers say it’s an attempt to “protect women” and is just about “making it really clear who can go in each restroom,” with the bitter taste of transphobia clinging to their words.
But this policy will affect everyone — not just transgender people.
Gender neutral bathrooms are useful to a large number of people, including but not limited to single parents who have a child of the opposite sex. There are, however, specific exceptions for caretakers helping disabled individuals in private facilities.
The bill also states children over 9 aren’t allowed to join their parents in a restroom of the opposite sex. This will force parents to leave their young children to hang out outside the bathroom by themselves. Because that’s definitely way safer than just accompanying their parents.
Imagine being a parent at Wichita State University and being forced to leave your 9-year-old to stand in the Rhatigan Student Center by themselves while you use the restroom. They would be surrounded by sights, smells and people they don’t know, and no 10-year-old is fully aware of their surroundings.
This would also limit elderly people’s caretakers from being able to help them in ways they desperately need.
And I’m not the only one who noticed these glaring oversights and hypocrisies.
Gov. Laura Kelly attempted to stop this bill in its tracks by vetoing it on Feb. 13, saying it was “poorly drafted.” Unfortunately, the Kansas Senate overturned Kelly’s veto, and the bill made its way back to the House, where it was passed and enacted into law.
Now, Kansans, transgender and cisgender alike, are living in a state full to the brim of hypocrisy. People are suffering in real time, but the people in our government are too small-minded to see that. I just know they are sitting in their homes, reclining with a drink, celebrating their “victory” as the citizens they swore to serve are scrambling to abide by their bigoted rules.
Multi-stall gender-neutral bathrooms are a must; there just aren’t enough single-stalls to be able to aid everyone. And when those same lawmakers are forced to leave their children outside of the restroom, they’ll understand too.
