Michigan state Senator Tom Casperson (R) has introduced a bill similar to those in other states that would prohibit transgender girls and boys from using the girls and boys restrooms.
Senator Casperson says he's concerned about all children, but that is belied by his complete ignorance on gender identity.
The legislation, SB 993, is framed as providing “accommodations,” but it actually only provides restrictions. Like countless bills before it, it defines students according to their “biological sex,” the “physical condition of being male or female as determined by a person’s chromosomes and anatomy as identified at birth.” Under the bill, and only permits students to access facilities that match their “biological sex.”
“I’m concerned about all the kids, and everybody has the right to some type of privacy,” Casperson told MLive.
Casperson said something else to MLive which I find to be especially grotesque considering his supposed reverence for "privacy."
Casperson said the new legislation isn't about bathrooms, but the important issue to him is parental rights. The Board of Education guidance would have allowed students to change restroom use without parental notification.
"The fact that they would allow a child to say 'I don't want my mom and dad to know' that they're taking such a big leap in life... is unacceptable," Casperson said.
Senator Caspserson says he wants to protect children and their right to privacy, but he apparently believes vulnerable children should be forced to out themselves to their parents. He apparently believes parents should be given a chance to veto the gender identity of their children.
This is an ignorant, heinous viewpoint for a number of reasons. Not all children live in homes where coming out is even an option. Not all children live in safe homes. Forcing children to clearly out themselves at home in no way protects their right to privacy. Transgender children may expose themselves to abuse and violence if they ask for parental permission to use restrooms that correspond with their new identity.
Caspserson's bill, if it ever became law, would alienate transgender children and expose them to possible child abuse.
We don't force gay children to out themselves to their parents before they're allowed to participate in society or just use the restroom. This should be no different.