Letter: Threat from transgender people using public restrooms rare to nonexistent

A couple of thoughts regarding the ongoing fuss over the use of public restrooms by transgender people.

First, much of the concern seems to be driven by the possibility of men using this as an opportunity to assault women. As far as I know, this occurrence is rare to nonexistent. On the other hand, significant numbers of violent attacks (including murder) of transgender people — particularly transgender women — have been reported. Real people, not hypothetical ones.

Second, I attended a transgender education night a couple of months ago here in the Tri-Cities, where several transgender people shared their stories.

The transgender men (born women) clearly appeared male — including beards. Forcing them to use the women’s facilities would simply make no sense, and would clearly cause an alarm there.

The transgender woman (with whom I had an opportunity to talk after the meeting) unmistakably appeared female. It was clear to me that, when she used a woman’s facility, she would not be a threat to anyone. On the other hand, if she were forced to use the men’s facility (due to being designated male at birth), she would definitely cause significant concern, and could likely be threatened herself.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Letter: Threat from transgender people using public restrooms rare to nonexistent."