patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!
Local Voices
Insider Politics

Bevins Troubled By Part of Transgender Bill

Councilwoman Cathy Bevins, an Oliver Beach Democrat, said a controversial part of a proposed transgender anti-discrimination bill may need to be amended before the council takes a final vote Monday.

Bevins, a co-sponsor of the bill, said she supports the legislation but is concerned about language that many fear opens the door to allowing men, who now identify themselves as women, to use women's bathrooms.

"It's an issue for (constituents) so it's an issue for me," said Bevins.

On the whole, Bevins said she continues to support the bill.

"I'm against discrimination," said Bevins. "I don't think anyone should be discriminated against."

The council will discuss the anti-discrimination bill sponsored by Councilman Tom Quirk, a Catonsville Democrat, during a work session in Towson this afternoon.

Bevins joins Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat who also is co-sponsoring the bill, in expressing concerns about the public accommodations language.

Other council members said the language regarding public accommodations has drawn the most opposition.

Quirk, in previous interviews, said the law does not require businesses to allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.

There now appear to be enough members of the council to approve an amendment that would eliminate the language from the proposed law.

Quirk has declined to say if he would be open to amending out the language, which has been a sticking point in similar legislation at the state level.

George Krach

12:32 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Plain and simple then! Vote NO!!!

Reply

Bobbie Walton

5:02 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Oh, please! Do we have to check everyone to direct them to the appropriate public restroom or office restroom? Sick thinking, guys.

Reply

Buck Harmon

5:42 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I am against discrimination as well , I don't think anyone should be discriminated against .
I am also against elected officials creating bad law that will only cause more confusion and problems. This law, as it is being proposed is wrong... amending language as a pacifier is weak, and will surely fail in action. Hasn't enough time been wasted on this very poorly written proposal..? I expect better from our elected officials.
Focus on better treatment opportunities rather than really dumb law that won't make a bit of difference.
Come on Cathy, you can do better than this.... at the very least, please explain your position with clarity rather than political grey zone statements.
Those of us that oppose bad law are feeling a little discriminated against here.

Reply

Eunice

6:27 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Transgendered child molesters need to stay away from our children. It should be a crime to cross dress. Instead, these wackos want to enshrine sexual prevision into the law.

Reply

RARE MARYLAND INDEPENDENT

6:27 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The country is 14 Trillion Dollars in debt, we have a significant amount of people who are unemployed. A siginicant amount of people are unemployable because they have no skills, cannot speak properly and are lacking in social skills. We have a governor who is moving on to his next position and about to leave the state in the same mess he left Balttimore City. It is so bad, even his fellow Democrats see this.

AND THIS IS WHAT OUR LEADERS ARE WORKING ON!

USA 2014 = Greece 2012

Reply

moe green

8:27 pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Bevins has to ask Jim smith on how to vote.
Someplace I. The bill will be a raise for the prostitutes of the Baltimore county council

Reply

Michelle Gould

9:38 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2012

There is a problem for those who want to force one to use the gender assigned at birth as i see it. It will force transgender female to male people to use the women's restroom and the could have a day-old beard. Would this not traumatize Children? If they did not force the FtoM person to do that and force the MtoF to do so would that not be sexual discrimination?

Reply

humanist

10:46 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2012

trans people are not child molesters, perverts, or freaks. they are people who have taken the courageous stance on being the men or women that they feel they have been since birth, despite having private anatomy that classifies them otherwise. they are upstanding citizens and deserve respect and equal rights like everyone else. misogynists and homophobes have issue with men who "give up their male privilege to degrade themselves as women," or women who "want to be men to gain that privilege." there is nothing wrong with being a man or a woman inherently. what is wrong is judging someone because their anatomy is different than yours or than you want theirs to be, which is none of your business to begin with. it is not a form of mental illness, it is not a disability. it is a fact of life that some of us are men and some are women and that it doesn't always physically match up. i agree with the comment that says i don't think i want to see a trans man with a beard in the women's room, and i don't think men want to see trans women using the men's room, either. but that's what this amendment would ensure. the option the opponents of this bill are really fighting for is the total dehumanization of transgender people (i've even heard opponents recommend euthanasia), and that is not an option in out society. this bill needs to pass un-amended, so that women can use the women's room despite others not knowing whether they have a penis or not, which is no one else's business.

Reply

Roxane

8:24 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

If a cross dresser or a transgender enters a bathroom of his/her choice and molests a child, will the owner of the establishment be liable to a lawsuit? The lawyers are in line now.

Reply

Buck Harmon

8:54 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

When does a transgender officially become a transgender by law?

Reply
Comment_arrow

Buck Harmon

8:55 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Still waiting for some answers Cathy...

Leave a comment