Calls separate locker rooms for males and females “Just common sense”
LAUREL, MT—Today Jeff Laszloffy, President/CEO of the Montana Family Foundation, criticized an ACLU lawsuit trying to deny ballot access to the Montanans who support the Montana Locker Room Privacy Act (I-183).
He said, “High school girls shouldn’t be forced to shower in front of a boy, even if he does think he’s a girl. Boys shouldn’t have to change clothes in front of a girl, even if she thinks she’s a boy. It’s just common sense. It’s tragic that the ACLU wants to disenfranchise thousands of Montana voters.”
Laszloffy added that the Locker Room Privacy Act offers compassionate solutions like single stall changing facilities for individuals who may not feel comfortable in the locker room for their own sex.
Laszloffy pointed out that the ACLU’s lawsuit is premature, since the Montana Locker Room Privacy Act hasn’t even qualified for the ballot yet. “The ACLU knows it will pass by an overwhelming margin if the people of Montana are allowed to vote, so they’re acting in desperation to sue even before it’s on the ballot.”
He added that exaggerated claims about the economic impact of Locker Room Privacy are false. “A study about the economy of North Carolina, and what happened when they instituted locker room privacy, claims it cost that state $3.7 billion dollars. But that amount is over 12 years while North Carolina’s economy is nearly $500 billion dollars in one single year. Simple math shows that protecting privacy cost North Carolina less than one tenth of one percent per year.”
He went on, “Similarly, claims that protecting Locker Room Privacy would put university funding at risk are absolutely false. The Obama administration might have penalized schools that protect locker room privacy. But the Trump administration has said unequivocally that they will not.”
Laszloffy concluded, “The Montana Locker Room Privacy Act is about protecting privacy, safety, and dignity for all Montanans. Males and females use different locker rooms. This isn’t some new idea, it’s just common sense. The ACLU should permit the people of Montana to vote. That’s supposed to be how self-government works.”
Is this initiative worded in such a way that it doesn’t target specific people or groups of people? Perhaps there is a problem with the wording of the initiative, more than anything else. Perhaps it makes certain people feel singled out, as though they are the problem. A neutrally-worded initiative that addresses this as a human problem might be better accepted. Just a thought.
Personally, I never liked the open locker room concept in the high school I attended. I didn’t care WHO I was changing in front of – I didn’t want to change in front of anyone! Part of this was due to a temporary physical disability that was being addressed in my situation. My bathing strategies were different due to this disability – and one girl took it upon herself, obviously after watching me and invading my privacy, to tell the gym teacher she didn’t think I was getting “clean enough”. My situation had been worked out between the gym teacher and my parents beforehand – but this teenager thought it was her “duty” apparently, to give the gym teacher her opinion on things. It demeaned not only my privacy, but my dignity as well. And the gym teacher didn’t help by reminding me to “be sure to get clean”. How offensive and embarrassing that was to be told that in front of my peers!
I feel compassion for all who are struggling with different issues – including those who refer to themselves as LBGTQ. To me this is all a HUMAN issue, as we ALL have the right to our basic privacy and dignity. I was deprived of that right because of the way the locker rooms and bathrooms were constructed. That is really what I have an issue with. The other thing I have an issue with is that because some groups and individuals are more vocal than others, people like me tend to be FORGOTTEN. This whole issue shouldn’t be just about transgender versus straight. Or anybody versus anybody else. There are MANY issues young people are struggling with out there that are necessarily broadcast to everybody – whether by choice of the individual or some other circumstance! They deserve as much consideration as any other individual or group.
I totally back the MontanaFamily Foundation on this issue. Girls should not be forced to undress in front of boys who “identify” as girls, and boys should not have to undress in front of girls who “identify” as boys. Common sense should definitely be in play here.