Unjust 'Your Trans Papers To Pee' SB 1432 Bill Filed In Arizona

When I spoke at the University of Arizona last year, I had a wonderful time visiting the state, chatting and having lunch with Antonia D'orsay, dinner with Dr. Susan Stryker, and interacting with the students, faculty and people in the Gallagher Theater audience during my speech.

When I was transiting the Phoenix and Tucson airports entering and leaving the state, eating lunch and dinner at the two restaurants I dined at in Tucson, and just before I took the stage for my speech in the Gallagher Theater I committed an act several times during that visit that would have gotten me arrested or harassed had an unjust bill that is now being proposed been in effect at that time.

I used the gender appropriate public restroom..

In the right wing (and trans exclusionary rad fem) zeal to grasp at anything to frack with the human rights of transpeople that they know they have no logic based reason or excuse to oppose, they have seized upon a tactic from the old white supremacist segregationist playbook and are trying to 'scurr' up opposition to transpeople by pimping the bathroom meme.

In the wake of Phoenix passing last month and preparing to implement a trans human rights law with public accommodations protections, the Forces of Intolerance in Arizona struck back. 

Republican John Kavanagh (surprise, surprise) penned SB 1432, an unjust bill that would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor offense punishable by six months in jail and a $2,500 fine to use a public toilet, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or changing room associated with a gender other than what is on one's birth certificate.

And y'all wanna know why I went off last year about the Massachusetts trans rights bill that doesn't have public accommodations language in it that they're trying to lobby to get added in now? 

Never mind the fact that two states, Idaho and Ohio will not let you change the gender markers period on your birth certificate, and others require gender reassignment surgery before they will do so.

While the unjust 'Your Trans Papers To Pee' bill was aimed at the transgender community, cisgender gay and straight folks who have ambiguous gender presentations would also find themselves caught up in this gender policing dragnet if SB 1432 passes the Republican-dominated Arizona legislature and gets Gov. Jan Brewer's (R) signature.

I'm concerned for my Arizona trans brothers and sisters about the increased harassment they will face from overzealous police officers and security guards, transphobic restroom patrons, passerbys and business owners if the unjust SB 1432 bill passes.

I'm also concerned about the trans people traveling into or through the state via its airports, by bus,  Amtrak trains, or driving Interstates 8, 10, 15, 17, 19 and 40 who would also be affected by this unjust bill and have to deal with that statewide cadre of  gender policing vigilantes.  These cisprivileged folks would have no problem reporting others to the po-po's who in their opinion don't measure up to their goalpost shifting standards of what a man or woman is supposed to look like.

I'm also concerned as a trans person of color that those unwanted interactions with POC transpeople and police could escalate to deadly levels.    

So Arizona TransGriot readers and allies, get busy helping our Arizona trans brothers and sisters defeat this unjust bill.   Here's some talking points on SB 1432 courtesy of my homegirl and proud Arizona resident Dyssonance to get you started.   

Let our people pee in peace.  And if they won't, time to consider having a few sit in's and pee in's protesting this unjust bill until they do.