Apparently, American Family Association head Tim Wildmon and spokesman Bryan Fischer don’t understand how bathrooms work. The two revealed their stunning ignorance in interviews yesterday with OneNewsNow, the news arm of the AFA, about a new bathroom regulation in Washington D.C.
As HRC explains, “the District of Columbia requires single-occupant restroom facilities in any public space (e.g., restaurants) to be gender neutral -- restrooms designed for use by one individual at a time may not have a specific gender designation with ‘male’ or ‘female’ signage or icons -- but does not require employers to have single-occupant restrooms instead of another type” (emphasis added).
But Wildmon and Fischer suggested that now women and men will be sharing the bathroom at the same time, forcing them to “approve sexual deviancy”:
The District of Columbia is enforcing a rule that favors the fraction of transgender people over the majority who know they are male or female.
A regulation on the books since 2006 is now being enforced, requiring removal of signage on single-stall public bathrooms designating it for men or women, in order to accommodate the transgendered community. Public places that don't comply could be charged with a civil infraction and fined $500.
OneNewsNow talked with Bryan Fischer, director of issues analysis for American Family Association. "Well, once again we see an example of how the homosexual lobby is seeking to coerce and compel people of faith and goodwill against their will to accept and recognize and approve sexual deviancy," he says.
In addition, AFA president Tim Wildmon feels that because businesses that don't meet the terms of the regulation face possible fines, it places "yet another strain on American business owners so the LGBTQ community can feel validated."
"Time after time," Wildmon continues, "special rules apply to the LBGTQ community; but the equality for everyone seems to end there, as it's obvious that no thought has been given to the male and female customers of these businesses who prefer the privacy of a restroom specific to their gender."
Fischer points out that mental health professionals still consider transgenderism a mental disorder, "so they need to be helped rather than their deviancy catered to," he argues.
"... We believe that public policy ought to be based on science; it ought to be based on biology," he explains. "And the truth is that every single human being is a male or a female from the moment of their conception until the moment they die – and that ought to be recognized in our public policy."
He says gender differences ought to be respected and privacy considered as well as the fact that many women will be offended, if not struck with fear, seeing a man enter their bathroom.
AFA also criticizes the DC Office of Human Rights for asking residents and visitors to tweet the business name or office if they come across a single-occupancy public restroom displaying a gender-specific sign.
