The Transgender Bathroom Debate

I’ve been mulling over this new transgender bathroom law. I’m not a bigot nor am I afraid of the LGBT community. I’m an advocate of gay-marriage believing all people should be treated fairly and equally. I just don’t think permitting anyone in any bathroom, locker room or shower, regardless of the sex they were born, benefits our children.

My fear is a pedophile or some other type of unsavory person will use this law to try to hurt the most vulnerable in our society. The predators won’t even have to work or try (they don’t even have to disguise themselves) to commit a crime.  For example, a man with a bad plan on his mind can walk into a restroom, locker room or shower and there is no one to stop him—he will have every right to be there—and he could hurt someone.

I do realize our transgender population is less than one percent and we have an obligation to protect and help the minority. But what of the bad situations that could arise, not at the hands of the transgender community, but from the bad seeds in our society?

Again, it is not my fear that a transgender is going to commit a crime. I truly don’t have a problem sharing a bathroom with them. I have probably been in a restroom at one time or another with someone LGBT. And that’s fine.

But is it really a myth that a sexual predator will take advantage of this new law? I would say right now, we don’t know for sure.

What is your opinion on this?

Cindy McCain Supports Gay Marriage

Senator John McCain is not a proponent of same-sex marriage and stated during the 2008 campaign that marriage should be between a man and a woman. He also doesn't believe that children should be adopted by gay parents even though he and his wife, Cindy, have experienced the joy of being adoptive parents.

Now, his daughter, Meghan, who was a registered Independent at 18 and voted for Kerry in 2004 and then switched to Republican when her father ran for President in 2008, is an advocate for gay rights. She did an ad campaign for No H8 last year for co-founder and photographer, Adam Bouska, and will be keynote speaker for Marriage Equality Week at George Washington University next month which has drawn criticism from some college Republicans.

I don’t think anyone has been caught off guard by Meghan’s stance. From her scandalous twitter pic, her post at The Daily Beast about sex to her gripe with Ann Coulter, Meghan is known for her candidness and has been referred to as a maverick regarding politics. But what about Cindy McCain? What’s her stance on gay marriage?

Well, she’s FOR it! While accompanying her daughter to a photo shoot to promote Meghan’s new book “Dirty Sexy Politics”, Cindy saw Meghan’s No H8 photo on Bouska’s wall and mentioned that SHE would like to support the campaign to show that party affiliation doesn’t matter because marriage equality is a human issue not a political one. Bouska couldn’t have been more surprised or pleased! He immediately retrieved a white t-shirt from a nearby rack, as Mrs. McCain was wearing a black turtle neck and the campaign calls for white t-shirts, and set to work on shooting the elder McCain right on the spot.

What about John? How does HE feel about his wife taking the opposite stance than he on gay marriage?

Senator McCain released a statement that reads:

“Senator McCain respects the views of members of his family. The Senator chaired the effort to successfully pass Arizona Proposition 102, the Marriage Protection Amendment, and his opposition to gay marriage remains the same. Senator McCain believes the sanctity of marriage is only defined as between one man and one woman.”

What does Meghan think of her mother’s support of gay marriage?

Meghan’s twitter account displays her and her mother’s photos and states, “I couldn’t be more proud of my mother for posing for the NOH8 campaign. I think more Republicans need to start taking a stand for equality.”


I will go on record and say that I’m proud of Mrs. McCain too. I don’t think this is a Democrat or Republican issue, either. It IS a human issue, as Cindy McCain said. It’s an issue of human beings being deprived of “the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. If gays are in love and it would make them happy to get married then they are being deprived of a right and that right is marriage. In my opinion, marriage isn’t a religious issue because one must first obtain a license from the state and then a ceremony is performed in a church or wherever, even by a JP in a restaurant. Now, I don’t believe a religious institution should be forced to perform any ceremony that goes against their beliefs but I think it’s totally unfair that gays should be denied the same rights as heterosexuals. We are created equal and if gays don’t have the same rights then that is discrimination. It’s cut and dried to me and no amount of bickering back and forth is going to change my mind…trust me, my husband has tried, my family has tried—I’m not budging unless someone can give me a really good reason and I’m fairly certain I’ve heard them all.



~~I want to add, as a side and personal note, that I had respect for Mrs. McCain before her support of No H8. I met her during a 2008 campaign rally at the old Pittsburgh airport. After the rally, Senator McCain, Cindy, Senator Lieberman, his wife, Betty, and Tom Ridge came off the stage to “greet” the audience. I wanted to “greet” Mrs. McCain but was about 12 people back from the stage so I had to “nudge” my way to the stage. During my “nudging”, Cindy noticed me. I guess that wasn’t difficult as I’m tall, especially with heels--about 6 ft, and my blonde hair practically glows. Anyway, we made eye contact and she would’ve passed me up had she not stopped her security men and WAITED for me. She held out her hand, which I took, looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Thank you so much for your support.” I held her hand for a few seconds and said, “Mrs. McCain it is such a pleasure to meet you.” Her eyes were soft and kind and her smile very welcoming as she said, “The pleasure is mine.” Then she gave my hand a slight squeeze. I will never forget that because I thought it was very kind of her to wait for me as she most definitely didn’t have to. She could’ve just moved along with the security men and ignored the fact that I was trying to get up there. After all there were dozens more hands to shake and people to thank. I thought she was a gracious woman and obviously I was correct. She’s also very pretty in person, by the way.