President Obama to Issue Transgender Order This Week
As the old saying goes, “You will be made to care.”
According to a new report from BuzzFeed, the Obama Administration plans to unveil a new transgender mandate this week. This time, the executive order will impact all federal government facilities, and will require that bathroom, shower and dressing facilities must be accessible to employees and visitors based upon each person’s gender identity.
BuzzFeed News obtained a draft notice circulated to federal agencies outlining the rule, which will apply to roughly 9,200 properties operated by the General Services Administration.
In addition to the estimated 1 million federal civilian workers employed in those spaces, GSA spokesperson Ashley Nash-Hahn told BuzzFeed News, the rule will cover anyone who enters the facilities—from people visiting courthouses to those stopping in at Social Security offices.
“This includes all kinds of Americans,” Nash-Hahn said. “We wanted to make clear that a person can use facilities that match their gender identity, and we think that’s a good thing.”
A bulletin about the rule, which was circulated to agency heads on Aug. 8 by GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth, states, “Federal agencies occupying space under the jurisdiction, custody or control of GSA must allow individuals to use restroom facilities and related areas consistent with their gender identity.”
As the report notes, the new executive order would reinforce the Obama Administration’s transgender agenda to protect on the basis of “gender identity” under existing civil rights laws. Several government agencies have found that Title VII and Title IX sexual discrimination laws under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also apply to “transgender discrimination.”
