Elizabeth Galanti: Misplaced bathroom fears

Regarding the Feb. 23 news article “Charlotte council passes LGBT protections”: Those in opposition of the bathroom provisions passed by Charlotte’s City Council that allow transgender people to use the bathroom designated for the gender they identify with should be influenced not by fear, but by fact.

The claim that females using public restrooms are now in danger of lacks substantiation. I searched the Internet to find reports of rising assault rates following bathroom rights for transgender people and came up with no statistical evidence.

However, one could cite disturbing statistics on the rate of abuse of transgender people in bathrooms. To argue that predators will take advantage of these provisions and pretend to be transgender – an identity that often leads to abuse, judgment and a lack of equal rights – is to be uninformed.

Franklin Graham “urged Christians to come to Monday’s meeting and speak against the proposed ordinance.” This sweeping generalization about Christian beliefs regarding the rights and equality of transgender is unjustifiable.

There are Christians who support these provisions as offering equal rights and protection to transgender people and do not share the views of Graham in invalidating the identities of this community.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Elizabeth Galanti: Misplaced bathroom fears."