Write your representatives

 All that is necessary for the forces of evil to take root in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.--Edmund Burke

Many times I feel there is nothing I can do to combat the evils and wrongs I see in this world.  But one that has recently drawn significant media attention has me so concerned I have to do something....even if it is minimal and has no effect, for my children I have to try!  I am sending the letter below to every politician who supposedly represents me.  I invite anyone who feels the same to do so also.  You can even copy mine if it means you do it--but please note you are sending a letter someone else composed so they know it is coming from multiple people.  

You can find all your representatives quickly here.

Senator/Representative XXX,

First, I would like to thank you for your service to our State and Country.  This is a season of political upheaval around the Country, and I appreciate your willingness to serve in such a divided atmosphere.

Second, I would like to express my specific concern about an area of political division that has recently gained much media attention:  Gender neutral bathrooms.

In the past several years, the LGBT community and their supporters have gained an ever increasing amount of attention and acceptance among society.  They have sought legal protection through non-discrimination laws and demanded that society bend over backwards to make them comfortable.

In many cases, their requests have been reasonable, even agreeable.  They should be protected from physical harm, should not be denied safe places to live, nor fired from a position they are well qualified for.

However, it seems their progress in gaining social acceptance has now led them to make requests that not only DO NOT PROTECT THEM, but ENDANGER a very tender demographic of society: our children.

They have pushed for gender neutral bathrooms so they might feel more comfortable.  Some businesses have already implemented policies allowing this.  As evidenced by Target, and the media surrounding it with its new gender neutral policy, this is not a one sided issue.

Worse still, these changes are being forced on our schools.  It literally only takes seconds for Google to return horror story after horror story of children being sexually assaulted at school.               

According to the article “Sexual Harassment in Schools” by Nan Stein, PhD associated with the National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center  that can be accessed at this link http://bit.ly/1Sz0uWF , a study done by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) 83% of girls and 60% of boys surveyed reported experiencing sexual harassment in school.  Another similar study done in Connecticut reported that 92% of the girls and 57% of the boys reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual harassment in high school.  The AAUW data indicated that the majority of sexual harassment was instigated by a member of the opposite sex.  Here is a table from the article with the specific reports of instigators:

                Who the Harassers Are:                                            Girls                  Boys   

                A member of the opposite sex acting alone             81%                    57%

                A group of members of the opposite sex                 57%                    35%

                A mixed group of males and females                       11%                    13%

                A single member of the same sex                            10%                    25%

               A group of members of the same sex                        3%                    14%

The US News article “Sexual Harassment Frequent Among Middle School Students” from April 6, 2014 accessible at this link http://bit.ly/24iHUcN states that 21.4% of incidents happened in the classroom.  If 21% of incidents can happen right under the teacher’s nose, how can we not expect sexual harassment to increase when no one can question why a boy may follow a girl into the “girls” bathroom, or a girl follow a boy into the “boys” bathroom.

LGBT supporters argue that Transsexual individuals are more comfortable in the bathroom of the gender they identify with.  I don’t see how that can be possible when the statistics show they are far more likely to be sexually assaulted by a member of the opposite biological sex.  And now they want to walk right into a private situation where biological differences are most evident—and allow sexual predators the same privilege. 

In my view, implementing gender neutral bathrooms with the current architecture in most schools and businesses would only increase the sexual violence against straight and LGBT individuals. 

Instead, I believe places that serve the public should be given encouragement and even incentives to increase the availability of individual-use restrooms.  Many stores already offer these in the form of “Family” bathrooms.  These types of bathrooms should allow any individual to feel comfortable without compromising the safety of others.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.  I plead with you to make every effort you can to increase the safety of all people by maintaining the rights of businesses, governments, and individuals to have gender specific bathrooms.

Robyn Hathaway