Eugene primed to revisit transgender issue

1/27/2005
The Associated Press
(OregonLive.com)

http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1106814528309050.xml&storylist=orlocal

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) %G—%@ A new mayor means Eugene will get another look at extending civil rights protections to transgendered people.

The issue arose in 2002 when the City Council was deciding whether to create a domestic partner registry for gay couples. Members of the city's Human Rights Commission tried to add "gender identity" to the list of city's protected classes, but then-Mayor Jim Torrey threatened to veto the domestic partner registry if transgender protections remained.

Councilors ultimately dropped the transgender language but approved the domestic partner registry.

With Torrey no longer in office, members of the rights commission have found an ally in new mayor Kitty Piercy, who has agreed to put the transgender topic on the council's May agenda.

"I, like the members of the Human Rights Commission, am interested in ensuring that all our citizens are treated equitably and justly," Piercy said. "I am, therefore, open to a discussion about adding gender identity to the list of protected classes."

Transgender describes a range of people with conflicts or questions about their gender. Those include people who are born male but think of themselves as female, or vice versa; people who are preparing for a sex change operation or have had a sex change. The city estimates that at least 100 transgendered people live in Eugene.

Extending the city's civil rights protections would give transgendered people a legal leg to stand on if they encounter discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

The proposal will face almost certain opposition from religious groups and those concerned about the bathroom issue.

The 2002 proposal would have required "reasonable accommodations" for transgendered people in buildings open to the public.

Some residents worried that the law would permit men who feel they are female to use women's restrooms or locker rooms, and thereby frighten or victimize women and children.

"How do you keep a man out of a women's restroom when he says that he is transgendered?" said Mike Jaskilka, pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Eugene.

"What do you do when he feels like it today, but not tomorrow? That kind of vagueness can be a problem."

Sara Rich, a family therapist who chairs the Human Rights Commission, said restroom use by transgendered people is an "invalid concern."

"National research numbers show that transgendered people do not victimize women and children," she said. "People say transgendered people are pedophiles, but statistics show that most pedophiles are white, heterosexual males."

The University of Oregon last fall changed its equal opportunity statement to include gender identity. It is trying to deal with restroom access issues by converting a dozen single-toilet restrooms %G—%@ previously reserved for either women or men %G—%@ for use by both sexes.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.