Bathroom Birther: Lawmaker Wants People to Use Birth Certificate to Prove They're in the Right Bathroom

Republican Representative John Kavanagh apparently thinks people are incapable of selecting which bathroom they should do their business in.Kavanagh's proposing making it a crime to intentionally enter a public restroom if that restroom has a designated sex, and the person "is not legally classified on the person's birth certificate as...

By Matthew Hendley

March 19, 2013

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Republican Representative John Kavanagh apparently thinks people are incapable of selecting which bathroom they should do their business in.

Kavanagh's proposing making it a crime to intentionally enter a public restroom if that restroom has a designated sex, and the person "is not legally classified on the person's birth certificate as a member of that sex."

See also:
-Phoenix City Council Approves LGBT and Disability Anti-Discrimination Measure

Wide stance? Show me the birth certificate!

12 News' Brahm Resnik first discovered Kavanagh's strike-everything amendment to Senate Bill 1432, which proposes the following:

B. A PERSON COMMITS DISORDERLY CONDUCT IF THE PERSON INTENTIONALLY ENTERS A PUBLIC RESTROOM, BATHROOM, SHOWER, BATH, DRESSING ROOM OR LOCKER ROOM AND A SIGN INDICATES THAT THE ROOM IS FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF PERSONS OF ONE SEX AND THE PERSON IS NOT LEGALLY CLASSIFIED ON THE PERSON'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE AS A MEMBER OF THAT SEX.

C. SUBSECTION B OF THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO A PERSON WHO ENTERS A PUBLIC RESTROOM, BATHROOM, SHOWER, BATH, DRESSING ROOM OR LOCKER ROOM AND WHO IS OF A DIFFERENT SEX THAN THAT INDICATED ON THE SIGN IF THE PERSON IS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. ENTERING AS PART OF THE PERSON'S JOB RESPONSIBILITIES.
2. ENTERING TO GIVE AID OR ASSISTANCE TO ANOTHER PERSON.
3. A CHILD WHO NEEDS ASSISTANCE.
4. PHYSICALLY DISABLED.

D. Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 6 is a class 6 felony. Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 OR SUBSECTION B is a class 1 misdemeanor.

This is a pretty apparent response to the City of Phoenix's new anti-discrimination ordinance, which the homophobic lobbyists at the Center for Arizona Policy dubbed the "bathroom bill." The organization tried to convince its followers that this would give an excuse for men to "gain access" to little girls in bathrooms.

Now, Kavanagh -- who's no stranger to doing others' bidding -- is going "bathroom birther" to solve the imaginary problem.

The amendment will be heard in the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, and, surprise -- Kavanagh's the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

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