Businesses will now be forced to post signs announcing they serve transgender customers in Tennessee

[DonViejo]

Source: LGBTQ Nation


The Tennessee governor has signed the cruelest anti-trans law in the nation.

By Bil Browning Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) has signed one of the cruelest anti-trans laws in the nation, which will require businesses and public buildings to warn cisgender customers that they serve transgender people like any other customer.

It is the second bill restricting transgender public accommodations signed into law recently by the governor and the fourth specifically targeting transgender people.

The new Tennessee law requires any “building or facility open to the general public” that allows transgender people access to the bathroom to post a sign that reads: “This facility has a policy of allowing the use of restrooms by either biological sex, regardless of the designation on the restroom.”

“Gov. Lee’s decision to sign H.B. 1182 will cause real harm to transgender Tennesseans,” Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said in an emailed statement. “Denying transgender people the ability to access a bathroom consistent with their gender identity is degrading and dehumanizing — and can have real health and safety consequences. Gov. Lee and Tennessee lawmakers are determined to discriminate against the transgender community and roll back the clock on equality instead of focusing on real problems facing Tennesseans.”

Read more: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/05/businesses-will-now-forced-post-signs-announcing-serve-transgender-customers-tennessee

[JudyM]

1. I hope this backfires in a big, cultural-shift-toward-the-future way.

[Aristus]

18. In Tennessee?

I'm not holding my breath.

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Another Republican fueled stupid law.

Just how is this going to be enforced? How do businesses know who is transgendered?

[Jetheels]

49. I guess businesses will have to have their customers pull down their pants,

and cross check what they determine from that inspection with their birth certificate?

[Laffy Kat]

3. I am so glad I moved out of that backward state in my early twenties.

It's disgusting.

[Turbineguy]

4. What is it with this republican obsession

about sex?

[Pinback]

7. Republican morality: "The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."

- to paraphrase H.L. Mencken

[ananda]

19. aka "Puritanism"

...

[Probatim]

33. A bastardized version of Puritanism.

Having solved all other problems in the state, they'll be moving on to Unicorn Leash Laws.

[LastDemocratInSC]

13. Well, with respect to the Republicans who are Southern Baptists

they don't like anything about sex because it reminds them of dancing.

[JohnnyRingo]

26. We need a like button on comments

Could spawn a comment of the day post for the most votes.
You win today.

[GulfCoast66]

51. As an ex-southern baptist you got it all wrong!

It’s why Baptist don’t bang it out while standing. It might be confused with dancing!

But it’s all funny and super sad. The revenge of the sexually repressed.

[IronLionZion]

14. What are Republicans doing in restrooms?

Are they looking around inspecting the genitals of other people in there?

[mac56]

16. Pecker checkers

[3catwoman3]

27. Ahahahahahahahaha!

[Traildogbob]

37. Haaaaa

What we called corpsmen (medics) in the Navy. Especially after visiting foreign ports during 7 month cruises. Lots of peckers needing checked after liberty and alcohol.

[Maraya1969]

52. I guess they have to make it safe for the Larry Craig's out there.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

5. A sign like that could drive up business.

Especially with customers who have a brain and a heart.

[riversedge]

50. We can hope.

[Maraya1969]

54. I would seek out those businesses. And maybe that should be a motivating force

for progressives when they chose who they do business with.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

6. This seems like one of the least harsh actually ...

All a business has to do is say 'we don't monitor the bathrooms, ergo, we don't have a policy, ergo, we don't need any such sign'. What is the government going to do to them? How would they prove they 'have a policy' that requires said sign?

That's in the cases where they don't want to put up a sign proudly showing that they're inclusive, which is what I would certainly do if I owned the business, and suspect many will happily do so.

I mean these laws all suck, but the outright bans in school bathrooms is much crueler IMHO.

Some rich person should start up a program paying the moving bill and the first/last for people who need to move out of these horrid states.

[rickford66]

8. They should also post a sign that they also serve right wing bigots.

[Mr.Bill]

29. Just say Republicans.

[rickford66]

35. Well played

[oldsoftie]

41. Just cover the window with a ton of stupid signs!

"we serve Whites"
"We serve Protestants"
"We serve blacks"
Etc etc etc

[Lithos]

9. Whelp

On the plus side, I now know which businesses I will prefer next time I'm in Tennessee. Though to be honest, i will prefer to avoid Tennessee as a general rule given the obvious bigotry this state displays.

[vercetti2021]

10. Well that's another state I'll never go to

Kiss my trans ass you fucking piece of shit

[Initech]

11. Wow, this is some Nazi level shit here.

[Botany]

17. Yup!

[paleotn]

38. Letting out their inner fascist.

It must suck to live in a perpetual state of fear and hate. They're sick f'ers. All of them.

[mahina]

12. Who thinks up this kind of cruelty?

This and choose your execution in South Carolina- awful, shameful.

[IronLionZion]

15. Unless people view it as welcoming to transgender folks

In many liberal businesses, they'll have signs on single person restrooms like: "whatever, just wash your hands".

[NQAS]

20. Next

We serve Jews.

We serve Black people.

We serve gay people.

Or, the natural transition. . .

We do not serve Trans people.

We do not serve Black people.

We do not serve gay people.

Even with a major RW court, I don't see this one holding up.


Here's a question.

Do businesses ignore the requirement?

Or do businesses get together and, as much en masse as possible, including as many national/multinational companies with the guts to stand up and be counted, put up bold signs that they serve Trans people, and then keep that list going - all color, all sexual orientation, all nationalities, all religions, all political parties, all genders, short, tall, happy, sad, all Americans, etc., effectively making this vile law meaningless?

[keithbvadu2]

21. We serve transgenders, Catholics, Jews, Dennis Hastert, and Gym Jordan.

We serve transgenders, Catholics, Jews, Dennis Hastert, and Gym Jordan.

But we don't want the Irish - Blazing Saddles



(Equal opportunity - Dennis and Gym included to attract the right wingers' business)

[bucolic_frolic]

22. It will ID right wing businesses if anyone cares to stay away

[JohnnyRingo]

23. This isn't even my fight and I'm outraged.

So now "gay bar" will become the Gay Restaurant, the Gay Gym, and the Gay WalMart unless those businesses want to lose customers. Not putting up signs loses other customers. Their Chamber of Commerce, regardless how right wing it is, should stop this for putting businesses on the spot.

Petty fucking bullshit to intimidate someone "the state doesn't like".

The fact that the state can single anyone out beyond identifying them as a citizen, should be unconstitutional. Fucking hateful morons don't deserve to live with the rest of society.

[royable]

24. Most all of this crap could be done away with if the US treated bathrooms the way they do in France

and perhaps other places, for all I know. One communal room for men and women with sinks and towels or hand driers, individual stalls with lockable doors around the perimeter of the room for toilets, and branching off from the communal room is a side room, out of view of the main room, with urinals for those equipped with male plumbing. The stall doors reach down almost to floor level, and the walls between stalls touch the floor. Problem solved (I think--correct me if I'm missing something).

[keithbvadu2]

31. Seoul, Korea, early 1980s. Large communal bathrooms.

Seoul, Korea, early 1980s. Large communal bathrooms. Urinals against one wall but not hidden. Men and women both walk past that area to get to the stalls.

[GulfCoast66]

53. I've been to France 5 times. Multiple weeks at a time.

While I’ve seen the scenario you present a few times it is far from common, in my experience.

Too many really old buildings to reconstruct. Even in Airports there are men and Women’s restrooms.

But I’m not thinking the French gave a shit who went in. Because, as you say, even in men’s restrooms the stalls were their own little rooms. Although the men’s restrooms have urinals. But there are often women in there cleaning while you took a piss.

I’ve used urinals in small towns that were pretty much open except for a wall blocking my mid-body. But my legs and head were in full view. They are just not uptight about taking a piss.

[roamer65]

25. Make the bathrooms all unisex.

Tell the state they can shove those signs up their ass.

[LiberatedUSA]

28. Do you mean single stall or multiple?

Cause it seems all single person bathrooms should be gender neutral.

If you mean multi stall bathrooms, well I think many would have a problem with that and not for sex or pervert reasons.

I don’t think men and women (x a million of you are talking about high school dating age teens) want to take a dump next to each other stall to stall. I remember when I was a teen, I would have dropped dead had I walked out a bathroom stall having just been ripping them only to see a bunch of girls in the bathroom having heard and smelt it all. The feeling would have been mutual.

So that is why I think many people would have a problem with the multiple stall bathrooms being gender neutral. Outside of immediate people you live with, people don’t want to fart and shit around strangers of the opposite sex.

Maybe I am wrong. I have not taken a poll on it, but human nature (at least in America) is to be extremely shy about the #2 function.

[roamer65]

34. Single stall.

A lot of places in MI have them.

But then we don’t enact stupid laws regarding them either.

[paleotn]

47. In Vermont, many single use are unisex.

And most of us don't care what restroom someone chooses to use. When you've got to go...hey...whatever. There's far more important things in life to worry about.

[Irish_Dem]

43. Am I a bad person because I am too old to want to be in a public restroom with men?

I don't want to see them pee or whatever men do in bathrooms.

I know, I am over the hill for sure.

[Paladin]

30. The repubes are turning us into Nazi Germany. (nt)

[marble falls]

32. The way to beat is to embrace it. If I had a business I'd be glad to have it known I serve ...

... everyone not in a MAGA hat. I'd want it known I do not discriminate on what isn't any of my need to know.

I tend to worry most about people who are concerned and speculative about what others might have hidden under their clothes.

[area51]

36. wtaf?

[TlalocW]

39. I've often thought

If we allowed businesses that wanted to discriminate the right to do so, but they would have to fill out a form in order to get a placard to put in their business window or on a wall, they would eventually close up shop. This bill puts the onus on the non-haters, but I wonder if this is going to be another case of republicans rushing into something without considering the consequences because they're so eager to own the libs/codify their hatred.

I can see an LGBTQ group having a big rally where they and allies gather and then split up to go support those businesses.

TlalocW

[ShazamIam]

40. The best hope is that all the largest retailers and national restaurant chains immediately post

those signs.

[Martin68]

44. That was my reaction. This could backfire in a big way. I hope it does.

They should also post a sign that Republican bigots are allowed to use their bathrooms, too, as long as they wash their hands afterwards.

[Martin68]

42. Such small-minded, petty people. It's like they completely missed the last 50 years of progress.

[Bettie]

45. You know, every day

shit like this reminds me that evil is winning.

The worst elements of our society seem to be utterly without limits. They get to do whatever they please and there is nothing that we can do to curb them or stop it.

[mainer]

46. "Yes, we happily serve transgendered folks!"

“And if you have a problem with that, then no soup for you.”

Is what every restaurant should start posting.

[Skittles]

48. WTF

one of my favorite waitresses is trans - at a very popular restaurant

FUCK THE GOP

[GulfCoast66]

55. Just don't put up a sign.

Every trans person I know would not raise eyebrows using the restroom of their choice.

Fucking tight collar bigots.

[christx30]

56. I'd rather my wife or daughter be in the restroom

with a transgender person than a republican like trump. A trans person will do their business and leave, like anyone else. Trump is a sex criminal and will grab her by the p*ssy.
If I owned a business, that sign would be 12 feet high, and finish with the words, “we DON’T discriminate”.