Some things never change, and if I must give credit to the Obama administration on one count, it’s that they are at least consistent. When there’s a controversial issue in play between the states and the federal government, rather than letting the Judicial branch sort it out, the President jumps in with an Executive Order and simply demands that things be done his way.
That pattern of behavior is now rearing its head in the matter of privacy and bathroom access as it relates to transgender persons. (Washington Times)
The Obama administration will announce this week a new directive granting access to intimate federal facilities on the basis of gender identity.
BuzzFeed News reported Monday (https://www.buzzfeed.com/dominicholden/bathroom-access-a-must-for-transgender-people-in-federal) that the regulation will be posted in the Federal Register at some point this week, opening up thousands of federally operated restrooms to transgender people who wish to use the facilities corresponding with their gender identity rather than biological sex.
The rule will apply to roughly 9,200 properties operated by the General Services Administration and will not be limited to employees.
GSA spokesperson Ashley Nash-Hahn said anyone visiting a federally operated property, including courthouses and various agencies, will be allowed to use the restroom consistent with their gender identity.
The Social Justice Warriors are all aflutter over this decision and it hasn’t even been published yet. The Human Rights Campaign went so far as to describe it as “Vital protections for transgender people in federal facilities.” Susan Page and FernandoCrescente at USA Today declared it the consensus of the millennial generation. Ah… it’s a great day to be an American, isn’t it?
The problem is that there clearly isn’t a consensus on the subject around the nation. In fact, there are currently multiple lawsuits making their way through the courts regarding state level decrees and previous federal decisions involving schools. (All of which we’ve covered here extensively.) The situation is slowly but surely making its way to the Supreme Court for a final showdown. That’s how the process is supposed to work in our nation and we’ve managed to stumble along with this method of resolving differences for hundreds of years.
But for Barack Obama, no dissent to his own dictates can be slowed down by a pesky little thing like the constitutional process. An Executive Order is clearly needed so that everyone toes the line according to his whims before he grows impatient. And this time it’s not just affecting federal employees. Anyone who has business with the government and needs to visit a federal facility will fall under the same mandate whether they like it or not.
It’s Obama’s America, people. You’re just living in it.
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