“I can’t make you change your mind. But I can challenge you. I can give you something to think about. The rest is up to you.”

In Wednesday’s post, I voiced my frustration about the ongoing madness in North Carolina and the federal government’s reaction. In case you missed it, I called the United States Attorney General an idiot.

But she’s not alone. The world is full of them. There are idiots clinging desperately to beliefs born out of ignorance and fear. Then there are idiots trying to bully them into changing their minds — which as I have said before — never works. Trying to bully someone into changing their mind is about as effective as resorting to litigation.

Then there’s me. No, I’m not an idiot — although some of you may beg to differ. Nor do I claim to be the smartest person in the room. I am just a paralegal, award-winning author, and journalist who provides all sorts of writing services for attorneys and blogs about the law.

I do a lot of posts about animal law and related issues because I enjoy it. Lately I have been doing a lot of posts about LGBT rights for a couple of reasons. First, it’s an issue that’s been all over the news. Second, as most of you know, my ex-husband is transgender. For those of you who didn’t know that, you can learn more here.

Enough Is Enough

But frankly, I’m sick of hearing about the transgender bathroom law debate. I’m also sick of writing about it. North Carolina sues the government… the government sues North Carolina… Americans on both sides of the issue are engaging in warring protests… It is getting completely out of hand.

On top of all that, a recent court ruling set the stage for an even more heated debate about transgender access to public school bathrooms. Furthermore, according to President Obama, transgender students in public schools across the country must be allowed to use the restrooms for the gender with which they identify. Schools and school districts that fail to comply with this mandate risk losing federal funding.

What About The Rest Of Us?

Here’s the bottom line. Adults understand the nuances of the transgender bathroom law debate — at least some of them do. The same can be said of college and even high school students. One could even argue that older middle school students can engage in an age-appropriate conversation about the issue.

But who on earth is responsible for explaining all of this to little boys and girls who will now be forced to share the bathroom with the opposite gender? Who should tell little Sarah that the person she knows as little Mikey can now come into the girl’s room because little Mikey believes he’s really little Michelle? Their teachers? Their parents? Both?

As I’ve said before, the issue isn’t whether the transgender population should be accommodated. The question is how to balance their needs with everyone else’s. It’s a question some LGBT rights advocates and the Obama administration refuse to address.

And therein lies a huge problem.

By taking this stance, the government and LGBT rights advocates practice active discrimination against the general population. They do so by sending the following message:  It doesn’t matter if you are perfectly content with your own biological gender. It doesn’t matter if you have a reasonable expectation that you will be relatively safe and have a right to privacy in a public restroom or locker room. You must accept the fact that transgender individuals can use the bathroom for the gender with which they identify. You have no choice.

And they wonder why they are getting so much resistance…

In My Humble Opinion…

Of course, this is just my humble opinion. I’m sure most of you disagree. And that’s fine. I can’t make you change your mind. But I can challenge you. I can give you something to think about. The rest is up to you.

So go ahead. Let me know what you think by voting in the poll below.