A California congressional candidate posted a Facebook live video of her harassing a transgender woman using the ladies’ room at a Denny’s restaurant in Los Angeles.
Jazmina Saavedra, a self-identified “businesswoman” who is one of two Republican candidates running in the 44th Congressional District, filmed herself confronting the woman and, with the help of a manager, escorting the woman out of the restaurant.
Saavedra told local ABC affiliate KABC that the incident started after a waitress told her there was a man who said he was a woman using the women’s restroom. So she decided to confront the individual, asking her, while she was inside the stall: “Why you use the ladies’ room?”
“You’re invading my privacy,” the woman responded.
“No, you invading my privacy because I’m a woman and I deserve to use the ladies’ room,” counters Saavedra.
The two then exchanged words, with Saavedra perching outside the women’s room to film the transgender woman’s face, and they continue verbally sparring as a male manager escorts the transgender woman out of the restaurant.
At one point in the video, Saavedra complains about California’s pro-LGBTQ laws, saying: “This is so stupid in California. This is what the sick politician are approve. They putting in danger a woman like me and some other customers who trying to use the ladies’ room with a man inside saying he is a lady.”
After the trans woman leaves, Saavedra brags to the camera that she had a stun gun and pepper spray ready during the confrontation, showing her weapons and saying that every woman should have them to protect themselves.
She later told KABC that her post is being misconstrued as anti-gay.
“You cannot put together a man and a woman in the same bathroom. No way,” she said. “This is not about gender. This is not about being gay or something. This is about I hear a voice of man in the ladies room. This is all about that.”
That said, she doesn’t regret any of her actions.
“This is so stupid…this is nothing to do about gay or nothing. This is about how myself and the other customers feel in danger by hearing a voice of a man inside.”
Saavedra is running against Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán.
Under California’s primary rules, only the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election. But Saavedra, the least well-known of the four, may now be getting some publicity for her campaign. As of Friday afternoon, her video had gained more than 94,000 views and generated several comments from conservatives, from across the nation, expressing support for her actions.
Barragán issued her own statement responding to the video.
“I was appalled by the treatment that this woman received for simply trying to use the restroom,” the congresswoman said. “Everyone has the right to their own identity, and the right not to be discriminated against for who they are.”
California State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a gay lawmaker long targeted by the right for his progressive record on LGBTQ rights and criminal justice reform, is reportedly planning to run for U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) congressional seat in 2026, according to The San Francisco Standard.
At 85, Pelosi -- a two-time Speaker of the U.S. House -- has largely receded from the political spotlight, creating an opening for challengers in her heavily Democratic district. She has not yet said whether she plans to seek another term.
More than 9 in 10 LGBTQ adults are out to someone in their lives about their sexual orientation or gender identity -- yet many remain closeted when it comes to family members or co-workers.
According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in January, 96% of LGBTQ adults say they have told someone about their identity, while only 3% say they have not come out to anyone. However, up to one-third of LGBTQ adults -- including those who have come out to “someone” -- say they are not out to extended family members, such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins.
Lucien Bates, a transgender man, says security guards threatened to arrest him after he used the women’s restroom at a Round1 arcade inside the North Riverside Park Mall in suburban Chicago. Bates, an Indiana resident, was visiting the venue on September 28 with his fiancé and a friend to play Dance Dance Revolution.
Bates, who presents as alt-masculine with facial hair and piercings, had just arrived at the arcade when he needed to use the restroom. He chose the women’s restroom, a decision he often makes in public because he feels safer there and is less likely to be harassed.
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