“In addition, an all-gender restroom is also available in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which provides guests and staff an additional option.”
–White House spokesman Jeff Tiller, speaking with CNN. The White House complex now offers a gender-neutral restroom, letting guests and staff use a restroom that matches their gender identity.
The move is “in keeping with the Administration’s existing legal guidance on this issue and consistent with what is required by the Executive Order that took effect today for federal contractors,” Tiller added.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr is seeking public comment on proposed changes to the parental ratings system that would flag content related to gender identity.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is seeking public input on whether television programs that address transgender issues or feature trans or nonbinary characters should carry warning labels.
The FCC oversees broadcast and cable TV companies and helps shape the ratings system that guides parents on whether shows are appropriate for children.
In 1996, Congress gave TV companies the option to create their own voluntary ratings system or adopt one imposed by the FCC. The companies chose to create their own system, forming the TV Oversight Management Board, which developed the TV Parental Guidelines still used today for cable, satellite, and streaming services.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little recently signed a bill into law adopting what may be the strictest bathroom ban in the nation, under which anyone who enters a bathroom that does not align with their sex assigned at birth can face prison time.
Idaho already bars transgender students in public schools and universities from using bathrooms that do not align with their sex assigned at birth, and has a separate law requiring multi-occupancy restrooms in colleges, universities, correctional facilities, and domestic violence shelters to be restricted based on a person’s assigned sex at birth. But this new bill goes even further.
Transgender activist Samantha Boucher deliberately violated a newly enacted Kansas law criminalizing the use of bathrooms or other facilities that do not align with a person’s sex assigned at birth.
The founder and executive director of the national nonprofit Trans Liberty, Boucher opposes the law, which took effect after Republican lawmakers overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Boucher told the Kansas Reflector she came to Kansas on March 31, Trans Day of Visibility, because "no single bill in American history has ever been as aggressive toward the trans community as SB 244," referring to the law by its legislative designation.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.