School Board reacts to trans bathroom letter: Arm female students with pepper spray
By Aubree Poole | May 18, 2016 | Comments
image:
http://cdn.redalertpolitics.com/files/2016/05/LGBT-Rights-Folks-Bac_Keen.jpgIn this photo taken Thursday, May 12, 2016, signage is seen outside a restroom at 21c Museum Hotel in Durham, N.C. North Carolina is in a legal battle over a state law that requires transgender people to use the public restroom matching the sex on their birth certificate. The ADA-compliant bathroom signs were designed by artist Peregrine Honig. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
In this photo taken Thursday, May 12, 2016, signage is seen outside a restroom at 21c Museum Hotel in Durham, N.C. North Carolina is in a legal battle over a state law that requires transgender people to use the public restroom matching the sex on their birth certificate. The ADA-compliant bathroom signs were designed by artist Peregrine Honig. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
High schoolers in North Carolina may soon be allowed to carry pepper spray with them, a policy that one board member considers useful for students in light of President Obama’s recent order concerning transgender bathrooms.
The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education ruled in favor of the use of pepper spray on school campuses, beginning in the fall of 2016. However, the board will review this ruling on May 23.
“Depending on how the courts rule on the bathroom issues, it may be a pretty valuable tool to have on the female students if they go to the bathroom, not knowing who may come in,” board member Chuck Hughes told the Salisbury Post, in reference to the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice following the state’s signing of HB2.
However, Hughes, who initially voted for the use of the defensive sprays, told BuzzFeed that he plans to change his vote when the board reviews the ruling.
“Perverts and pedophiles taking advantage of this law in bathrooms was my major concern,” he said. He explained that his original concerns were not related to members of the LGBT community.
In light of the dual lawsuits between President Obama’s Department of Justice and North Carolina and the state’s HB2 bathroom bill, the board’s ruling is under particular scrutiny.
However, board chairman Josh Wagner told The Huffington Post that “the discussion was solely based on general student safety, particularly young women when traveling to and from school, especially in the evening hours,” and not in response to transgender bathrooms. The ruling will be reviewed next week.
Unfortunately, the hype over transgender bathrooms has muddied the waters on this issue, complicating the board’s desire to ensure the safety of their students.
Read more at
http://redalertpolitics.com/2016/05/18/school-board-reacts-trans-bathroom-letter-arm-female-students-pepper-spray/#LJm1PydFBS3SKckp.99
