I have received some questions recently about an issue related to legislation we attempted to pass last session called the Student Safety and Privacy Protection bill. The bill would have provided privacy for students by requiring the bathroom, showers and locker rooms in a school be separated based on an athlete’s biological sex. The Republican-controlled House passed the bill, but was rejected by the DFL-controlled Senate.

According to Dr. Paul McHugh, former chief of psychiatry at John Hopkins Hospital, transgenderism is a mental disorder and trying to surgically change one’s gender is medically impossible. There is also research showing that a significant percentage of transgender individuals change their mind and eventually grow out of those feelings, which is why there are delays of up to 12 months or more before certain permanent physical surgical changes are made.

Instances have come up in Minnesota workplaces where individuals have attempted to use bathroom facilities that aren’t for their biological sex, making some uncomfortable. I’ve spoken with women employees who are too afraid to speak out and wonder about their rights in the workplace if they do not want transgender men using a women’s bathroom. This has happened to a constituent of mine who works in the metro area. A man in her department has declared himself to be a woman and wants to use the woman’s bathroom. The employer has decided to permit this.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has spoken on this issue (Goins v. West Group, 2001) saying that an employer’s designation of employee restroom use based on biological gender is not sexual orientation discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.  An employee can ask an employer to enforce those rules, but the employee likely can’t legally force a complete separation based simply on biological sex.

Obviously legislation is needed to clarify and protect the privacy of individuals and our children’s safety in public schools, so people don’t find themselves in situations like this, worried about their privacy and fearful to speak to their employer.

Finally, what the governor and many liberal DFLers want us to believe is that sexual orientation cannot be changed (even though thousands of individuals have left the homosexual lifestyle) but that gender can be changed, which is biologically impossible!

Transgender people need professional counseling and our help to clarify their confused feelings not our misguided sympathies.

Please speak to your local school district about this issue as training programs have already started in Minnesota to indoctrinate educators with the false narrative of “gender fluidity.” For more info see www.mnchildprotectionleague.com.

 

Glenn Gruenhagen

state representative

District 18B