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A large Maryland county near Washington, DC, will soon decide whether to declare transgender people a "protected class" under law and become the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions nationally to ban discrimination on the basis of "gender identity and expression."The Montgomery County Council is scheduled to vote next Tuesday (November 13) on a bill that would add "gender identity" to the county's existing non-discrimination policy. The measure (Bill 23-07) is being pushed by the homosexual activist group Equality Maryland and by three Council members, including one who has a transgendered male staff member.Two conservatives groups-Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) and Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum (CRC)-are protesting the bill. CRC director Michelle Turner says the proposal does not take into consideration the "safety and well-being of women and young girls."[[["The proposed bill as it is right now would allow transgenders to use the restroom, shower room, locker room of the gender that they are 'feeling' that day or at that time," she explains."Meaning a man, if he is 'feeling' like a woman-even though he still has male genitalia-would be permitted access to the women's locker room, shower room, and bathroom."]]](this is kinda sick....isn't it...?)Turner takes issue with the Council's decision to even bring the matter to a vote. "We find it very disconcerting that they would not have any problem with a man, even though dressed as a woman, being in a shower room with women and girls, putting their own safety at risk there," says the CRC director. "We believe that individuals who are going through this are, as the American Psychiatric Association states, suffering from a gender identity disorder."Dr. Ruth Jacobs, an infectious disease specialist and CRC representative, testified before members of the Council last week, telling them that the American Psychiatric Association recognizes "gender identity disorder" as a mental illness. Jacobs told the Council that no one has studied the long-term effects on children, for example, when early on in their education they are introduced to gender change as something that is normal and healthy. "This bill forces the school to hire a mentally ill person," she stated.A former transgender from PFOX also testified against the bill at the hearing. According to a press release from PFOX, those opposing the measure have been told that, under the bill, it could be considered "harassment" to challenge a male's entry into a female area.As in the days of Noah....
