HB2: the post i didn't want to write

i wasn't going to write anything about this. because i have said and posted enough already. but, if everything doesn't already bother me about HB2, there is an issue that hasn't been discussed much.

the women's bathroom.

HANG ON. i know what you are going to say: "we've heard enough about the women's bathroom!"
you've heard how this law keeps psychos out, right? it keeps predators out of your bathroom. it keeps women and children safe. RIGHT?

does HB2 really do that? is that even the point of the law - bathrooms?

this place has always caused me a bit of hesitation upon entering. especially the bigger ones that have stood empty for awhile (i’m talking about you, rest stops and public parks). as a woman, i don’t know who may linger behind those doors. i’ve always been cautious and on alert while in public bathrooms. who could be in here? a woman. a sexual predator. a criminal wanting to steal my things. children. teenage girls. an assailant.

i think about how i would respond if someone tried to attack me. scream. run. kick. punch. what if i was trapped in the stall? would i have to fight for my life? more often than not, keith is with me at these public places. thankfully, if things went wrong he’d be there to help. he’d notice if i was in the bathroom for too long.
that makes me feel better, a bit safer. but should it have to be that way? should i require my husband to be with me to feel safe?

the point is, i never know who is in the bathroom when i enter. it’s a bit unnerving. however, i will say, i have yet to encounter a male in a woman’s bathroom. and i have been in plenty of public bathrooms.

i will also say that that HB2 hasn’t changed or protected women and children anymore than before this horrible law went into effect. it is unenforceable, you know. the way i felt yesterday walking into this large empty bathroom was the same as i always have felt. a bit unhinged. because a criminal will break the law, no matter how it is written. that is why they are criminals, they do not care about the laws. it's cute that mccrory attempted to make HB2 about the safety of women and children when that part of the law no one can enforce. and those who want to commit crimes in bathrooms, will keep doing it, just as they always have.
and that is what i think has gotten lost in all of this - the law cannot be enforced thus the bathrooms are just as safe [or unsafe] as they have always been.

HB2 is far more than just bathrooms. in fact, the bathrooms are just smoke, a distraction from all of the far more atrocious things this sweeping law contains. if you haven’t read the bill, i encourage you to do so. because the other pieces of this law, minimum wage and discrimination lawsuits, those things the government can enforce. and they do and will affect you [more than the bathroom law ever will]. oh, and the executive order mccrory signed, didn’t change much regarding HB2. you can read it if you want. it’s truly not that important. just more smoke.

at the end of the day, HB2, has done [and will continue to do] so much damage to our state. all at the expense of our LGBTQ community. having a governmental power that will past their agenda into law, without citizen input and at the expense and discrimination of others is cowardly. it is disgusting. and unfortunately, happens too often.

our state is hurting financially. our reputation is tarnished. people don’t want to come here. the only way to fix this is to repeal HB2. nothing good has come from it. nothing.

#WEARENOTTHIS

xoxo,
ks