Alaska State Rep. Jennie Armstrong (D-Anchorage) was unable to answer a simple question about whether her House Bill 99 would permit biological males to enter women’s shower rooms and undress in front of little girls.
Armstrong’s bill seeks to add “gender identity and expression” to the long list of protected classifications that are protected from discrimination in Alaska. In practical application, the bill would allow prohibit sex-based limits or separations when it comes to all public accommodations.
During an April 11 hearing in the House Community & Regional Affairs Committee, Rep. Tom McKay (R-Anchorage) asked a clarifying question about how Armstrong’s bill might impact women and girls.
After noting that Armstrong’s bill would apply to any establishment that is accessible to the public, including retail stores, restaurants, parks, hotels, etc., McKay asked the following question:
“Would that include government buildings such as schools, university buildings, and would that include bathrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms where you could have a situation where a biological male decides that he’s a female and he enters a girls’ locker room or shower room or bathroom – where for example my granddaughter is – and he undresses in front of her,” McKay asked. “Is that what could possibly happen under this legislation? Because if that’s the case, I’m obviously opposed to that.”
An obviously uncomfortable Armstrong giggled while struggling to answer the question.
“I’m also opposed to people exposing themselves inappropriately in that way,” she said with a laugh. “Umm, I will pass this question to Mr. Corbisier.”
Rob Corbisier, who serves as the executive director of the Alaska Commission on Human Rights, then took a stab at addressing McKay’s concerns. He began by affirming that the bill would, indeed, impact all public educational institutions and government buildings.
“I don’t know what the answer to your question is,” Corbisier added. “This is obviously not a circumstance that we have faced before, and I don’t know how we would end up handling that. I mean, fundamentally, if it is a government practice and it is discriminatory, then it would fall within our jurisdiction.”
Armstrong’s staffer, Tristan Walsh then spoke up in defense of the bill.
“Trans persons are usually just looking for a place to pee in peace,” he claimed, adding that they are much more likely to be victims of a whole host of crimes and offenses.
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“Generally speaking, the concept that persons would try and intrude on spaces for the sake of criminal activity or preying on children is, uh, not reflected in fact or the data that has been collected….”
In fact, there have been multiple examples of biological men showering and exposing themselves in front of women and girls. Earlier this year a man claiming to be a woman entered a YMCA facility in California where he exposed himself to a young teenager who was showering. California state law allows for this.
Closer to home, less than two weeks ago, several Mat-Su women reported that a gender-confused biological man walked into the women’s locker room at the Wasilla-based Alaska Club and proceeded to disrobe and shower in front of them.
