New York City has used taxpayer dollars to launch a campaign that encourages residents to use the bathroom of their choice. The campaign, which asks NYC residents and tourists to “Look past pink and blue,” cost taxpayers a total of $265,000 and is set to last until July 3.
According to Fox News, New York City law already permits transgender individuals to use whichever bathrooms they’d like. The campaign is simply to “promote the policy.”
In other words, it’s not enough for New York City residents to have to live with the policy; they need to be reminded that it exists and have it thrust in their faces regularly, no matter where they are in the Big Apple, as Fox News reports that the ads will appear all throughout the city in numerous languages.
Fox News writes, “The ads, which urge readers to ‘Use the bathroom consistent with who you are,’ feature transgender models and are set to be featured in subway cars, bus shelters, phone booths, local newspapers, digital ads and social media promotions.”
One such ad includes transgender model Alisha King, who claims that utilizing public restrooms is an obstacle for those who are transgender. “Bathroom discrimination is a regular occurrence for the transgender community,” King said in a press release. “So much so that many of us avoid even using public restrooms to begin with. I sincerely hope these ads help people understand that transgender people are just people just like you. We just want to use the restroom safely and be treated with respect.”
New York City has been rather aggressive in its approach to transgenderism. Christian News reports that Mayor Bill De Blasio signed an executive order in March that permits transgender individuals to use city-owned restrooms and locker rooms of their choosing, regardless of their sex. The order applies to both transgender and “gender non-conforming” persons defined as those “who do not follow other people’s ideas or stereotypes about how they should look or act based on the female or male sex they were assigned at birth.”
And in December, the New York City Commission on Human Rights announced guidelines under the city’s Human Rights Law that punish employers who dare to use only male or female pronouns for its employees. The guidelines indicate employers “should not limit the options for identification to male and female only,” since “some transgender and gender non-conforming people prefer to use pronouns other than he/him/his or she/her/hers, such as they/them/theirs or ze/hir.” They also include a prohibition on “intentionally failing to use an individual’s preferred name, pronoun or title,” such as “repeatedly calling a transgender woman ‘him’ or ‘Mr.’ when she has made it clear that she prefers female pronouns and a female title.”
A press release issued by the New York City Commission on Human Rights on the new transgender ad campaign claims that it is a “right” for transgender individuals to decide which bathroom they’d prefer to use, regardless of their biological sex.
And New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a statement on the campaign wherein he took the opportunity to criticize states such as North Carolina and Texas that have resisted the movement to adhere to transgender directives. “New York City has long been a leader in the fight for LGBTQ equality, and these ads are further evidence of the City’s unwavering support of our diverse communities,” De Blasio said in a statement. “While other cities and states are legislating intolerance and taking away individuals’ right to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, we are proudly standing with our transgender and gender non-confirming New Yorkers.”
But Mayor de Blasio does not speak for all New Yorkers. Reverend Jason McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, for example, has voiced his opposition to the policy. “While I am sensitive to the confusion that some people experience surrounding their gender, I resent the fact that Mayor Bill de Blasio and other bathroom bullies are telling our daughters that something is wrong with them when they feel discomfort sharing potentially dangerous situations with older biological males,” said Reverend McGuire.
Some are outraged that the city elected to use taxpayer funds to promote such a controversial policy, particularly one that is already in place. “I’m not sure if this is the best use of taxpayer money,” Republican New York City Council member Joseph Borelli told Fox News. He noted that one positive thing to come from the campaign is that it alerts residents to the fact that men and women will be sharing bathrooms in the near future.
In an opinion column for the New York Post, Karol Markowicz contends that the use of taxpayer dollars to promote a policy that is already in place indicates that the mayor is merely attempting to capitalize on an issue that has “garnered a lot of national attention.” Markowicz opines:
Taxpayer dollars are being spent on raising the mayor’s profile among the progressive base he’ll need should he decide to run for higher office. New Yorkers should speak loudly and clearly that they won’t stand for it, no matter where they stand on the actual transgender bathroom issue. De Blasio should spend our money on necessities, not on his pet causes.
Furthermore, Markowicz notes numerous other significant needs in New York City that would have benefited from $260,000, including “crumbling infrastructure, failing schools and an overburdened transit system.”
