Mean while down at the CESS Pool I present to you another sign the End is NEAR .............
Seattle moves to require all-gender, single-stall restrooms
By JOEL CONNELLY Seattlepi.com
Published: Aug 10, 2015 at 7:45 PM PDT
SEATTLE -- The Seattle City Council on Monday adopted legislation requiring all City-controlled and privately occupied public accommodations to designate existing and future single-stall bathrooms as all-gender facilities.
The legislation applies to such businesses as restaurants, coffee shops, hotels and stores. It mandates that all single-occupancy City bathrooms, and those at public accommodations, must have signage that is not gender exclusive but allows use by any gender identity.
The legislation includes amending the Seattle Municipal Code so single occupancy restrooms will no longer be restricted to a specific sex or gender identity.
Seattle has company. A gender neutral restroom was established at the White House earlier this year, along with another in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Philadelphia adopted similar bathroom legislation last year, with Mayor Michael Nutter saying it made the City of Brotherly Love "the most LGBT friendly" city in America.
The Seattle legislation was recommended by the Mayor's LGBT Task Force. The City had been urged to get off the pot and signal full acceptance of its transgender community. The new rules will be enforced by the Seattle Office of Civil Rights, a zealous advocate of non-discrimination in policy and political correctness in language.
"The action taken today by the City Council will make Seattle a more welcoming place for everyone regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation: No one should live in fear when they use basic accommodations most of us take for granted," Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement.
Seattle City Councilman Bruce Harrell, in supporting the legislation, said of the City: "Let's be defined by our compassion and inclusiveness."
A Trans Pride parade, on Capitol Hill, has become a major feature of Seattle's annual Pride Week in June. The issue of transgender rights was first forcefully raised by Dominic Holden, then a writer for The Stranger, who has now pursued the cause - and violence against transgender women - in his new job at Buzzfeed.
Outgoing three-term Seattle City Council member Jean Godden warmly endorsed the legislation, saying: "Everyone, regardless of gender, deserves the ability to meet their basic needs. All-gender single occupancy bathrooms are practical and help ensure everyone has access to a quality life."
Background and circumstances may influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
