Privacy for All—a coalition that has been working to overturn a state law allowing public school students to select which restroom and shower they use based on their “perceived gender”—is trying to qualify a ballot initiative that would not only reverse the new “co-ed bathroom” policy, but would also extend those protections to any government restroom in the state.
Petitions for the Personal Privacy Protection Act have already begun circulating and Advocates for Faith & Freedom has copies of the petitions available for individuals or churches that wish to help gather signatures. Privacy for All needs to secure at least 365,880 valid signatures by December 14th in order to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot. To help hedge against invalid signatures the group has set a goal of gathering at least 500,000 signatures.
The proposed ballot measure is designed to counter Assembly Bill 1226, which Governor Jerry Brown signed into law in August 2013. By doing so, a student can use any public school bathroom or locker room based on their perceived identity, regardless of their biological gender at birth. The law requires no formal documentation, meaning a student can change their mind at any time.
In response to the signing of AB 1226, Privacy for All initially sought to overturn the law by way of a referendum, but fell a bit short of the required amount of signatures after California’s then-Secretary of State Debra Bowen invalidated thousands of signatures. Referendum backers alleged that Bowen improperly disqualified valid signatures, prompting two lawsuits. One case is still pending and, if a judge rules in favor of the plaintiff, the State could be forced to place that referendum on the ballot.
In the meantime, Privacy for All decided to use a more direct approach by writing a new, more sweeping law. Under the language of the proposed act, patrons would only be able to use public sex-segregated restrooms, showers, locker rooms, and changing rooms in government buildings according to their biological gender at birth. The law does, however, provide an exemption for guests who have undergone medical treatment for gender transition, meaning they would be allowed to use the facilities according to their new biological sex.
The initiative also exempts family restrooms, single-use restrooms, and instances where a child or someone with a medical condition requires the assistance of another.
Business owners would also be protected against criminal and civil claims for requiring employees and customers to use restrooms facilities according to their biological sex.
The Personal Privacy Protection Act is a sound law that carefully balances the rights to privacy and historical expectations of single-gender restroom use with the compassionate accommodation of those who have medically transitioned their gender.
Proud to be a part of this coalition, Advocates is a distribution center for petitions. To obtain petitions for yourself, your church, or any other group you believe would be interested gathering signatures, pick up petitions at our offices in Murrieta.
8:30 am - 5:00 pm
24910 Las Brisas Road, Ste 110, Murrieta CA 92562
951-304-7583
You can also use this “single signer” petition form to print out and mail in. It’s very important that all information is filled out in green area. Your petition will not be valid if this section is not filled out.
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