Oxford city leaders say public safety is what sparked the recent passage of an ordinance that forces transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding with their biological sex. But transgender advocates say the eastern Alabama city’s law is unjustifiable.
The Oxford City Council unanimously approved what is being called the most sweeping anti-transgender law in the country, punishable by a $500 fine or six months in prison.
“Really what we’re looking at here is a nonsensical ordinance to the fear mongering that we’re seeing across the United States, says,” Eva Walton Kendrick of the Human Rights Campaign in Birmingham.
But council president, Steven Waits, says the law is about public safety. He argues that allowing people to use a bathroom that doesn’t match their biological sex endangers citizens, particularly women and children.
“There have been those who have become so politically immersed in political correctness that they become blind to the unsafe conditions their policies may create,” Waits says.
He adds that the council is not concerned about how this law will affect transgender residents and visitors in Oxford since they make up only a fraction of the population.
The ordinance now goes to Oxford Mayor, Leon Smith, for approval. However, city officials say they’re unsure when this is will take place.