The
current tempest in a teapot among the "rights" advocates is that no one
should be restricted from using the gender specific bathroom of his
choice. The "rights" advocates want to use the police power of the state to ensure this outcome.
The federal government has come down on the side of the "rights"
advocates, with regional and local governments sometimes taking the
opposite side. Once again, Americans are being told that there are only
two sides to this issue, and both sides claim to defend what is proper.
But
are there only two sides? Perhaps we are looking at this issue in the
wrong way. Instead of assuming that some level of government can make
this decision for all of society, there is the alternative solution of
defending the right of the property owner
(of the bathroom in question) to make this decision. After all, someone
actually paid for the bathroom in order to satisfy his preference. And
there are precedents. We all have seen signs that tell us that bathrooms
are reserved for customers only. There is no movement that I have seen
that demands that any bathroom anywhere be accessible to whoever desires
to answer the call of nature. We all accept that limiting bathroom
facilities to customers is the right of the business owner. Why should
not the business owner be allowed to decide which bathroom his patrons
use? If his patrons are not happy with his decision, they are perfectly
free to refrain doing further business there. And other business owners
could adopt a different policy and reap the rewards that come from
satisfying this subset of society.
Already there are unisex
bathrooms everywhere. My wife and I patronize a very nice French
restaurant in Philadelphia which provides only private stalls. Anyone
can use whichever stall is available in complete privacy. Each stall is a
little room unto itself, similar to a Porta-Potty. Outside the stalls
are lines of sinks, towels, mirrors, etc. that are used by everyone.
Seems to me that this common sense solution can be adopted by business
owners who wish to avoid antagonizing any possible segment of their
customer base, rather than be forced to comply with a government
mandated solution. Some very small businesses provide only one bathroom,
which is unisex. The toilet, sink, towel, and mirror are located inside
the one private bathroom. Again, we see these just about everywhere in
America and even more predominately in Europe.
Come on, America!
Let's stop fighting among ourselves and then demanding that government
set universal rules. Let's defend the property rights and business
incentives of the owners of bathrooms to find solutions that we all can
accept. It's already happening for those wishing to see.
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