HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-23-17 Public Comment - N. Kolnik - I-183 Bathroom BillFrom:N Kolnik
To:Agenda
Subject:Bathroom Bill action response
Date:Monday, October 23, 2017 9:37:45 PM
Greetings,
I, like Judy Kelly (see Letters to the Editor in the Chronicle), was shocked and deeply
disturbed to see City Commission vote not only to approve something as disastrous as theBathroom Bill, but also to do so in order to join with a future legal proceeding. I'm not
interested at all in my tax dollars being taken AWAY from matters of immediate importanceand put towards a fashionable attempt at something unenforceable and unsafe, especially for
the most vulnerable in the Community.It also seems that the Commission did not discuss the matter with those who are enforcers and
guardians of children in the community - police and school teachers, at the very least. Thisdecision shows an ignorance and blatant disregard for current research on the topic of
children's development and gender dysphoria.How many local businesses and schools will now have to change their restrooms, as a result of
this fool-hardy and short-sighted decision? Having a unisex, single bathroom is one thing, butBozeman hardly even has nursing stations or family restrooms, and now business and school
aren't even allowed to put a gender on their bathrooms of multiple stalls - or rather, toaccomodate with each person "choosing" their desired genitalia preference on whichever day
they choose? What about public indecency and indecent exposure? Those can no longer be crimes either, I
suppose, since it's unlikely that urinals will all be in stalls. Will books that contain "Boys andGirls" be banned from schools and libraries, too, since it is no longer fashionable for those two
terms to be used? Will children and adults also be able to state that they "feel" like they are ahorse today, and so allowed to go the bathroom outdoors, or wherever they choose and
anything to the contrary is impeding on their identity? Bozeman won't even send someone tojail for multiple crimes and DUIs because the jails are too full, but they'll raise the taxes again
to make sure everyone "complies" with a few people deciding they don't feel like they shouldshow others respect and honor their safety?
The recent #metoo campaign on social media has shown just a small glimpse at the lack ofsafety women feel. Bozeman's women are no different, and you can easily contact any shelter
or Haven or walk the university campus and notice the emergency lights and phones to findout the extent of that meat-market atmosphere. Young men are not taught what it looks like to
respect each other and other women; adult men are untouchable if they have enough moneyand the right connections.
Young girls and especially girls going through puberty are certainly even more at risk to menwho would "choose" to change their gender and follow them right into a public restroom, as
well as cat-call them on the street. Children will always be curious - which is not a bad thing,but is something to be handled with care and wisdom - and to think that a child not given the
right to buy alcohol or vote ought to be allowed to whimsically state whether or not they feellike being a boy or a girl on a day-to-day basis is as harmful as allowing them to fill out their
multiplication tables in whatever way they choose, or to give up phonics all together becausesomeone doesn't like that he or she is told that ae always makes the same sound.
Teachers are being judged based on their students' score on Math and Science, and yet they arenot allowed to inform and direct their own students that there is a difference between a boy
and a girl and that you cannot just decide one day that your genitals mean nothing, that there isno responsibility that each gender has for respecting and protecting the other's privacy?
I am deeply opposed to this bill and disagree strongly with the Commission's decision to havegone along with it.
~Natalia Kolnik