Courtney Mabeus, The Examiner
2007-11-08 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

The debate in Montgomery County over the option for transgender people to use whichever public facilities they choose has intensified after the airing of a radio ad from a citizen group that warns women could soon come face to face with men in public restrooms.

Montgomery County Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg introduced a bill in September that she says is intended to prohibit discrimination against people born one gender but who identify themselves as members of the other in housing, employment and use of public accommodations.

But Michelle Turner, a spokeswoman for the group running the ad, Citizens for Responsible Curriculum, says the bill would compromise privacy rights and give free rein to pedophiles and predators to troll women’s locker rooms and other facilities. The group has been passing out fliers opposing the bill since Saturday.

“This has been kept so quiet, so under wraps,” Turner said. “This bill is going to impact the privacy of individuals here in Montgomery County. In the bathrooms, the locker rooms, the shower rooms, health clubs, the malls. Parents need to know what’s going on.”

The ad warns that “girls may find themselves in a locker room alongside a biological male. We call this bill indecent exposure.” It ends by urging listeners to call the council.

Turner said the ad was paid for the conservative Family Leader Network and is airing on WMAL 630 AM. She did not know the cost of the ad.

Officials answering phones at the Council building Wednesday said they had hundreds of calls this week about the bill. They said about half of the callers opposed the bill.

Trachtenberg has defended the bill, saying local jurisdictions with similar legislation, including the District of Columbia and Baltimore, have had not reported problems.

“Once again, a small group of people are trying to spread a campaign of fearmongering,” Trachtenberg said Wednesday. She said she had not head the ad.

A vote on the bill is scheduled Tuesday. Trachtenberg said she has no plans to adjust any language in the bill. Turner said she did not know how much the ad cost and Family Leader Network officials did not respond to phone calls or e-mails Wednesday.

The CRC first gained visibility when it sued to stop the county Board of Education’s revamped sex education curriculum with sections on homosexuality from going forward.

cmabeus@dcexaminer.com