Today in downtown Jacksonville from 4 to 6 a group of transgender activists is demonstrating against a proposed Florida law. Two House committees have passed the measure preventing people from entering bathrooms unless their gender at birth matches the gender on the door. The legislation now sits in a committee chaired by Jacksonville Republican Charles McBurney. The activists are using tonight’s Art Walk to demonstrate outside McBurney’s Laura Street office.
The organizer of the protest is Kelly Florida, who identifies as neither male nor female. Kelly says the bill is unfair because gender-neutral and trans people already have a hard time feeling safe in public bathrooms. One web app called Refuge Restrooms helps them find where they’ll be OK.
"The irony here is that trans people have to make tools for themselves to find safe places to find the bathroom, and that’s just ridiculous that trans people are being accused of committing acts of sexual violence when trans people are the victims," Kelly Florida said.
Kelly Florida says the Art Walk demonstration was the brainchild of a group called the Jacksonville Transgender Action Committee. The group is fighting back with humorous skits and improv games to shed light on what Kelly says is a sad, serious issue. As for Representative McBurney, he has not scheduled a hearing for the bill in his Judiciary Committee. A Senate version of the measure hasn’t been heard.
