Letter: Restroom quandary a phony issue

Let’s talk about public restrooms.

When did they become a political issue? Are there incidents where people have been confronted in public restrooms by transgender people? Has anyone been injured or traumatized? And are those incidents documented with law enforcement, and available for scrutiny?

Perhaps I represent a minority, but I use public restrooms for one reason and one reason only. I go in and I get out as quickly as possible. I don’t linger or strike up conversations with perfect strangers. My biggest issue with public restrooms over my lifetime has been the lack of cleanliness, sometimes to the point of nausea.

As far as the transgender population, has there been a sudden surge in their numbers? How would they be identified? Are people going to have to present a birth certificate to an official monitor before entering? How will the new legislation in North Carolina and Mississippi actually be enforced? Don’t they use restrooms for the same reason we all use restrooms?

I suspect this is another phony issue made up by the right wing of the Republican Party to express their dislike for anybody who is not heterosexual. There are no documented incidents of confrontations in public restrooms, because if there were, they would be all over front pages of every newspaper and the Internet.

With so many real and important issues facing this country, why are people making up phony issues? And, when you use a public restroom, I suggest you go in and get out, and mind your own business.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Letter: Restroom quandary a phony issue."