WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid2% and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer 6% want to see the president’s executive action on transgender bathroom access in public schools extended all over the country, including Capitol Hill.
When asked by The Daily Caller Monday afternoon if President Obama’s order should apply to capitol office building bathrooms, lawmakers’ bathrooms and changing rooms at the members’ gym Reid — who called the Republicans “bigoted” earlier in the morning for their support of a North Carolina’s bathroom law — responded:
“I’m saying the law should be enforced. What the administration did is not some new theory they came up with. It is long established law. They should follow the law here and every place else,” he said. “It is long established law and I also referred to what went on last year in Reno Nevada in Washington County Schools. They did the right thing by following the law.”
Hoyer told TheDC that he thinks the president’s order “needs to be extended to every place where the rights are involved, which means all places.”
He added, “This is not an issue, in my opinion. I think it’s a made up issue to exacerbate prejudice and discrimination.”
When asked if he would be comfortable with unisex bathrooms, Hoyer said he would be fine with single stall unisex bathroom, “just like in your home.”
A spokesman for the Obama administration says that the White House already “allows staff and guests to use restrooms and shower facilities consistent with their gender identity, which is in keeping with the Administration’s existing legal guidance on this issue and consistent with what is required by the Executive Order that took effect for federal contractors.”
The spokesman added, “In addition, all-gender restrooms and showers are available in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which provides guests and staff additional options. We have closely examined our internal policies on everything from benefits, to restroom access, to how we invite people to events, to ensure that everyone who enters the White House feels safe and fully respected. The guidance issued last week by the Departments of Education and Justice aligns with existing White House policy in this regard.”
Source: The Daily Caller
