Public Accommodations A Concern in Transgender Bill

A controversial component of a proposed bill may need to be removed, according to Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond.

Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat, supports the legislation sponsored by Catonsville Democrat Tom Quirk, but acknowledges the public accommodations portion of the bill could be problematic.

"I'm not even sure we should go there," said Almond. "I just think we should look at that. If we try and legislate that part of it, people today, transgender folks today are doing whatever it is they need to do and that's going to continue. I don't think it's going to change anything if we have it in the bill."

Almond and other council members said their offices were inundated with a large number of calls opposing the bill before it was introduced last week.

"I just don't believe in discrimination at all," said Almond. "That's my take on it. That's why I was one of the co-signers.

"There are a lot of people calling who are really quite hateful," said Almond. "There are some others who are questioning parts of the bill."

Specifically, the public accommodations portion of the bill.

Quirk, in an interview earlier this month, said the goal of the bill is to protect transgender workers from discrimination and firing because of their sexual identity.

The bill would allow employers and business owners to set their own rules regarding use of public areas such as restrooms.

More than two dozen people testified on the bill last week on the same night it was introduced. The majority of those testifying opposed the bill and many brought up the public accommodations portion of the bill.

A state version of the bill failed last year. Public accommodations were not part of the bill, but proponents say they hope to add it to the state version this year.

Almond said testimony against the bill won't derail the process.

"We're definitely keeping it on the agenda,"said Almond. "We've got two weeks to work on it before we need to have it ready.

"We have a lot of questions to answer before we have a final version ready," she said.