In the battle across the United States over providing transgender access to public restrooms, key groups are divided about the effects of such a policy.
The debate continues as President Obama issued a directive May 13 advising public schools to allow students who identify as transgender to use bathrooms aligning with their perceived gender identity.
Texas Baptist culture commentator Jim Denison, in his commentary May 13 at the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, linked to a YouTube video he described as "documented cases" of transgender sexual predators. The 23-minute video, "Women Decide for Yourselves," posted by someone identified only as Jane Williams, names 26 such perceived predators, many of whom are documented by media reports from local and national news agencies.
Southern Baptist Bob Stith, founder of Family and Gender Issues Ministries in Southlake, Texas, told BP in written comments, "If our president is genuinely concerned about transgendered people, he would be seeking a middle ground that acknowledges the concerns of these women as well. While some activists would oppose this, it would be more likely to unite the nation rather than furthering the radical divide his current policy will most assuredly bring about."
Among other proponents, Media Matters for America posted an April 12 video showcasing transgender men and women who fear for their safety if forced to use the bathrooms of their biological gender.
Diana Chandler is general assignment writer/editor for Baptist Press (bpnews.net), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.