Open arms -- and the threat of lawsuits.
The reaction to California's new law giving transgender students in public schools full access to the restrooms and locker rooms they choose is eliciting a reaction across the spectrum, according to news reports.
Members of the Sacramento-based Pacific Justice Institute think that the law could allow 16-year-old boys to enter the showers with 13-year-old girls "on the pretext that he is a she," according to the San Jose Mercury News, which noted the possibility of a lawsuit.
Another problem is athletic in nature. The possibility of a "girl [being] booted off the soccer team because a boy has a genetic hormonal advantage" was floated by institute president Brad Dacus in comments to the newspaper.
The law became active this week after Gov. Jerry Brown signed it following a 21-to-9 approval vote in the State Senate and a 46-to-25 vote in the Assembly.
San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland school districts all had similar policies on their books, the newspaper reported.
Since the law passed, a transgender student in Mountain View-Los Altos has used a staff bathroom rather than a student one.
There may be a learning curve and some growing pains, but in the end, "human rights are nonnegotiable," said Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint.
