Access to toilets to become law in United States? Pearl Jam Star Lobbies for Access

[mikeyarmo]

Here is an article I found how a law is being considered in the United States that would require private businesses to allow those with Inflammatory Bowel Disease to have access to their washrooms. The lead guitarist for the band Pearl Jam spoke with legislators to try and get this law made.

The article can be read here

 

[CD68]

Illinois, Michigan and Texas have passed similar laws.

I'm in Texas. Anyone know how I can find out more about this? Do you need a card? I don't want to have to reveal my medical condition to a sneering uppity clerk if I can avoid that.

 

[~TN~]

Some local municipalities have these laws in place already. I lived in a city that an ordinance that if you were open to the public your bathroom had to be public except for banks & liquor stores.

 

[Sojourn]

I'm in Texas. Anyone know how I can find out more about this? Do you need a card? I don't want to have to reveal my medical condition to a sneering uppity clerk if I can avoid that.

Your best bet would probably be to find the law in print somewhere and make a copy of it to carry around with you. If you show that to whoever might try to refuse you, they may change their mind. I don't know if the law states "crohn's disease" on it if you don't want people knowing your condition.

 

[Colt]

You'd think that Sojourn but my wife and son ran into a problem here. In Missouri there is a law stating that 'a mother may breastfeed her child in any location that she would otherwise be given access to at her discretion and without obstruction.' Well, we've already run into an instance where someone thought that their facility rules over-ruled the law.

Some chump security guard with a stick up her butt decided to come charging over and demand that she stop feeding my son or get out. Of course you couldn't even see anything and no one would have noticed she was even feeding him except for the security guard staring at us across the room watching and waiting for it to happen and then yelling so everyone in the room could hear.

Anyway, she ran off and got her supervisor who took a turn ordering and demanding like they were about to physically assault her and drag her out of the building. We just kept citing the law and they kept saying, 'Yeah, but we have our own rules you have to follow.' and other such nonsense.

They spent so much time threatening and order us that my son finished eating and it became a non-issue. Of course they had to make parting shots trying to reassert that they were in charge and making it sound like we'd given in.

All you're going to hear from the business owner is 'This is private property and we say who can and can not use our restrooms.'

Unfortunately my wife's too wimpy or we could have sued the crap out of them. Had they tried to physically remove us it would have been a criminal case too. I'm sure it'll be the same situation with this law. Any law that gives you rights that other people don't think you should have they'll just try to ignore and no one ever wants to go through the trouble of a law suit every time to force those rights so the law ends up null.

 

[Sojourn]

You'd think that Sojourn but my wife and son ran into a problem here. In Missouri there is a law stating that 'a mother may breastfeed her child in any location that she would otherwise be given access to at her discretion and without obstruction.' Well, we've already run into an instance where someone thought that their facility rules over-ruled the law.

Some chump security guard with a stick up her butt decided to come charging over and demand that she stop feeding my son or get out. Of course you couldn't even see anything and no one would have noticed she was even feeding him except for the security guard staring at us across the room watching and waiting for it to happen and then yelling so everyone in the room could hear.

Anyway, she ran off and got her supervisor who took a turn ordering and demanding like they were about to physically assault her and drag her out of the building. We just kept citing the law and they kept saying, 'Yeah, but we have our own rules you have to follow.' and other such nonsense.

They spent so much time threatening and order us that my son finished eating and it became a non-issue. Of course they had to make parting shots trying to reassert that they were in charge and making it sound like we'd given in.

All you're going to hear from the business owner is 'This is private property and we say who can and can not use our restrooms.'

Unfortunately my wife's too wimpy or we could have sued the crap out of them. Had they tried to physically remove us it would have been a criminal case too. I'm sure it'll be the same situation with this law. Any law that gives you rights that other people don't think you should have they'll just try to ignore and no one ever wants to go through the trouble of a law suit every time to force those rights so the law ends up null.

Man, that's really pathetic. I don't understand all the outrage over breastfeeding. In comparison with the clothes, and the way a lot of young people behave, breastfeeding seems rather tame in comparison. And it's a natural biological act.

But you're probably right that most businesses will not be willing to comply in the case of the toilets also. Even if you have a copy of the law, they would probably rightly assume that you would not spend, or have, the money to sue over it. But you never know, it might work some places.

I can't say I really blame them. I wouldn't want someone coming in and stinking up my entire office if I didn't understand the situation. Some offices have toilets in cramped quarters where the smell fills up the whole working area. But in this age of political correctness, and special rights for every imaginable group out there, it doesn't seem right that Crohn's patients should be left out.

 

[Colt]

Don't forget the assholish gas stations that keep their bathrooms locked and demand that you buy something to use them.