Mayor Bill de Blasio affirms New Yorkers' right to use any bathroom they choose, except Chick-fil-A's

Life here in the United States can be strange, can’t it? Transgender restroom access had probably never crossed the minds of most Americans when suddenly the issue became headline news and a national priority. President Obama eventually laid down the law, in 2016 issuing a directive to school districts requiring them to allow students to use whichever restroom and locker room matches their gender identity.

The fight for equal rights for transgender people led to a high-profile boycott of North Carolina by businesses, entertainers, and even other cities and states. The issue even had international implications, with North Carolina, Mississippi, and the more rural areas of the United States mentioned by name in an addendum to the U.K.’s travel advisory.

Now, in 2017, members of the same press are wondering what the Trump administration’s rush is to address the same issue.

Here's what Press Secretary Spicer had to say when a reporter asked why the Trump administration was focusing on transgender bathrooms. pic.twitter.com/Zoem9KBogq

— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 22, 2017

Why the sudden focus on transgender bathrooms? Well, the issue did become kind of a big deal, didn’t it? So where’s the surprise in a new administration trying to roll back the federal government’s role?

BREAKING: AP source: Trump administration set to lift federal transgender bathroom guidelines.

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 22, 2017

New Yorkers — more than 8 million people who apparently share one set of values — can rest easy in the knowledge they’ll always be able to pee freely under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s close watch, no matter who’s president.

We affirm the right of every New Yorker to use the bathroom that fits their identity. A new president will not change our values. https://t.co/Ckr1yA5P0P

— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) February 22, 2017

It must be something to be represented by a mayor who articulates your values for you one at a time, as circumstances dictate. De Blasio, for example, let New Yorkers know that he certainly wouldn’t be patronizing the new Chick-fil-A franchise in the city, nor would he urge any other New Yorker to eat there. (Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also made it perfectly clear in 2012 that “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values.”)

Please keep up the resistance, Mayor de Blasio! #NotMyPresident

— Petty Draper (@PettyDraper) February 22, 2017

By all means, keep up the resistance.

I thought Trump was leaving this to be a state decision. Am I wrong?

— Dana Hook (@danahook713) February 22, 2017

https://twitter.com/stylistdizzy/status/834498775741820930

Thank POTUS. He wants to leave that decision to the states so you can do what you want with it.

— Barbara Towle (@BarbaraTowle) February 22, 2017

That's great. But having this devolve into a local issue is EXACTLY what Sessions & Trump wanted. @GeorgeTakei

— Sean Smith (@protanope) February 22, 2017

the president doesn't care where you crap

— Longisland Howie (@longislandhowie) February 22, 2017

@NYCMayorsOffice good, I'll just piss in the street then.

— eteran84 (@eteran84) February 22, 2017

@GeorgeTakei i thought NY City said people can just pee in the streets now.

— MsBehavingChick ??BlueLivesMatter (@DayumMaam) February 22, 2017

Pretty much; the city last January softened its stance on policing minor offenses like littering and peeing in the streets, and agreed to repeal a section of the health department’s rules that forbid public urination and defined it as a misdemeanor. Not all New Yorkers felt that aligned with their values, but they must have come around.

@GeorgeTakei @AP Hate to say it but this where Democrats lose the narrative and lose the country. Going to war for this is stupid

— M (@HappyAiredales) February 22, 2017

* * *

Related: