It is now illegal to use a public restroom or a fitting room which does not match a person's gender on his birth certificate in Oxford, Alabama. The City of Oxford passed a transgender bathroom ordinance law on Tuesday, April 26, in response to Target's newly implied store policy.
According to The Anniston Star, the ordinance law makes it illegal to use a public restroom that is different from the person's gender on his birth certificate. This law also affects fitting rooms that apply within Oxford's city limits and its police jurisdiction. The ordinance carries penalties of a $500 fine or 6 months in jail time for violations. The transgender bathroom ordinance law was passed unanimously.
This is because last week, Target Store officially announced that it would allow transgender employees and shoppers to use the restrooms and fitting rooms that match their gender preferences as opposed to the gender with which they were born with. The store policy announcement set off controversies and came even as North Carolina passed laws that some say are discriminatory against the LGBT community, Fox News Insider reports.
With that being said, Police Chief Bill Partridge stated via WLOX, "the law, which makes the offense a misdemeanor, would be enforced like any other city ordinance, such as noise violations or public indecency. If somebody sees something that makes them uncomfortable, they would call the police.
If the person is still there when the officer arrives, the officer has to witness the crime. Then, we take down the person's information, and the person who reported it has to sign out a warrant."
Council President Steven Waits said in a statement that the ordinance came in response to Target's new public restroom and fittingg room policies. Target has a store branch located in Oxford Exchange Shopping Center.
