Ron HartView other columns by Ron Hart
Here is a Prince of an idea: No matter the new bathroom laws, let's potty like it's 1999.
The manufactured debate on same-sex restroom use rights has sunk to predictable lows. This nonissue has been ginned up by the leftist media to corner GOP candidates on a silly, no-win issue. The right shouldn't have taken the bait.
First, transgendered men who identify as such are only about .2 percent of the population. They have always been about two-tenths of one percent, and there have been almost no issues of them molesting girls by using the wrong bathroom. This is a solution in search of a problem.
Second, low-information folks conflate transgender people with pedophiles. Pedophiles are a different union. They lurk in your schools, churches and neighborhoods. Nothing stops them from going into a bathroom. Say what you will about pedophiles, they always slow down while driving through school zones - but they are not wearing dresses.
Third, the GOP is supposed to espouse limited government and fewer laws. Another law on the books that says you have to use the bathroom of the gender on your birth certificate is absurd. Our governments, which are already heavily in debt and tax us way too much, are to place police in bathrooms to check the birth certificates of those who want to enter? Really? Are we to station someone outside each bathroom to whom you must show your genitals? Sounds like a perfect opportunity to get Anthony Weiner another government job.
This is like the Left adding another unenforceable gun law after a school shooting. No "gun-free zone" signs at schools, theaters and government offices ever work; those are the places where mass shootings happen. This bathroom law will never work for the same reason. Our rule should be: If you want a new law, take 10 existing laws off the books.
With a $20 trillion national debt and a government growing while the economy is not, we are really going to focus on bathrooms?
I am a big states' rights person. But if your state is viewed as anti-gay or discriminatory, it will probably lose business and jobs. If you do not want gays in your state, you will have to suffer the consequences which, as I see them, are a lack of quality hair dressers and few good places to have brunch. And good luck getting your poodle shampooed.
It is funny how, for Democrats, LGBT civil rights issues are suddenly the most pressing of our time. Keep in mind President Obama and Bill Clinton ran both times opposing gay marriage. LGBT activists have finally convinced Bill Clinton to see things their way, probably after sending two of their hottest L's to convince him.
Coming late to issues is the Democrats' legacy. Republicans freed the slaves, founded the NAACP and overcame Democrat objections to pass the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s. Nixon started the EPA. Showing up late to good ideas and making them worse are Democrat traditions. Hollow gestures define Democrats. Thomas Jefferson freed his slaves in his will.
The Left flails around creating "tolerance" issues and making themselves the heroes in their own narrative. We have the most tolerant country in the world, yet they seek to continue to divide us on race, gender, income and now bathroom use.
I am seasoned with the scripture of the South. I understand that this is a biblical issue for some and just plain creepy for others. But be aware: The Left loves to create these fake issues and rub our faces in them. Do not take the bait. Religion and Jesus were about tolerance and love. With transvestites, realize that God made them; it's not their choice. Who would choose to complicate his life that way? You can hate the sin, but love the way the handbag and shoes match.
Remember the "turn the other cheek" manner in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. handled issues. By his religious beliefs, he set an example which made others re-examine theirs. His "I Have a Dream" speech spoke to this transgender issue. He would say today, "Judge a man by the quality of his character, not the contents of his walk-in closet."
Contact Ron Hart at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.