Alabama city recalls ‘bathroom bill’ that would have punished violations with up to six months in ja

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

Alabama city recalls ‘bathroom bill’ that would have punished violations with up to six months in jail

By Mark Berman May 4 at 3:58 PM

A week after a small city in Alabama passed its own bathroom ordinance that threatened violators with up to six months in jail, officials there backed away from the measure and recalled it during a meeting Wednesday.

While debates over so-called “bathroom bills” restricting who can use public restrooms have cropped up across the country, spurred on by a high-profile measure in North Carolina, the ordinance in Oxford, Ala., appeared to take things a step further. The Human Rights Campaign said the Oxford ordinance was “unprecedented” for the criminal penalties it described.

However, the council members had gathered Wednesday to discuss recalling the ordinance. They voted to recall it shortly before 3 p.m. local time, according to reporters at the hearing and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Zach Tyler ?@ZTyler_Star

Council has voted 3-2 to recall the ordinance.
3:53 PM - 4 May 2016

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When the measure passed, Steven Waits, president of the city council, read from a statement saying that it had been proposed in response to Target’s announcement that customers and employees were allowed to use bathrooms or fitting rooms “that corresponds with their gender identity.” Oxford is home to a Target.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/04/alabama-city-may-reconsider-bathroom-bill-that-punishes-violations-with-up-to-six-months-in-jail/

[icymist]

1. Article from the SPLC:

The city of Oxford, Alabama, repealed an ordinance today that made it a crime for transgender people to use the public restroom that matches their gender identity. Earlier, the SPLC and ACLU demanded the city repeal the ordinance, or risk legal action.

The City Council repealed the measure by a vote of 3-2. In a letter submitted to council members earlier today, the SPLC described how the discriminatory ordinance violated the U.S. Constitution and put the northeast Alabama city at risk of losing federal funding. The SPLC said failure to repeal the ordinance would force it to consider legal action.

“The Oxford City Council did the right thing by recalling its discriminatory ordinance,” said Chinyere Ezie, SPLC staff attorney. “We are pleased the council members came to the conclusion that nobody should be criminalized simply for using the restroom.”

https://www.splcenter.org/news/2016/05/04/alabama-town-repeals-anti-transgender-restroom-ordinance?utm_content=bufferac0de&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer