I have heard the argument many times that people should be allowed to use whatever bathroom they choose. This argument, advanced by the far left, is another way of saying that it is none of my business which bathroom someone uses. To a point I understand this argument. However, this assertion fails to account for major safety concerns and sets terrible precedent on other issues.

If people are allowed to use whichever bathroom they identify with, what stops a male sexual predator, posing as transgender individual, from entering the women’s restroom to prey on a victim? I do not contend that all (or any particular) transgender people are perverts. But it is pure folly to think that no pervert will use gender as a pretext to gain access to the bathroom of the opposite sex. Are we going to let a 16-year-old girl on a band trip room with three boys because she identifies as a boy? (And, yes, the DOJ’s guidance to schools expressly addresses overnight accommodations.) Will we place the burden on taxpayers to build gender-neutral facilities at all pubic schools? If these concerns are not addressed, the practice of allowing anyone to choose a restroom or overnight accommodation–purportedly based on how a person identifies – may lead to tragic circumstances.

While the issue itself is not simple, I believe there is a somewhat simple resolution. Private businesses should be allowed to have whatever bathroom policy they want. People have the ability to choose whom they do business with and can decide based on the bathroom policies if they want to be a patron at that place of business. I believe that a private sector employer should also have the ability to choose the bathroom policy for his or her place of business.

This cannot be said for public facilities. Places such as public high schools, colleges and universities should not allow people to use whichever bathroom they identify with. Students at these institutions often times have no other option for education and would be forced to comply with bathroom rules that they may find immoral for sincerely held religious or personal reasons. Moreover, the federal government should not be in the business of enacting bathroom laws.

During my time at The University of Alabama, I have had the honor to get to know many people in the LGBT community. While I disagree with your view, I am not rejecting you as a person. There should be no manipulating my words to call me an enemy of the transgender community. While I disagree with many transgender people on this and other issues, I come to the table with no hate in my heart. This issue doesn’t need to be as divisive as people on both sides have made it. We can discuss this and other issues in a civil manner and find solutions that advance the common good without alienating a segment of campus – right or left.