News

Actions

Transgender woman: Law should 'protect everyone'

Posted at 10:26 PM, May 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-26 09:04:29-04

TWO RIVERS, WI -- Tonight, one Wisconsin woman in the transgender community is speaking out against a new lawsuit targeting which public restroom she can use, and asking state lawmakers where her protection is in public restrooms.

Ten states, including Wisconsin, are suing the Obama Administration over the new directive about transgender students in public schools. The suit asks the court to strike down new rules, allowing transgender students to use the bathroom matching their gender identity.

Christine Decker, of Two Rivers, came out as a woman last year, and has been transitioning into her identity ever since.
 
She also voted for Governor Walker three times, but admits that, now, she feels betrayed by state lawmakers.
 
For Decker, it's something she's hid since she was six, "but you're very uncomfortable the entire time you're doing it," she adds, comparing it to the feeling of wearing one's shoes on the wrong feet for years.
 
Since beginning her journey, she says the hate has been unceasing.
 
"I am a white American person, OK," says Decker, "I have never ever experienced as much discrimination and hatred thrown at me since i went public." 
 
Decker says weekly routines regarding her identity--and the way others perceive her--vary, from dispelling common myths on a daily basis "that we are insane, we're crazy, we're lunatics," she adds.
 
She says, in her journey, she has also become used to losing friends, and family connections.
 
Decker is married with children to her wife, and says her family is taking the transition day by day, often asking questions about the process. But she adds many haven't been as understanding. 
 
"Most of the men that I used to talk to, especially on social media, have all de-friended me," says Decker, holding her phone, "because they're not comfortable with it." 
 
But she says the state's latest fight against the Obama Administration's transgender directive is hitting her particularly hard, especially because she supported lawmakers now behind the suit.
 
"And it irritates me when my elected representatives don't do their jobs, and they don't protect everyone," says Decker. frustrated. "They have to protect everyone, including myself." 
 
Decker says the real victim in all of this is the transgender high school child, who is battling confusion and fear regarding his or her identity already, now being told they're "wrong."
 
"The people that are put in elected office to protect their individual liberties are not with them, and supporting them," she says, "that is horrible to do to children... and any system that says that's OK needs a serious overhaul. Those kids deserve better."
 
Backers of the lawsuit say they're fighting to protect basic privacy rights, and keep children safe from predators.
 
Some are also calling it an overreach of presidential power.
 
“President Obama’s attempts to re-write the laws of our country without congressional consent and approval are not going to be tolerated by the State of Wisconsin,” said Attorney General Schimel in a statement. “After discussing with Governor Walker, I have decided to join my colleagues from across the country in challenging the Obama Administration’s latest power grab, which will have a significant impact on Wisconsin, particularly at the University of Wisconsin and Department of Public Instruction.”
 
But Decker says she already fears for her safety in public spaces, let alone restrooms, and wonders when lawmakers will work to make sure she'll finally feel safe.
 
"What would happen to me if I went into a biker bar, and I have to go into the men's bathroom," says Decker. "When does somebody stand up  and say, 'you know what? It's not safe for you to go in there.'" 
 
Governor Walker had previously downplayed the transgender bathroom issue, saying he would not commit to a North Carolina-style bill barring transgender people from choosing which bathroom they use. 
 
Meanwhile, backers of a state bill in Wisconsin, seeking to ban transgender people from certain bathrooms, say they'll bring it back in session next year.