At Target locations across the state, Alabamians will now be able to use whichever bathroom corresponds with his or her gender identity, the superstore chain announced on Tuesday.
In a press release emphasizing the corporation’s commitment to “inclusivity,” Target wrote, “we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.”
Target also specifically mentioned its support for the Federal Equality Act (FEA). The FEA would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to create a new set of legally protected classes. Such changes would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit, and the jury system.
State level legislation similar to the proposed federal overhaul has created many religious freedom quandaries such as the “Christian wedding baker – gay patron” service denial scenario. In Oregon, the owners of a bakery who denied service to a same-sex couple paid more than $135,000 in state-ordered damages as a result of recently passed LGBTQ protective legislation. The text of Oregon’s 2007 law is very similar to the federal proposal.
“We regularly assess issues and consider many factors such as impact to our business, guests and team members. Given the specific questions these legislative proposals raised about how we manage our fitting rooms and restrooms, we felt it was important to state our position,” Target wrote.
The statement from Target comes after new laws were passed by North Carolina and Mississippi that required individuals use the restroom that corresponds with their sex at birth as opposed to their gender identity. Predictably, the new laws have drawn ire from the LGBTQ community, with many activists claiming that it violates their civil rights.
On Twitter recently, Yellowhammer News CEO Cliff Sims, who also hosts the daily Yellowhammer Radio program, summed up many conservative Alabamians’ response to the controversy.
Just ponder for a moment that it's now controversial in America to believe men should use the men's restroom & women should use the women's.
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) April 8, 2016
This is not the first time that Target has integrated “gender-neutrality” into its business model. Last year, the company announced that it was beginning the process of eliminating boys’ and girls’ labels on toys after the store says customers were raising concerns about “unnecessary” gender-based signs. Gender-based signs stayed for clothing items, but in the toy, home, and entertainment departments, Target says suggesting products by gender is “unnecessary.”
RELATED: This superstore with 22 Alabama locations makes toy aisles gender neutral
The policy change in store restrooms is effective immediately and will be in place at Alabama’s 22 Target locations.
