The controversy in the US over transgender people’s use of toilets erupted afresh in Washington DC where a security guard allegedly stopped a transgender woman from using the ladies’ lavatory in a supermarket.
The security guard - who was female - allegedly told 32-year-old Ebony Belcher: “You guys can’t use our women’s restroom.”
Reports said the incident happened at a Giant Food supermarket in the nation’s capital, where Ms Belcher had tried to use the women’s bathroom. According to an incident report filed by police and obtained by local media, the guard, 45-year-old Francine Jones, told her she could not enter and pushed her out. The guard allegedly used a homophobic slur and added: “They did not pass the law yet.”
Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told the Associated Press Ms Jones was charged with assault, which is listed on the report as a suspected hate crime.
Giant apologised in a statement, saying the guard acted inappropriately during the incident on Wednesday. Ms Jones was employed by Wolf Professional Security, which is based in Baltimore. Neither she nor the company’s lawyer have yet commented.
After she left the store, Ms Belcher called 911, the statement said, and Ms Jones was then arrested. Ms Belcher said she was left emotionally hurt from the incident.
“It’s terrible....I’m distraught,” she told WJLA. “People should not be discriminated based on their gender identity.”
Ahold USA, the parent company of Giant, said in a statement: “Giant has a longstanding commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive environment in which all associates and all customers are treated fairly and with respect at all times.”
It added: “We view the choice of restroom as a personal matter, and if any customer feels uncomfortable at any point shopping in our stores for any reason, we encourage them to speak to a member of store management, who have both the experience and the discretion to address all issues.”
The issue of transgender people’s use of lavatories has become an increasingly testing issue, with several states passing laws that force a person to use the toilet assigned for their gender at birth, rather than how they identify. North Carolina has experienced conservable backlash from business and performers, who have sought to cut links with the state after it passed such a bill.
The Obama administration has responded by issuing a directive that told every public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that matched their gender identity.
