Petition to Protect Bathroom Privacy in California

Ballot Initiative Launched to Prevent Government from Mandating Co-Ed Facilities

SACRAMENTO, CA – Privacy advocates are making a final two-week push in a campaign to prohibit unwanted intrusions in California bathrooms, showers and locker rooms. In April this year, Privacy For All, which is a coalition of parents, students, nonprofit and faith groups formed to protect the privacy rights of Californians, submitted language to California elections officials to place the Personal Privacy Protection Act on the 2016 ballot. Proponents of the new initiative need to gather 500,000 signatures of California voters by December 14th in order to place the measure before voters in 2016.

If approved by California voters, the Personal Privacy Protection Act requires that individuals “use facilities in accordance with their biological sex in all government buildings”. The proposed initiative does not require private businesses to maintain sex separated facilities, but protects these businesses from legal action if they do require employees and patrons to “use facilities in accordance with their biological sex.”

California’s legislature took an unprecedented step in 2013 by passing AB 1266 that allowed students in California public schools to choose the bathroom, shower and locker room that corresponds to the gender they identify with even if that is different from their biological sex. But that law was put on hold as opponents gathered almost 620,000 voter signatures for a referendum to allow voters to vote on the controversial new law. The matter is currently in court following voter officials rejecting more than one in five signatures to keep the measure off of the November 2014 ballot.

“California voters may have two chances to vote against co-ed bathrooms in 2016” said Karen England, a Privacy For All spokesperson. “We hope to wrap up the court battle over the AB 1266 referendum and place that on the ballot, but we also expect to have this new initiative before the voters at the same time.”

The Personal Privacy Protection Act also protects private businesses that may feel pressured to separate their bathrooms by gender identity as opposed to gender reality in order to avoid threatened lawsuits.

Proponents of the new initiative need to gather 365,880 signatures of California voters to place the measure before voters.