Gender neutral bathroom bill approved by Philly council committee

A Philadelphia City Council committee has approved a bill requiring that single-person public bathrooms get gender-neutral labels.  It would apply to restaurants, hotels and other businesses that have facilities open to the public.

Helen Fitzpatrick, Director of the city’s LGBT affairs office says making single-person public bathroom signs gender neutral is just an extension of the city’s fair practice ordinance.”In effect this means that people in our city may access the restroom that they know to be the restroom that is suitable to them, without regard to the sex on their birth certificate or to the gender marker on their government issued ID’s or to their gender presentation to the rest of the world,” Fitzpatrick said.Councilman Mark Squilla says changing a few signs helped create potty parity during the recent papal visit.”The men’s line was real short and everybody was going in and the women’s line was real long and when they changed the signs everyone was waiting in the same line and it made perfect sense,” he said.Multi-person bathrooms would be unchanged.

The legislation next will be considered by the entire city council.