Latest (renewed) Republican obsession: bathrooms

Just when you thought that AZ Republicans couldn't get any more bizarre...

Last month, the City of Phoenix passed an ordinance that bans discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

This month, Arizona's Republicans are mounting their counter-offensive.

At the Arizona legislature on Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear public testimony on the possible restoration of AHCCCS (aka "Arizona Medicaid") eligibility levels to 133% of the federal poverty level.

Other than that though, the agenda was kind of quiet (probably a good thing, given how much interest that one topic has garnered).

Apparently, it was too quiet for Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), chair of the committee.

He revised the agenda for Wednesday's meeting, slipping a striker proposal on to that agenda.

The relevant part of that striker (the blue text indicates a proposed change or addition to the law) -

B.  A person commits disorderly conduct if the person intentionally enters a public restroom, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or locker room and a sign indicates that the room is for the exclusive use of persons of one sex and the person is not legally classified on the person's birth certificate as a member of that sex. 

C.  Subsection B of this section does not apply to a person who enters a public restroom, bathroom, shower, bath, dressing room or locker room and who is of a different sex than that indicated on the sign if the person is any of the following:

1.  Entering as part of the person's job responsibilities.

2.  Entering to give aid or assistance to another person.

3.  A child who needs assistance.

4.  Physically disabled.

B.  D.  Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 6 is a class 6 felony.  Disorderly conduct under subsection A, paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 or subsection B is a class 1 misdemeanor.

Ummm...yeah.

Guess they didn't learn the lesson from the story of the fall of former US Senator Larry Craig - Republicans and public restrooms are not a combination that usually works out well for Republicans.

I'm actually a little surprised that Kavanagh is pushing this nugget of ugly - while his politics are appalling, he's actually smart enough to know better than to give wiseass bloggers material to work with.