SE Illinois News

A "statesman and a hero" will say the right thing even when a colleague cries "transphobic," a Crete Township Republican official said after Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) was called that by the state House sponsor of a gender-neutral bathroom bill now in the Senate.

"State Rep. Tom Morrison is absolutely correct in speaking out against this nonsense," Crete Township Republican Party Chairman David Smith told SE Illinois News. "When left-wing proponents of co-ed bathrooms cannot offer thoughtful arguments for their radical agenda, they often resort to name calling and character assassination. As far as I am concerned, Tom Morrison is a statesman and a hero."

Crete Township Republican Party Chairman David Smith | Contributed photo

Morrison's willingness to speak out, despite the comments he received over House Bill 3195, is a great example for the rest of the state, Smith said.

"Illinois is in desperate need for a bunch of good men and women to rise up and lead a movement on behalf of all decent people against this type of cultural rot," Smith said. "For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we cannot remain silent and inactive. We still have political tools and the liberty to use them. We must use them before we lose them."

HB 3195 now is in the Senate Assignments Committee.

The day after HB 3195 passed the House along party lines, primary sponsor Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) told the Chicago Sun-Times that Morrison's concerns over the danger to women and girls posed by the legislation are "clearly transphobic."

In the same Sun-Times story, Stuart said that her legislation is well meaning and has the very best and nothing but good intentions at heart.

"This bill is really about when you have a caregiver that's an opposite gender, that they can now go in with their loved one, such as a mother can go in with a son and help in the restroom," she said. "And we're talking about a normal bodily function, a human bodily function. That's all we’re talking about."

In a separate interview with the North Cook News about HB 3195, also called the "Equitable Restrooms Act," Morrison countered the bill has picked up a reputation as LGBT bathroom legislation, which in turn seeks to smother alarm about opportunities predators will quickly find.

"In any other discussion, most everyone agrees that women and girls are at particular risk of male violence," Morrison said. "It is disingenuous of the sponsor to claim this bill is to enable mothers to bring male children into a restroom with them. That action is socially accepted and not prohibited by law. Why do mothers do that, by the way? Most mothers would answer that they keep young sons with them because of the risk of predation in the men’s room."

Smith backed up Morrison's points, adding that bathroom issues should not be a legislative priority.

"The state is facing enormous amounts of debit, high unemployment, out-of-control violence in our cities, and government school systems that fail to teach our boys and girls how to read, write and do arithmetic," Smith said. "Yet one of state Rep. Stuart's legislative priorities is to mandate politically correct bathrooms? What world does Stuart live in that requires that a state law be passed to mandate mixed-sex bathrooms? How many mothers, daughters and sisters are demanding such a radical change to historically private places?"

HB 3195 isn't something most Illinoisans even want and they need to tell that to their state Senators, Smith said.

"The great majority of Illinois citizens do not want these types of changes to public restrooms, they must speak up now and let their local state senator know that HB 3195 is not only foolish, but it fails to recognize basic biological facts, also known as 'the science.'" Smith said. "Voters must demand that our state lawmakers protect the privacy, dignity and safety of all Illinois citizens, not pass special laws for special interests."