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"All it does is allow these Republicans to go around and bully any woman who isn't wearing a skirt because they think she might not look woman enough," Ocasio-Cortez said.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has perfectly explained why Nancy Mace's "disgusting" bathroom ban will do nothing but harm women.
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The New York Democrat pointed out while speaking reporters on Wednesday that not only do Republicans not have a suggestion on how to enforce a ban on transgender women in women's facilities, but that there is no possible way to enforce such a ban without "gross" privacy violations and potential sexual assault.
"What Nancy Mace and what Speaker Johnson are doing are endangering all women and girls. Because if you ask them 'What is your plan on how to enforce this?' they won't come up with an answer," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And what it inevitably results in are women and girls who are primed for assault because people are gonna want to check their private parts in suspecting who is trans and who is cis."
Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, introduced a resolution that would ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol, confirming that the rule was "absolutely" targeting newly-elected Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride, the first-ever out transgender lawmaker in Congress.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson yesterday supported Mace in imposing a rule that mandates all single-sex facilities in Capitol buildings — including restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms — be reserved strictly for people based on their gender assigned at birth. As neither have said how they intend to enforce the rule, Ocasio-Cortez noted that they can use it to target any woman based on her appearance.
"The idea that Nancy Mace wants little girls to drop trou...in front of — who, an investigator? Who would that be? — because she wants to suspect and point fingers at who she thinks is trans is disgusting," Ocasio-Cortez said. "It is disgusting, and frankly, all it does is allow these Republicans to go around and bully any woman who isn't wearing a skirt because they think she might not look woman enough."
"People have the right to express themselves, to dress how they want, and to be who they are. And if a woman doesn't look woman enough to a Republican, they want to be able to inspect her genitals to use a bathroom," she continued. "It's disgusting."
McBride responded to the targeted ban by saying she's “not here to fight about bathrooms" and would rather focus on efforts "to bring down costs facing families.” She added that "like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson even if I disagree with them.”
Related: Trans people respond to Sarah McBride's bathroom ban compliance
Ocasio-Cortez took a firmer stance, saying of the ban that "everybody, no matter how you feel on this issue, should reject it completely." She also pointed out the disingenuousness of Mace, a previously little-known lawmaker who just a few years ago co-sponsored a transgender equality bill, accusing her of using the issue to score political points.
"Why are they doing this? They're doing this so Nancy Mace can make a buck and send a text and fund-raise off an email," Ocasio-Cortez. "They're not doing this to protect people — they're endangering women, they're endangering girls of all kind and everybody should reject it. It's gross."
