MACON, Ga. — Mayor Robert Reichert has 10 days to make a decision on whether to sign, veto, or leave the non-discrimination ordinance unsigned.
The Bibb County Commission approved an ordinance on Tuesday which will ban a variety of discriminations by businesses in employment, housing and public accommodations.
Those include discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or military status, but debate before the commission focused around sexual orientation and gender identity.
DeMarcus Beckham, who pushed for the commission to pass the ordinance said on Tuesday, getting this passed is only the beginning. He says it's also about educating the public, particularly, he says, after hearing comments made in these commission meetings about the transgender community.
"When understanding the trans community, they are people, just like you and I. They have a right to be respected and not demonized," Beckham said.
Though the ordinance will ban several different types of discrimination, commissioners who opposed focused on how, they say, this ordinance would violate women's privacy by allowing transgender women into women's restrooms.
"My concern is safety issues -- safety issues for our girls, our women, in public accommodations like restrooms, bathrooms and locker rooms," said Commissioner Mallory Jones.
Some people echoed those claims in a public hearing on Tuesday.
"As a mom of three young children each two years apart, the public bathroom is always an adventure, now I have the added worry that a man seeing us go in and deciding this most certainly will be an easy opportunity to do harm," said a woman in the hearing.
But this ordinance wouldn't affect how assault or other crimes are prosecuted. County Spokesman Chris Floore and Sheriff David Davis say a crime is still a crime.
"There are already laws on the books, simple battery, assault, all those personal crimes," Davis said.
This ordinance just bans discrimination and will allow transgender people to use the restroom at a business without being discriminated against.
Zarion Newbill was at Tuesday night's watch party of the vote. She identifies as a transgender woman and says comments made by some commissioners were hurtful.
"As a transwoman, I have gone into the women’s restroom, and I have not had any issues. There is not any documented evidence that says or shows that transwomen are a threat on the infringement of women’s rights in regards to the restroom. There is just none," Newbill said.
Newbill says "fearmongering" about a minority group using public accommodations is not new.
"It just shows me that some of the tactics used in the '50s and '60s to help the white agenda, to not allow black people to use the same restrooms as white people was an issue," Newbill said.
Newbill said she is "more in jeopardy of my life going into the men’s restroom dressed as I am. It’s crazy for people to see me as a threat."
According to a survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality in 2015, 57 percent of the 27,715 transgender people surveyed said they avoided using public restrooms within that year because they were afraid of confrontations or other problems they may experience. 12 percent of respondents reported that someone denied them access to a restroom within the past year. 13 percent said they were verbally harassed trying to access the restroom, and 2 percent said they were physically attacked.
Now that the ordinance has passed commission, it's now up to the mayor whether he wants to sign it, veto it, or leave it unsigned. If he does not sign or veto it, it goes into law unsigned.
Spokesperson Chris Floore says Reichert will use the next 10 days to consider all public comments on the ordinance.