Minneapolis provides "restroom" equity 

Since 2003, the City of Minneapolis no longer penalizes people for being in the "wrong" bathroom according to gender.

The old ordinance arguably made it a crime for any person, at any time, for any reason - even by accident - to be in the restroom designated for the opposite sex. The ordinance was ambiguous, and arguably applied to a wide range of situations no reasonable legislator would ever intend to criminalize. Some of those situations included a disabled person having an opposite-sex personal care attendant assist them in the restroom, a parent taking a minor opposite-sex child into a restroom to change a diaper, and even a cleaning person mopping the opposite-sex restroom in an empty office building.

The key impact of the ordinance, however, was on transgender individuals who found themselves threatened and harassed for doing nothing other than going to the bathroom.

Numerous city ordinances and state laws exist that criminalize actual misconduct carried out inside bathrooms, which opponents of the repeal were concerned about. 

OutFront Minnesota strongly praises the city for a common sense approach which helps establish a more welcoming city for all of its residents.

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