Chicago Ordinance Outlines Trans Bathroom Rights

FILE- In this Aug. 23, 2007, file photo, a sign marks the entrance to a gender-neutral restroom at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. Nearly all of the nation's 20 largest cities, including New York City, h... FILE- In this Aug. 23, 2007, file photo, a sign marks the entrance to a gender-neutral restroom at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. Nearly all of the nation's 20 largest cities, including New York City, have local or state nondiscrimination laws that allow transgender people to use whatever bathroom they identify with, though a debate has raged around the topic nationwide. Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, signed an executive order on Monday, March 7, 2016, that guarantees people access to single-sex facilities consistent with their gender identity at city facilities, including offices, pools and recreation centers, without the need to show identification or any other proof of gender. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File) MORE LESS
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CHICAGO (AP) — Transgender people in Chicago will be able to use a public bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity under an ordinance passed by the city’s aldermen.

Aldermen approved the change in Chicago’s human rights ordinance Wednesday. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says it closes a legal loophole that could “inadvertently” allow restaurants, hotels and other “public accommodations” to discriminate against transgender people.

Before Wednesday’s action, the ordinance, among the first in the nation that included gender identity as a protected class, exempted bathrooms. It required people to use the bathroom matching the sex on their government-issued identification.

The CEO of gay rights group Equality Illinois, Brian Johnson, says the ordinance is about more than public accommodations. It is in his words “about standing up for the dignity of all Chicagoans.”

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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