US reality star: Trans people ‘endanger’ children

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

A US reality star has voiced her opposition to a bill that would grant trans people more rights.

Michelle Duggar, the star of 19 Kids and Counting and outspoken Baptist, narrated an automated phone call which on Monday called on voters in Fayetteville, Arkansas to protest a city council proposal.

The bill proposes to allow trans people to use toilets and other gender-divided facilities of their choosing, as well as lift bans on public accommodation for LGBT people and grant them more house and employment rights, reports The Daily Beast.

The automated call said: “The Fayetteville City Council is voting on an ordinance this Tuesday night that would allow men – yes I said men – to use women’s and girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, showers, sleeping areas and other areas that are designated for females only.

“I don’t believe the citizens of Fayetteville would want males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls.

“I doubt that Fayetteville parents would stand for a law that would endanger their daughters or allow them to be traumatized by a man joining them in their private space. We should never place the preference of an adult over the safety and innocence of a child.

“Parents, who do you want undressing next to your daughter at the public swimming pool’s private changing area?”

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In an August 5th memo, city attorney Kit Williams wrote: “Transgender people — who are far more likely to be the victims of harassment and violence if forced to use a bathroom that is inconsistent with their gender identity or expression — deserve to have the ability to use the bathroom in peace and safety.”

A US study in June found that in 2013, three quarters of homicide victims were transgender women, and over two thirds of homicide victims were non-white trans women.

It also found that transgender women and non-white transgender people are the most likely targets of police brutality, with both groups being six times more likely to experience violence at the hands of police officers than other LGBTQ people.

Duggar has previously won the now-defunct Vision Forum Ministries’ ‘Mother of the Year Award’.