The use of locker rooms and restrooms at the Newport Recreation Center based on gender identity was a topic of discussion at a recent meeting of the Newport City Council.
A large group of area residents showed up at the city council’s May 20 meeting, providing testimony on both sides of this issue.
City Manager Spencer Nebel provided some background on the matter.
“The issue at question is related to transgender use of restrooms and locker rooms in the recreation center,” Nebel said. “It should be noted that transgender use of these restrooms has been occurring for years. Legislation from 2021 added a separate definition of ‘gender identity’ from ‘sexual orientation’ to clarify that it is unlawful to discriminate based on gender identity.
“The focus of enforcement of any complaints is based on behavior, not how people identify their gender when using these facilities,” Nebel added. “If improper behavior is occurring by anyone using a restroom, that behavior should be reported to appropriate personnel at the rec center and personnel will investigate and determine what actions, if necessary, should occur.”
The city council had previously adopted a Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which says, in part, “In the strongest terms, the city of Newport condemns racism, discrimination, and other types of bias. The city recognizes that a community is enhanced by its diversity, and city facilities and services exist to serve all members of the community. Racism and bigotry are never to be supported or tolerated, and instead are to be identified and condemned.”
Nebel told council members they weren’t being asked to make any decisions on this issue, but rather the information was being presented for discussion purposes.
One of the individuals speaking to the city council on this matter was Judith Jones, priest at St. Stephen Episcopal Church in Newport and St. Luke by the Sea Episcopal Church in Waldport.
“My congregations and I want to go on record thanking Mike Cavanaugh (Newport Parks & Recreation director) and the staff at the rec center for their just treatment of transgender individuals despite pressure from members of the public to discriminate against them,” Jones said. “Transgender people are not a nameless, faceless threat to our children or to public safety … all deserve to be seen, to be valued and to be treated with dignity and respect. And all are entitled to equal treatment under the law.”
The council also heard from Linda Dinerstein, whose family members are regular users of the rec center. “Many of us have recently been made aware, through an incident in the women’s locker room at the recreation center a few weeks ago, that persons identifying as a gender other than their biological gender may freely use whichever locker room/restroom they prefer,” she said. “This, in turn, has created an extremely uncomfortable and undesirable situation for those of us who do not agree with this ideology.”
Dinerstein added, “Please know that we are not criticizing anyone’s personal choice of identity. We do not hate or hold any animosity toward the LGBTQ+ community. And we understand how difficult it is for our city government to navigate this delicate issue without discriminating against anyone.” She said the purpose of the discussion “is to promote assurance that we and our children are treated with the same concern and compassion as all others, and that an accommodation can be made by the governance of the recreation center to ensure our privacy and the sense of safety when using the combined locker rooms/restrooms.”
Robert Barrett, pastor at Yachats Community Church, told city council members, “Supporting the rights of gender-expansive, transgender and non-binary individuals to use public locker rooms and bathrooms that align with their chosen identity is not only a matter of equality and dignity, but also a legal requirement under Oregon law. It is essential to affirm the rights of all individuals to live authentically and safely in public spaces.”
Carol Shriner is a retired pediatrician who lives in Newport. She said, “A lot of what we’re talking about doesn’t have a lot to do with reality. We are exposing children at far too young of an age, where they are not developmentally, emotionally or medically ready to understand these concepts. I think we need to ask, what are we doing to our children? This is a new phenomenon, and this is not going to end well if we don’t go back to doing what is best for the children.”
After receiving comments from all others who wanted to speak, council members weighed in on the issue.
Councilor Robert Emond said, “I would ask all the community members to realize that all the people here are speaking from their heart and from their sincere beliefs, and we don’t all have the same beliefs; we don’t all have the same experiences.
“This is a very difficult area because it involves culture and society,” Emond added. “We are going to proceed to try to accommodate the most people in the best way. As someone pointed out, there’s a cost associated with that. What I’ve heard here is it sounds like we do need to look at more privacy.”
Councilor CM Hall pointed out the rec center has single-stall, lockable family facilities. “And as you enter the women’s or men’s restroom, there are private changing areas in those.”
Hall said she is a lifelong Oregonian, “and I’m feeling a little bit like we’re in 1994, because in 1994 there was a ballot measure, Measure 13, that was very much using so much of the rhetoric that I’ve heard tonight around protecting our children when what it was was people who don’t have a lot of knowledge about LBGTQ people. They were very afraid, and so they felt that there was an inference about if they are LBGTQ people, then we need to protect our children.
“I’m a little bit offended because I also am American and I’m also a person of faith, and I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person in this room,” Hall said. “I believe in justice, equity and compassion and human relations.”
Mayor Jan Kaplan also spoke on the matter. “We have a state law, and we feel that we’ve implemented it safely,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. It also doesn’t mean that people’s attitudes can’t be improved. You can disagree with me and you can be honest about how you feel, but when we start projecting that, we get no place. We need to listen to each other.”
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