Court decides 900,000 petition signers can't challenge the controversial "gender identity" law allowing any man to use the women's shower by just claiming he felt like a woman at the time.
-- From "Anti-Bias Law Wins In Md.'s High Court" by Henri E. Cauvin and Ann E. Marimow, Washington Post Staff Writers 9/10/08
A Montgomery County law banning discrimination against transgender people took effect yesterday, county attorneys said, after the state's highest court rejected a petition effort that would have forced the issue to a referendum.
The measure, passed by the County Council in November, had been set to take effect in February, but it was blocked when some religious and conservative groups launched the petition effort.
The law prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment, taxi service, cable service and public accommodations.
Opponents, including some parents and religious groups, said they were worried about how the law might be applied to public restrooms and health club locker rooms. They gathered thousands of signatures to force the issue to a vote in November.
Amy Smith, an attorney for Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal fund assisting opponents, called the decision "another example of an activist court hijacking democracy." She said her organization was waiting to review the court's full opinion before it determines whether to take further legal action.
"Hopefully, we can stop a political activist group from silencing the voice of an entire county," she said.
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