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The latest issue dividing Americans is about public bathrooms. At issue is what bathroom -- men’s or women’s – transgender people should use. Transgender people are born with male or female bodies, but feel they were born into the wrong sex, according to the Intersex Society of North America. The bathroom dispute is even more divisive than other cultural issues, such as same-sex marriage. People can choose to attend weddings of same-sex couples or to get married to a same-sex partner. But going to a public bathroom is something most people can’t avoid. North Carolina recently passed a law requiring people to use public bathrooms for the sex listed on their birth certificates. There are calls for similar laws in other states. Supporters say such laws are needed to protect women and children from sexual attacks. Peter Sprigg is a senior fellow at the conservative Family Research Council. He said people using public bathrooms or locker rooms have “always been able to count on being separated” from people of the opposite sex.
* divide = 나누다, 가르다/ public bathroom = 공중 화장실/ at issue = 계쟁[논쟁]중인, 문제가 되고 있는/ transgender = 트랜스젠더(의), 성전환(자)의/ divisive = 분열을 초래하는/ birth certificate = 출생 증명서/ call = 요청, 요구/ count on ~ = ~을 확신하다; ~을 믿다
Opponents of the North Carolina law say it is dangerous to transgender people – making it hard for them to do something as normal and necessary as going to the bathroom. One of the best-known transgender people is Caitlyn Jenner. She was formerly known as Bruce Jenner, an Olympic gold medal winner. She wrote that allowing transgender people to use the “right bathroom” is not dangerous. There have been “no increases” in sexual assaults in the states and cities that have laws protecting transgender people from discrimination. She said the North Carolina law would lead people to demand “that women and girls prove they are actually female” to use a bathroom. Some people have called for boycotts of North Carolina and Mississippi, which passed a law allowing businesses to refuse service to same-sex couples. A boycott is when people deny business to a state, company or other group.
* opponent = (~에 대한) 반대자; 상대/ sexual assault = 성폭행, 강간/ discrimination = 차별/ boycott (of/on ~) = 보이콧, (구입・사용 등의) 거부 운동
