A transgender woman — also known as a man, to those who do not work in the mainstream media — says he was visiting one of his favorite restaurants in Boiling Springs, S.C. on Thursday when his bathroom preferences led to law enforcement officers being called in.
Drew Jarrell said he he was stopped by a manager on his way out of the women’s restroom at the establishment and was asked “to use the bathroom in the way I was born,” Jarrell told CBS affiliate WSPA.
Right before he left the restaurant, Jarrell thought it would be a good idea to use the women’s bathroom again, even after being directed not to, since it is a place reserved for actual, non-male, female women with no Y chromosome to do their business in privacy, with no men hanging around. That’s when he says deputies were called to the restaurant.
“It was humiliating,” the would-be woman said.
Jarrell shared video with WSPA of a manager telling him that he has to use the men’s toilet. In the video, the manager said it is a matter of South Carolina law.
“Right now we don’t have any public accommodation laws for the state of South Carolina that deals with transgender individuals,” said Greenville lawyer John Reckenbeil. “So realistically, it’s up to the business owner at this point in time.”
Reckenbeil says the Supreme Court could make a ruling on the bathroom rights of transgender individuals as early as next year.
WSPA reached out to the restaurant for comment but has not heard back.
Jarrell says she wants to use his experience to educate not to promote hate.
“What happened to Drew is a perfect example of why legal protection in public accommodations and nondiscrimination policies are so critical for us,” said Ivy Hill, executive director of Gender Benders, the largest transgender advocacy group in South Carolina.
