rp4prez
03-04-2009, 08:38 PM
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090302.wcowent03/BNStory/specialComment/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090302.wcowent03
Here's your cutting-edge human-rights case for the day: Should a person with a penis be allowed to use the women's locker room because he feels like he's a woman?
If you answered "not necessarily," please send a dollar to John Fulton, who owns a gym in St. Catharines, Ont. He'll need it for his defence fund.
Three years ago, Mr. Fulton got a call from a deep-voiced stranger who wanted to sign up for his women-only gym. Two days later, he got a visit: The stranger turned out to be a preoperative transsexual. Mr. Fulton, perhaps with his female clients' reactions in mind, hesitated. A week later, he received a lawyer's letter demanding an apology and a cash settlement. He refused, and now is trapped in human-rights commission hell.
"I'm probably screwed here," he said last week after a mediation session proved unsuccessful. He's right. Here's why. The offended party gets a free lawyer. Win or lose, he pays nothing. But the defendant always pays. If he decides to put up a fight, he might have to spend $100,000, maybe more, even if he wins. The case could drag on for years.
Here's your cutting-edge human-rights case for the day: Should a person with a penis be allowed to use the women's locker room because he feels like he's a woman?
If you answered "not necessarily," please send a dollar to John Fulton, who owns a gym in St. Catharines, Ont. He'll need it for his defence fund.
Three years ago, Mr. Fulton got a call from a deep-voiced stranger who wanted to sign up for his women-only gym. Two days later, he got a visit: The stranger turned out to be a preoperative transsexual. Mr. Fulton, perhaps with his female clients' reactions in mind, hesitated. A week later, he received a lawyer's letter demanding an apology and a cash settlement. He refused, and now is trapped in human-rights commission hell.
"I'm probably screwed here," he said last week after a mediation session proved unsuccessful. He's right. Here's why. The offended party gets a free lawyer. Win or lose, he pays nothing. But the defendant always pays. If he decides to put up a fight, he might have to spend $100,000, maybe more, even if he wins. The case could drag on for years.