Calls separate locker rooms for males and females “Just common sense”

LAUREL, MT—Today Jeff Laszloffy, President/CEO of the Montana Family Foundation, criticized an ACLU lawsuit trying to deny ballot access to the Montanans who support the Montana Locker Room Privacy Act (I-183).

He said, “High school girls shouldn’t be forced to shower in front of a boy, even if he does think he’s a girl. Boys shouldn’t have to change clothes in front of a girl, even if she thinks she’s a boy. It’s just common sense. It’s tragic that the ACLU wants to disenfranchise thousands of Montana voters.”

Laszloffy added that the Locker Room Privacy Act offers compassionate solutions like single stall changing facilities for individuals who may not feel comfortable in the locker room for their own sex.

Laszloffy pointed out that the ACLU’s lawsuit is premature, since the Montana Locker Room Privacy Act hasn’t even qualified for the ballot yet. “The ACLU knows it will pass by an overwhelming margin if the people of Montana are allowed to vote, so they’re acting in desperation to sue even before it’s on the ballot.”

He added that exaggerated claims about the economic impact of Locker Room Privacy are false. “A study about the economy of North Carolina, and what happened when they instituted locker room privacy, claims it cost that state $3.7 billion dollars. But that amount is over 12 years while North Carolina’s economy is nearly $500 billion dollars in one single year. Simple math shows that protecting privacy cost North Carolina less than one tenth of one percent per year.”

He went on, “Similarly, claims that protecting Locker Room Privacy would put university funding at risk are absolutely false. The Obama administration might have penalized schools that protect locker room privacy. But the Trump administration has said unequivocally that they will not.”

Laszloffy concluded, “The Montana Locker Room Privacy Act is about protecting privacy, safety, and dignity for all Montanans. Males and females use different locker rooms. This isn’t some new idea, it’s just common sense. The ACLU should permit the people of Montana to vote. That’s supposed to be how self-government works.”