About those transgender bathrooms: One question for President Trump

It never fails. When I need to get up early in the morning, my mind won’t let me fall asleep at a reasonable hour. I had an appointment at 8 a.m. and was determined to get eight hours of sleep.

I ate dinner, showered, and was in bed by 9:30 p.m. But I didn’t knock out until almost 2 a.m.

I was in a focus group meeting all day Wednesday and went straight to the gym after work, so I didn’t see the Trump administration’s decision to reverse President Barack Obama’s transgender bathroom directive until I got in bed.

Public school districts across the nation no longer have to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.

As a proud gay man and a supporter of equal rights for all people, I was happy and hopeful when Trump made headlines during his presidential campaign for saying Caitlyn Jenner could use the bathroom of her choice in the Trump Tower.

Now, I have one question for the commander-in-chief.

Mr. President, how can you empathize with a celebrity’s need for safety and inclusion by allowing her to use the bathroom of her choice but disregard the safety of students across the country who now won’t have a choice?

Before I went to sleep last night, I wrote this haiku I also want to share:

Okay for Caitlyn

But stop the children in line

Because he said so

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 10:09 AM.