Should Transgender Americans Be Afforded Rights Equal to Those Seen by Other Americans

Sorry for the late response, I"ve been a bit busy and had trouble coming up with any arguments. I pre-emptively apologise for any bad grammar or random weird words; I wrote this on my phone that has autocorrect. Also I have an obsession with sticking commas everywhere so don"t mind them" Since I"m relatively new to this website and don"t yet know how things work here, I feel like a short disclaimer is in order due to possible sensitivity of the subject matter. First of all I"m here for the sake of debate and discussion (arguments present are for the sake of con, I can personally swing both ways), if any offense is given it is not intended. Secondly I"m not from the United States (I"m assuming based on the context of the arguments that"s what the debate focuses on), hence my arguments will evolve more around ideas and the data brought up by pro. The idea that all people in a single country have the same rights as their peers should be self-evident. If that is indeed the motion of this debate then I concede. Debate over. You won. However as some of the commenters have implied, what pro is advocating for is not equality but special treatment. Hence I"ll be debating against the standards that pro has defined as equal. The problem that this motion seeks to eliminate is the very real problem of discrimination that some transgender people face solely on the basis of what they are. However implementing this motion would be likely to do more long term harm to the LGBTGQ community as have possible other negative outcomes. The fact of the matter is that change comes slowly and though it saddens me, the LGBTGQ movement needs to be more patient. Imposing special privileges on to transgender individuals is the wrong thing to do. Force should not be the way to change. It will only strengthen those who discriminate towards them, which is the core problem that needs to be fixed. Thus it is the attitudes of the populous at large which needs to change, not legislation. Luckily this is what is currently happening, people are slowly becoming more accepting, hence it is important not to take too drastic moves that could have negative effects on the community at large, not just trans people. I can guess at the frustration of LGBTQ people, it is not fair that they need to wait for their rights. Maybe people in the future will be better off, but some might not live to see this day. However creating legislation based on gender politics is not the way forwards as Pro would be suggesting. The problem with gender identity is that it is unmeasurable; all you can go by is the word of the individual, which of course isn"t a reliable method of determining it. Right now the people who would lie about their gender identity are low, due to there being no real reason to lie about the topic. However by giving special rights to transgender people, it is likely that more people will start doing so. This does two things. First it undermines the hardships that transgender people face and the label as a whole; it will just become a means of getting extra benefits with no drawback. More importantly it opens up numerous variabilities in society. While it is true that there are numerous transgender people in the States, there are also a large number of sex-offenders. It is not just paedophiles that can abuse the system, and gain access to areas they previously couldn"t get to their targets at, it is all the perverts, stalkers, peepers, rapists, ect. who now have a whole range of new opportunities to act. Toilets are the least of your problems. Just think of all the places where the States have gender segregation, such as changing rooms, showers at swimming pools and saunas. The list is endless and all these areas become "hunting grounds" for all the perverts out there. What it comes down to with this argument is that: by giving these special privileges to trans people, such being allowed to enter any area meant for the opposite biological sex, it takes away the freedom to feel comfortable or safe from the people who right now use these services. Sometimes you must go with what causes the least pain to the majority even if it harms minority groups in the process. In an ideal system this wouldn"t be necessary, but as the statuesque stands we do not live in an ideal system. You wouldn"t want to cause needles harm to your fellow peers just because you feel pain yourself? So what pro needs to prove is that there is a reliable way of proving ones gender identity. If not then the burden becomes that these special rights for trans people are more important than the rights of the rest of the populous. (Also even though it is self-evident why Pro thinks this motion should be acted upon, it would still be nice to have it in writing). Another problem that lies within gender identity is that, the very concept is one of the contributors to the attitudes, that causes discrimination against trans people. By supporting the motion you are supporting harmful gender stereotypes that the identities are based on. An ideal society that we should strive for is one where an individual can have any traits and not be ladled as something. There would be no artificial restrictions on what one can wear or do based on their biological gender. As I have already stated to get to this world we need to change the opinion of the population as a whole. Break down the stereotypes, not create more in-out group dynamics. We are all human. Can"t we just treat each other equally based on that?