Obama's transgender restroom mandate bombs with voters

President Barack Obama’s transgender mandate to open restrooms and private facilities to the opposite sex at public schools and universities was opposed by a large majority of voters, according to a recent poll taken on the issue.

Pollsters from Quinnipiac University surveyed voters from three major swing states — Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania — and discovered that most oppose the highly controversial federal guidance laid out by the Obama administration that requires public schools and universities to provide transgender students with access to restrooms, showers and overnight accommodations designated for the opposite natural sex. Those not complying with the pro-LGBT mandate will face having their federal funding revoked.

The overwhelming resistance to Obama’s mandate in all three states was witnessed by a double-digit margin, as voters opposed the measure by an average of 14 percentage points in the Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania polls.

“In Ohio, 55 percent opposed the Obama administration policy, while 36 percent supported, [while] Florida voters opposed the measure 54–37, LifeSiteNews reports. “And voters in Pennsylvania, which has been reliably Democratic in presidential elections for decades, opposed the school mandate 53–39.”

Effect on the presidential election

An expert on public policy argues that this issue can have a major effect on the 2016 general election in November, as voters will look to put a president in office who is committed to protecting America’s youth from potentially unsafe encounters in private facilities.

“The Quinnipiac shows clearly that voters disagree with the Obama administration’s mandate that schools allow biological males to use girls’ showers, locker rooms and restrooms in schools,” Family Research Center Senior Fellow for Policy Studies Peter Sprigg told LifesiteNews. “This shows that Republican candidates for office would do well to highlight this issue in this year’s elections, while Democrats would do well to distance themselves from the administration’s radical position.”

In response to Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s announcement of the guidance last month, 11 states have declared that they are suing the Obama administration so they can keep their education funding received from the federal government — money that pays for special education, school lunches and other expenses on federally funded campuses.

Democratic presidential presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton stands behind Obama’s pro-LGBT policy 100 percent.

“Hillary Clinton applauds the Obama administration for taking actions this week to stand up for the rights of LGBT people,” a spokeswoman for Clinton’s campaign told The Washington Post.

On the other side of the party line, Republican presidential presumptive nominee Donald Trump stands firmly against imposing such a mandate that forces American youth to share restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping accommodations with the opposite sex.

“Donald Trump has said he opposes the ordinance and would not impose it if elected president,” LifeSiteNews’ Ben Johnson informed. “Mr. Trump is particularly popular in Pennsylvania, where tens of thousands of Democrats haveswitched parties to vote for him.”

The transgender bathroom issue in public schools and universities could prove to be a deciding issue, come November, as the Quinnipiac poll covering Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania represents 67 of the 270 electoral votes needed by Trump or Clinton to win the race for the White House.

With Pennsylvania voting decisively blue since former Republican President George H.W. Bush defeated his Democratic contender, Michael Dukakis, back in 1988, voters in the Keystone State could turn things around for Trump over the transgender restroom issue.

Voters who participated in the new poll agree on the general belief that an individual’s natural sex should determine which restroom he or she uses.

“The poll also found that a majority of voters in Ohio did not believe that members of one biological sex should legally be allowed to use the facilities of the opposite sex,” Johnson added. “Voters in all three states were narrowly split.”

Government overreach?

Americans voicing their opinions on the transgender bathroom issue have made it clear that they do not appreciate the government forcing people to abide by its policies — whether they agree with them or not.

“The fact that the numbers are much closer on the question of whether transgender people should generally be ‘allowed’ to use the facilities of their choice shows that Americans are somewhat reluctant to endorse government mandates in either direction,” Sprigg contends. “I would point out, however, that it is transgender activists who have picked this fight by demanding that they be allowed unlimited access to the facilities of their choice, and that those who object be actively punished using civil rights law penalties and — in the case of schools — the denial of federal funds.”

He insists that the Obama administration has truly overstepped its authority by attempting to make Americans comply with its progressive pro-LGBT mandates that many believe put youth at risk unnecessarily.

“This was a completely unnecessary assault upon the status quo, under which such sensitive issues were addressed on a case-by-case basis,” Sprigg asserts.

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