Clothes Encounters of the Absurd Kind

Tony Perkins, FRC Washington Update:Yo Smith would be an expert on the men's and women's clothes at American Eagle (AE). As a cross-dresser, she's worn both! To some folks, that makes her the perfect AE salesperson. To the store managers, Yo's appearance is a side-show that drives away business. Unfortunately, the company's opinion no longer matters.

According to New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the retailer will have to hire cross-dressers like Smith regardless of how uncomfortable it makes customers or employees. He cites the state's Human Rights Law, which grants special protections based upon gender identity. As a result, the 2,000-store chain has surrendered to state pressure and agreed to hire workers like Smith as part of a private settlement.

It started several months ago, when Yo took the store to court after it refused to offer her/him a job. "To avoid further expense and the distraction of a prolonged argument, [we have] agreed to a compromise settlement in this case, with the understanding that AE is not admitting to the findings," said an AE spokesman. "We wholeheartedly believe that transgender individuals should be treated equally." In the name of tolerance, American Eagle has been forced to take on a sales liability to satisfy the PC brigade. Shouldn't employers have the freedom to impose a dress code as they see fit?

Congress certainly doesn't think so. Democratic leaders want to make laws like the one in New York national policy. Under the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the business community would have to surrender their most basic rights, including the freedom to set workplace standards. Until now, most Americans dismissed the legislation as a harmless anti-prejudice workplace bill. Companies in every state will soon know it as something far more dangerous. H.R. 3017 would require employers to hire transvestites, transsexuals, and drag queens and kings. That means co-workers could be subject to sharing restrooms or locker rooms based on their colleagues' gender "expression."

As our own Peter Sprigg points out in his Washington Times op-ed, "ENDA Sanity," there are plenty of jobs where personal appearance is a legitimate concern. Under ENDA, those concerns would be secondary to cross-dressing tolerance. How extensive is this tolerance? AE's stores have been bullied into "sensitivity training" for all staff on transgender issues. If the federal cross-dressing protection act passes, churches, businesses, and others workers would not only have to accept--but embrace--these wardrobe malfunctions. For more on this nightmarish piece of legislation, don't miss FRC's new documentary, ENDA: The End of Religious Freedom in America? Click here to order your own copy!

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Tags: Tony Perkins, Washington Update, FRC, Transgenders, cross-dressers, NY, ENDA, American Eagle, AE, religious freedom To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!