Scottsdale, Arizona bar owner kicks TG customers out.

[phxguy]

The Arizona Republic, Wednesday, July 18, 2007, 8:18pm ET

BAR vs. TRANSGENDERED: AG LOOKS INTO COMPLAINT

By PETER CORBETT, The Arizona Republic

Scottsdale bar owner Tom Anderson believes he was doing the right thing when he banned several transgender patrons from the club after women complained about cross-dressing men using the women's bathroom.

But one of the banned patrons, Michele deLaFreniere, has filed a discrimination complaint against Anderson's Fifth Estate.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office is investigating, and an interview is set for Aug. 7.

DeLaFreniere is chair of the Scottsdale Human Relations Commission and employed by the city, repairing bicycles through its Handlebar Helpers program.

Anderson denies that he discriminated against the transgender patrons but said he had to take a stand late last year because female patrons were "freaking out" and threatening to take their business elsewhere.

"It looked like a man trying to get the ladies drink special," Anderson said of the cross-dressing patrons.

It did not work to have the cross-dressing patrons use the men's room either, since some of the men chastised them and they were at risk of getting beat up, Anderson said.

Chuck Kelhoffer, Anderson's attorney, said the disruption "was starting to have an impact on business."

In his response to the Attorney General's Office, Kelhoffer said the complaint is an attempt by deLaFreniere to gain publicity for herself and her cause.

He also questioned whether deLaFreniere is a "pre-operative transsexual, post-operative transsexual or transvestite."

DeLaFreniere did not return calls seeking comment.

Kelhoffer said Anderson is accused of discrimination on the grounds of sexual stereotyping, a legal argument that has been used in employment cases.

But the complaint is unclear whether Anderson allegedly engaged in sexual stereotyping against a male with feminine characteristics or a female with male characteristics, Anderson's attorney said.

The Attorney General's Office would not comment or acknowledge that a complaint has been filed.

Anderson said a patron's gender or lifestyle choice does not concern him.

"Who am I to tell people how to live their lives," he said.

But as a bar owner, Anderson said he has an obligation to make sure that female customers feel comfortable and safe in the women's restroom.

"They told me to put a third bathroom in," the bar owner said, but that would be expensive, and no one else is required to do that.

Kelhoffer's response to the Attorney General's Office cited a Utah case in which a judge wrote that "many women would be upset, embarrassed and even concerned for their safety if a man used a public restroom designated exclusively for women. Concerns about privacy, safety and propriety are the reason that gender-specific restrooms are universally accepted in our society."

The Utah court went on to say that, taken to its extreme, "any male employee could dress as a woman, appear and act as a woman, and use the women's restrooms, showers and locker rooms."

Kelhoffer concluded that a transsexual cannot assert a sex discrimination claim based upon a sex stereotyping theory.

Copyright © 2007 The Arizona Republic. All rights reserved.

[BeardedOne]

This is such a tough one to call. Hell, go all France on them and declare Unisex and have two restrooms available for all customers.