Fox News’ Todd Starnes accused Bruce Springsteen of wanting “grown men to use the bathroom with little girls” because he canceled a North Carolina concert in protest of the “bigotry” of the state’s anti-LGBT HB2 law.
From Media Matters:
On March 23 North Carolina’s general assembly passed a bill “barring transgender people from bathrooms and locker rooms that do not match the gender on their birth certificates.” The New York Times editorial board slammed the legislation, writing that it “makes North Carolina [a] pioneer in bigotry,” while regional editorial boards admonished the “recklessness and foolishness” of state officials rolling back nondiscrimination protections. On April 7, NBA analyst and TV personality Charles Barkley told CNN “the NBA should move the all-star game from Charlotte” due to the law.
Yesterday, Springsteen released a statement in opposition to what’s known as the “bathroom law” when he announced the cancelation of his show in Greensboro. It reads, in part:
To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress.
[…]Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.
Fox’s Starnes reacted with such hostility that you’d think he had some huge bundle of money at stake. Or maybe to prove something about his own sexuality:
Starnes could have politely expressed his disappointment and/or disagreement with Springsteen’s views and decision. But Starnes has quite a history of inflammatory homophobia. I’d say this latest example says way more about him than Springsteen, wouldn’t you?
Starnes image via Crooks and Liars.
Of course, most transmen sport beards and tend to wear men’s clothing so those “little girls” are going to be a hell of a lot more confused by “men with beards” using the same bathrooms they do while a number of “women in heels and dresses” are being forced to use the bathrooms their big brothers and dads have to use.
(On an aside, does anyone know what the “age limit” is for using the opposite-gender bathroom? After all, a lot of single fathers may have to take their young daughters into the men’s room and a lot of single mothers may have to take their young sons into the ladies’ room. So, will these parents be arrested for “breaking the law” or did the [idiot] legislators take this into account before passing the law?)