Transgender residents of Odessa, Texas, are barred from using single-sex restrooms in public buildings that match their gender identity.

Alexander Ermels, a transgender man, made the decision to start using the men’s restroom after feeling a negative reaction to being in the women’s restroom – which he would be forced to use under the Odessa toilet policy.

“I hadn’t even started hormone replacement therapy yet the first time I had a negative altercation in the women’s restroom,” said Ermels, president of the LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG, Midland and Odessa chapter. “I don’t want to make women uncomfortable, that’s never been my goal, and I use the men’s room because I don’t want to make women uncomfortable.”

In Odessa, the adoption of an amendment to a city ordinance in October states that anyone who uses a bathroom, locker room or changing room in a city building — including community centers, libraries, airports , parks and administrative office buildings – should not match their sex assigned at birth could be convicted of a class C misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of up to $500.

People who violate the rule and refuse to leave public restrooms could also be sued for “statutory damages in the amount of not less than $10,000 for each violation of this order.” according to the decree. The order lists exceptions for children or anyone providing emergency assistance.

For transgender and non-binary Odessa residents who have lived under this rule, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s recent decision to reserve congressional bathrooms based on sex assigned at birth is no surprise. Her tenure comes as Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, prepares to begin serving her constituents.

Johnson’s statement, released on November 20, reads: “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings – such as restrooms, locker rooms and locker rooms – are for individuals only. of this biological sex. It is important to note that each member office has its own private restroom and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women-only spaces.

Ernels says, “It’s not that they think I should use the women’s bathroom, it’s that they think I shouldn’t exist.”

He continued: “America has tried to do this before with other minorities, for things like bathroom segregation for blacks and whites, for the vitriol that is happening in the media right now towards immigrants, especially Hispanic immigrants, it’s not about safety and it’s not about the children. It’s about something that they really don’t like and they want you to stop. to do it.

Supporters of these restrictions, including Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, argue that unisex bathroom policies are important for women’s safety and privacy: “I suffer from PTSD from the abuse I suffered from of a man, and I know how vulnerable I am. women and girls are in private spaces, so I will absolutely 100% stand in the way of any man wanting to be in the women’s restroom, in our locker room, in our locker room,” Mace said in a statement. “I I’ll be there to fight you every step of the way.”

Odessa City Council member Chris Hanie, who voted in favor of changing the local ordinance, said, “I don’t care who you are, and what you do in the privacy of your home is your business, but I don’t need to see it. in public,” Hanie said, according to at the Texas Tribune.

Trans residents, however, say the narrative around “fear” and “personal safety” regarding transgender bathroom use is rooted in discrimination. They argue that transgender people are not inherently dangerous and are actually more likely to be victims of violence than cisgender people.

A study in the journal Sexuality Research and Social Policy could not find evidence that trans-inclusive policies regarding toilets, lockers and changing rooms increase security risks or associated crimes.

McBride said she would follow Congress’s rules on bathroom use.

“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms,” McBride said in an online statement. “I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to reduce the costs families face. Like all members, I will follow the rules laid out by Speaker Johnson, even if I don’t agree with them.”

Diego Miguel Sanchez, who in 2008 became the first openly transgender senior member of Congress, told ABC News that he remembers being greeted by members of Congress, who assured him they intended to “make sure you’re as safe as everyone else.” that we want to make sure that no one bothers you while you are here. »

“It didn’t shock me, but it was a kind of welcome that I didn’t expect,” Sánchez said. “There are people all over Capitol Hill who welcome us, and they are still there, because I still see them when I visit every two weeks.”

Sanchez worked as senior policy advisor to Congressman Barney Frank until Frank’s retirement in 2013. He was disheartened to learn that McBride was specifically targeted. with the aim of restricting bathrooms.

“That the community moved to a place accepted by the public and then was closed down in a way as if it were criminalized, as if we were criminals, it is absolutely unacceptable,” Sánchez said.

Nycole Roulette, a transgender woman born and raised in Odessa, said she feels fear when it comes to using the restroom in public: “It’s not fair because (Odessa) is also my house.”

She told ABC News that she uses single-person unisex restrooms at the back of her workplace or waits until she is home for the day because she fears the risk of discrimination or violence. Supporters argue that this is what the workday could look like for any transgender or non-binary employee or trans visitors to Capitol Hill.

Waiting to go to the bathroom can have side effects, including urinary tract infections and bowel and bladder problems, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“I don’t know if there’s someone else I work with or if it’s just a guest who has dinner with us and can clock me at any time, and just because I’m walking funny or my feet are a little too big…a lot of things go through the trans person’s head,” Roulette said.

Odessa residents say people of all identities – transgender or not – will be scrutinized under the bathroom ban for how they present their gender “if you don’t fit their idea of ​​what it is.” what we should look like,” said Pauline Williamson, the group’s vice president. President of Price Center West Texas.

On November 21, the mayor-elect and new city council declared that Odessa’s controversial bathroom ordinance would not be actively enforced because it “creates the potential for legal action against the city.”

“The ordinance contains language that city staff has found to be unenforceable, and based on feedback received from citizens, the new mayor and council members have expressed a desire to reconsider this ordinance,” the mayor-elect’s office said Cal Hendrick in a statement. “They want to recognize the safety concerns that are behind this order, but they believe there is a way to develop a policy that is fair and equitable for all Odessa residents.”

Eli Hilbert, an Odessa resident who uses both he/him and they/them pronouns, implores lawmakers to focus on the “real issues,” not “who’s in the toilet.”

“We have real problems as a city, and the city council has not solved them,” Hilbert said.

Transgender residents living under bathroom ban reflect on Sarah McBride controversy originally appeared on abcnews.go.com