Mt. Dora, FL Thursday, April 21, 2016 Updated at 3pm (see below)
A Lake County, FL mom, angry at the new Target policy of gender neutral bathrooms, spoke with “Amy” the store manager and posted on Facebook with concern about the safety of her 18 year old daughter if using the bathrooms. The mom, Lori Pitner, is well known in Lake County conservative circles.
Lake County radio talk show host Ralph Smith (WLBE 790AM) and local fiscal watchdog blogger Vance Jochim (FiscalRangers.com) will visit the Target on Highway 441 in Mt. Dora, Florida at 4pm to use the ladies restroom since they are always confused about their gender. “We are going to test the new gender confused bathrooms at Target, and maybe pick up some cool aqua colored bath towels at the same time…” said the daring duo. “Ralph is married, but at 71, I am single and looking to exchange cooking tips with single women over 50, “said Jochim, “and this seems a good way to do it without husky straight males interrupting us.” “We are doing this to support single and married moms of daughters everywhere”, said Jochim. Smith might bring his dog buttercup also, well known to Facebook users. “Anyone who knows me knows I must be gender confused to name a dog Buttercup,” said Smith.
Supporters of either gender are welcome to attend. Videos and pictures will be posted late tonight on Ralph Smith’s Facebook page and also Jochim’s FiscalRangers.com Facebook page and blog. Videos will be on Jochim’s FiscalRangersFlorida YouTube channel tomorrow.
Lori Pitner and other moms with daughters have been invited to attend.
Update at 3pm: Lori will be at the event at 4pm today. At least 1, maybe two members of the press will be there. The Target national media relations office has not responded to my calls. The Mt. Dora Target's restrooms do not have gender neutral signs on them yet, and the policy is not posted (yet). The local Target employees had no involvement in this policy, which was set by the national Target office. The responsibility for ensuring safety of women and children in Target bathroooms seems to be REALLY fuzzy since they have no specified way to check a valid transgender person with others who just want to pretend. The Demographics of Target customers is mostly women, but now they are setting a policy to antagonize them. One Target employee said the answer may be that if a woman is concerned about safety in the bathrooms, they shouldn't use them. This is where political correctness is going insane. (vj)
See you at 4pm at Target, then later at 6:30 pm at the Tavares Community Center for the Lake County School Board Candidate Forum organized by the Lake Federated Republican Women’s Club and the North Lake Tea Party. The toughest questions are always asked of candidates at this forum. “I intend to ask them about implementation of the Target gender neutral bathrooms at Lake County Schools,” said Jochim.
Here is what snopes.com says about Target’s policy.
HERE Is the April 19 Target press release on their “Inclusivity” policy.
Here is an article from the Oregonian’s “OregonLive” about people freaking out about this policy.
Vance Jochim
FiscalRangers.com
Below is the new Target policy on "inclusivity" - how do they expect local staff to enforce it without allowing wanna be's to go into women's restrooms.
Recent debate around proposed laws in several states has reignited a national conversation around inclusivity. So earlier this week, we reiterated with our team members where Target stands and how our beliefs are brought to life in how we serve our guests.
Inclusivity is a core belief at Target. It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.
We believe that everyone—every team member, every guest, and every community—deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally. Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination.
In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.
We regularly assess issues and consider many factors such as impact to our business, guests and team members. Given the specific questions these legislative proposals raised about how we manage our fitting rooms and restrooms, we felt it was important to state our position.
Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. And you’ll always be accepted, respected and welcomed at Target.