The March 7 issue of The Arizona Republic ran an article that detailed our State Senator John Kavanagh’s introduction of Senate Bill 1040. This was another attempt at passing the so-called “Bathroom Bill”: Public schools; restrooms; reasonable accommodations. 1040 “Requires public schools to provide students who are unwilling or unable to use a group bathroom access to a private bathroom.”

Providing a rationale for the bill Senator Kavanagh stated, “Modesty is a basic universal and historic human instinct.” No reference source for this statement was given, and I’m pretty sure that the Senator is not an anthropologist. So, what was he thinking when he made the statement?

Seems he made the claim on the basics of religious history (remember the First Amendment here) where he is quoted later in the article: “It goes back to Adam and Eve hiding behind the bush after the apple was eaten.” Multiple questions came to mind, including: How does injecting religion into school policy work? What about people who don’t believe the Adam and Eve story? What were Adam and Eve wearing before the apple was eaten, if anything, because just hiding behind a bush doesn’t sound like wearing clothing? What store did they shop at? This man is an elected official.

Perhaps the concerns of the “Bathroom Bill” would be best dealt with on the local school and/or government level across the state. Each school district could collect input from local sources: Mayor and town council, community, school board, school administrators, teachers and of course the students who are most directly involved in the matter. Evaluate it and make the best rational decision, live with it for a while, and see what happens. In the meantime, we should direct Senator Kavanagh to issues that go beyond the scope of school bathroom etiquette. Really!