Essay: Of Men and Toilets and Parental Responsibility

Ever since Sen. Lee Bright filed his much-hated "bathroom bill," I've had a nagging at the back of my mind that something was wrong. My wife finally managed to articulate the problem in a thought-provoking essay:

What is the role of government? More specifically, is it the government’s job to tell private business owners who they shall or shall not allow into their restrooms?

This question, and its answer reveals an inconsistency on the part of many conservatives.

A number of you will loudly proclaim that this is precisely the government’s job. Here’s another question: Is it the government’s job to tell private business owners who they shall or shall not bake a cake for? I suspect the same number of you will now disagree. But we’re dealing with the same larger issue (the role of government) only now we have an inconsistency....
Let me pose the question to you in another way: Is it a proper use of government force to prohibit a transgendered “woman” to use the lady’s restroom? If yes, then what makes it wrong for government to force businesses and schools to allow transgendered individuals to use the restroom of their choice? (emphasis added)