Miami No Place to
Pee for Transgender People

When it comes to safe bathrooms for people identifying as transgender, Miami is no paradise.

The Florida city has the fewest safe toilets of all major U.S. municipalities, reports the Miami New Times. The newspaper based its pronouncement on a list originated by Safe2Pee.org, a group that tracks gender-neutral facilities across the country -- which include bathrooms that aren't marked with men/women signs or are labeled unisex. Many transgender people have experienced harassment, violence, and discrimination when utilizing a public bathroom that is specifically designated for either men or women.

While San Francisco and Las Vegas both have more than 100 venues listed as "gender-free," Miami has a mere three (neighboring Miami Beach wasn't included in the Safe2Pee tally): a now-closed gas station, an abandoned office building, and a CVS drugstore.

In Gainesville, a university town in northern Florida, a March 24 ballot initiative will decide whether a year-old law allowing transgender people to use whatever bathroom they feel comfortable in will be repealed. Commercials featuring a frightening-looking man following a little girl into a bathroom have already hit Gainesville airwaves. (Neal Broverman, Advocate.com)