A transgender man on Tuesday filed a
lawsuit charging that he was targeted for discrimination last summer
at a public pool in Staten Island.
Twenty-four-year-old Bryan Ellicott
says he was humiliated when three staff members at the Joseph H.
Lyons Pool kicked him out of the men's locker room, saying he must
use the women's facilities or leave.
“I was singled out by pool staff
because I am transgender,” Ellicott said in a statement. “They
harassed and humiliated me. No one deserves to be treated that way,
but it's an all-too-common experience for transgender people like me
when we use restrooms and locker rooms.”
Ellicott is represented by Transgender
Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) and Cleary Gottlieb Steen
& Hamilton LLP.
The
suit asks a New York court to rule that denying transgender
people use of the restroom or locker room that matches their sex
constitutes discrimination in violation of the New York City Human
Rights Law.
“What happened to Bryan happens to
many transgender people when they use restrooms and locker rooms,”
said TLDEF Executive Director Michael Silverman. “Incidents like
this one severely restrict the ability of transgender people to fully
participate in society. Being able to use a restroom without
harassment and discrimination is essential to being able to do things
like work or use public places. This lawsuit sends a strong message:
Everyone should have access to public facilities. Transgender people
cannot be treated as less than full citizens and be denied the use of
restrooms and locker rooms because of who they are.”