Woman suing gym for ‘no judgement’ policy on trans members claims she isn’t transphobic
A woman who is suing a gym for it’s inclusive “no judgement” policy on transgender members has claimed that she is not transphobic.
Yvette Cormier is taking a lawsuit against the gym chain Planet Fitness to the Supreme Court after she felt “uncomfortable” with a trans woman in the locker room.
Speaking to CNN Cormier said that she “wanted to know why there was a man in the women’s locker room.
“I don’t care what you are; I don’t care if you’re gay, lesbian, transgender or transvestite. I am uncomfortable with you as a male in my locker room, in my restroom,” she said.
The trans woman who Cormier complained about did not change in the changing rooms as she had claimed.
She had just used the storage facilities and was not even a member of the gym, but rather there as a guest of a member.
Cormier was promptly banned from the gym after she started to “warn” other gym-goers about the no judgement policy that the gym has.
In 2016, she started the lawsuit but Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Beale dismissed the case.
Now, the anti-LGBT group Kallman Legal Group has decided to represent Cormier’s case and take it to the Michigan Supreme Court.
David Kallman, the lawyer on the case, said: “The case is simply about the expectation of privacy that all people have in bathrooms, in locker rooms, and men’s rooms and women’s rooms.
“And essentially this case involves Planet Fitness, which has an unwritten policy that we believe creates a hostile sexual environment for women and children and it’s essentially putting political correctness above common sense and common decency, so that’s what the case is about.”
He added that they did not think the court case was an “attack” on the transgender community.
“We’re not attacking transgender people. We’re not saying they don’t have the right to self-identify however they want.
“I mean, I may disagree with it or whatever, but that’s not the issue. The issue here is where now it’s bleeding over into other areas of privacy and other rights that other folks have and the expectation that that has to be accepted in all circumstances,” he said.
A spokesperson for Planet Fitness condemned Cormier for her actions.
They said: “The manner in which this member expressed her concerns about the policy exhibited behaviour that management at the Midland club deemed inappropriate and disruptive to other members, which is a violation of the membership agreement and as a result, her membership was cancelled.”
