It really is a predicament...an eye-rolling monster of a predicament...for people who are transgender, anyway. When we appear to be male, having been born female, or appear to be female, having been born male, what restroom is it appropriate for us to use?

This isn't just a matter of convenience. When one has to go, one has to go. But someone who appears female entering a men's room is a recipe for assault...especially if one is then identified as being a transwoman. And similarly, someone who appears male who uses a women's restroom will definitely not be peaceable accepted.

So we think it out and try to take what we perceive to be the path of least resistance. And, yes, we do hope that the law can be modified in order to make our lives easier.

That last thing is more difficult than one might think.

There is a segment of society who perceives us as perverts, seeking to prey on whoever might be vulnerable. Oh, sure, those who oppose us sometimes mention that they do not believe we are perverts, but that actual perverts might take advantage of anything that makes our lives easier in order to perform their nefarious deeds, but since when do we punish one group pf people because of the potential actions of a totally different group?

Is that the kind of country this is?

I have three stories, from Arizona, Oregon, and Colorado, on the inside.

By "healthcare", of course, we use the modern definition: insurance coverage.

The Oregon Insurance Division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services issued a bulletin last month adding transgender people to the list of those who may not be discriminated against.

In 2007 the Oregon state legislature passed a law (SB 2) prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. This new measure restricts insurance companies from denying medical and health care coverage to transpeople as laid out by SB 2.

And it only took 5 years to do that.