Megyn Kelly: Former ACLU Director Tells ‘Kelly File’ Host Why She Resigned Over Transgender Rights
Megyn Kelly interviewed Maya Dillard Smith, the former director of the Georgia chapter of the ACLU, after she resigned after differing with the civil liberties organization over the transgender bathroom issue. She had only held the position for a year and had told WABE, the local radio station that broadcasts National Public Radio, that there was “no room for dialogue” with the ACLU on this issue.
“I was really excited when the Georgia ACLU recruited me from California,” Smith told Kelly. But shortly after she arrived, Smith said that she realized that she was not “principally and philosophically aligned” with the ACLU on this issue.
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“My children were visibly frightened, and were asking lots of questions for which I was unprepared to answer.”
After discussing the issue with the Georgia ACLU board of directors, Smith concluded that “there is not an opportunity for robust discourse” on transgender rights with the organization.
It’s the story that has social media in an uproar. I speak EXCLUSIVELY to the #ACLU leader who just quit over Obama’s transgender directive.
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 3, 2016
Smith said she believes that there are numerous questions that need to be dealt with when discussing how transgender rights fit into the rubric of civil liberties, especially in light of the Obama administration’s guidelines for transgender students in the public schools. For instance, she wondered, “What are the implications on the rights of women and girls and parents? What are the implications for religious rights?”
The national ACLU website places them squarely in favor of transgender rights.
“The ACLU champions transgender people’s right to be themselves,” their statement says. “We’re fighting discrimination in employment, housing, and public places, including restrooms… We’re fighting to protect the rights and safety of transgender people in prison, jail, and detention facilities as well as the right of trans and gender nonconforming students to be treated with respect at school. Finally, we’re working to secure the rights of transgender parents.”
The president of the Family Research Council is blasting the Obama administration’s transgender bathroom directive. https://t.co/d1V9YQZqvA
— SRN News.com (@SRNNews) May 30, 2016
Smith disagreed, saying that more dialogue is needed on this issue. As she told WABE, “It’s through communication that we develop empathy and understanding, and I think that our democracy requires us to allow for exchange of ideas, without people being labeled one thing or another.”
The Georgia Voice also quoted Smith as saying that transgender rights have “intersectionality with other competing rights, particularly the implications for women’s rights.”
While Smith said that she still has much to learn on the issue, she stated the need to “balance the need to ensure women and girls are safe from those who might have malicious intent.”
Since leaving the Georgia ACLU, Smith started her own website on the issue, findingmiddleground.org that features a young girl on a swing set saying she heard the word “transgender,” and wanted to know more.
The screen then flashed the words on the screen, “But there aren’t enough SAFE SPACES to have HONEST conversations,” followed by,”But there aren’t enough SAFE SPACES or ask HONEST questions.”
The screen then says, “Like…” then cuts back to the girl on the swing saying, “Boys in a girl’s bathroom? I don’t know about that.”
“There are some boys who feel like they’re girls inside, and there are some boys who are just perverts.”
The girl then giggles and covers her mouth.
The screen then flashes the question, “How do we KEEP OUR LITTLE GIRLS SAFE and PREVENT TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION?”
The Georgia Voice quoted a transgender advocate who was glad that Smith had resigned. “She did the right thing leaving the organization If she couldn’t defend our rights any better than that, she deserves to leave – she doesn’t need to be in that position.”
Photo by Victoria Will/AP Images]
