Brody's Notes... Houston Woman Tells Fox News She Feels Belittled For Arrest Over Bathroom Use

Fox News Reporter Isiah Carey Interviews Tyjanae Moore

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) NOV 24 | Houston resident Tyjanae Moore told local Fox News 26 reporter Isiah Carey:

"I felt so belittled going to a jail over something so simple and stupid."

Moore was arrested November 17th at the Houston Public Library's downtown facility. The transgendered woman was cited and jailed by Houston Police after a complaint that she was caught using the ladies restroom in the library. A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department  said that despite the fact that Moore is a transgendered female, she is still officially a man -- a man caught using the ladies' restroom, which in Texas, the state law prohibits the opposite sex from using a restroom unless given explicit permission to do so.

Earlier this year, the city's Mayor Annise Parker, who is openly Lesbian, had issued an executive order that allows transgendered persons to use the city restroom of their choice.

Moore said that:

"When I came out, a female told me I wasn't supposed to be in there and I asked if there was any particular reason why not. She said because I'm a transgendered female and I was really shocked that they even stopped me for this."

Moore told Fox News that she had tried to use the men's restroom in the past.

"I went to the males' restroom and the man followed me into the restroom, so I figured that was not good. It wasn't safe and I started going to female restrooms and that's where I'm comfortable with," says Moore.

According to Carey:

There are some people who believe until Moore undergoes a full sexual transition, she should remain in the men's restroom. That is why the Houston Area Pastor Council is asking the Texas Attorney General's Office to take up this case. Members of the group say Mayor Parker's executive order allowing transgendered people to use the restroom of choice contradicts state law.

"We're not surprised because this is exactly what we predicted was going to happen as a result of Mayor Parker's executive order when you change the course of history, man and woman," says Dave Welch, spokesman for the HAPC.

Local Gay activists and advocates for transgendered people suggest that there is no conflict between Mayor Parker's order and Texas law. The permission required by the state has been given to individuals like Moore through the executive order is their interpretation. 

Since the incident occurred, Moore has entered a guilty plea in the court case.