Denny's stood up for a trans woman who was arrested after she used the bathroom

[DonViejo]

Someone called the cops on a trans woman at Denny's. So Denny's made it clear that trans people can use the right bathroom.

By Daniel Villarreal Friday, July 5, 2019

A customer at a Shelby, North Carolina, Denny’s called police to report a 22-year-old trans woman who used the same bathroom as his wife.

When police arrived, they said she hadn’t broken any laws. In response to the incident, the national restaurant chain announced that all of its bathrooms are open to trans people, regardless of local laws or biases.

After the man called the cops on the trans woman, the woman and the man got into a dispute which gradually escalated, leading the woman to allegedly spit at the man and his family. The woman was charged with disorderly conduct.

In a company statement, Denny’s said that it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind” and expects customers to treat people equally, according to WSOCTV.

North Carolina became infamous in 2016 for signing HB2, a law which banned trans people from using the bathroom matching their gender identity. The state lost an estimated $560 million in revenue from businesses and visitors that refused to visit after HB2 was passed; the law also contributed to the re-election loss of then-governor Republican Pat McCrory.

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https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/07/dennys-stood-trans-woman-arrested-used-bathroom/

[Initech]

1. Thank you Denny's!

Argh, fuck Trumpsters and the religious right.

[RKP5637]

2. Wow, that's amazing. I had always thought Denny's was pretty RW and catered to rather old

conservative people. I've sure learned something. I've always avoided them. I'm really fed up with these RW nut jobs running around trying to make every ones life miserable. I really think they go home at night and masturbate thinking about how many people they have been injurious to during the day. Some are really really wacky.

[Initech]

4. I swear every McDonalds and Dennys has that same group of old people...

Who sit around every Saturday, talking about how bad they got it, while at the same time thinking that they can play armchair president better than the next guy. I saw this last year - I was a breakfast joint with my dad and there's this old guy and his wife and the old guy spends literally the entire time reading headlines from the newspaper going "If I was Trump I'd be doing this and this and kicking them in the ass!". And every time I go to my local McDonalds on the weekends, I always see the same group every single weekend, and they get louder and nuttier every time. I'm sure it's the same all over the country.

[RKP5637]

7. Yep, I bet it is too. For Denny's, any I've ever been in had a fair number of older people, but

IMO quite conservative looking. When I working at a customer's site, they told me about a McDonald's they called the Widow's Walk. Every morning around 10AM, it used to fill up with a lot of older ladies looking for LOL fresh meat. I stumbled in one time by accident, it was rather funny ... people looking for hookups. I have nothing against it at all, and see it as good for those having lost a mate. It seems certain spots get a following.

[Initech]

8. At McDonalds?

Wow, I've heard of some weird pickup spots but never at a McDonalds. Where I live, we used to have a really upscale steakhouse called "Foxfire", and the bar next door that earned a reputation as a place where older women went to pick up on younger men. My buddies and I commonly refer to it as the "Cougar Den" but it's no longer there.

[RKP5637]

9. Yep, it was a WTF to me at first too. ... but it was subtle, just lots of people checking each other

out. I thought it was kind of nice.

[Hekate]

11. Initech and RKP, I'll just address you both in one post. Seniors are on limited incomes.

Social Security and pensions (if they even have a pension) often hardly stretch to the end of the month. I haven't been in a Denny's since college, but they were cheap back then and would let us poor students sit and talk for a couple of hours in the middle of the night, drinking their terrible coffee.

MacDonalds is really cheap. I have a friend in subsidized senior housing who counts it as a real treat to go there with friends every so often. Of course she knows what better food tastes like; she just can't afford it. Last I heard, MacDonald's had gotten a name for itself for encouraging seniors to meet each other for a morning "coffee break" and hang out for awhile. This is a real win-win for the business and for actual human beings who need some social life that doesn't cost much.

Regardless of their politics.

[RKP5637]

13. Yes, it's definitely a positive all the way around!!!

[GulfCoast66]

21. My experience is that income is not the deciding factor

My father in law hung with the retired crowd at the local Hardee’s in small town Indiana. An hour plus each morning and again mid afternoon. Some came in the morning, some in the afternoon and many both times.

They originally hung out in the local truck stop until they were kicked out for buying one cup of coffee and nothing else. They all at meals at home.

Hardees let them stay and bullshit as long as they wanted. Most had retired from big industrial firms and have guaranteed income for life. None had post high school education and when they found out I had they had a few college guy insults ready. They were not hurting for money. Quite a few spent the winters in Florida. One thing they all had in common was their open bigotry. It’s where I learned that the Midwest was as racist as the south.

What was really odd to me is seeing a bunch of old guys who went to junior high and high school together. Often even at elementary school. They regaled each other with stories from their high school days like no one had ever heard them before.

In fact, it kind of reminded me of sitting with a bunch of high school boys in that every subject of discussion soon went down the most juvenile, crass and often racist rabbit hole. I had never seen grown men behave like that since my father did not hang with that type of crowd. Needless to say, I only went with him a few times.

One thing for sure. None of them are voting anymore. This was over 25 years ago.

[JI7]

25. it could be changing demographics. denny's wants to stay in business

large church groups go there also and these include black and hispanic people.

it's also open all the time and the times i went there is when most places were already closed.

so they are convenient for people who work odd hours. since they have their entire menu available all day.

[RKP5637]

28. I've found their food is generally pretty good ... and reasonable. n/t

[Lunabell]

3. Yay for Denny's

They have great customer service. Once I complained about a screwed up to go order and they were very apologetic and sent me a coupon for a A build your own slam. Excellent customer service there. We eat there a lot now. And now, even more.

[Merlot]

5. So now Dennys can just decide which laws to follow?

In response to the incident, the national restaurant chain announced that all of its bathrooms are open to trans people, regardless of local laws or biases.

Well, big businesses write most the las anyhow, so this really cuts out the middle (congress)man.

I'm so tired of businesses being the arbitrator of what's "right" and "wrong." The law is a disaster and if it were not there, would the police even have responded?

I'm glad this law lost the state a lot of money, they need to fix it - or have they?

[babylonsister]

6. I am okay with that if they err on the

side of basic human rights.

[Honeycombe8]

14. When the decision is that it's the business's decision, you can't then dictate to that business....

what its decision should be.

A bake shop refuses to bake a gay wedding cake, for religious reasons.

Denny allows transpeople to use any restroom they choose.

Although different on the surface, in both cases, the business is deciding what it will allow a customer to do or not do on its premises or in/with the business.

Having said that, I'm not sure local laws can legally restrict restroom use of private property open to the public, anyway.

[fescuerescue]

12. Actually anyone and any company can do just that

Decide which laws to follow.

I break the laws against speeding every single day. I decided that the low penalty and unlikelihood of getting caught are worth the benefit of getting there faster and driving at more comfortable speed. That's just a trivial example of course.

Most of us are pretty law abiding, and we choose to follow most laws while choose to violate a few minor ones.

Denny's is doing the same here. The benefit of ignoring those laws outweighs the unlikelihood of running afoul or any minor penalty.

[Merlot]

16. Yes, but it this case it's a discriminatory law that should be changed

Denny's can afford to pay any penalties if they were found to break the law. What if this same incident happened at some mom and pop establishment? And what if it's in a state that has, shall we say, a less than fair distribution of justice?

Laws like this can't just be ignored, they need to be changed.

[fescuerescue]

19. I think they just did.

Ignored those laws that is.

They should be changed. But Dennys is in the business of serving food, not law writing.

[Caliman73]

23. And while the laws are changed (if they can be) then its okay to discriminate?

Rosa Parks broke the law when she refused to give her seat to a White person. She knew it was against the law and did so deliberately to force the conversation. Then began the boycott that lasted a long time to get that law changed.

I am not one to toot the horn for big corporations but sometimes their business interests line up with our political and civil rights interests. Denny's may be gambling. There are a lot of bigots who eat there so they may lose customers. I think that it is good to support companies that make choices supportive of civil rights.

[GulfCoast66]

22. I read it differently. Some states passed allowing businesses to discriminate.

Denny’s is saying that even in those jurisdictions they will not discriminate.

And North Carolina repealed the law which is why the police said no laws were broken.

Well, until spitting occurred. But that is a different matter.

[RKP5637]

10. I have a whole new appreciation for Denny's now. I always figured they were ultra-conservative. n/t

[marble falls]

15. Well how about that? Denny's got a conscience, think when I get off my sick bed ...

in week I'll be over there with to get a plate of eggs and toast!

[Merlot]

17. They didn't get a conscience, they got free advertising

[marble falls]

18. Too cynical, they got the free advertising for displaying a conscience.

[Caliman73]

24. Perhaps, but they also painted a target on their back.

It can go both ways. They may end up losing customers, though they will likely end up even or better off. I am wondering why faintly praising a company for doing something inclusive, even if it is a calculated choice, is such a bad thing?

[colsohlibgal]

20. Surprising But Good For Them

Most of us have likely been in the ladies room with a trans woman and never knew it.

We have a criminal in the White House, let’s worry about that.

[mr_lebowski]

26. The Denny's up the street from my office is a known LGBT hangout spot actually

Granted this is in Phoenix, but it's actually not the first Denny's I've heard this is true of.

This is still great of them to do in any case!

[Freedomofspeech]

27. I love this so much!!

Thank you, Denny's!!💕✌