A gay campground in Michigan is under fire for having a rule that bans transgender people who identify as male from joining the membership-only park.
“Camp Boomerang is a private, membership-only rv park/campground that allows only ‘guys,’” wrote park co-owner Bryan Quinn in a since-deleted Facebook post. “A ‘guy,’ in terms of this discussion, is defined as a person with a penis, [who] presents himself as male and has a state-issued ID that says ‘male.’”
“It is our hope that everyone who visits Camp Boomerang enjoys a comfortable, safe, non-confrontational environment going forward,” Quinn continued. “Being a ‘private membership only’ entity allows us the ability to build a like-minded atmosphere. We don’t mean for this to come off as a ‘like it or leave it’ attitude, but we feel it’s necessary for everyone to know exactly what our vision is for Camp Boomerang.”
The park’s co-owner said he understood the sensitivity of the topic, saying that the post was only an attempt to clarify the camp’s rules.
AMAZON REMOVES BESTSELLING CONSERVATIVE BOOK ABOUT TRANSGENDER ISSUES WITHOUT EXPLANATION
“We understand this statement, unfortunately, may not make everyone happy, but feel it needs to be clarified,” Quinn said.
His prediction that not everyone would be happy was quickly realized, with one user asking whether the camp would be requiring “penis checks” in order to be admitted.
“Listen guys, we NEVER said anything about ‘penis checks,’ but let’s be real here,” Quinn responded. “If we let women that act like men in, and they go naked at the pool, that’s when it’s obvious that there’s no penis. Sorry to put it bluntly. But if you don’t like the rules, quietly leave.”
That response didn’t sit well with another commenter, who accused Quinn of being “cowardly” for turning off comments without giving others the chance to express their displeasure with the camp’s rules.
“I find it pretty cowardly that you put up your campgrounds stance on not allowing trans people without having a penis even if their driver’s license has the male designation and decided to disallow comments,” the commenter said. “If you believe so strongly in your stance then have the backbone to hear the other side of the conversation.”
Brayden Misiolek, the co-founder and executive director of Transcend The Binary, called the exclusionary policies of clubs such as Camp Boomerang “dehumanizing” to transgender individuals.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Any type of policy that would require someone to prove their gender identity is counterproductive to advancing LGBTQ rights and divides our community,” Misiolek said. “As someone who lives with dysphoria, this news is very dehumanizing. Any kind of discriminatory policies like this erase us as a community. It invalidates our lived experiences and perpetuates narratives of illegitimacy, which can and does lead to harm for trans and nonbinary people.”
The controversy surrounding the rule caused Camp Boomerang to delete the post and its entire Facebook page.
