jamyskis: I've just come into this discussion hoping to enter into a objective and rational discussion and just realised that this is politics on the GOG forums, so it's a given that it would have been hijacked by some political extreme or another.
So, here are my views on the matter:
1. I agree that transgender persons should be afforded the same rights and responsibilities as any person of their gender identity.
2. I empathise with the OP's position entirely in that the granting of such rights and responsibilities gives rise to running the risk of these rights being abused, including by individuals who aren't even genuinely transgender, but would seek to use it as a defence to excuse vile behaviour.
3. I realise that the point of this discussion is not (or is not supposed to be) about genuine transgender people specifically, but the risk that these laws might be abused for less honourable purposes.
4. I realise that some legal standard has to be set defining a transgender person, but where is the limit set? Is it sufficient for a man to stick on a dress, make-up and a pair of tights for him to legitimately claim he's transgender? It would certainly possibly be unfair to exclude individuals unable for financial or medical reasons to undergo gender reassignment surgery, and transgender people can cover the full gamut from superficial gender association (clothes and make-up) with obvious cross-gender features to full anatomical reassignment to the point where they are barely recognisable. Is it only possible to ascertain genuine gender identity disorders by psychoanalysis? How do we tell a genuine transgender person from someone seeking to abuse this right?
My solution: Don't put any blanket prohibitions on who can enter the restroom. Instead, enforce laws that make it illegal to harass or assault people in the restroom.
Alternatively, one can go further and abolish gender segregation in restrooms in the first place. Cooper Union actually did do that, replacing the bathroom signs with things like "restroom with urinals and toilets" and "restroom with toilets only".
To tell a transgender person from someone seeking to abuse the right, ask the following: Is the person *actually* abusing the right? If yes, the person is violating some other law and should be punished accordingly. If no, the person should be allowed in the bathroom (even if it means allowing a masculine-presenting cisgender man into the woman's room).