YMCA transgender

TENSIONS ESCALATE AT SANTEE YMCA

YMCA closes early due to rallies today, apologizes to teen; Santee School district pledges review of YMCA policies before approving future field trips for students

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Shiloh Ireland

January 18, 2023 (Santee) The Santee YMCA branch announced it will close early today to protect staff members after an announced rally and counter-protest over a teen girl’s complaint of a transgender person she described as a “naked man.”

The San Diego Sheriff’s Department issued a statement indicated it is aware of the planned protest, adding, “We support the public's right to free speech and assembly. We encourage the peaceful gathering of people. We respect your right to be heard.”

The statement added, “The Sheriff's Department does not condone any acts of violence or intolerance in our communities. We are a county that is welcoming of people from all backgrounds. Our job is to enforce the law. As long as people express themselves in a peaceful and lawful manner, we do not have any lawful authority to intervene.”


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PARENTS TO RALLY JANUARY 18 AT SANTEE YMCA OVER TEEN GIRL COMPLAINT OF NAKED TRANSGENDER PERSON IN LOCKER ROOM

By Miriam Raftery

January 14, 2023 (Santee) – A group called SanteeParents4Choice is planning a “rally for women’s and girls’ rights”  at the Santee YMCA (10123 Riverwalk Drive, Santee) on January 18 at 6 p.m.  Organizers have pledged to hold a non-violent rally to highlight parents' concerns over protecting privacy.

The action is in response to a teen girl who says she became frightened while showering at the YMCA, when she saw a naked trangender person in the women’s locker room. At last week’s Santee City Council meeting, a tearful Rebecca Phillips, 17, testified that two weeks earlier, “As I was showering after my workout, I saw a naked male in the women’s locker room. I immediately went back into the shower, terrified, and hid behind their flimsy excuse for a curtain until he was gone.”


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.