Georgia Woman Arrested for Protesting LGBTQ at State Capitol

Part I: The horror stories

Marquitta’s activism was ignited by a very distressing series of events.

Governor shocks citizens by vetoing religious freedom bill

On March 28, 2016, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, shockingly vetoed the “Religious Freedom Bill” passed by the legislature. The bill’s intent was to protect religious Christians from having to participate in “gay marriage” ceremonies and have limited freedom from the oppressive LGBT hiring laws.

The bill did not specifically mention “transgender” bathrooms. But because it came on the heels of the North Carolina bathroom bill that caused such a national firestorm, most people just assumed it also included that.

When the Legislature passed it and it landed on the Governor’s desk, major US corporations, including the NFL, aggressively threatened the Governor that they would leave the state if such rights were granted to Christians. From a practical standpoint, the threats were ludicrous. But like so many Republicans around the country, the Governor caved in and vetoed it.

LGBT movement takes advantage of “victory”

In many peoples’ opinion this LGBT victory – thanks to the aggressive threats by large corporations – gave the LGBT movement in Georgia the go-ahead to simply begin using opposite-sex public restrooms. They correctly sensed that the businesses and even the government would not stop them, no matter how local people felt about it.

Marquitta and others get a rude awakening

Marquitta R. Ford has lived in Georgia since she was five years old. She and her friends had never encountered men using public women’s restrooms. But within a few months of the Governor’s veto of the religious freedom bill, that drastically changed. And it was very emotional for women to experience.

Here are a few of the horror stories that have been happening since the Governor’s veto:

• Half-naked man in mall women’s restroom. In May, 2016, about six weeks after the veto, Marquitta was shopping in the North Dekalb Mall in suburban Atlanta and went to use the women’s restroom near the food court. Inside was a half-naked man. She confronted him, yelling. He ran out and disappeared.

  She told a mall employee, who called a security guard. As Marquitta was describing to them what had happened, the man re-appeared, coming out of the nearby men’s restroom. When they questioned him, he admitted that he had been in the women’s restroom. He said he had gone in “to shave” though he was not shaving when Marquitta found him there. But instead of detaining him, they calmly let him go.

  The following day, Marquitta spoke with the mall manager and also the property owner. She told them how she had shopped at that mall for over thirty years. They both apologized to her and agreed that it was “inappropriate” for a man to be in the women’s restrooms. But they didn’t say exactly what they would be doing about it. Marquitta has stopped shopping there.

• Male entering CVS women’s room. In September, 2016, Marquitta was shopping at a CVS in downtown Decatur when she decided to use the restroom. As she approached it, she noticed a man starting to enter it. She confronted him, and he didn’t go in. She noticed he was a CVS employee and that he appeared to be “gay.” He admitted he had been going in to use the women’s restroom.

  After using the restroom herself, Marquitta continued complaining. The man tried to tell her he was going in to clean the restroom, though at the time he had no cleaning supplies with him. Then he became somewhat belligerent and just walked away from Marquitta.

  The next day Marquitta spoke at length to the manager, who apologized to her. She later contacted the CVS corporate office, and was told that CVS would “do something about” what she experienced, but were not specific what that would be.

Over the next several months, friends of Marquitta also told her about the horror stories they experienced:

• Man in women’s clothes in Wal-Mart restroom. A friend of Marquitta was inside the women’s restroom at a local Wal-Mart. She bent down to tie her shoes, and she noticed someone with extremely muscular legs standing beside her. She turned and realized it was a man dressed like a woman. She confronted him, but he told her that the law allows “trans people” to use the restroom of their choice. She continued to berate him for being there, and walked out. She found the store manager and told him what happened. The manager also claimed that there was nothing they could do about it because of “the law.”
• Man undressing in subway station woman’s restroom. Another friend of Marquitta who works at a downtown Atlanta subway station said that patrons there were stunned to find a “gay” male starting to undress in the women’s restroom. They angrily confronted him and forced him to leave. But Marquitta’s friend said she refuses speak publicly about it because she’s afraid of losing her job or being sued for “discrimination.”
• Cross-dressing employees at trucking company. A longtime friend of Marquitta who works at a trucking company had a shocking story. A few men who work there started coming to work dressed like women, and using the women’s restroom. The woman complained to the Human Resources department. She was told that the company must allow this or else be sued for “discrimination.” Like Marquitta’s other friend, she is afraid of saying anything publicly lest she lose her job.

All of this is very traumatic for women who experience it. Unfortunately, most women are either intimidated into silence or simply give up after being ignored or demeaned. So nothing happens to change it.

Demanding government protection

But Marquitta R. Ford is different. As a proud Georgia MassResistance activist, she is fearless, articulate, passionate about protecting people, and does not back down to anyone. She is a devout Christian. And she really understands what the radical LGBT movement is doing to society. We are lucky to have her in our ranks.

Marquitta also understands that it’s going to take government action to protect people from this transgender “bathroom” movement, despite the reluctance (and fear) of public officials to upset LGBT activists. And she is not afraid to demand it!

In our next post, Part II, we will show you the amazing and tireless way that Marquitta has confronted government officials, which ultimately led to her bizarre and clearly illegal arrest and jailing.