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A viral TikTok involving a Starkville man has raised questions about which restroom parents with young children of the opposite sex should opt for.
Tyler Brodsky, of Oklahoma, was traveling with his two young daughters and had stopped at a Quick Trip gas station before recording the video he posted June 16. The video depicts Robert Buckner, of Starkville, berating Brodsky and contacting the police as Brodsky helped his daughters wash their hands in the women’s restroom.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the video had 29.2 million views and almost 5 million likes.
What do laws say about restrooms, and what should parents with young children of the opposite sex do in this situation?
What do the laws say?
Alabama and Mississippi have similar laws on this subject, and there is no law in either state that forbids someone entering or using a restroom designated for the opposite sex in any building other than a K-12 public education building, higher learning institution or government-owned building.
Jade Craig, assistant professor of law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, said the state law does not apply to private settings, such as a gas station.
Laws between states can be similar because of organizations like the American Legislative Executive Council, Craig said.
“There are organizations that write proposed legislation for legislators that get circulated all around the country,” Craig said.
The Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Safely Act, as outlined by Mississippi SB 2753 of 2024, includes permissible purposes to enter sex-designated rooms. One of these purposes is assisting a child under the age of 12. A similar exception in Alabama HB 322 of 2022 gives parents the permission to enter to accompany and assist their child.
Although the ages of Brodsky’s daughters haven’t been confirmed, they both appear to be under 12.
Even if the laws extended to private buildings, Craig said Brodsky would be covered by these exceptions. He said the property owner is the only one who could have limited Brodsky from entering the women’s restroom.
“If the property owner had said, ‘You’re not allowed to use this restroom in (accordance) with your gender identity,’ then you may have to leave or be at risk of being accused of trespassing,” Craig said.
What should you do in this situation?
In the video, Buckner said Brodsky should have asked the manager, who was a woman, to take his daughters to the women’s restroom instead of taking them himself. Some of the video’s commenters suggested Brodsky should have taken them with him into the men’s restroom.
Craig said Brodsky did nothing wrong by bringing his daughters into the women’s restroom.
“The father can choose to go into the men’s restroom with the girls, he can choose to go in the women’s restroom with the girls,” Craig said. “In either situation, if the property owner limits his use of the space by intervening, then he’d have to leave or be at risk of trespassing.
“(The property owner has) to affirmatively tell you, ‘You can’t use this space in this way,’ in order for you to be required to leave,” Craig said.
He said an angry bystander, such as Buckner, doesn’t have any entitlement in this situation because that person is not the property owner or an employee charged with maintenance of the property.
“The only right at that time that a person might have is that there’s some kind of assault, battery or harassment taking place toward him, and neither of those things happen,” Craig said. “… If someone comes in who is not the owner of the property, and demands that you leave, you tell them politely, ‘I will leave when I’m finished doing what I came to do.’ If they threaten you with violence … you try to leave immediately and call the police.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
