“I think they’re exercising their rights,” Newland said as he looked on at the protesters from the bar entrance, “but my policy simply states that we have to be able to tell you are who you say you are, and that’s not going to change. State law, which requires that bars refuse alcohol to minors, allows establishments to set their own policies on how to ensure that doesn’t happen, while another state law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Since the boycott started, the Wrangler has stated its entrance policy has nothing to do with gender identity or whether an ID card’s gender marker is ‘M’ or ‘F’ - that the policy addresses only the appearance of the person compared to the appearance in the photo ID. “What we’re doing is trying to raise awareness about the discriminatory policy - we can’t fight for our rights against the right wing if we can’t be confident in our own community.”
“It’s not about the one incident I had, but the whole policy,” Marzano said.
