Washington D.C. area Starbucks are caving to pressure from LGBT groups and converting their gender-specific restrooms to gender neutral ones. The D.C. Trans Coalition led the push to convert the single-occupancy bathrooms at D.C.'s 52 Starbucks, citing an amendment to the District's 2006 Human Rights Act which states "individuals [have] the right to use gender-specific restrooms and other gender-specific facilities such as dressing rooms, homeless shelters, and group homes that are consistent with their gender identity or expression," and also stipulates that single-occupancy restrooms with gender-specific placards be re-labeled with gender non-specific ones. Starbucks will be switching out the placards throughout the next month.

Good for the D.C. Trans Coalition in pushing this through, however it's a little surprising this didn't happen in San Francisco first, given that we have one of the largest and most concentrated transgendered populations in the country. Next time you see a gender-specific, single-occupancy restroom, perhaps you should consider an act of civil disobedience and use the incorrect one. Gay men in this town do it all the time, especially if the men's room is locked.