Sad to see the ignorance in the very first comment post on that article. I've wrote something up to post in response to it. It may be too long to end up in their comments, so I thought I'd post it here while waiting to see if it went through on their posting system. It is in response to this post:
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"Protecting the freaks of society. What next, promotion of beastiality? "
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Here is my response:

DanielSimpsonDay: It is exactly that sort of ignorant, bigoted attitude that makes laws like this a necessary part of our nations legislature. Being transgendered has nothing to do with sexuality, 'normal' or 'deviant.' It is about gender identity and finding (through a great deal of personal sorrow and challenge) a way to bring the exterior and interior together into alignment.

How does a law of this nature offend or scare you? Are you afraid that men who were born with female genitals will see something in your public restrooms that they are ill-prepared to experience? That they will be incited by inhuman lusts to take advantage of the privilege? Don't be ridiculous. You are far more at risk of being preyed upon by someone of your own gender who has been forced through societal standards to repress and hide their sexuality. And even that statistic is small compared to the number of boys and girls who are abused sexually by family members in a completely heterosexual way. If you want to compare issues that promote behavior like bestiality, why don't we discuss the moral and ethical considerations of placing a young girl to be raised by a family, even though there is suspicion that her father rapes her? Or in a foster home where similar things happen?

Transgendered individuals suffer significantly from discrimination due to ignorance. Most people cannot comprehend a mindset that will "disfigure itself, defy social convention, and deny itself the potential to reproduce." But to the transgendered... there are other concerns. From a young age, our body does not match the image in our mind's eye. Imagine being a child watching a game of football. You understand the game, you have a passion to play it, and every day you see a field or a football; you learn more about it and want to be a part of it. At first, you're too young. As you get older, other kids get bigger and you stay small... you're healthy, but no one is going to put you on a field against other kids your age. You don't fight it at first because you know that some day you'll get bigger and you'll be able to take all the things you've learned and become the best player ever seen. And yet, you never get any larger. People tell you, don't worry... its just a game. There are other things in life to focus on. You can enjoy other sports, you can turn your mind to a job and a family.

The thing is... with gender, it isn't just a game. What every one of us realizes is that we have two choices. We can live a lie. We can pretend to be what our body shows us to be... working a job, maybe building a family, going through life with constant turmoil and sorrow just so we fit into what society considers normal. Or we can start down a road to changing our body to match our spirit. We undergo psychiatric care, expensive cosmetic and hormonal treatments (which are not covered by most health insurance). People view us with suspicion and ignorance, judging by appearance (it takes years to adapt the body, during which time it is a constant battle to not appear 'confusing' to the senses). And ultimately, when it is done... we still know that what we've done is far from complete. We can never have children (unless we had them or made arrangements before undergoing our change), we will have to maintain some level of treatment for the rest of our lives to keep up the illusion, and for those of us who don't end up 'perfect,' we will face continual derision the rest of our lives (lives which will probably be shorter as a result of the hormone treatments needed to get there at all).

So please, try to understand what you are talking about before ridiculing something that is about protecting the rights of citizens of our country who already face challenges that most people would never overcome. It is the compassionate thing to do.

Kristin / Chaosdancer