Orem candidate opposes unisex public restrooms and says girls' sports should be for girls

On questions about transgender access to park facilities and youth sports, Crystal Muellstein said she sympathizes with individuals experiencing gender identity issues but favors sex-separated facilities and teams for safety and comfort.

“I feel for anybody who may be going through any gender confusion ... That doesn't change the definition of what a man is or what a woman is,” Muellstein said. She said separate bathrooms are “there for a reason” and described personal discomfort after mistakenly entering a men's restroom.

On sports, Muellstein said she supports coed play for younger, prepubescent children but said post-puberty or competitive play should be sex-separated. “For safety reasons, we need to keep men's sports for men and women's sports for women,” she said, and described concerns about instances in which women have been harmed when men play in women's leagues.

Muellstein did not cite legal guidelines, state law, or an enforcement mechanism for parks or recreational programming during the interview.