Religious conservatives are once again attempting to rally the base. This time, it appears they are coordinating referendums to repeal transgender protections across the country.

Last fall, Montgomery County Council members unanimously approved a measure prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, public accommodations, taxicab and cable service. Now, a local Montgomery County group called Citizens for Responsible Government has successfully collected the 25,000 signatures required to put a law recall measure on the November ballot.

Bruce Hausknecht of Focus on the Family said that his organization is following the Montgomery County issue, in addition to running their own battles against transgender protection law in Colorado and Gainesville, Florida. He claims there is not a strategy, even though the messaging consistently focuses on one thing: bathroom access.

The Examiner reports:

“There’s no strategy, there’s just similar concerns among people in Montgomery County, Maryland, Colorado and Gainesville, Florida, where they’re also facing a referendum on a similar law,” Hausknecht said. “This is precisely what the transgender community ultimately wants: to open up bathrooms, locker rooms across the country.” Transgender rights advocates say the bills are about ensuring no one is denied a meal at a restaurant or an apartment because of gender issues, rather than bathroom access. But they acknowledge what they call a campaign of “fear and misinformation” has been tough to fight, even in liberal strongholds like Montgomery County and Gainesville.

“Transgender is still new to a lot of people,” said Chris Edelson, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign. “[Opponents] know they are working on a blank slate and if they can write something scary on it, it gets them a long way to accomplishing their goals.”

Since Minnesota outlawed discrimination against transgender people in 1993, 11 other states and the District have followed suit, as did more than 90 cities and counties, Edelson said, adding that no crimes have been linked to the measure.

“As the public becomes far more accepting of gays and lesbians, the religious right is looking for a new way to drive out their support base at election time, and they think this is going to be it,” said Steve Ralls, communications director for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

Representatives of the Family Research Council did not return several phone calls. Its Web site, however, showed it is activating prayer networks to kill new laws (“including one in a D.C. suburb”) that ban discrimination against transgender people.