I've been saying a singular "they" for over 20 years when unsure of a person's gender. I'm not sure what the big deal is. I know there was a fuss at one time that it was a plural, but I haven't heard that argument in a long time.

It reminds me of the fuss when "Ms" was first introduced. Men had conniptions over the new title which was neither Miss or Mrs. That soon passed and I haven't heard any more about it.

Mind you, I don't know how often one would use a first or third person pronoun when discussing things with a transgendered person. The second person "you" would be more likely and it has no gender. And professors/teachers could do a Harry Potter and just refer to students by their last name: Weasley, Granger, or Malfoy.

The Free Speech issue is just the Right trying to stir up trouble. I mean, it has to do with how someone wishes themselves to be referred to. If someone wants to be called Miss Smith and not Mrs or Ms, I'm obliged to follow her wishes. It's called courtesy.