WASHINGTON (Stateline) Transgender individuals are now prohibited from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identity by law or policy in nineteen states.
According to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit research organization that monitors laws pertaining to LGBTQ+ issues, approximately one in four transgender people reside in places with some kind of bathroom restrictions.
At least eight states have either enacted new transgender restroom legislation or amended their current ones so far this year.
Republican Governor Mark Gordon of Wyoming signed a set of measures supported by Republicans in March that limited the use of restrooms and locker rooms in public buildings. Regardless of their gender identity, appearance, or the gender listed on their legal documents, the House measure mandates that everyone in a government building, including pupils attending public schools, use the restroom or locker room that corresponds to the sex given at birth. After a local school board urged lawmakers to limit toilet use, the Senate introduced a bill requiring public school pupils to use facilities that correspond to their sex at birth.
Representative Martha Lawley, a Republican from Wyoming, who sponsored the House bill and another that would limit transgender girls’ access to sports, described them as common-sense actions.
In an opinion piece she posted online prior to the legislative session, Lawley stated, “As the first state to grant women the right to vote, we showed the nation that Wyoming leads when it comes to equal opportunity.” We can now take the lead once more, making sure that our daughters and granddaughters can follow their aspirations with the same sense of justice and safety.
According to WyoFile, a transgender woman who coaches basketball in Wyoming spoke out against the bill earlier in the session, claiming it would force her to use the same restroom as teenage boys.
This year, identical restroom legislation have also been approved or expanded in Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and West Virginia.When the state budget was approved earlier this year, South Carolina reaffirmed its K–12 restroom statute. Last year, the toilet policy was enacted into law when it was included in the state budget, which needs to be revised annually.
Along with two other GOP-backed legislation that targeted transgender persons, the Arizona legislature passed a law in May that would have limited access to school restrooms and locker rooms. However, Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill.
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