Idaho Governor signs law criminalising trans people’s bathroom use
Brad Little (Getty Images)
Idaho Governor Brad Little has signed a sweeping new law that criminalises transgender people for using bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, with repeat offences escalating to felony charges.
House Bill 752, signed on Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31), makes it a crime to enter facilities that do not match a person’s sex assigned at birth in government buildings or public spaces.
A first offence can carry up to one year in jail, while a second conviction within five years could result in up to five years in prison.
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The signing came as activists gathered outside the statehouse to rally during Transgender Day of Visibility.
Idaho trans advocate Nikson Mathews previously detailed how the law forces transgender people into impossible situations during an 11 March hearing, saying” “Do I feel like going to jail, or do I feel like being attacked?”
Delphine Luneau, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, told The Advocate of the bill: “Sending someone to prison just for using the bathroom is nothing but pure, unfiltered cruelty…
“This is a blatant and unconscionable attack on their own constituents that risks ruining the lives of innocent people while doing nothing to address the actual concerns of Idaho families.”
Law enforcement organisations have also raised concerns, warning the law could be difficult to enforce and place officers in the position of determining someone’s “biological sex.”
HB 752 is part of a broader wave of policies in Idaho targeting transgender people’s access to public life, and is set to take effect on July 1, marking one of the most severe legal penalties tied to bathroom access in the United States.
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