Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed a law that requires people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex assigned at birth. The bill applies to public schools and government-owned buildings in Utah and says trans people can defend themselves on the matter.
Trans people can rebut complaints by proving they had gender-affirming surgery and changed their sex on their birth certificate. Those who oppose the bill noted that not all states allow people to change their birth cert and many trans people don’t want to have the surgery. “Privacy plans” are required by schools to allow trans students, who are uncomfortable using group bathrooms, to use a faculty restroom.
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma & Tennessee also passed laws on the matter. Cox said, “We want public facilities that are safe and accommodating for everyone and this bill increases privacy protections for all.” Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland said she wanted to make it illegal for a naked man to be in a bathroom with an 8-year-old girl.
Birkeland referenced an incident that occurred in Salt Lake County where officials said they couldn’t intervene because the man said he was trans. “This bill perpetuates discrimination, needlessly imposes barriers to the everyday needs of people in Utah and risks harmful and discriminatory enforcement against transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people,” a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah read. Opponents of the law said it requires a trans man who is taking testosterone and may have facial hair to use women’s facilities. The bill requires any new building to include single-occupant bathrooms, and those who violate it could be charged with loitering or lewdness.
