‘An impossible choice’: Trans Idahoans file lawsuit over bathroom ban
A group of transgender Idaho residents filed a lawsuit over a new law that bars people from using restrooms or changing rooms that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges the state’s new bathroom ban violates the constitutional rights of transgender people and puts their safety and well-being at risk.
House Bill 752 makes it a misdemeanor to “knowingly and willfully” use a restroom in a government-owned building or place of public accommodation that doesn’t correspond with someone’s sex at birth. A second offense within five years comes with a felony and up to five years in prison.
The lawsuit said the law, which takes effect July 1, forces transgender people to make an “impossible choice,” between using a bathroom that doesn’t align with their gender identity and risking “severe physical and psychological harms,” or breaking the law and facing prison time.
“This law upends public life not only for transgender Idahoans but for everyone who uses public restrooms in Idaho,” the lawsuit said. “It creates confusion, increases suspicion and surveillance, and disrupts the status quo ante without any demonstrated need to do so.”
The suit calls the law one of the “most punitive and broadest-sweeping laws in the country.”
It names Attorney General Raúl Labrador, along with prosecuting attorneys across the state. In an email to the Idaho Statesman, Labrador’s office said: “We look forward to defending the law.”
Who filed the lawsuit?
The lawsuit was filed by six transgender Idaho residents who range in age from 30 to 77 years old. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho and Lambda Legal. The ACLU previously called the bathroom law ““one of the most extreme anti-trans bills in the country.”
Diego Fable, one of the plaintiffs, said this law would make his life much harder. As a transgender man, Fable said he has been “enjoying life as a man,” which includes using the men’s restrooms.
“But this law would force me to use the women’s facilities, and doing so would only invite suspicion, questions, and raised eyebrows,” he said in a news release. “I would have to face tough choices every time I leave my home: Do I know the restroom situation when I go out to eat with my friends? Do I know the restrooms available when I go to public parks to go birding? What do I do while I’m at work all day?”
Fable said under the law, staying home or leaving the state would be the only safe options.
Amelia Milette, another of the plaintiffs, has lived in Idaho her whole life, and said she has long used the women’s restroom with no issues. Milette said she has to be out in the community for work, but with the new law, she can no longer rely on having a safe restroom to use.
“It forces me to compromise my privacy and safety by using a facility that doesn’t align with how I present myself in my daily life,” she said in the news release. “I now have to evaluate every social activity I participate in against the risk I’ll experience if I need access to a bathroom facility. This new law does not protect anyone. It only puts people like me in danger.”
Supporters argued intent was to protect women
House Bill 752 was the latest in a series of laws passed by the Idaho Legislature that target transgender people.
During debate over the bill, supporters argued the intent wasn’t to restrict the rights of transgender people, but rather to protect women and girls. Those opposed warned that it wasn’t necessary and that it forces transgender people into unsafe situations. They also said it puts anyone who doesn’t conform to gender stereotypes at risk. Law enforcement raised concerns about enforcement.
The law does carve out some exceptions. The measure won’t apply to people going into bathrooms for custodial services or maintenance, to provide medical assistance or to help law enforcement. It also allows people to use restrooms that don’t match their sex assigned at birth if it is a single-user facility and is the only option available, or if a person is in “dire need” and it is the only option reasonably available.
This session, lawmakers also passed a bill that requires schools and healthcare providers to inform a parent within 72 hours if their child requests to take steps to socially transition.
In recent years, the Legislature has also passed bills barring trans women and girls from participating in sports that align with their gender identity and restricting gender-affirming care for minors.
