Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a new bill into law Tuesday prohibiting the use of public bathrooms designated for the opposite sex.
House Bill 752 amends previous legislation and classifies the use of a designated bathroom or changing room for use by the opposite sex as a misdemeanor and can result in up to one year in county jail, according to the bill. (RELATED: Turns Out, We’ve Been Able To Stop Crime All Along)
Those convicted of the same or a similar crime again within five years of their original offense will be guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to the state prison for up to five years, the legislation continued.
Idaho state Senator and co-author of the bill, Scott Herndon, said the legislation “protects women and girls from biological males in their most vulnerable spaces.”
“First offense is a misdemeanor, same category as other trespassing violations,” he added.
The bill does not offer exceptions for people with gender dysphoria who believe they are a member of the opposite sex but does offer various exceptions for janitorial and emergency situations.
The bill was delivered to Little on Tuesday after having first been introduced to the Legislature in late February, according to the Idaho Legislature.
US Vice President President Mike Pence(L) listens as Idaho Governor Brad Little(R-ID) speaks at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 16, 2020, during an event on Rolling Back Regulations to Help All Americans on the South Lawn at the White House on July 16, 2020 in Washington,DC. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
The bill passed the House 54-15 and the Senate 28-7, according to the legislative website.
Herndon said Idaho is now the first state to criminalize males entering women’s restrooms, locker rooms and private spaces.
Idaho joins at least 19 other states that also have laws banning individuals from using restrooms opposite of their sex in schools and other public places, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“Every single day when I’m out in public, I have to decide: Do I feel like going to jail today, or do I feel like being attacked,” Chair of the Idaho Democratic Queer Caucus and “trans man” Nikson Mathews told a House committee in February, according to News From the States.
At a February news conference, Mathews also claimed that legislators “have gone from refusing to protect us to actively targeting us,” the Idaho Capital Sun reported.
“The Constitution doesn’t guarantee access to the restroom of your choice,” Herndon said. He noted that the legislation “includes 10 exceptions covering every legitimate real-world situation.”
The bill will take effect July 1.