A proposed bill in Florida would make it illegal for a person to enter a public facility designated as single-sex if the person was not born a biological member of that sex. The measure would apply to bathrooms, dressing rooms, fitting rooms, locker rooms and showers, or wherever there is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”
If a person born as male entered a women’s bathroom, for example, that person could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000 or sentenced to one year in prison.
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Utah legislators failed to pass a measure in 2014 that would have blocked transgender students from using bathrooms for either men or women and instead required schools to provide them with separate facilities. There is no requirement in the Florida law for businesses, schools and other public places to offer transgender people separate facilities.
The issue of public bathrooms has surfaced before in Florida, such as when Gainesville voted for a ballot measure that specifically allowed transgender people to use public bathrooms, prompting conservative outrage and a creepy ad campaign.
