The Idaho Senate is poised to vote as early as Thursday night on a bill that would make it a crime for transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, advancing a bill already passed by the state House.
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At Monday’s committee hearing, senators allotted just 22 minutes for public testimony and heard from five speakers, three against the bill and two for it, despite much broader interest. Idaho Advocate Nixon Matthews said 327 people registered their positions ahead of the hearing, of which 279 opposed and 48 supported.
The imbalance did not change the results. The committee voted to move forward with the bill, even if it does not bind members to vote in favor of it, and send it to the Senate floor with a “shall pass” recommendation, a procedural step that indicates support from the House Republican majority.
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“More than anything, this shows that they don’t take the comments of the public or law enforcement seriously,” Matthews said, noting that the recommendations will become part of the public record when the bill comes up for consideration.
House Bill 752 would make it a crime to “knowingly and intentionally” enter a restroom or locker room in a government building or public accommodation that does not correspond to the gender assigned at birth.
First-time violations are punishable by up to one year in prison. A second conviction within five years could be charged as a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
The structure is intentional. It starts with a misdemeanor and progresses to a felony, turning what was once framed as an access issue into a criminal liability issue. The law does not depend on illegal acts. It’s all about presence.
In the editorial of defenderMatthews, a transgender man, said the reality such laws create is an impossible daily calculation: risk arrest by entering a restroom that matches your identity, or risk confrontation and potential violence by using a restroom that does not. “Do you feel like going to jail? Or do you feel like being attacked?” they wrote.
Law enforcement groups say the bill would be difficult, if not impossible, to actually enforce. Groups such as the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police and the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association opposed the measure, warning that it would put officers in the position of having to determine a person’s “biological sex” and assess whether they fall under the “extreme necessity” exception to the law. IDaho province journal report.
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The Idaho Sheriff’s Association called on lawmakers to require anyone suspected of violating the law to first be asked to leave before calling police. Lawmakers refused to add that provision.
The bill includes exceptions for situations where emergency response, medical care, or alternative facilities are unavailable. But critics, including law enforcement groups, argue that such carve-outs can lead to subjective judgment by officers on the ground.
After the committee vote, the bill was placed on the Senate calendar for consideration in the full chamber. As of Thursday afternoon, lawmakers were one bill away from considering the bill, Matthews said, before suspending proceedings until 3 p.m. Pacific time. Unless amendments reorder or extend the agenda, debate and votes are expected to take place later in the evening.
Committee hearings are typically the primary forum for public input. Time limits are common. More than 80% of registrants opposed the bill, Matthews said. The committee went ahead with it anyway.
The proposal is part of a broader legislative push that has gained momentum in Idaho in recent years. Lawmakers have restricted access to bathrooms in schools and are now seeking to extend that policy to criminal law. It also recently moved forward with a bill that would allow pride flags to be flown on government property, which critics say could force transgender students to leave their homes.
If passed by the Senate, the bill would go to the governor’s desk.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
