Controversial bathroom bill returns to House after passing through Senate
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The controversial Utah transgender bathroom bill passed through the Senate with an overwhelming majority Thursday after undergoing a series of changes.
H.B. 257 initially set out to bar transgender people from using publicly-owned or funded bathrooms that align with their gender identity. But in the Senate on Wednesday, the bill was amended to allow adults to use whatever public bathroom they prefer, instead requiring school children to still use the bathroom that matches with their sex a birth.
More changes to the bill happened Thursday. Now, the bill defines men’s and women’s bathrooms based on gender, barring those of the opposite gender from entering outside of edge cases. However, now there are no penalties outlined in the bill for those who use the incorrect bathroom.
The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 21-8, mostly along party lines. Two Republican senators broke ranks to vote against the bill – Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross) and Sen. Daniel Thatcher (R-Salt Lake City).
The new version of H.B. 257 will now be returned to the House floor where it is expected to be passed as soon as Friday morning.
Since its introduction, the bill officially known as “Sex-Based Designations for Privacy, Anti-Bullying and Women’s Opportunities” has stirred controversy.
Co-sponsored by Rep. Kera Birkeland (R-Morgan) and Sen. Daniel McCay (R-Riverton), the original version of the bill prevented people from using publicly-owned or funded bathrooms that differ from the sex they were assigned at birth.
The House passed the original version of the bill last week with a majority vote of 52-17, mostly along party lines. From there, it was presented to the Senate, which made massive changes and then reversed some of them.
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Outside the capitol on Thursday, hundreds of people gathered to protest the bill, holding signs and waiving trans flags. Among them was Cat Palmer, an activist and a mother.
“If [these lawmakers] really cared about all children, they would be protecting trans kids — full stop,” she said.
Palmer said this bill is forcing her to take her child out of school to avoid them being outed and possibly targeted.
She issued an invitation to the lawmakers supporting the bill: “Sit, have dinner and break bread with a queer family. Meet my daughter. That’s what I want. I want them to see that we are not villains. We are boring and just as normal as they are.”
Jakey Siolo, the director of the Nuanua Collective, also protested the bill, standing in the rain with dozens of others. He said the idea of only two genders is not universal.
“In the Samoan culture, those who are third gender or trans are the people who nurture the elders, protect the elders, teach about taboo subjects in the community, and provide food,” he said.
On the Senate floor, McCay said that it’s the government’s duty to ensure that when citizens are in public facilities they are “protected and do have privacy.”
Under the latest version of H.B. 257, school children will have to use the restroom that aligns with their birth certificate. The same requirement would apply to most people using publicly-owned changing rooms.
Speaking on Senate floor, McCay pointed to a number of bathroom assaults across the world. However, he could not confirm whether or not a transgender person was involved in any of them.
“These are real incidents with real issues, related to the wrong gender in the wrong bathroom,” he said. “I have four daughters. I’m done with it.”
Sen. Jeb Plumb (D-Salt Lake City) said the legislation links the transgender community with pedophiles and other perpetrators of sexual assault.
“We can’t let that stand,” she said.
As the revised bill is expected to pass the House, Utah Democrats are already calling on Gov. Spencer Cox to veto it.
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