States across the nation have varying laws about men into women’s restrooms.
From The Epoch Times. Octogenarian Julie Jaman was in the shower at a YMCA-managed pool in Port Townsend, Washington, when she suddenly heard a man’s voice.
Pray for your fellow intercessor.
“There stands a man in a woman’s bathing suit, looking at, watching, and touching little girls who were taking down their bathing suits,” she told The Epoch Times. …
After Ms. Jaman asked an employee to make sure he left the locker room, she was banned from the facility. Permanently.
Many states don’t have laws addressing whether men who identify as women, and vice versa, can or cannot use women’s restrooms and changing rooms.
That means federal law guides what is and isn’t legal in those locales.
Several states have affirmed that ruling, creating legislation allowing people who identify as transgender to use the restroom that aligns with their declared gender, rather than requiring them to use spaces set aside for their biological sex, according to a review of state laws by The Epoch Times.
More than a dozen states prohibit people from using restrooms and locker rooms that don’t correspond with their biological sex, no matter how they identify. …
When Ms. Jaman asked the pool staffer to remove the man, she said the worker retorted: “That’s discrimination! And you’re out of here. For life!” …
Stunned, Ms. Jaman left and immediately reported the incident to the Port Townsend Police Department. But they didn’t file a report at the time, she said.
The police department later spoke to YMCA staff members and filed a report, reviewed by The Epoch Times, that listed Ms. Jaman as a “suspect.” …
Under Washington state law, all businesses that employ more than eight people must let transgender-identifying individuals enter opposite-sex restrooms. …
One question asks: “Can men now go into women’s bathrooms or locker rooms?”
The answer from the commission states, “No. Only females can go into women’s bathrooms or locker rooms in a gender segregated situation. This includes transgender females who identify as female,” referring to men who identify as female. …
Who’s Allowed in Restrooms?
State law on opposite-sex restroom use is still in its infancy, with many states not yet taking a side.
Currently, the most important factor affecting whether men can enter women’s spaces is federal law, said Sarah Perry, a senior legal fellow for The Heritage Foundation.
Federal rules that ban discrimination on the basis of sex have been repurposed to ban discrimination based on someone’s gender identity, Ms. Perry told The Epoch Times.
Title IX, a provision of the Educational Amendments of 1972, was crafted to bring equality between men and women in most facets of education.
The Biden administration’s choice means that the default legal position is that anyone who announces transgender status can use opposite-sex bathrooms in schools, Ms. Perry said.
These Title IX anti-discrimination provisions don’t specifically apply to other facilities, and state laws can block this federal rule interpretation, she said. …
In the long run, legal battles will decide whether the current presidential administration can use civil rights laws to give men a right to enter women’s bathrooms, she said.
Restroom Use Based on Gender Identity
More than a dozen states have amended their laws to include “gender identity” as a protected class subject to anti-discrimination laws. Usually these laws include civil rights protections in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations, which include restrooms.
These states include Delaware, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Some state laws also specifically protect a person’s “right” to use a restroom or changing room that aligns with his or her chosen “gender identity.”
States with specific laws, executive orders, or court decisions that allow individuals to use opposite-sex restrooms include California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, and Delaware. …
States Upholding Single-Sex Restrooms
Other states require people to use only those restrooms and changing areas that align with their biological sex, rather than their declared gender.
States protecting at least some single-sex spaces with laws, rules, or court decisions include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas.
However, their laws vary in the kinds of spaces protected.
Lawsuits, especially regarding transgender policies in public schools, have been driving policy in a lot of states.
A mother in Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against her local school district after her 15-year-old daughter was allegedly physically assaulted in the women’s restroom by a 17-year-old male who identifies as transgender female.
The incident occurred at Edmond Memorial High School on Oct. 26, 2022, and the lawsuit alleges that the school district was aware that the transgender student was using the girls’ restroom, a violation of state law.
Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, and Iowa laws protect single-sex spaces in schools through 12th grade. …
Mississippi has a law that restricts the state government from acting against people who establish “sex-specific standards” for locker rooms, bathrooms, and other facilities.
Utah has a similar law in its Anti Discrimination Act, amended in 2023, with the caveat that employers “afford reasonable accommodations based on gender identity” with regard to restrooms, shower facilities, and dressing facilities.
The Fourth Circuit court in Virginia ruled against the Gloucester County school board in 2020, stating that Title IX allows for transgender-identifying students to use opposite-sex restrooms. …
A more recent education policy affirmed in 2023 by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, states that “students shall use bathrooms that correspond to his or her sex, except to the extent that federal law otherwise requires.” …
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(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Photo Credit: Tim Mossholder on Unsplash)