Missouri Republicans advance bill to police trans people’s bathroom access

Another state is trying to police who can use what restroom. Republicans in the Missouri House of Representatives have passed a bill requiring public entities to divide their bathrooms and changing areas by sex assigned at birth or face financial penalties.

HB 2536 passed along party lines on Monday. The bill would codify definitions of “male” and “female” based on an individual’s “reproductive system” at birth. Institutions that receive state funds, like schools, shelters, and jails, would have to use these definitions to establish “single-sex” restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters. State colleges and universities would be required to separate dorms by sex assigned at birth.

The legislation now heads to the Missouri Senate, where Republicans hold a supermajority, before it can be sent to Gov. Mike Kehoe for consideration.

Related: Missouri Republicans add trans bathroom ban to 'parents' rights' education bill

Democratic state lawmakers have warned that the bill may be used to target trans people in daily life, making it harder for them to access inclusive bathrooms and exposing them to harassment and increased scrutiny.

“If you can just call the police and accuse someone of using the wrong bathroom, think about the implications of that,” said state Rep. Wick Thomas, a Democrat from Kansas City and the chamber’s first out trans member, according to the Missouri Independent.

Public buildings that allow trans people to use the facilities of their choosing, or that do not take “reasonable steps” to prevent people “of the opposite sex” from accessing these spaces, may face new civil penalties, according to the bill. A provision of the legislation lets residents file for financial relief in court if the facilities do not exclude trans people.

In recent years, Republican state lawmakers across the country have sought to restrict trans residents from choosing a bathroom aligned with their gender. Four states have imposed criminal penalties on residents who do not use bathrooms associated with their sex assigned at birth: Florida, Kansas, Idaho and Utah.

Related: 21 states now limit transgender people’s bathroom use, with criminal penalties in three

Republicans who backed the bill claimed it would protect women’s rights, although the passage of anti-trans bathroom bans has not been linked to a reduction in criminal activity. In fact, a 2019 study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that trans teens with restricted bathroom access are more likely to face harassment and violence.

Despite this, dozens of state legislatures are currently considering sex-based divisions to public accommodations like bathrooms, according to the American Civil Liberties Union’s anti-LGBTQ+ bill tracker.

The bill passed Missouri’s lower chamber with support from all but one Republican member, Rep. Tara Peters of Rolla, and without support from any Democratic members.

Related: Missouri school district must pay trans student $4 million after barring him from boys bathrooms

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups in Missouri warn that, if passed, the bill could place trans residents at risk.

“The bill creates a harmful and inaccurate definition of sex,” said Shira Berkowitz, senior director of public policy and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ rights group PROMO Missouri, in a video shared to Facebook Monday. “It’s a bill that attempts to police people’s bodies and dictate where trans Missourians can exist in everyday private spaces of public life.”

This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from Morrison Media Group. The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.