SALT LAKE CITY — Transgender Utahns and allies came to Capitol Hill Wednesday to voice their opposition to what they call ‘The Bathroom Bill.’
“It feels like we're talking to a brick wall,” said Ermiya Fanaeian, an Organizer with Armed Queers. “It feels as though no matter how many people we bring up to Capitol Hill, and we plead and we tell our stories, these people are led by political interests. They're not led by the interests of the people.”
Representative Kera Birkeland’s ‘Sex-based designations for privacy, anti-bullying, and women's opportunities’ bill defines what a man and a woman is, she said. It would require schools to set up private, single-occupancy bathrooms for transgender kids. Also, transgender adults could only use the gendered bathroom of their choice in public buildings.. If they’ve undergone sex-reassignment surgery and changed their sex on their birth certificate.
“There's no verification that they are truly transgender, and they start to perpetrate on women, and women particularly in the cases that I've seen at risk,” said Birkeland. “Law enforcement and county people aren't really sure how to go about this.”
Aside from the bathroom issue, multiple advocates for domestic abuse and violence victims spoke up at the meeting, raising concerns about how this bill could require shelters to discriminate against transgender women.
“Our programs are already underfunded, and if we lose any additional federal funding, this would be extremely detrimental to victims of sexual assault,” said Liliana Olvera-Arbon, Executive Director of Utah’s Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Some parents believe this bill would prevent women and children from encountering men in private spaces.
“All of us want to feel safe in every space that we're in, but most importantly in spaces where there's an expectation that we would have privacy,” said Corinne Johnson, President of Utah Parents United.
Additionally, the bill would require schools to treat female athletes more equally by Title IX, said Birkeland.
“There's women's teams in our high schools, when it comes to cross country, track, that aren't given locker rooms,” she said. “But the boys are. There are girls high school basketball, soccer teams, that always have to play soccer on the middle school field, but the boys soccer team always plays on the high school field.”
The bill was favorably recommended in a 12 to three vote. It goes to the house floor for a vote next.
