Idaho lawmakers passed a sweeping bathroom ban Friday, approving legislation that would make it a crime for transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, even inside privately owned businesses.

If Republican Gov. Brad Little signs the bill, Idaho will have the strictest bathroom ban in the nation, subjecting people to time behind bars if they knowingly enter a bathroom, locker room or changing area that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to a year in jail for a first offense, or a felony with up to five years in prison for a second offense.

  • 58008@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    5 hours ago

    The biggest, hairiest trans men need to start pinching off loaves in the women’s bathroom, preferably in groups of 4 or 5. See how long this law lasts.

  • Archr@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    16
    ·
    edit-2
    9 hours ago

    So if you are a passing trans woman you either:

    A. Risk retribution from the law and use the women’s bathroom.

    Or

    B. Follow the law and get called out for being a women in the men’s bathroom.

    This law really just criminalizes using the bathroom if you are not 100% heteronormative.

    Might as well just go back to poodle skirts and khakis.

  • cheese_greater@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    12 hours ago

    How hard is it to just have single-occupancy “family/handicap” washrooms? They’re just better for everyone

    • frongt@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      2 hours ago

      It’s a little more expensive, but for anyone who actually cares about people, that’s what they’re doing. Individual toilets, shared sinks.

      • cheese_greater@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        2 hours ago

        Like, i think the most expensive thing is getting sucked into any of this culture war bullshit or some weird legal case.

        I dont get hiw it costs more to build single occupant washrooms (all you need is like 2) vs building 2 multis + a “family/handicap” one anyway. If anything, it probably saves money and has less traffic since there would be less overall people able to peruse the facillitues unless they want to wait in line

  • TwilitSky@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    34
    ·
    15 hours ago

    It’s times like this I’m glad we’ve cured cancer and achieved world piece or this would be an insane development.

  • Zephorah@discuss.online
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    27
    ·
    15 hours ago

    And who is checking? Seriously. Is there a guard at the door demanding entrants flash their genitals? And if they’ve already undergone surgery, what then?

    This smells more like a don’t ask and don’t you ever fucking tell, or else, push.

    • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      55
      ·
      edit-2
      14 hours ago

      The point is to make trans people scared, and most likely, give excuses to incarcerate trans people when they find them.

      Logic and proper enforcement does not play any part of these bills

    • backalleycoyote@lemmy.today
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      12 hours ago

      It’ll be volunteer checkers, we have no shortage of them here. They’ll use it to harass anyone who doesn’t meet their expectations, which also means that cisgender women who aren’t conventionally “attractive” and effeminate but cis gay men can be hounded as well. It’s all their favorite victims in one and they can avoid consequences for false reporting by pretending like they did so in good faith. Interestingly, the Idaho police lobbies spoke out against this legislation because even they could see that it’s so aggressive and so difficult to gather evidence they didn’t want to deal with it. Shocking, I know.

      • cannibalkitteh@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        11 hours ago

        The police don’t want to deal with it because they know enforcement and prosecution is going to be a widely unpopular clusterfuck and they’re going to be left dealing with the brunt of it. The rhetoric loses its luster when they start going after well-liked community members and people that just had to pee.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      14
      ·
      15 hours ago

      Meh the golden excuse still works…

      But none of the others apply as broadly to private businesses as the Idaho bill, which covers any “place of public accommodation,” meaning any business or facility that serves the public. The legislation includes nine exceptions for situations like performing janitorial work, responding to emergencies, helping children or cases when someone has “dire need” of a restroom.

      As long as you say “I really gotta poop” you can go into any bathroom you want.

      • SwifferWetjet@thelemmy.club
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        14 hours ago

        Gotta tell you, as a man man, beard n all, I have used the women’s bathroom a few times in “I’m gonna literally piss myself” moments. The absolute most reaction I have gotten beyond an eyebrow raise was a laugh at my “sorry, emergency I promise I’ll sit!” when a woman and myself made eye contact. I live multiple hours from the capital and probably two from the closest “major” city that Joe Blow Nowhere would recognize.

        I really do think the average American doesn’t give a shit as long as you’re doing your business and getting out. Maybe I’ve just had good luck.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          19
          ·
          14 hours ago

          It’s not about bathrooms…

          It’s about the segregation.

          If they see someone who looks trans, they’ll harass them regardless of what bathroom they go in.

          You’re immediately giving the excuse. A person who was trans would have to do that Everytime they went into the bathroom they don’t identify with, but legally have to use.

          The goal isn’t for ing them in either bathroom, it’s a blank check to harass and I timidate people not confirming to the 1940s gender constructs.

          They’ll keep going and eventually be yelling at women for wearing pants because that’s “men’s clothing”.

    • Jimbabwe@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      14 hours ago

      It’s so when members of the Idaho legislature are busted with their extramarital trans lovers, they can claim they were deep undercover in a sting operation

  • Blaster M@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    19
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    14 hours ago

    New bathroom meta: Individual single toilet and sink bathrooms. Just number them instead of labelling them. Can’t have a gender problem if there isn’t a gendered common to begin with.

    • Jimbabwe@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      21
      ·
      14 hours ago

      If I was a business owner in Idaho (or any of these states where the law makers are obsessed with people’s genitalia), I’d have a nice bathroom for anyone of any gender, and a squalid closet with a hole in the ground for anyone that voted for this.

      Everyone knows there’s only two genders: reasonable people and dipshits

      • backalleycoyote@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        12 hours ago

        Historically whether to have all gender restrooms or specific ones has been at the discretion of the business, and Boise has a lot of all gender ones. However, other legislation has been pushing to force out the right of business owners to choose what they want to do in their own businesses, probably because they planned on this legislation all along. Because, you know, party of small government.

    • douglasg14b@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      11 hours ago

      Plenty of places already have open multi gender bathrooms with individual stalls with real doors, and a shared hand washing area.

    • nikki@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      14 hours ago

      this, and trans people just want to piss and shit and leave like everyone else. its all a culture war being drummed up to keep us fighting while they steal our money

  • neidu3@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    10 hours ago

    So, without the bathroom bill, I would assume that I, an average dude, would be physically hindered from entering women’s bathrooms? Or will this bill actually add armed guards?

    I am confused as to what this bills actually changes… I mean, I’m under the impression that there’s nothing is stopping me as it is. At least that is my experience.

    Just to clarify: During a diaper emergency of one of my kids, I had to use the women’s restroom, as men’s restroom at that particular establishment didn’t have a suitable place for changing a diaper.

    EDIT: Oh, so it’s actually just Scumbag Signaling? Who woulda thunk…

    • cannibalkitteh@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      7 hours ago

      EDIT: Oh, so it’s actually just Scumbag Signaling? Who woulda thunk…

      I mean, not really. It provides a very real risk of a prison sentence if convicted of using the bathroom of your gender and the potential to out yourself and risk physical or sexual assault for using the bathroom of your birth sex.

  • BigDiction@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    12 hours ago

    Sorry if this is crass but I’ve never understood what the bathroom problem actually is.

    If you’re a trans woman, it’s all stalls.

    If you’re a trans men, you can either use a urinal or stall like any other cis male.

    Either way it just seems a non issue. Missing something?