Texas, Kentucky, and Florida have anti-transgender bills making their way through the legislative process. The bills could have very real, harmful consequences for transgender people and anyone else who may not fit in with the narrow assumptions some people have about how a man or woman is expected to appear.

The Florida bill would penalize people with a fine or jail time for using a restroom that does not correspond to their “biological sex.”

There are two bills in Texas. One would require you to enter only the restroom that corresponds with your “chromosomes” and “sex at birth” and would also carry a fine or jail time. Another would also criminalize any business owner who allows someone to enter a restroom that doesn’t correspond with their “chromosomes” with a $10,000 fine or up to two years in jail.

The Kentucky bill would require transgender students to use a separate restroom from their classmates.

Transgender people, especially transgender women of color, face extraordinarily high rates of violence directed towards them. Requiring someone who lives her daily life as a woman to risk using the men’s room could potentially put her in harm's way. More than anyone, due to the high rates of harassment and violence, transgender people often seek out privacy when using public facilities.

These laws could have harmful impacts on businesses if they accidentally “allow” a transgender person to use the restroom that doesn’t correspond with their “biological sex.” Few business owners will want the additional burden of asking their guests for I.D. before allowing them to use the restroom. Additionally, elderly and disabled people who have caretakers of the opposite sex may also feel threatened by these laws. All four proposed laws, and any other like them, are ripe for challenges in court, which could be drawn-out, costly battles.

Check out the analysis of these bills by transgender advocate Brynn Tannehill, Director of SPART*A. She is optimistic that the bills won’t pass, but we must not be complacent.

•  Click here for Equality Texas’s action alert to contact your legislator.
• Click here to learn more from Equality Florida.
•                  Click here to learn from the Fairness Campaign about how you can get involved in Kentucky.               

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