Current:Home > Contact-usMississippi bill would limit where transgender people can use bathrooms in public buildings-LoTradeCoin
Mississippi bill would limit where transgender people can use bathrooms in public buildings
View Date:2024-12-23 23:55:14
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s Republican-controlled House voted Wednesday in favor of a measure that would restrict transgender people’s use of bathrooms and locker rooms in public buildings, including university dormitories.
The bill, which now goes back to the Republican-led Senate, says people are either male or female “as observed or clinically verified at birth” and must use the corresponding facilities. It also requires that public buildings have restrooms or changing areas designated for men only or women only, or single-person spaces that may be used by anyone.
Democrats who opposed the measure accused conservatives of marginalizing transgender people to try to score points with voters.
“They used to run on race, colors, and all of that,” said Rep. Willie Bailey, a Democrat from Greenville. “Then they started running against people on abortion. Now they’ve got to have an issue on transgender — it’s just silly.”
The bill is one of several being considered in state legislatures across the U.S. as Republicans try to restrict which bathrooms transgender people can use and which sports they can play.
Republican Rep. Joey Hood of Ackerman, chairman of the Mississippi House Judiciary A Committee and a prominent backer of the bill, said it aims to ensure people are using facilities that align with their sex at birth.
“We’re going to make sure boys go to boys’ bathrooms, girls go to girls’ bathrooms,” Hood said, an argument he made several times during the debate.
The bill would allow a person to sue another who uses a restroom or changing area that does not match their sex at birth.
It also establishes exceptions for emergency medical and cleaning workers and people who need assistance, including children younger than 12. They would be allowed to enter any public restroom or locker room regardless of gender.
Democratic Rep. Zakiya Summers of Jackson, who is Black, compared efforts to limit transgender people’s access to public facilities to restrictions that Black people faced during the Jim Crow era.
“It reminded me of what my ancestors had to deal with at a time when they couldn’t go in the bathroom, either, and they wouldn’t dare stick their toe in a pool,” Summers said.
At least 11 states have passed laws barring transgender girls and women from girls and women’s bathrooms at public schools, and in some cases other government facilities. The laws have taken effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee, while an Idaho ordinance is on hold and Utah’s prohibition is scheduled to take effect July 1.
The Mississippi House and Senate have passed different versions of a “Mississippi Women’s Bill of Rights,” which defines the terms woman, man, mother, father, female, male and sex in ways that support the idea that sex is defined at birth. The two chambers would need to agree on a single version before the bill could go to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.
In March the House voted for a measure that would have let incarcerated people sue jails or prisons if they encounter inmates of another sex — the bill included transgender people among that category — in restrooms or changing areas. However, the bill died in a Senate committee.
veryGood! (5924)
Related
- Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
- 40+ Gifts for Mom That Will Guarantee You the Favorite Child Award
- Enrique Iglesias Shares Sweet Update About His and Anna Kournikova's Kids
- Paramedics told investigators that Elijah McClain had ‘excited delirium,’ a disputed condition
- Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
- Major foundation commits $500 million to diversify national monuments across US
- Shannen Doherty Details Heartbreaking Moment She Believed She Wouldn't Survive Cancer Battle
- In Mexico, Yellen announces economics sanctions as the US aims to crack down on fentanyl trafficking
- Prosecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial
- U.S. charges Russian soldiers with war crimes for allegedly torturing American in Ukraine
Ranking
- Ben Foster files to divorce Laura Prepon after 6 years, according to reports
- The West has sanctioned Russia’s rich. But is that really punishing Putin and helping Ukraine?
- Taylor Swift caps off massive 2023 by entering her Time Person of the Year era
- Why Yellowstone Creator Taylor Sheridan Is Suing Actor Cole Hauser
- Mike Tyson emerges as heavyweight champ among product pitchmen before Jake Paul fight
- The Excerpt podcast: Sandra Day O'Connor dies at 93, Santos expelled from Congress
- Social Security's most important number for retirement may not be what you think it is
- Reba McEntire roots for her bottom 4 singer on 'The Voice': 'This is a shame'
Recommendation
-
Over 1.4 million Honda, Acura vehicles subject of US probe over potential engine failure
-
Social Security's most important number for retirement may not be what you think it is
-
Ariana Madix Is Headed to Broadway: All the Details on Her Iconic Next Role
-
Dutch military police have discovered 47 migrants hiding in a truck heading for United Kingdom
-
Manhattan rooftop fire sends plumes of dark smoke into skyline
-
Live updates | Dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza grow worse as Israel widens its offensive
-
FAA is investigating after 2 regional aircraft clip wings at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport
-
Biden urges Congress to pass Ukraine aid package while expressing openness to Mexico border changes