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Florida passes bathroom bill in latest wave of anti-trans legislation
Florida’s legislature Wednesday passed a bill that bans transgender people from using many bathrooms and changing areas that match their gender identity, on penalty of criminal trespass charges, in the latest spate of anti-LGBTQ legislation that has been taken up by state lawmakers.
A small number of Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues in opposing House Bill 1521, which applies to schools, government buildings, prisons and detention centers. It now heads to the desk of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is expected to sign it into law. DeSantis — who has privately indicated that he intends to seek the 2024 GOP presidential nomination — has tacked to the hard right on social issues such as abortion, as he courts primary voters by showing off his conservative vision for the state and pitches Florida as a “blueprint” for the rest of the country.
The bill that passed was more limited than earlier drafts, which would have extended the ban to facilities in many private businesses. It is opposed by LGBTQ and civil liberties activists, who say that it criminalizes transgender people for ordinary behavior. “Our state government should be focused on solving pressing issues, not terrorizing people who are simply trying to use the restroom and exist in public,” said Jon Harris Maurer, public policy director at Equality Florida, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
