Lawmakers in Tennessee, US have introduced a bill which would allow cisgender students to sue their school if they feel they are being ‘forced’ to share facilities with their trans peers. If the bill is passed, cis students will be able to legally limit trans students’ access to spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms, which contradicts an executive order from president Joe Biden which stated trans students should have access to spaces in accordance with their gender identity.
Tennessee House Bill 1233 was introduced by Republican congressman Jason Zachary (while Republican senator Mike Ball introduced its sister bill in the state senate), who told The Tennessean that the regulations would protect “all children”. Zachary said cisgender students had reached out to him, saying they had been experiencing a “problem with boys using the girls’ restroom,” adding: “This bill takes care of that. It stops all that and just provides absolute clarity.”
LGBTQ+ activists are concerned about the bill, with Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, saying: “[State legislators are attacking] trans students and trans youth…Trans students are at school to learn. And just like everybody else who has to go to the bathroom, that’s what they are going in there for. They are not going in there to bother anyone. This bill reduces trans students to someone that the state is giving you the right to avoid…That’s why it’s stigmatising.”
House Bill 1233 is the second anti-trans bill to have been put forward this year, with another bill threatening to restrict trans athletes participation in school sports. State governor Bill Lee previously attacked the young trans community, saying trans-inclusion in athletics will “destroy women’s sports.” An estimated 23 US states are currently considering bills against trans youth.
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