As of Jan. 2024, Gov. Spencer Cox has signed House Bill 257 into law, which requires individuals in government-owned buildings and public schools to use bathroom and locker rooms that match their assigned sex at birth.
HB 257 underwent multiple rounds of revision before being passed and signed into law. The new law, titled Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying and Women’s Opportunities, will impact the lives of numerous Utah residents.
Supporters of the bill argued that it was necessary to prevent predators seeking to harm women from entering bathrooms and facilities under the guise that they are trans women.
“Nobody is calling out the transgender community for crimes against women,” stated Rep. Kera Birkeland, the bill’s sponsor. “Let’s be clear, sexual assault knows no boundaries. Keeping men from women’s spaces is an appropriate and much-needed boundary in Utah and across America.”
However, many feel this law will target and out transgender youth since, under state legislation, transgender individuals may need to defend themselves against these complaints by proving they had gender-affirming surgery to legally change the sex on their birth certificate.
“We want public facilities that are safe and accommodating for everyone, and this bill increases privacy protections for all,” Cox said.
Though Utah is not the only state to pass laws regulating bathroom use, HB 257 requires new government buildings to include single-occupant bathrooms. It would also ask the state to consider adding more of these bathrooms to increase privacy and protections in existing government buildings without providing funding for those upgrades.
According to the bill’s original text, transgender people would have been banned from using public restrooms that match their gender identity in any state-funded facility, including hospitals and airports. Currently, due to the Senate’s amended language, the scope is limited to public schools and government-owned facilities.
Equality Utah, an advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, expressed concerns when the bill was proposed concerning how the implementation of this bill would affect transgender individuals and if it would put transgender Utahns at risk in public bathrooms.
In regard to these concerns, the law ensures that children in public schools will not face criminal penalties for being in bathrooms that do not correspond with their gender identity.
With this bill impacting how many school and institution facilities are run, SUU has all-gender bathrooms across campus for the use of students and faculty.
Story: Anna Mower
Photographer: Anna Mower
Editor: Anna Mower
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