Louisiana House OKs transgender bathroom restrictions 

The Louisiana House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday that would restrict what bathrooms, changing rooms and sleeping quarters transgender people use in public facilities. 

House Bill 608 by Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, advanced on a 79-16 vote. Democratic Reps. Roy Daryl Adams of Jackson, Ken Brass of Vacherie, Robby Carter of Amite, Tehmi Chassion of Lafayette, Adrian Fisher of Monroe, Ed Larvadain of Alexandria, Patricia Moore of Monroe and Sylvia Taylor of Reserve joined Republicans in supporting the bill. 

Wilder said he sponsored the bill, which he’s dubbed the “Women’s Safety and Protection Act” because he wants to protect women’s privacy and safety. He was unable to point to a specific incident in Louisiana in which a woman was harmed by a transgender woman in a restroom or changing facility. 

The bill segregates all bathrooms, changing rooms and sleeping quarters by sex in public schools, domestic violence shelters and correctional facilities. 

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates there are approximately 20,000 transgender people living in Louisiana. 

“It is a hateful, mean-spirited way to treat a small population of the state who is not known for… higher rates of sex offenders. They are not known for… creating havoc in your communities,” Rep. Aimee Freeman, D-New Orleans, said in a fiery speech against the bill.

“The highest rates of a sex offender is a white male. So should we keep them out of all of the bathrooms?” 

While Wilder pitched his bill as a way to keep women and girls from feeling uncomfortable or unsafe when men enter private areas, the legislation would require a transgender man, even one who has transitioned via hormones and gender affirming surgery, to use the women’s areas. A transgender man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Transitioning refers to actions taken by a transgender person to align their bodies with their identified gender. 

When asked about the potential conflict, Wilder was confused about what the term “transgender” means but said he would be open to working with colleagues to find solutions to any unintended consequences of his bill. 

“I would like to work compassionately towards solutions in any way, shape or form that help any human being maintain their honor and dignity,” he said. 

Wilder added amendments to his bill in an attempt to satisfy concerns from domestic violence shelters that its measures could impact their federal funding. 

Advocates have testified that violence from transgender people is not an issue they’ve experienced. Transgender people tend to experience higher rates of domestic violence and have higher suicide rates than cisgender people. 

“Our strong preference remains for domestic violence shelters to be removed from this bill, to alleviate any conflict between its requirements and the requirements of our federal funders,” Mariah Wineski, executive director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said in a statement to the Illuminator.  “We do acknowledge the author’s efforts to alleviate these concerns through amendments that will allow shelters some flexibility.” 

Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, offered an amendment to place criminal penalties on anyone who commits a sex offense while trying to determine an individual’s sex. House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, ruled the amendment was not germane to Wilder’s bill, which relates to civil law. 

Landry and other Democrats raised concerns about how the bill would be enforced, as someone’s appearance does not necessarily correspond with their sex. Several representatives also noted victims of sexual violence are most likely to be targeted by people they already know. 

Wilder said the problem could be solved with more single-person facilities. 

He pointed to an incident in his hometown in which someone he referred to as a “biological male” attempted to gain access to a changing room at a public park, which he refused to identify. He said the park was able to solve the problem by adding a third changing room. 

The bill will next be discussed in a Senate committee.