NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill that requires businesses or government facilities open to the public to post a sign if they let transgender people use multi-person bathrooms, locker rooms or changing rooms associated with their gender identity.
The Human Rights Campaign, which opposes the proposed requirement, says it would be the first of its kind.
The Republican-dominated Legislature finished work on the bill with the Senate’s passage Thursday, sending GOP Gov. Bill Lee another bill that LGBTQ advocates have decried as targeting the already-marginalized transgender community this legislative session. Numerous anti-trans measures have advanced recently in Republican-led statehouses across the country, including in Texas, Alabama and Arkansas.
“Texas has the most anti-LGBTQ bills filed of any state but Tennessee is not far behind,” said Cathryn Oakley, Human Rights Campaign’s state legislative director and senior counsel. “It’s one of our leaders in terms of having the most anti-LGBTQ legislation that has been filed this year.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee said it is “evaluating our legal options” on the bathroom sign requirement, which is a signature away from becoming law and would kick in July 1.