The Idaho-based nonprofit Trans Affirm has released an “Inclusive Bathroom Map” to help trans people in the state find safe restrooms as they live under what advocates have called “the most extreme anti-transgender bathroom ban in the nation.”
Gov. Brad Little (R) signed the law in March, but it did not take effect until July 1. In response, Trans Affirm has shared its crowdsourced map of inclusive bathrooms, for which community members reportedly submitted hundreds of ideas.
Related
“It is already a confusing law as it is,” Trans Affirm board member Scar Rulien told the Idaho Capital Sun. “And it can be scary for transgender people, who identify as one gender, to use the bathroom that is of the gender that they don’t identify as… It can pose a risk to their safety.”
The map is easy to navigate and includes information on places with gender neutral/private restrooms, restrooms that are gendered but inclusive, and also locations where members of the community have reported concern. The organization describes it as a “live, ever evolving resource that continues to grow alongside our community.”
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
“The Idaho Safe Bathroom List was created because our communities need practical tools, not just conversations,” Trans Affirm states on its website. “We wanted to build a resource made by Idahoans, for Idahoans, that increases access to information, strengthens community knowledge sharing, and helps people feel more prepared when moving through public spaces.”
The state’s bathroom law makes it illegal for anyone to “knowingly and willfully” use a sex-segregated restroom that doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth; it applies to government-owned buildings and places of public accommodation (that is, any space or business open to the general public).
A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a second offense within five years is a felony punishable with up to five years in prison, and a fourth offense triggers the state’s persistent violator statute and, thus, punishments up to life in prison.
Trans independent journalist Erin Reed noted that the state’s count of offenses will include any prior convictions for violating other states’ anti-trans restroom laws; as such, an offender could face enhanced penalties in Idaho if they violated a similar law elsewhere.
Both the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association and the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police opposed the law, with the latter organization’s President Bryan Lovell warning that “there is no clear or reasonable way” for police officers to enforce it “without engaging in questioning or investigative actions that could be viewed as invasive and inappropriate.”
A judge has granted a partial preliminary injunction against the law, which, for the time being, allows trans people “to use single-user restrooms consistent with their gender identity and multi-user restrooms when a single-user restroom is not available (including when it is occupied),” as the ACLU of Idaho explained.
“The only time the restroom portion of the law can be enforced is when a trans person uses a multi-user restroom when a single-user restroom is available on the same floor,” the organization added. “This means trans Idahoans will have access to gender-aligned restrooms when out in public.”
Despite the block, Trans Affirm emphasized that trans people in the state are riddled with fear and uncertainty and desperate for resources like its inclusive bathroom map.
“At Trans Affirm, we believe community care matters,” it stated. “There is not always an institution, policy, or system stepping in to reduce harm in moments like these.”
“There isn’t anyone who will swoop in and save us from bigotry and anti trans legislation. We have to be here for our communities. And this is how we can.”
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.