A federal judge decided Thursday to temporarily block enforcement of an Idaho law meant to bar biological males from using female restrooms.
Senate Bill 1100, which was signed by Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little, went into effect July 1 and required schools to have two separate bathrooms, one for each biological sex, and allowed students to sue the school for up to $5,000 for each transgender person who is found to be using a bathroom that does not match their biological sex, according to the law.
Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ legal activist group, sued to block the law on July 7, arguing the law violates the premise of the Equal Protection Clause and will cause harm to transgender persons, according to the lawsuit.
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Chief U.S. District Judge David Nye, a Trump appointee, on Thursday granted a temporary restraining order on the law, but did not find it unconstitutional.
“S.B. 1100 will hurt Idaho’s transgender youth—damaging their health, subjecting them to stigma and harassment in their schools, and increasing their risk of anxiety, depression, and suicide,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Many schools across Idaho have allowed transgender students to use facilities matching their gender identity for years without incident,” the lawsuit continues.
States across the nation have been banning transgender students from using bathrooms that do not match their biological sex. Arkansas and Tennessee are among the states that have signed laws requiring transgender persons to use bathrooms that match their biological sex.
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“Requiring students to share restrooms and changing facilities with members of the opposite biological sex generates potential embarrassment, shame, and psychological injury to students, as well as increasing the likelihood of sexual assault, molestation, rape,” the law reads.
“Every person has a natural right to privacy and safety in restrooms and changing facilities where such person might be in a partial or full state of undress in the presence of others,” the law continues.
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