Demonstrators celebrate transgender pride at Utah Capitol; lawmakers prep bathroom bill for final vote | News | Salt Lake City Weekly
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Demonstrators celebrate transgender pride at Utah Capitol; lawmakers prep bathroom bill for final vote

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Demonstrators hold transgender pride flags outside the Utah State Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. - BENJAMIN WOOD
  • Benjamin Wood
  • Demonstrators hold transgender pride flags outside the Utah State Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024.

CAPITOL HILL—Opponents of a bill targeting the use of bathrooms by transgender individuals gathered at the steps of the Utah Capitol on Thursday. Under a light rain and above the cheers of the crowd, participants took turns walking up to a microphone to share their stories and vent their frustrations with the lawmakers debating inside.

"I'm terrified to think what the future could look like," said one speaker, who said their name was Jackson. "We are here. We have always been here and we will never go away."

Another speaker told demonstrators to "put your horns up," raising a pinky and pointer finger into the air. "The most metal thing you can do is be yourself," they said.

Inside the Capitol, lawmakers came just shy of passing the bill, HB257, after a senate vote of 21-8, with two Republicans joining the Democratic minority in opposition. The Utah House already voted 52-17 along party lines and a procedural vote, expected Friday, will send the bill to the desk of Gov. Spencer Cox for the third consecutive year of anti-transgender legislation, following a sports ban in 2022 and health care restrictions in 2023.

Protest signs left in a windowsill of the Utah State Capitol. - BENJAMIN WOOD
  • Benjamin Wood
  • Protest signs left in a windowsill of the Utah State Capitol.

The bill's Senate sponsor, Riverton Republican Sen. Dan McCay, began his floor presentation by reading a list of criminal incidents around the country in which men had attacked women and young girls in restrooms. He said his bill—which directs public entities to make unisex and single-occupancy facilities available in addition to imposing restrictions on use that corresponds with gender identity—is intended to improve safety in private spaces.

"This effort, to protect, women is not something we should take a knee on," McCay said.

Senators had, on Wednesday, removed some of the most controversial language in the bill, and leadership boasted to reporters that collaborative progress had been made and that anyone appropriately using a bathroom would be free to use any bathroom they liked. But those revisions evaporated by Thursday, with the bill requiring a person to have changed the gender marker on their birth certificate and undergone "full sex-reassignemnt surgery" (something children cannot legally do) in order to use a gender-designated restroom or changing room at public schools and other government spaces.

"It was never intended for anybody to use any bathroom," McCay said. "This is the way things go, in the legislative process. It's never over until you have a final bill that you send to the governor."

Beyond the specifics of the bill, the legislation is part of a wave of conservative anti-transgender legislation across the country and a key piece of Republican politicking ahead of November's elections. Senate Democrats seemed resigned to that fact during floor debate on Thursday, with only a couple members of the minority caucus rising to speak against the bill and with those who did expressing apologies to the transgender community and to their fellow senators for failing to help them create better laws.

"I feel like I've failed you all as my colleagues," said Sen. Jennifer Plumb, D-Salt Lake City. "This is my space, this is where I live, this is where I work."

Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, emphasized that even the more palatable areas of the bill, like calling for an expansion of unisex restrooms, cost money to implement—money that the Legislature is not appropriating to help public schools, rec centers and other government facilities.

"Let’s put our money where our mouth is when it comes to building these spaces," she said.

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