Idaho House Bill 752 makes it illegal for any person to enter the restroom or changing room of the opposite biological sex at any government owned building or place of public accommodation. The first offense is a misdemeanor and carries up to one year in prison, and the second offense, if committed within five years of the first, is a felony and carries up to five years in prison.
Recently, on March 30, HB752 passed both the Idaho House of Representatives and the Idaho Senate. The bill was sent to Gov. Brad Little where it is waiting to be signed into law.
HB752 expands the bathroom restriction from schools to every public place in the state. With places of public accommodation, or private businesses that serve the public. This broadened reach is why this bill is such a big deal. The state is now telling private businesses to enforce compliance with the bill, removing the freedoms of small businesses, opposed to the earlier 2023 bathroom bill that focuses on schools and makes school administrators enforce compliance.
Idaho would be one of about 20 states that have bathroom restrictions in place for transgender people. Not only does this bill target transgender people similarly to other states, but it also goes even further than similar laws.
This is part of the wave of bills that have been passed by the Idaho legislature in recent years to target transgender people’s rights and access to public spaces. It seems that Idaho’s goal is to legislate transgender people out of existence, which is not possible.
This also creates new problems of how trans men who appear as biological males will be received going into women’s restrooms and changing rooms. The same for trans women going into men’s restrooms. This might lead to trans people being attacked and assaulted and eventually intimidated away from public life.
Trans people are still people and should be treated as such. They should not have their rights and safety threatened through harmful legislation. On top of this, transgender people are far more likely to be victims of assault than perpetrators of assault.
Additionally, this bathroom bill enables people in positions of power to get away with assault. There are some provisions in the bill such as exceptions for custodial services, medical
services, and emergencies, as well as other things. A notable exception is “to provide coaching or athletic training during athletic events.”
There isn’t a single time where athletic coaching happens in the bathroom. However, this does give leeway for predatory coaches to enter the bathrooms or changing rooms of the opposite sex. Already, a PowerHealth study reports that 1 in 5 NCAA athletes are abused by their coaches. This very thing happened in 2024 when the University of Idaho volleyball coach resigned over abuse allegations.
Transgender people are not going to go away, and they are part of the people of Idaho just like every other person who lives here. This bill seeks to intimidate trans people and push them away from society and into hiding. Moreso, this bill actually enables real predators by exempting athletic coaching staff from legal ramification.
Christopher Sprague can be reached at [email protected].