Arizona’s new “no loo for you” bill…

(Click to tweet: We beat AZ’s #papers2pee bill. Now help us beat the #NoLoo4U bill.)

Transgender Law Center is gravely concerned that a pro-discrimination bill introduced by Arizona Representative John Kavanagh would have devastating consequences for transgender people and their families.

Arizona Senate Bill 1045, dubbed “no loo for you” by local residents, would permit business owners to restrict access to gender-specific facilities based on a person’s gender identity or gender expression. Designed to eviscerate recent LGBT protections passed by the Phoenix City Council, the proposed state bill would prohibit local governments from creating or enforcing nondiscrimination laws meant to protect transgender people from discrimination.

Originally, Rep. Kavanagh introduced a bill that would have required people suspected of being transgender to show a birth certificate that matched the gender of the restroom or facility being used or face arrest. The bill was withdrawn due to community outcry, as some began calling it another “papers, please” bill that unfairly criminalized people who do not fit narrow gender stereotypes.

Kavanagh’s newest plan to enshrine discrimination into Arizona law through SB1045 is already striking fear among transgender people in the state. “This bill sends a message to the public that it’s okay to exclude and harass transgender and gender-nonconforming people like me, and it has increased my level of fear that I myself will be targeted somehow,” said Abby Jensen, a transgender attorney and activist in Tucson, Arizona. “Already, I’ve heard reports of increased bullying and harassment against LGBT youth here in Tucson.” Read more…

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