
トイレ法案とは、性別または性自認に基づいて公衆トイレへのアクセスを定義する法律または法令の一般的な名称です。トイレ法案は、出生時に割り当てられた性別、出生証明書に記載されている性別、または性自認に対応する性別など、特定の方法で定義された性別に基づいて、個人が性別分離型の公共施設にアクセスできるようにします。[ 1 ]トイレ法案は、前述の性別の定義に応じて、トランスジェンダーの人々を含めることも除外することもできます。
法案の支持者は、このような法律はプライバシーを維持し、ほとんどのシスジェンダーの人々が持つ慎み深さを保護し、のぞき見、暴行、わいせつ、強姦を防ぎ、[ 2 ]心理的な安心感を確保するために必要だと主張している。[ 3 ] [ 4 ]擁護団体や研究者を含む法案の批判者は、このような法律はシスジェンダーの人々の安全性を高めるものではなく、トランスジェンダーやジェンダー非適合のシスジェンダーの人々のリスクを高める可能性があると主張している。[ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] UCLAのウィリアムズ研究所は、トランスジェンダーの人々に対するさまざまな保護が可決されて以来、トイレでの犯罪の発生率を追跡調査しており、犯罪の数に大きな変化はないことを発見している。[ 8 ] [ 9 ]アメリカ医師会、アメリカ心理学会、アメリカ小児科学会などの組織は、公衆衛生と安全への影響を懸念し、トランスジェンダー専用のトイレ法案に反対を表明している。[ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ]
さらに、Voxは「差別禁止法や、トランスジェンダーの人々が性自認に基づいてトイレを使用することを認めるその他の政策が、トイレや更衣室での性的暴行につながるという証拠はない」と結論付け、Media Mattersは「トランスジェンダーの人々を保護する12の州と17の学区の専門家や関係者に確認したところ、政策を施行した後に性犯罪が増加したことはない」と結論付けた。[ 14 ]
映画『Growing Up Coy』[ 15 ]は、コロラド州公民権局が2013年にコロラド州ファウンテンの小学校でトランスジェンダーの6歳のコイ・マティスが女子トイレを使用することを認める判決を下した画期的な事例を記録している。この事例は、その後数年間、全米でトイレ法案の波を引き起こしたとされている。[ 16 ] 2016年、米国司法省と教育省は、連邦資金を受け取る学校は生徒の性自認を性別として扱わなければならない(例えば、トイレに関して)という指針を発表した。[ 17 ]この方針は2017年にトランプ政権によって撤回された。 [ 17 ]




As of March 19, 2026, bathroom restrictions on transgender individuals are in effect in 22 U.S. states:[18]
As of April 12, 2025, two bathroom bills have passed one state legislative chamber and are currently under consideration; one is awaiting gubernatorial review after passing both chambers, and another has passed one chamber:
トランスジェンダー平等全国センター(現在はトランスジェンダー平等擁護団体の一部)は、これらの法案を差別的だと非難している。[ 57 ]
2023年3月22日から2025年6月30日まで、上院法案482号は、アイオワ州の公共施設法に例外を設け、公立および私立の幼稚園から高校までの学校が、出生時またはその直後に発行された出生証明書に記載されている生徒の生物学的性別に基づいて、トイレや更衣室の利用を制限することを許可した。この法律は、当時まだ性自認を保護対象としていたアイオワ州公民権法の下では、そのような方針は差別には当たらないと規定していた。
ノースカロライナ州の2016年の「トイレ法案」(下院法案2号)に対する広範な反発の後、保守派活動家たちはトランスジェンダーの人々に影響を与える法案に関する戦略を再考し始めた。保守系シンクタンクであるアメリカン・プリンシプルズ・プロジェクト(APP)の代表であるテリー・シリングは、当時のパット・マクローリー知事と会談し、政治的な影響について検討し、新たなアプローチを戦略的に練った。[ 58 ]
シリングらは、経済力と文化的影響力から、企業やエンターテインメント業界によるボイコットの影響を受けにくいフロリダ州を理想的な候補地としてターゲットにすることに注力した。シリングは、「ウォルト・ディズニー・ワールドの本拠地であるフロリダ州をボイコットすることは絶対にできない」と説明した。APPはまた、トイレ利用以外にも、性自認を公民権保護の対象から除外したり、トランスジェンダー女性の家庭内暴力シェルターへのアクセスを制限したりする措置など、他の立法上の選択肢も検討した。しかし、シリングは、これらの取り組みは当時、幅広い支持を得られなかったと指摘した。[ 58 ]
Momentum shifted when the issue of transgender athletes participating in women's sports began attracting broader public interest and political endorsement. Schilling described this as a “magic formula,” noting that it combined strong public support with political viability. “Politicians were willing to run on it and campaign on it,” he said. By 2021, ten states had passed laws banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports, and by 2024, roughly half of U.S. states had adopted similar legislation.[58]
According to Schilling, the focus on transgender athletes helped pave the way for additional legislation, including renewed bathroom bills, restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, and limitations on how gender identity is discussed in schools. “I don't think you could have done it by just focusing on the bathrooms,” he said. “I think it would be dead right now without the women's sports issue.”[58]

Federal, state and local laws govern toilets and other intimate spaces.
Federal or state agencies may issue regulations to clarify laws but not to alter or contradict them.
While some universities and large cities have built unisex toilets (aka all-gender bathrooms), most offer sex-separated spaces too. Building laws in some states require public toilets to be separated by sex.
On August 28, 2025, the U.S. Education Department cited the federal law of Title IX to complain about Denver Public Schools' all-gender bathrooms and its policy allowing students to use gender-specific bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity.[59]
In a landmark 2013 case, the Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled in favor of six-year-old transgender student Coy Mathis to use the girls' bathroom at her elementary school. It was the first ruling of its kind in the United States and one of the first high-profile transgender rights cases, garnering huge amounts of media attention.[8]
2016年5月、米国司法省と米国教育省は、タイトルIXの保護をトランスジェンダーの生徒に適用することに関する共同ガイダンスを発表しました。 [ 60 ]このガイダンスでは、タイトルIXの目的上、司法省と教育省は生徒の性自認を性別として扱うと述べています。このガイダンスに続いて、 5月13日に正式な「親愛なる同僚の皆様へ」という書簡が送られました。 [ 61 ]
2016年10月、米国最高裁判所は、バージニア州グロスター郡の高校で男子トイレの使用を禁じられたトランスジェンダーの男子生徒、ギャビン・グリムの訴訟を取り上げることに合意した。[ 62 ]米国第4巡回控訴裁判所は以前、グリムがこれらのトイレを使用できるとの判決を下していたが、最高裁判所は8月にその判決を差し止めた。[ 63 ]
In February 2016, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, adopted an ordinance which, it said, was intended to allow transgender persons a right to access bathrooms according to gender identity.[64] The preexisting ordinance, in § 12-58 prohibited discrimination race, religion or national origin. In addition, the preexisting ordinance in § 12-59 banned discrimination based on sex but specifically exempted bathrooms, changing rooms and other intimate spaces from sex discrimination prohibitions, thus allowing separation based on sex.[65] The ordinance did not ban discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. By the February 2016 amendment, the City Council added gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and marital status to the protected categories. It also deleted this provision that allowed separation based on "sex". In so doing, it essentially eliminated the word "sex" from the city ordinance, leaving the term gender. The North Carolina legislature reacted by passing the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (HB2). In addition to making other changes, the bill defined the issue of bathroom access as one of statewide concern, defined sex as biological.[66] It required that all bathrooms be separated by biological sex. It did allow for business owners to apply for a waiver to make single-entry bathrooms all-gender/mixed-sex. Afterward, advocacy groups, celebrities, and businesses joined in a boycott of the state.[67] Later, in a "compromise", the legislature agreed to repeal HB2, but it also barred localities from making any changes regarding bathrooms until 2020.[68]
Shortly after HB2 was passed, in May 2016, in the last year of President Obama's presidency, the U.S. Justice Department sued North Carolina over its 'bathroom bill' in order to stop its implementation.[69] Moreover, advocates, including LGBTQ rights organizations, have reported instances of businesses in North Carolina enforcing toilet restrictions on transgender customers.[70]
In 2016, Mississippi also limited public toilet usage through the enactment of a law that protects religious beliefs, citing: "male (man) or female (woman) refers to an individual's immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth", which does not consider transgender and intersex people.[70] Later, the Justice Department under Trump withdrew its opposition to this and similar state laws and policies. In 2024, Mississippi passed a bathroom ban that affects public schools.[71]
As of 10 May 2024, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, 515 anti-LGBTQ bills had been introduced throughout the US during the 2024 legislative session, most targeting transgender people. Bills currently being considered include Kansas SB 180.[72]
In November 2024, Representative Nancy Mace introduced a resolution to ban transgender people from using bathrooms other than those of their sex assigned at birth at the U.S. Capitol, in anticipation of the swearing in of U.S. House member-elect Sarah McBride from Delaware, who is the first openly trans woman elected to Congress.[73][74]Speaker of the HouseMike Johnson then issued a ruling requiring transgender people to use the bathroom corresponding to their sex assigned at birth within the House of Representatives.[75]
On March 19, 2025, Marcy Rheintgen was arrested in the Florida State Capitol when she attempted to use the women's restroom in the building.[76][77] She is being charged with possible jail time under a second-degree misdemeanor.[78] In June 2025, charges were dropped and the case was dismissed as prosecutors failed to meet the deadline for filing charging documents.[79]
Public opinion regarding bathroom access rights for transgender individuals in the United States is divided:
Proponents of bathroom bills argue that such legislation is necessary to maintain privacy, protect what they claim to be an innate sense of modesty held by most cisgender people, prevent voyeurism, assault, molestation, and rape,[2] and retain psychological comfort.[3][4]
トイレ法案の批判者たちは、トランスジェンダーの人々を危険にさらすだけでシスジェンダーの人々の安全を少しも高めず、性別不適合のシスジェンダーの人々にとってはさらに危険な状況を作り出すと主張している。[ 5 ] [ 6 ]アメリカ医師会、アメリカ心理学会、アメリカ小児科学会など、多くの全国的な保健機関や性暴力防止団体がトイレ法案に反対している。[ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] UCLAのウィリアムズ研究所は、トランスジェンダーの人々に対する様々な保護措置が可決されて以来、トイレでの犯罪の発生率を追跡調査しており、犯罪件数に大きな変化は見られないことを発見している。[ 8 ] [ 9 ] 2015年にMicに寄稿したマーシー・ビアンコは、公衆トイレでトランスジェンダーの人がシスジェンダーの人を襲ったという記録された事例は1件もないと指摘したが、[ 5 ]試着室での覗き見事件は1件報告されている。[ 92 ]パシフィック・スタンダードはこの論争を道徳的パニックと表現し[ 93 ]、作家のダン・サベージはこれを「反トランスの血の中傷」と特徴づけた。[ 94 ]
2015年に全米トランスジェンダー平等センター(NCTE)が27,715人の回答者を対象に実施した、米国史上最大規模のトランスジェンダーに関する調査によると、回答者の1%がトランスジェンダーであることを理由に公衆トイレで性的暴行を受けたと報告している。12%が公衆トイレで言葉による嫌がらせを受けたと報告し、さらに1%がトランスジェンダーであることを理由に性的ではない身体的暴行を受けたと報告している。9%が、表明した性別に合致する公衆トイレの使用を拒否されたと報告している。[ 95 ] NCTEは報告書の中で、この調査はトイレ法案が可決される前、あるいはニュースになる前に実施されたことを認めている。[ 95 ]保健機関が引用した研究を含め、複数の研究で、トランスジェンダーの人々が性自認に合致するトイレを使用することを拒否すると、自殺リスクの増加など、精神衛生上の悪影響が生じることが分かっている。[ 96 ] [ 97 ]
アメリカ精神医学・法律学会誌に掲載された2018年の研究では、「トランスジェンダーの人々に性別に応じたトイレへのアクセスを認めることが性犯罪の増加につながるという現在の証拠はない」と結論付けている。[ 98 ]
2016年、バラク・オバマ大統領の下、米国司法省と米国教育省は、州立および私立の教育機関に対し、トランスジェンダーの生徒が性自認に従ってトイレを使用することを許可しなければならないとする「ガイダンス」を発行した。オバマ政権のガイダンスは、学校や私立機関がこれに従わない場合、連邦政府の資金援助を失うリスクがあると示唆していた。[ 99 ]
ガイダンスの発行方法は物議を醸した。ガイダンスの手続きは通常、他の連邦機関にのみ発行される。これらのガイダンスは、助言として州機関や民間機関と共有されることもあるが、通常は強制力はない。機関は既存の法律に合致する規則を発行することはできるが、法律を超えたり変更したりすることはできない。さらに、これらの規則は米国行政手続法(APA)に準拠しなければならない。APAは、国民への通知と意見募集期間を義務付けている。反対派は、共同ガイダンスの使用は不適切であり、APAを回避するために設計されたものだと主張した。司法省、教育省、擁護団体、民間訴訟当事者は、共同ガイダンスの解釈を強制するために訴訟を起こした。[ 100 ]
そうした訴訟の1つであるGG対グロスター学区委員会は、2016年に最高裁判所に持ち込まれた。2017年2月22日、トランプ大統領就任から約1か月後、政府は5月13日のガイダンスを撤回した。[ 101 ]ガイダンスを撤回するにあたり、当時のジェフ・セッションズ司法長官は書簡で、「以前のガイダンス文書には十分な法的分析が含まれておらず、解釈がタイトルIXの文言とどのように整合しているかの説明もなかった。…連邦議会、州議会、地方自治体は、この問題に対処する適切な政策や法律を採用できる立場にある」と述べた。[ 102 ] 2017年3月6日、最高裁判所は、政府の立場変更を考慮して、この訴訟は破棄され、下級裁判所でさらに審理するために差し戻されるべきであると決定した。[ 103 ]
平等雇用機会委員会(EEOC)は、連邦の職場規則を執行する米国の主要機関です。州も独自の規則を持っていますが、矛盾が生じた場合、合憲であれば連邦法が優先されます。重要な法律はタイトルVIIです。1964年の公民権法の一部として制定されたタイトルVIIは、人種、肌の色、宗教、性別、または出身国を「理由として」職場での差別を禁止しています。タイトルVIIは性的指向や性自認については言及していません。[ 104 ]
1964年に議会が性自認や性的指向について考えていたことに異論を唱える人はほとんどいないが、擁護者たちは性的指向と性自認は法律の「性別」への言及に含まれると主張してきた。2012年、EEOCはこの見解を採用した。連邦職員が関わるMacy v. Holder事件において、EEOCは公民権法第7編は「性自認」を「性別」と同じように扱うことを要求していると裁定した。[ 105 ]また、その直後、トランスジェンダーの人は手術や身分証明を要求されることなく、その人の性自認に合った公衆トイレを利用できるようにしなければならないと裁定した。[ 106 ]これらの決定は、当時の既存の法的判例だけでなく、EEOC自身の長い判例の系譜からも逸脱していた。EEOCは、その解釈を強制するために全国で訴訟を起こし、支援し始めた。EEOCの判決を引用して、いくつかの裁判所は後にEEOCの解釈に従ったが、一部はそれを拒否した。
2020年6月15日、米国最高裁判所は、1964年公民権法第7条に基づくトランスジェンダーの人々の権利に関する3つの訴訟について判決を下した。
One has seen reversals of Obama-era policies at the federal level with respect to other statutes such as Title IX which prohibits denials of educational opportunity based on sex. In May 2016 the U.S. Department of Education and the Justice Department under the Obama Administration indicated that single-sex schools and schools receiving federal money must treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.[108] That guidance was later withdrawn by the Department of Justice under President Trump.[109]
Currently in the U.S., each state, county, and city government enacts its own legislation governing how it will or will not address the rights of LGBT individuals; this includes provision of public toilets.
Bathroom bills have been proposed and debated in a number of state legislatures. Several state bills are based on and closely resemble model legislation provided by the conservative lobbying organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which has been classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBT hate group.[110][111][112] The ADF's model legislation proposes giving any public school or university student the right to sue for $2,500 for each time they encountered a transgender classmate in a locker room or bathroom.[110][113]
The following table summarizes state legislation and school guidelines regarding restroom access that either is currently in effect, or is still under deliberation with movement within the last year;

SB1、別名「アラバマプライバシー法」は、2016年にターゲット社が制定した包括的なトイレポリシーに対応して、2017年2月7日にアラバマ州上院議員フィル・ウィリアムズによって提出された。 [ 120 ]この法案が可決されれば、男女共用の公共トイレに係員を配置し、「トイレの適切な使用を監視し、利用者からの質問や懸念に答える」ことが義務付けられる。この法案は停滞し、採決には至らなかった。[ 121 ] [ 122 ]
HB 322 was introduced on February 9, 2022. The bill's primary sponsor was Scott Stadthagen and "requires public K-12 schools to designate use of rooms where students may be in various stages of undress on the basis of biological sex". The bill passed on April 7, 2022, and was signed into law by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on April 8, 2022.[123][124]
Anchorage, Alaska, prohibited discrimination based on gender identity in 2015.[125] In 2017, Alaska Family Action proposed a direct initiative bathroom bill that would have overturned protections for transgender individuals. Proposition 1 would have made it legal for "any employer, public accommodation, or other person to establish and enforce sex-specific standards or policies concerning access to intimate facilities such as locker rooms, showers, changing rooms, and restrooms." The measure defines the term sex as "An individual's immutable biological condition of being male or female, as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics at the time of birth."[126] Voters rejected the bill in April 2018.[127]
A 2013 proposed amendment to Arizona bill S.B. 1432 would have allowed police to demand identification from anyone suspected of using the 'wrong' public bathrooms or showers, meaning the facilities assigned to the sex not matching the sex on their birth certificate. If found guilty, a person would have been subject to up to six months in jail and a $2500 fine under a disorderly conduct charge.[128][129] The proposal was withdrawn by its sponsor, John Kavanagh.[130][131]
Kavanagh introduced S.B. 1040 on January 31, 2023, which requires public schools to provide separate accommodations to a person who is "unwilling or unable" to use a bathroom which matches their "immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics at the time of the person's birth." Additionally, a student who encounters a person of the opposite sex in a restroom may have a cause of action against the school and may sue to "recover monetary damages for all psychological, emotional and physical harm suffered."[132][133] Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill on June 8, 2023.
HB1156 was introduced by Rep. Mary Bentley on January 17, 2023. It requires public schools to provide reasonable accommodation for an individual who is "unwilling or unable" to use a bathroom designated for the individual's sex, where sex is defined as "the physical condition of being male or female based on genetics and physiology". A public school may be sued if a student encounters a member of the opposite sex in the bathroom who received permission to be there from the school, and fines may be assessed for superintendents, principals, and/or individual teachers by the Professional Licensure Standards Board. The House approved the bill on an 80–10 vote on February 1, 2023.[134][135]
SB270 was introduced by lead sponsor John Payton and primary sponsor Cindy Crawford on February 15, 2023, to amend the criminal offense of sexual indecency with a child to include a person "exposing his or her sex organs to a minor of the opposite sex" in a bathroom, or entering a bathroom "that is assigned to persons of the opposite sex while knowing a minor of the opposite sex is present". The penalty for violating this law includes up to a year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.[135][136]
After being pulled back to committee on March 2, 2023[137] as the result of a speech by Sen. Clarke Tucker,[138] the bill was revised, resubmitted, and passed the senate on March 7, waiting for house deliberation on March 9.[137]

AB 1266, also known as the "School Success and Opportunity Act", was introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano on February 22, 2013. It requires that pupils be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs, activities, and use facilities consistent with their gender identity, without respect to the gender listed in a pupil's records. AB 1266 was approved by Governor Brown on August 12, 2013. A campaign to overturn AB1266 led by Frank Schubert failed to garner enough signatures to appear on a ballot the following year.[139]
On Sept 19, 2014 Governor Brown vetoed 2 potty parity bills, SB1350 and SB1358 introduced by senators Ricardo Lara and Lois Wolk. These bills would have required changing stations in public bathrooms to be accessible to both men and women. Brown cited too many regulations as a rationale for his vetos.[140]
AB 1732, also known as the "Equal Restroom Access Act", was authored by Assembly Member Phil Ting and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on September 29, 2016, after approval by the Assembly and Senate. The law made California the first state in the US to require all single-occupancy public toilets to be gender-neutral beginning March 1, 2017.[141][142][143][144] This includes California schools, government buildings, businesses and public toilets.[145] Legislation has also been proposed in California that "requires...private buildings open to the public, as specified, to maintain at least one safe, sanitary, and convenient baby diaper changing station that is accessible to women and men".[146][147][148][149] Since California passed AB 1732, states like New York, Vermont, New Mexico, the District of Columbia and several other jurisdictions have followed suit.[150][151]
SB 760 was introduced by State Sen. Josh Newman on February 17, 2023. The law requires all K-12 schools to provide access to gender-neutral bathrooms during school hours.[152][153]
In Colorado, in February 2015, a bill died in committee that proposed banning transgender people from using changing rooms of their gender identity.[154] This bill would have prevented discrimination lawsuits against facility managers who chose to deny entry into facilities to transgender people.
A bathroom bill was introduced in Florida in the spring of 2015 as H.B. 583 by Representative Frank Artiles.[155][156] Artiles complained that, under laws protecting transgender use of restrooms, "A man such as myself can walk into the bathroom at LA Fitness while women are taking showers, changing, and simply walk in there." His bill would have made it illegal for transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity in restaurants, workplaces, or schools. The consequences would be up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.[157][158][159] Proponents claimed that the bill was designed to prevent "assault, battery, molestation, rape, voyeurism, and exhibitionism".[2] Opponents claimed that the only purpose was to be "discriminatory" and to "criminalize [transgender people] for simply going about their daily lives".[160] The bill went through two House committees, but did not pass.[161] There were no further bathroom bills filed in the Florida state legislature in 2015 or 2016, but organizations like Equality Florida said in 2017 that they were preparing for the possibility of future bills.[156]
In March 2026, Idaho lawmakers approved legislation that would make it a misdemeanor offense for individuals to use bathrooms or changing rooms that do not correspond to their sex assigned at birth in places of public accommodation, including private businesses or facilities that serve the public.[162][163]
In January 2021, Indiana State Senator Bruce Borders introduced a Bill to the Senate that would make it a Class-B Misdemeanor for any person to use a bathroom or locker-room that did not correlate with their birth sex.[164]
In 2016, the Kansas legislature introduced a "bathroom bill" that was nearly identical to the ADF's model "bathroom bill" legislation. The bill died after public protests over the legislation's provision allowing students to sue their school if they encountered a transgender person in a bathroom or locker room.[110][112]
A 2023 Kansas law shields government agencies and schools from lawsuits if they prohibit transgender women from using women's bathrooms, but does not mandate restrictions.[165]
In January 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed a bill requiring restrooms in government buildings to be restricted to those of the corresponding assigned sex.[166] Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the bill the following month.[167] However, just 3 days after the veto, a House Motion to override veto prevailed, leading to the passing of Kansas Senate Bill 244. The House vote was 87 yeas and 37 nays. All Republican representatives voted yea, and all Democratic reps - save for Valdenia Winn, who was not present - voted nay. The bill states that it would require "the designation of multiple-occupancy private spaces in public buildings for use by only one sex and imposing criminal and civil penalties for violations, defining the term 'gender' to mean biological sex at birth for purposes of statutory construction...".[168] The bill would also apply to 'multiple-occupancy private spaces,' which includes spaces like restrooms, hospital rooms, dorm rooms, domestic violence shelters, and more.[169] With the passing of the bill, individuals who violated it may be charged with misdemeanor with jail time and/or fine. Those who violate the law would receive no penalty on first violation, but a penalty of $1,000 for a second violation. They could be charged with a misdemeanor crime on a third violation. Potentially large penalties for public agencies that don’t comply with the law are also set. Such penalties may include fines of $25,000 for a first violation and $125,000 for a second violation.[170]
A 2015 proposal in Kentucky, also based on the ADF model legislation,[110] would have allowed students to sue their school if they encountered transgender students using the bathroom corresponding to the gender with which they identify. It would have allowed transgender students instead to request special accommodations, including access to single-stall or faculty restrooms.[171][172] On February 27, 2015, the bill S.B. 76 passed in the Kentucky Senate,[173] but it did not pass the Kentucky House.[155]
The "Women's Protection Act," House Bill 608 codified the definition of "man" and "woman" and restricts the use of restrooms in public schools, domestic violence shelters, and correctional and juvenile detention centers to only those whose sex matches matches what was assigned at birth.[174]
In 2016, Massachusetts prohibited discrimination based on gender identity in sex-segregated facilities. The law was called "An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination."
To address criticism that a man could insincerely claim to be a transgender woman to gain access to a bathroom for the purpose of looking at women inside, the law included a provision prohibiting assertion of a gender identity for an "improper purpose". (In addition to being charged for merely being present, he could be charged for the separate crimes of assault, harassment or "peeping Tom" offenses.
A study of Massachusetts cities that enacted a similar ban in the two years before the 2016 statewide nondiscrimination law took effect found it had no impact on the rate of bathroom crimes, which were rare to begin with.[175]
In the November 6, 2018 election, voters were asked whether to repeal this law. The Massachusetts Gender Identity Anti-Discrimination Initiative appeared on the ballot as "Question 3". This was the first time such a question was put to voters at the state level. The existing nondiscrimination law was upheld by approximately 1.76 million votes for and 834,000 votes against.[176]
A bathroom bill was introduced in Minnesota in 2016. It was a word-for-word copy of the ADF's model legislation.[155][177][110]
House Bill 1258 was introduced in 2016, but did not make any progress.[178] It would have charged any person who "lewdly and willfully exposed his person, or private parts thereof" with a misdemeanor.[179] Notably, an exception was explicitly made for transgender people who had taken HRT for a period of at least 12 months, requiring such persons to be able to provide written proof from a doctor.
Two bathroom bills were introduced in Missouri in 2017.[180]
On March 19, 2015, Victoria Dooling, a Nevada state representative, proposed a bathroom bill that would apply to public schoolchildren in the state.[181] It later died in committee.[182]
In March 2019, a bill passed both houses of the New Mexico Legislature (House vote 54-12 and Senate vote 23–15) to explicitly allow gender-neutral bathrooms. The bill was signed into law by the Governor within the same month and went into effect on July 1, 2019.[183]
On March 7, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an Executive Order requiring that all New York City municipalities make available to the public and their employees a single-sex facility consistent with their gender identities. Individuals using these facilities would not need to show any identification or medical documentation to verify their gender.[184]
The New York State Legislature, in July 2020, passed a bill to implement gender-neutral bathrooms within all single occupancy public toilets across the state.[185]

The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act became law in North Carolina in 2016, although portions of the measure were later repealed in 2017 as part of a compromise between the Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Legislature, and the remaining provisions were sunset in 2020.[186]
On March 23, 2016, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (R) signed the Act (commonly known as House Bill 2) into law. The law states that in government buildings, individuals (such as students at state-operated schools) may only use restrooms and changing facilities that correspond to the sex identified on their birth certificates. Transgender persons born in North Carolina can obtain modified birth certificates on which their sex is different from what was originally identified at the time of their birth, but only if they have undergone sex reassignment surgery.[187] For those born in other places, the ability to change the sex listed on a birth certificate is governed by their place of birth (which may have substantially different requirements, and in some cases may not allow such changes).[187]
The law also overturns an LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance that had been passed by Charlotte, North Carolina, prevents local governments in the state from enacting similar ordinances, and prevents cities from raising their minimum wages higher than that of the state.[188]
On August 26, 2016, a U.S. District Court judge granted a preliminary injunction, preventing the University of North Carolina from enforcing the restroom provisions of the law.[189]
On March 30, 2017, the legislature partially repealed House Bill 2, removing the restrictions on restroom use by transgender individuals. The compromise agreement was criticized by both LGBT rights groups and conservatives.[190]
On May 25, 2022, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed Oklahoma Senate Bill 615 into law that requires students at public charter schools and public schools to use locker rooms and bathrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificate.[191]
In April 2016, senator Lee Bright brought a bill (S. 1203) to the South Carolina Senate, that was essentially the same as North Carolina's HB2.[192] The bill would block local governments from passing anti-discriminatory ordinances such as the use of public bathrooms by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals.[192] Bright's bill would maintain that public bathrooms be used in accordance to "biological sex".[192] An online poll taken from a news site stated that 75% of voters did not think the bill was necessary.[192] The legislation failed to meet the crossover deadline for bills to pass from one legislative chamber to the other.[193]
In December 2016, a similar bill was introduced by representative Steven Wayne Long in the South Carolina House (H. 3012).[194]
In May 2026, governor Henry McMaster signed House Bill 4756, "the South Carolina Student Physical Privacy Act,", which mandated that multiple-occupancy restrooms in public schools and colleges be single sex, defined as "biological sex observed or verified at birth". Trans students would be permitted to use single-occupancy restrooms or outdoor porta-potties.[195]
On February 16, 2016, the South Dakota Senate voted 20–15 to approve a bathroom bill that, had it passed, would have been the first in the country to require public schoolchildren to use facilities that match the sex they were assigned at birth.[196] South Dakota's bill was, according to ADF's legal counsel, based on the ADF's model bathroom bill legislation.[111] On March 1, 2016, the governor of South Dakota, Dennis Daugaard, vetoed the bill.[197] Early in the 2017 legislative session Republican Senator Lance Russell refiled the bathroom bill, but on January 30 he withdrew the bill because Daugaard again promised a veto.[198]
On April 6, 2016, the Tennessee House Education Administration and Planning Committee, which is part of the Tennessee House of Representatives, approved a bathroom bill that would apply to public schools and colleges in the state and would require students to use a restroom that corresponds with their sex as identified at birth.[1][199] Before the bill could proceed further, the house sponsor of the bill decided to delay its consideration for a year to allow for further investigation, citing concerns that it could interfere with Title IX funding.[199] In 2017, the bill was re-introduced, but died in the Senate Education Committee.[200]
In 2019, Tennessee governor Bill Lee signed into law legislation that modified the definition of indecent exposure to include acts committed in restrooms and locker rooms if they are designated for use by a single sex and the person committing the act is of the opposite sex (as assigned at birth). The original version of this legislation would have criminalized the mere act of a transgender individual entering a restroom opposite to their sex as assigned at birth, but this provision was eventually removed. Nevertheless, critics of the legislation were still concerned that the bill would be interpreted as condoning harassment of transgender individuals in bathrooms by others who find their presence objectionable.[201]

A bill introduced to the Texas House of Representatives in March 2015 proposed that any student who encountered another student who does not identify with their "biological sex" in a shared restroom could be awarded $2,000 in damage reparations for "mental anguish". The school itself would also be liable for failing to take action against known transgender students using their gender identified restroom.[202][203] An analysis by NBC News determined that the Texas bill was influenced by ADF's model legislation,[110] which also proposes $2,500 in damages per encounter with a transgender person in a shared restroom.[113]
Another bill, introduced to the Texas House in February 2015, suggested that anyone over the age of 13 years found to be in a public restroom of a gender not their own should be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, spend up to a year in jail, and face a $4000 fine.[204] Under this proposed bill, building managers who repeatedly and knowingly allow transgender individuals to use the facility of their gender identity would also face a fine of up to $10,000.[205]
Several bills were filed in both the regular legislative session and first special session of the Texas Legislature in 2017. Sponsored by State Senator Lois Kolkhorst and championed by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the Texas Senate passed SB6 in the regular session and SB3 in the Special Session by a vote of 21-10 largely along party lines (Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. was the only Democrat to vote in favor of each bill). Neither bill went to the House floor for a vote (although SB6 received a hearing by the House's State Affairs committee). SB6 would have limited bathroom access based on the sex listed on one's birth certificate while SB3 would have allowed an individual to use the restroom listed on several state IDs as well (e.g. driver's license or concealed carry license).[206][207]
Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus voiced his opposition to the bills, citing the economic impact that North Carolina saw while HB2 was law. He was also quoted by a New Yorker article as saying, "I'm disgusted by all this. Tell the lieutenant governor I don't want the suicide of a single Texan on my hands."[208]
In September 2018, Kolkhorst indicated that she would try again to pass similar legislation.[209]
In September 2025, Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB 8), also known as the Texas Women's Privacy Act, passed the Texas Legislature and was signed by Governor Greg Abbott. The law, mandating that public multi-occupancy restrooms be strictly segregated by sex assigned at birth, went into effect on December 4, 2025.[210][211]
On May 11, 2018, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed a bill requiring all single-user public restrooms to be gender-neutral.[212]
In 2016, Delegate Mark Cole sponsored House Bill 663, a bathroom bill restricting public restroom use according to a person's "anatomical sex", defined as "the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined by a person's anatomy", with violators liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $50. HB663 was introduced on January 11, 2016, and died in committee in February 2016.[213] It was widely reported that HB663 would require adults to inspect the genitals of children before they were allowed to enter the appropriate facilities, but this was dismissed by Snopes as a misleading interpretation of the bill's text,[214] which states that administrators "shall develop and implement policies that require every restroom ... that is designated for use by a specific gender to solely be used by individuals whose anatomical sex matches such gender designation."[213] Cole sponsored House Bill 781 one day later on January 12, 2016, which used the same wording but substituted "biological sex" for "anatomical sex". The use of "biological sex" allowed for an update via amended birth certificate. HB781 also died in committee in February.[215]
In early 2017, HB1612, proposed by Republican Bob Marshall would use the "born sex" to define which restroom, changing facility, or private area in government buildings was permitted for a given individual.[216] HB1612 also stated that individuals that did not use the bathroom of their born sex would be subject to civil action. Additionally, HB1612 required school principals to inform the parents of a child if the child did not wish to identify as their born sex. The bill was killed in subcommittee on January 19, 2017.[217]
A sexual assault in a high school bathroom in Loudoun County garnered national political attention in 2021, but claims that the perpetrator was transgender proved to be false.[218]
In early 2015, SB 6548, which would prevent transgender individuals from using the bathroom associated with the gender with which they identify, was introduced in the senate but failed to pass.[219] In December 2015, Washington State's Human Rights Commission enacted a rule that allowed transgender individuals to use bathrooms conforming with their gender identities. Early in 2016, a bill to overturn the ruling (SB 6443) was voted on in the state Senate, and defeated by a margin of 25–24.[220] An attempt to put a state voter initiative on the November 2016 ballot, I-1515, failed to reach the number of signatures necessary to appear on the ballot.[221] On December 5, 2016, a new bill, HB 1011, was pre-filed in the Washington State House. This bill would prevent transgender individuals from using a bathroom of their gender identity unless they have had sex-reassignment surgery, and would prevent local municipalities from enacting ordinances contradicting the directive.[222]
In November 2015, Wisconsin held a hearing on a bathroom bill to require public schoolchildren to use facilities that match the sex they were assigned at birth. According to critics, the bill would also violate the federal government's Office for Civil Rights's 2014 statement that federal nondiscrimination law covered gender identity. The following month, the bill was revised to allow public schools to offer gender-neutral bathrooms.[223][224]
On 25 April 2025 the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released interim guidance following the For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers Supreme Court ruling. The guidance declared trans women to be "biological men" and trans men to be "biological women". The guidance applied to any school, workplace, sporting body, publicly accessible service (such as restaurants, shops, hospitals, or shelters), and any association of 25 people or more. The guidance stated that while trans women and trans men should be barred from facilities, including bathrooms, matching their gender, they can also be restricted from facilities matching their sex, and that only providing mixed-sex facilities could constitute discrimination against women. It did, however, say that trans people should not be left without any facilities to use.[225][226][227]
The EHRC interim guidance was described by transgender campaigners as a "bigoted attempt to segregate trans people in public spaces", with campaign groups warning about forced outing and harmful effects on trans lives, and stating it could be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.[228]
In Canada, several bills tried to include gender identity and gender expression among the characteristics protected from discrimination and eligible for consideration in sentencing hate criminals.[229]
In 2009, New Democratic Party (NDP) MPBill Siksay introduced Bill C-389 to the 40th Parliament.[230] It passed the House of Commons in 2011 and was defeated in the Senate.[231]
Bill C-279, introduced to the 41st Parliament in 2011 by NDP MP Randall Garrison, was passed and sent to the Senate in March 2013.[232] In 2015, Senator Don Plett introduced three amendments, one of which exempted public washrooms and changerooms from protection.[233] It was defeated. Garrison reintroduced it to the 42nd Parliament as Bill C-204.[234]
Bill C-16 was introduced on May 17, 2016, by Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould to the 42nd Parliament. It passed both houses and became law upon receiving royal assent on June 19, 2017, effective immediately.[235][236][237]
On 10 May 2024, the populistNew Zealand First party introduced its "Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill" into Parliament, which would require all public buildings to provide clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. The proposed bill would also fine anyone using a single-sex toilet "who is not of the sex for which that toilet has been designated." The New Zealand Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins and Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand rainbow community spokesperson Kahurangi Carter described the member's bill as an attack on the transgender community.[238]
In mid April 2025, Radio New Zealand reported that NZ First had withdrawn its proposed bathrooms bill. On 22 April, the party's leader Winston Peters also introduced a new member's bill pushing for the term women to be defined under New Zealand law as "an adult human biological female."[239]
On April 2, 2025, the Congress of the Republic of Peru passed Law 32331, titled the "Law that strengthens the right to sexual integrity of children and adolescents" (Spanish: Ley que fortalece el derecho a la indemnidad sexual de los niños y adolescentes), which prohibits transgender people from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identity in the country.[240][241] The Peruvian government enacted the law on May 12, 2025, and it was published in El Peruano.[240][241] The bill was proposed by Congressman Alejandro Muñante of the Popular Renewal party.[242]
In Brazil, various bills have been introduced—at the federal, municipal, and state levels—to prohibit transgender people from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.[243][244]
In August 2017, the Sorocaba City Council passed a law prohibiting transgender students from using the women's public restrooms in schools in the city. The law passed by a vote of 15–3.[245][246] After the law was passed, LGBTQ activists protested against it.[245][246] In October 2019, the law was overturned by the Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJ-SP).[247][248]
In March 2026, the Campo Grande City Council approved, by a vote of 13–11, a bill prohibiting transgender women from using women's public restrooms.[249] On April 22, the city's mayor, Adriane Lopes (PP), signed the bill into law.[250][251] On March 28, the law was reported to Public Prosecutor's Office of Mato Grosso do Sul.[252] On April 29, the state's Public Defender's Office opened an investigation to examine the city's law.[253] On May 5th, Congresswoman Erika Hilton denounced the law to the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Office.[254]
On July 14, 2026, the governor of Pará, Hana Ghassan (MDB), signed a law authorizing religious temples and schools to restrict bathroom use based on biological sex.[255][256] Before the law was enacted, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had recommended that the governor veto it, arguing that it would violate the rights of transgender people and the principle of secularism.[256][257] On July 15, 2026, the Socialism and Liberty Party announced that it had filed a lawsuit against the law.[258]
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