U.S. House Speaker Johnson bans trans women from women’s bathrooms at the Capitol
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
Transgender women will not be permitted to use women’s restrooms in parts of the U.S. Capitol complex, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday, following some House Republicans’ targeting of the first openly trans person to win a congressional election.
The three-sentence Johnson statement said public, single-sex facilities could be used only by “individuals of that biological sex.” It did not mention how the directive would be enforced.
“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said.
“It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women’s only spaces,” he said, highlighting his objection to identifying trans women according to their gender identity.
There was no immediate reaction from most House Democrats, including leadership, but Rep. Mark Pocan questioned how the order would be policed.
“Will the Sergeant at Arms post officers in bathrooms?” asked Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat, in a statement to States Newsroom. “Will everyone who works at the Capitol have to carry around their birth certificate or undergo a genetic test? This policy isn’t going to protect anyone—but it is going to open the door to rampant abuse, harassment, and discrimination in the Capitol.”
Delaware lawmaker
The order is a response to the election this month of Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Delaware Democrat who will become the first openly trans member of Congress.
As Congress returned to Washington this week, a vocal portion of the House Republican Conference objected to McBride’s gender identity and asked Johnson to constrict her bathroom usage.
South Carolina’s Nancy Mace introduced a resolution Monday with similar language to Johnson’s order. She made clear in social media posts and interviews she was targeting McBride.
“This is a person who’s threatened to come into women’s private spaces,” Mace said on Fox News Tuesday night. “I’m a survivor of rape, sexual violence and abuse and I know how deeply vulnerable women are in places where we feel we have a right to privacy.”
While opponents of trans rights often argue that letting trans women access women’s bathrooms puts cis women at risk, there is no evidence to suggest such access increases incidence of sexual assault.
A 2019 Harvard University study found that barring trans teens from bathrooms that conform with their gender identity increased the likelihood of sexual assault of trans people.
McBride disagrees but will comply
In a Wednesday statement, McBride said she would comply with the order even though she disagrees with it.
The statement continued McBride’s messaging on the issue that it reflected a misplaced focus by House Republicans on wedge issues that don’t meaningfully impact people’s lives.
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families,” she wrote. “This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days.”
As the tumult at the Capitol gained attention Tuesday, House Democrats, reportedly with input from McBride, also framed it as a distraction.
In a short X thread on Monday, McBride called the GOP efforts “a blatant distraction from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing” and said she would continue to focus on “making the American dream more affordable and accessible.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in brief comments at a Tuesday press conference that Republicans were trying to“bully” McBride.
Day of Remembrance
In a statement, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who leads the advocacy group LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, called Johnson’s order and Mace’s resolution “bigoted and transphobic policies at the Capitol” and noted Wednesday was Transgender Day of Remembrance.
“Announcing an ill-conceived anti-trans policy, on Transgender Day of Remembrance no less, not only serves to cause more distraction and division but is a harmful stunt with real impact,” she said. “This policy will harm many dedicated employees who work in the Capitol and is short-sided and dangerous.”
Some Democrats did post messages of support for Transgender Day of Remembrance that alluded to discrimination within the halls of Congress.
In a thread opposing a separate bill, the Equality Caucus’ X account said Republicans were “focusing on attacking the queer community.”
“Their obsession with performative stunts over actual solutions hurts Americans & benefits no one,” one post read.
Last updated 4:09 p.m., Nov. 20, 2024
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