BOISE, Idaho (LifeSiteNews) — Both houses of the Idaho legislature have passed a bill that would criminalize the willful use of bathrooms or locker rooms designated for the opposite sex, including by those who claim to be “transgender.”
House Bill 752, which cleared the state Senate on Friday, now awaits Republican Governor Brad Little’s signature. If enacted, the legislation would become effective on July 1, 2026.
The measure would make it a misdemeanor for “any person who knowingly and willfully enters a restroom or changing room in a government-owned building or a place of public accommodation that is designated for use by the opposite biological sex.”
“Public accommodations” include private business.
Those who violate the law could be imprisoned for up to one year in a county jail. A second violation will be treated as a felony offense and may lead to a prison term of up to five years.
The bill “will protect the privacy, safety, and dignity, especially for women and girls, by prohibiting knowing, willful entry into opposite sex designated government-owned or public restrooms and changing rooms,” explained Rep. Cornel Rasnor (R) who introduced the measure in the Idaho House.
“Trans women aren’t women,” said Sen. Joshua Kohl (R). “They’re men. And they need to be treated as such.”
Sen. Ben Toews, who sponsored the bill in the state’s upper chamber, said the legislature has a duty to “protect the bodily privacy and safety of Idaho citizens.”
“House Bill 752 provides a clear, proactive tool to secure sex-separated private spaces in our state, while accommodating common-sense realities,” said Toews.
Specific exceptions to the prohibition are cited in the measure, including for individuals performing custodial services, those providing medical or law enforcement assistance, and those accompanying individuals in need of assistance.
Three other states – Florida, Kansas, and Utah – currently ban gender-confused people from using bathrooms and locker rooms intended for the opposite sex.
Democrats and others who opposed the legislation claim that it’s about discrimination.
Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates (PPAA) condemned the bill, calling it “the most extreme anti-transgender bathroom ban in the nation, a law that criminalizes transgender people simply for existing in public spaces.”
“We are furious,” said PPAA Regional Political and Idaho State Director at PPAA Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman.
“We condemn the legislators who voted for this bill on the strongest possible terms. It is not too late to stop this bill from becoming law and we implore Gov. Little to reject this hateful attack on our trans friends and neighbors,” added DelliCarpini-Tolman.
