Bill to repeal transgender bathroom rule OKed in Senate
More than 300 people signed up to testify in Olympia on a bill to repeal a rule that allows transgender people into whichever bathroom or locker room fits their gender identity.
OLYMPIA — The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed a bill Wednesday to repeal the transgender bathroom rule. This rule, made in 2015 by the Human Rights Commission (HRC), allows individuals to use whichever bathroom, locker room, or any other gender-segregated facility that corresponds to their gender identity.
In 2006, Washington state enacted the Anderson-Murray Anti-discrimination Law to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender from discrimination. The HRC rule is meant to build upon this law.
The proposed bill, Senate Bill 6443, was discussed in a public hearing on Wednesday afternoon and then voted on later that evening.
The bill is referred to the Senate Rules Committee for a second reading. If the bill is carried through the Rules Committee, it will be sent to the Senate floor.
Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, is the primary sponsor of the bill and he voiced frustration over the rule and how it was made without a vote.
“It fails on process, it fails on substance, and it also fails in regards to the impact it will have on local businesses,” Ericksen said.
Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, is a co-sponsor of the bill, and she also expressed similar concern. “I feel that there was some lack of process by the Human Rights Commission,” she said.
Warnick said she has received many calls from people in Central Washington who are in support of the bill. She also said she has received many calls from those opposed the bill, and they have all been from the south Puget Sound area.
More than 300 people signed in to testify on SB 6443. Due to time constraints, not all of those people were able to speak at the hearing. Many of those who signed in came from the Seattle-Tacoma area. Individuals from Seattle largely opposed the bill, while the response was mixed by those from Tacoma.
Many individuals from Puyallup came to the hearing, most of whom supported the bill. Around 20 people from in and around the Puyallup area represented an organization called Keep Locker Rooms Safe, and supported the bill. Other organizations represented included Transgender Parents of Washington and Washington Women’s Network, who opposed and supported respectively.
Those who spoke in favor of the bill voiced concern over the possibility of sexual assault or harassment occurring if men were allowed in women’s bathroom. One Lacey business owner, Paul MacLurg, runs a fitness center and feared the consequences for his business.
“The first time a visibly looking man enters our locker rooms, we’ll have dozens if not hundreds of people cancel their memberships,” MacLurg said.
Andrea Piper-Wentland, Olympia, director of the Sexual Assault Coalition in Washington, testified against the bill.
“It is important to emphasize that this protection has been in place for 10 years and we have not seen any of the impacts proponents of the bill have expressed concern about,” she said.
Piper-Wentland said transgender people experience higher rates of sexual assault, and are more at risk if forced to go into a bathroom that does not correspond with their gender identity. She said 64 percent of transgender people are survivors of sexual violence.
Warnick said she fears for young women who might end up showering next to anatomical men. However, she also indicated she believes the transgender community should be protected as well.
It is an issue she said should be discussed further in the Legislature. Sen. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, the chair of the committee, also believes the rule should be discussed in the Legislature instead of by a committee.
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