by Laurel Duggan
Florida legislators passed a bill Wednesday that, if signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, will require people to use facilities according to their biological sex in certain public restrooms.
Individuals who use opposite-sex facilities and refuse to leave when asked could be charged with criminal trespassing under the new legislation, which LGBT activists have characterized as anti-transgender. It would apply to K-12 schools, government buildings, prisons and detention centers.
Opponents of the legislation argue that the bill targets transgender people, since it would require them to use bathrooms that match their sex at birth rather than their gender identity.
“Transgender people shouldn’t be criminalized for using the bathroom that matches the gender they live in every day,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida said in a statement.
Florida previously passed legislation banning classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for children in third grade and under, and lawmakers approved an expansion of that law this week that would apply through the eighth grade.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Laurel Duggan is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Boy’s Bathroom” by Ben Schumin. CC BY-SA 2.0.
