N.H. lawmakers consider rolling back protection for trans people in anti-discrimination law
The bill's prime sponsor, Republican Representative Jim Kofalt, said the measure is a way to protect people's privacy rights and physical safety, rejecting criticism of the bill as transphobic. He pointed to conflict in
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And, he said, 'I have also heard from legislators in the State House that they have felt uncomfortable using bathrooms in the State House because there was a person of the opposite sex in the bathroom with them.'
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That claim was met with pushback from Democratic Representative Alice Wade of Dover, who is transgender.
'I myself am a trans woman, and I'm going to bet that most of you would not have known that unless I had told you,' she said. 'Just this morning, I used the women's restroom down that hall. No issues.'
And Wade raised questions about how the law could be enforced.
'Put yourself in my shoes. Imagine there's a padlock on every public restroom,' she said.
Both the House and the Senate passed a version of the same proposal last year, which was vetoed by then-Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican.
At the time, Sununu said the proposal 'seeks to solve problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire, and in doing so invites unnecessary discord.'
The introduction of this year's bill comes as two transgender teenagers are fighting a state law barring them from playing girls' sports, a
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The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association previously stated that 'it would be fundamentally unjust and contrary to applicable State and Federal Law to preclude a student from participation on a gender specific sports team that is consistent with the public gender identity of that student for all other purposes.' The organization recently suspended its rule on the inclusion of trans athletes, pointing to the state law and Trump's executive order.
Steven Porter of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday,
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