A bill to repeal a rule allowing transgender individuals in Washington state to use public bathrooms based on their gender identity has cleared a state Senate committee.
The Daily Signal reported previously that the state’s Human Rights Commission approved the rule, which requires such access to sex-specific facilities including bathrooms and locker rooms. It took effect Dec. 26.
The repeal bill, S.B. 6443, passed the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor by a narrow 4-3 vote Thursday and now goes to the Rules Committee.
State Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, sponsored the single-page bill, which states that the Human Rights Commission must repeal the rule and “may not thereafter initiate any rule-making procedure that involves the subject of gender-segregated facilities.”
In the Washington House, H.B. 2935 is the companion bill.
In a summary of public testimony, the Commerce and Labor Committee reported that those who supported repeal said the new rule leaves people vulnerable to sexual predators. Those opposed to repeal argued that it would “allow for harassment and discrimination of transgender persons.”
The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs released a statement Jan. 22 saying the repeal bill “fails to recognize that the existing law already ensures public safety because when people have access to a bathroom consistent with their gender identity, safety is increased for all.”
“We were extremely disappointed to see the bill move out of the Senate and will remain engaged in our efforts to oppose this harmful repeal,” Andrea Piper-Wentland, executive director of the group, told The Daily Signal.
Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow for policy studies at the the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council, wrote an essay arguing that “no government should be so irresponsible as to deliberately compromise its citizenry’s safety and well-being in order to appease minority demands based on personal sexual preferences.”
