(The Center Square) — New Hampshire lawmakers are advancing proposals to prohibit trans people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identities.
One proposal, which the House Judiciary Committee endorsed on Monday, would update the state’s anti-discrimination law to carve out exceptions for public restrooms, locker rooms, prisons, jails and sports. If approved, the bill would allow local governments to restrict access to those facilities based on biological sex or gender identity.
The Republican-sponsored bill — which was approved by the panel along party lines — would also allow schools and organized sports in the state to keep transgender athletes off sports teams consistent with their gender identity and require segregation by “biological sex” in state prisons and psychiatric hospitals.
The bill’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Jim Kofalt, R-Wilton, said the measure would put the decision-making power on transgender policies “in the hands of local entities like school boards.”
“It’s left to a local school board or administration under those circumstances to set reasonable, practical guidelines to make sure that everyone can work together and play together with mutual respect,” Kofalt said in testimony in support of the bill.
Democrats on the committee opposed the proposal, arguing that it is discriminatory. State Rep. Eric Turer, a Brentwood Democrat, called the bill “dangerous” and said it would “leave the door open to widespread discrimination in the worst possible way.”
Last year, then-Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, vetoed a nearly identical version of the bill, arguing that the changes were unnecessary and discriminatory. It’s unclear where Sununu’s successor, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, stands on the proposal.
Lawmakers are also considering GOP-backed bills that would prohibit transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapy or “gender-affirming chest surgery” to assist in their transition from one gender to another. Both proposals would expand a law passed last year that prohibits gender-affirming genital surgeries.
“While I understand that gender dysphoria is real and painful, rushing minors into irreversible medical interventions is not the answer,” state Rep. Lisa Mazur, a Goffstown Republican and primary sponsor of the bill, said in testimony. “Minors deserve protection from experimental medical interventions.”
The proposals drew impassioned testimony from supporters of transgender rights but also critics of laws allowing transgender males to compete in women’s sports and use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity.
