TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — A new bill may be sending “Florida Man” back to the men’s room. House Bill 1521 – entitled the “Safety in Private Spaces Act” – passed the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee on Tuesday.
The bill would make it a criminal offense if a man/woman who intentionally and persistently enters a bathroom that does not align with his/her biological sex.
SAFETY IN PRIVATE SPACES
Under the proposed legislation, adults could be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor if they “willfully enter a restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite sex and refuse to immediately depart.”
Public schools would also be required to “establish disciplinary procedures for violators under 18 years old.”
Additionally, businesses that refuse to comply with the law would also be subject to disciplinary actions from the state.
Currently the state does not make it a crime for a person of one sex to enter a restroom or changing room intended for use by the opposite sex.
WHO IS A WOMAN?
The bill defines “Female” as “a person belonging, at birth, to the biological sex which has the specific reproductive role of producing eggs.” Conversely, “Male” is defined as “a person belonging, at birth, to the biological sex which has the specific reproductive role of producing sperm.”
Additionally, “sex” is defined as “the classification of a person as either female or male based on the organization of the body of such person for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by the person's sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and internal and external genitalia present at birth.”
“ATTACK ON TRANSGENDER PEOPLE”
LGBTQ activists have labeled the bill an “attack on transgender people.” The Human Rights Campaign denounced the Florida legislature for “giving a rubber stamp for [Governor DeSantis’] Blueprint of Bigotry that he is using to make Florida into a springboard for the next election.” The petition template referenced HB 1521 as one of the bills “hurting LGBTQ+ Floridians.”
A young woman suffering from gender confusion named Kaleb Hobson-Garcia reportedly told the committee that the bill was “rooted in your hatred of nonpassing trans people because being faced with trans people makes you uncomfortable.”
Hobson-Garcia, 21, began taking puberty blocking drugs as a 12-year-old and hormone suppressants at age 13, according to the Citrus County Chronicle. With the permission of her parents, she had doctors surgically remove her breasts at age 14.
She now has a full beard and told the committee: “If you pass this bill today, you’ll be forcing me to use the bathroom with your daughters, wives, mothers and sisters.”
