INDIANA: Bill From GOP State Sen. Jim Tomes Would Criminalize Bathroom Use By Trans Citizens

Indiana. Again. Via the Associated Press:

An Indiana lawmaker has proposed a bill that would make it a crime for transgender people to use public bathrooms and locker rooms that do not conform to their gender at birth, threatening to draw Indiana further into a national debate over transgender rights.

“We’ve walked through a doorway we’ll never go back through. And we’re going to have to address some concerns that are now facing us,” bill sponsor, Republican state Sen. Jim Tomes said Thursday. “If you were born a man, then you are obliged to use the males’ restroom.”

Tomes’ bill would send someone to jail for up to a year and fine them as much as $5,000 if they were convicted of entering a bathroom that does not match up with their birth gender. Exceptions are made for janitors, first aid providers and parents accompanying children under the age of 8. The measure would also require public schools, including charters, to ensure students do the same, though students would not face criminal penalties.

Read the full text of the bill.