Mississippi Just Banned Trans People From Using the Right Bathrooms in All Public Schools

Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo

Mississippi has enacted a law that bans transgender people from using bathrooms, changing rooms, and dormitories that align with their gender identity at all public schools.

Governor Tate Reeves signed the “Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Responsibly Act” (SAFER Act) into law on Monday, and it is effective immediately. Introduced by Republican Senator Josh Harkins, The legislation specifies that all public education facilities must have single-sex bathrooms, changing rooms, dorms, and fraternity and sorority houses. It also defines “sex” based on reproductive capacity “without regard to the fluidity of how someone acts or feels.”

The law enables people to pursue legal action against anyone who violates it, though the legislation also specifies that this will not enable people to take legal action against schools themselves.

In a Monday statement posted to X, Reeves wrote, “The far-left radicals aren’t going to like it… but in Mississippi, we’re going to protect women’s spaces.”

They also uploaded countless memes and stock photos of bull anatomy.

The rhetoric of “protecting women” has become a common right-wing justification for anti-trans legislation, as in the numerous bills and laws that include the phrase “Save Women’s Sports.” Previous research has shown, however, that there is no link between trans-inclusive policies and safety risks. In fact, a 2019 study authored by a researcher at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health found that trans and nonbinary youth are more likely to have experienced sexual assault or harassment if they attend a school that does not permit them to use facilities that align with their identity.

In an April statement about the legislation, the ACLU of Mississippi wrote that forcing community members to police public spaces “creates paranoia, fuels hostility, and encourages private citizens to intrude upon the privacy of others.”

“While this bill is meant to ‘secure areas for females effectively and responsibly,’ it is really a scapegoat that bars trans individuals from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity,” the organization wrote. “It shows just how far the Mississippi legislature will go to reach into the lives of citizens, including into your private spaces and bathrooms.”

Mississippi is one of at least 22 Republican-led states that is suing the Biden administration over its recent inclusion of LGBTQ+ students in the federal anti-discrimination law, Title IX. It is also now the 11th state to enact a law restricting trans people’s access to public facilities in schools, per the Movement Advancement Project.

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Originally Appeared on them.