Idaho’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill Blocked by Court

Idaho created a transphobic bill that was initially blocked by a judge in August and has just been blocked again by a court. This bill, called SB1100, both bans trans students from using the correct bathroom for their identity and offers a $5,000 bounty for those who reported trans students using an appropriate bathroom.

Trans students exist throughout all of the grades, ranging from kindergarten to the final year of college. This makes a large percentage of trans students children under the age of 18. Why Idaho lawmakers are so convinced that trans students are a danger to cis students is baffling. Statistically speaking, the most likely person to get hurt for entering a bathroom is a trans person. This is a product of discrimination and current political and social climate, and the harming of trans people based on their identities is a hate crime.

Regardless, the Ninth Circuit Court has temporarily blocked the transphobic bill because it violates the Constitution’s 14th amendment, specifically the equal protection and due process clauses, as well as Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments. Both prohibit sex-based discrimination in schools.

“This ruling is a relief not only for our clients, but transgender students across Idaho, that they will be spared the indignity, stigma, and profound harm of this cruel and unconstitutional law as they go about their day at school. School is a time to focus on studies and extracurriculars, not to stress about whether you will be able to use the restroom,” says Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Peter Renn in a press release for Windy City Times.

While this is something to celebrate, it is only a temporary block, not a permanent one. Trans students are still at very high risk of being harmed by this bill if it passes through. The most likely case for this bill is that it will appear before the mostly conservative Supreme Court due to how many times it has been appealed.