x-post: Florida's Anti-Trans Bathroom Law Spurs Harrowing Vigilante Attacks

Original DU thread: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218853781

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Source: Daily Beast

Florida’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Law Spurs Harrowing Vigilante Attacks

A new law in Florida aimed at trans people accessing bathroom facilities owned by the state government is reportedly encouraging vigilantes to patrol private businesses too.

Nico Lang
Published Apr. 11, 2024 4:39AM EDT

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Signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in May 2023, the “Safety in Private Spaces Act,” more commonly known as HB 1521, prohibits trans people from using the bathroom or locker room that most closely aligns with their identities when accessing facilities owned by the state government. This would include state colleges, state prisons, airports, beaches, city parks, and public schools. In October, the Florida Board of Education voted to expand the rule to private colleges.

Although nine other states currently have bathroom bans on the books, Florida’s is the only one that levies criminal penalties for violating it. Contravening HB 1521 could result in a misdemeanor trespassing offense, which carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

While HB 1521 does not apply to private businesses like bars, cafés, grocery stores, restaurants, and shopping malls, one of the law’s many insufficiencies is that the average Floridian doesn’t actually know what it does.

According to sources who spoke with The Daily Beast, that lack of information has resulted in vigilante behavior, in which civilians attempt to enforce the statute in venues where it does not actually apply. They say they have been stopped and questioned while using the locker room at the gym and the bathroom at the gas station, among other places. The double whammy of the harm the law already does—and then how broadly it’s being used to target an already vulnerable population—has made it difficult for trans Floridians to participate in the outside world or go about their day just like everyone else.

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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/floridas-anti-trans-bathroom-law-spurs-harrowing-vigilante-attacks

Alternate link: https://news.yahoo.com/florida-anti-trans-bathroom-law-083933994.html