Trans journalist declares Idaho a “Do Not Travel” state for trans people due to harsh bathroom ban

Idaho is the fourth state to join this list on Erin Reed's Anti-Trans National Legal Risk Assessment Map.

Trans journalist and activist Erin Reed updated her Anti-Trans National Legal Risk Assessment Map, adding Idaho to the list of “Do Not Travel” states for trans people.

Idaho is the fourth state to join this list, which also includes Florida, Texas, and Kansas. Reed also recategorized South Carolina as a high-risk state because its bathroom ban was expanded to colleges and universities.

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The states on the Do Not Travel list all have strict bathroom bans in place, in addition to other laws that make it difficult for trans people to exist freely.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed what advocates have called “the most extreme anti-transgender bathroom ban in the nation” in March. The law took effect on July 1 and makes it illegal for anyone to “knowingly and willfully” use a sex-segregated restroom that doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth; it applies to government-owned buildings and places of public accommodation (that is, any space or business open to the general public).

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A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a second offense within five years is a felony punishable with up to five years in prison, and a fourth offense triggers the state’s persistent violator statute and, thus, punishments up to life in prison. The state’s count of offenses will include any prior convictions for violating other states’ anti-trans restroom laws; as such, an offender could face enhanced penalties in Idaho if they violated a similar law elsewhere.

A judge granted  a partial preliminary injunction against the law, which, for the time being, allows trans people “to use single-user restrooms consistent with their gender identity and multi-user restrooms when a single-user restroom is not available (including when it is occupied),” as the ACLU of Idaho explained.

“The only time the restroom portion of the law can be enforced is when a trans person uses a multi-user restroom when a single-user restroom is available on the same floor,” the organization added. “This means trans Idahoans will have access to gender-aligned restrooms when out in public.”

Reed said the state “firmly belongs” in the “Do Not Travel” category despite the partial injunction since “the law remains in effect anywhere a gender neutral or family restroom exists, meaning transgender people must search for a gender-neutral restroom or else they might risk a felony in Idaho.” She also emphasized that placing a state in this category is not a move “ever taken lightly.”

Reed provides two maps assessing risk for trans people, one for adults and one for youth. The adult map includes 15 states ranked as “Safest States With Strong Protections” and eight states plus D.C. as “Low Risk.”

The youth map, however, does not even include those two categories. The best ranking available for a state regarding trans youth protections is “Moderate Risk.”

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