Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Puerto Rico quietly passed an anti-trans bathroom ban & used trans swimmer Lia Thomas to justify it

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/05/puerto-rico-quietly-passed-an-anti-trans-bathroom-ban-used-trans-swimmer-lia-thomas-to-justify-it/

John Russell (11 May 2026)

Earlier this year, Puerto Rico became the first U.S. territory to pass an anti-trans bathroom ban into law.

Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón (R) signed H.B. 165 in late February, after it was passed by the Puerto Rican Legislative Assembly with votes of 37–11 in the House and 21–5 in the Senate, as reported by independent journalist Aleksandra Vaca.

The "Public Government Restroom Facilities Regulation Act" requires all government buildings, including the University of Puerto Rico, to maintain sex-segregated multi-occupancy restrooms, and bans transgender and nonbinary people from accessing bathrooms that do not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. It also "prohibits the installation of mixed or gender-neutral multi-occupancy restrooms in government facilities," according to a February 25 press release.

"Those who advocate for the existence of multi-occupancy gender-neutral bathrooms argue that they need to protect the safety and well-being of those who identify as something other than their biological sex," the legislation reportedly states. "This constitutes a depreciation and even an erasure, conscious or not, of a problem that is worthy of consideration, which is that there have been many instances, regrettably, where men who self-identify as women have entered women's bathrooms to assault and rape them."

The law also claims that "there have been instances of sexual violence in schools where adolescents who identify as something other than their biological sex have entered girls' restrooms." But according to Vaca, the law's text primarily cites anecdotal reporting in right-wing outlets to back up those claims.

When I went to University in the 1980s I stayed in dormitory all four years.
We had a bathroom vote!  One for men, one for women, and the  third was for mixed use.
The bathrooms had showers.

The anti trans movement is fixated on trans women and are all about "protecting women against men in women's spaces" but the anti trans people also completely forget that trans men also exist. How on earth should a trans man navigate this mess? I can assure you that when a trans man enters a woman's bathroom they will get blocked. Yet that is exactly what these laws will be promoting - so short sighted.

I could easily see them create a solution something they have caused. One that some portions of the country seem to be wanting in.a form anyways. At the end of the day it isn't about protecting people it is about controlling people instead. I truly wish that I'm wrong about this. Hugs
Mariah

Quote from: Jillian-TG on May 11, 2026, 05:25:37 PMThe anti trans movement is fixated on trans women and are all about "protecting women against men in women's spaces" but the anti trans people also completely forget that trans men also exist. How on earth should a trans man navigate this mess? I can assure you that when a trans man enters a woman's bathroom they will get blocked. Yet that is exactly what these laws will be promoting - so short sighted.

Quote from: Mariah on May 11, 2026, 05:28:50 PMI could easily see them create a solution something they have caused. One that some portions of the country seem to be wanting in.a form anyways. At the end of the day it isn't about protecting people it is about controlling people instead. I truly wish that I'm wrong about this. Hugs
Mariah

My guess is that conservative politicians were looking for something to distract the voters from noticing how bad things are in terms of economy and the growing divide between haves and have nots. Disappearing middle class. So they get their voting base distracted. Transgender people are an easy target and gets the voters united. And they are so blinded they don't see how badly the politically connected are fleecing the system.