Anti-trans bathroom bills are the New Jim Crowhttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/04/anti-trans-bathroom-bills-are-the-new-jim-crow/ 🔗Reverend Irene Monroe (24 Apr 2026)
Across the country, a wave of anti-transgender legislation is reshaping access to public space. As of April, 44 bathroom-related bills are under consideration, with six already enacted in states including Florida, Idaho, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas.
Several of these laws impose steep fines and serious legal consequences. In Idaho, for instance, a violation could result in a felony conviction and up to five years in prison.
Even the Idaho Fraternal Order of Police raised concerns about who to implement the restrictions, noting in comments to the Idaho Capital Sun: "In many circumstances, there is no clear or reasonable way for officers to make that determination without engaging in questioning or investigative actions that could be viewed as invasive and inappropriate."
As an African American, I see unmistakable parallels between the denial of restroom access to transgender people today and the segregation of the Jim Crow era, when Black Americans were barred from lunch counters, water fountains, and restrooms in public spaces.
As a lesbian, I also recognize how policing who belongs in which bathroom harms not only transgender people, but also nonbinary and gender-nonconforming individuals—especially when judgments are made based on appearance, such as labeling a woman "too butch" or a man "too effeminate."
