Vermont passes law requiring ‘gender-free’ bathrooms

'Those stuck in long bathroom lines...caregivers and their charges' all benefit from gender-neutral bathrooms, one state senator says

If service providers offer single- or separate -sex services, trans men and women should be treated in accordance with their gender and access the services most appropriate for them (Getty)

Vermont has passed a law requiring that single-user bathrooms in the US state be labelled as “gender-free”.

Republican governor Phil Scott signed the bill late last week after it was unanimously passed by the state Senate and a large majority of the state House. The measure will go into effect 1 July.

“Two years ago, when I was running for governor, I was asked in a debate whether I would support gender-neutral bathrooms in public places or not. I responded with a one-word answer, a simple yes. Because to me it was just that simple ... And now two years later I am honored to be able to sign that legislation into law,” he said as signed the bill.

Mr Scott remarked that the new law was “especially important for kids” who have experienced bullying school over being transgender.

“Treating others in this way is not who we are as Vermonters, and I hope the signing of this bill will send a powerful message that that’s not the way we act,” he said, surrounded by LGBTQ activists at the bill signing ceremony.

The law does not apply to bathrooms with more than one toilet or stall, but all single bathrooms in schools, public buildings, restaurants, offices, and other workplaces will need to allow all-gender access.

State Senator Becca Ballint told the Burlington Free Press newspaper that not just transgender or non-gender conforming people would benefit but also “men and women stuck in long bathroom lines, it provides access to any available single-user bathroom. And for caregivers and their charges, whether children or folks with disabilities needing assistance, it provides access to a bathroom that is not marked for one particular gender, thus alleviating the anxiety that’s caused by needing to choose a gendered bathroom”.

Several states, North Carolina in particular, have passed or attempted to pass laws restricting bathroom access to transgender people, particularly students in schools, to that person’s gender at birth rather than who they identify as.

The bill directly defies the administration of President Donald Trump, which has eliminated or attempted to eliminate LGBTQ equality language in government equal employment or healthcare legal language.

In May 2016, the previous administration of Barack Obama had issued a letter to all schools receiving federal funding to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. The backlash from that letter led to the Trump administration’s February 2017 letter rescinding that policy "in order to further and more completely consider the legal issues involved”. The administration said the underlying law, called Title IX, may not protect gender identity.