Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed a bill on Tuesday that prohibits men from infiltrating women’s bathrooms.
The legislation, called House Bill 752, creates criminal charges for people who “knowingly and willfully” enter a bathroom designated for the opposite sex, with some exceptions, Idaho Capital Sun reported.
“The bill would apply in government-owned buildings and places of public accommodations, like private businesses,” the report details. “A first offense carries [sic] a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison. A second offense within five years is a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.”
Idaho joins only a few states, including Utah, Florida, and Kansas, to criminally prohibit men from using women’s bathrooms, according to the report.
Little signed the bill as leftists rallied on the State Capitol steps in Boise for “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
The Republican-dominated state Legislature overwhelmingly supported the bill, except for eight Republicans and all 15 Democrats.
Little also signed a bill banning state and local government agencies from flying flags other than the United States, Idaho, or city flags — meaning cities like Boise had to remove their LGBTQ+ pride flags.
Last week, Coeur d’Alene Republican Sen. Ben Toews, who sponsored the bill, told fellow lawmakers the bathroom bill protects “common sense realities.”
“The Legislature has a fundamental duty to protect the bodily privacy and safety of Idaho citizens,” Toews said at the time. “House Bill 752 provides a clear, proactive tool to secure sex-separated private spaces in our state, while accommodating common-sense realities.”
The bill includes several exceptions, including giving medical assistance, law enforcement assistance, or if a person “is in dire need of urinating or defecating and such facility is the only facility reasonably available at the time of the person’s use.”
The bill will take effect on July 1.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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