By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Transgender individuals and their supporters came out in force to strongly oppose the exact same “bathroom bill” that was vetoed by the former governor last year.
But the bill’s sponsor said it does not require or mandate separations but allows school districts to make distinctions based on “biological sex” that they feel they may need.
The House Judiciary Committee took more than three hours of testimony lopsidedly opposed to the bill while online, 202 registered support for the bill as of noon and 2,692 opposed.
Laura Bregatta of Hudson said she has felt afraid since an anti-discrimination law passed here in 2018 and whether she can count on a safe women’s bathroom without “wondering if someone is in this bathroom for a sexual thrill.”
But it turns out, there have not been a lot of reports of such an issue in the years that have since passed, opponents noted, saying this is not a state issue and a waste of lawmakers’ time.
The bill’s sponsor said House Bill 148 seeks to approve carve outs to the state’s 2018 Law Against Discrimination which would include an exception for separation based on biological sex in sporting activities, locker rooms, sporting facilities and in facilities where people are incarcerated.
It is the same as one that passed both the House and Senate last year but did not become law because House Bill 396 was vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu.
In his veto message he said it invites “unnecessary discord.”
The state has a new governor, Kelly Ayotte and a new legislature which has more Republicans than it did last year.
New Hampshire has an estimated transgender population of between 30,000 and 48,000 individuals.
The bill comes just weeks after President Donald Trump issued an executive order that calls for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and policies such as federal prison assignments.
He also issued an order to rescind federal funding from schools that allow trans females to athletically compete.
Opponents noted the political climate, but asked how the state would intend to enforce a bathroom bill and whether one would have to show a birth certificate to enter or display their genitals or take some sort of chromosomal test just to pee.
Rep. Jim Kofalt, R-Wilton, sponsor, cited the previous testimony from the mother of a Milford girl who was routinely harassed by a male who would go into the girls locker room and that the 2018 measure gave “him license to have free rein in the bathrooms.”
He said he has heard concerns the bill is transphobic and said that is not true.
“It’s about preventing people like the boy in Milford from getting into those spaces.
“This bill simply says there is discretion. School boards should not be subject to lawfare….” he said.
“This bill quite honestly….is the ‘can’t we all get along bill.'”
“This bill allows discretion and latitude for local policy makers…and sets a policy that everyone can live with,” Kofalt said.
Kofalt said Kearsarge, Milford, and Mascenic regional school districts are all dealing with some sort of issues related to transgender concerns.
“I have also heard from legislators in the State House that they feel uncomfortable,” sharing a bathroom with other individuals in the building.
“I’m trying to address the problem that we have no recourse when someone creates one of these situations. There is no latitude for reasonable judgment,” Kofalt said, with outside groups bringing lawsuits.
Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, opposed the bill.
She said New Hampshire has been a leader in our nation in anti-discrimination protection, and it would be a major step backwards if the bill passed.
Rep. Alice Wade, D-Dover, a trans woman, said the bill only serves to mistreat transgender individuals.
She said she uses the women’s room and deserves to use it in peace.
“How would this be enforced?” she asked noting there are counties in Texas where there is a $10,000 bounty on the heads of trans individuals, which she was asked to verify with data from a committee member.
State Rep. Loren Selig, D-Durham, said the bill is extremely discriminatory. In the issue cited in Milford, there are legal actions that can be taken to stop harassment, not bills needed to carve out from an anti-discrimination law.
Betsy Harrington of Deering, said she was there to represent children who have decided not to play sports because they would have to compete against a “male.”
She used an expletive to describe an incident involving trans athletes at a sporting event where there was “media the kids weren’t playing.”
“I’m here to tell you it’s been awful. We need to go back to the way it was,” Harrington said.
Avery Roy, a transgender individual from Manchester, said the text of the bill is vague and undefined and could lead to discrimination.
Roy said it emboldens, allows bigotry and is flawed.
Deb Howes, president of the American Federation of Teachers in New Hampshire, also opposed the bill. She said public schools accept all students and should all be able to fully participate.
“We do not want to be forced to discriminate,” or asked to enforce this.
Sarah Smith opposed and noted most bathrooms have private protection.
“This to me is a non-issue other than the impact it has on other people,” including potential visitors and tourists to the state who might not come if this passes.
Stephen Scaer of Nashua said he supported the bill with one important caveat, a lack of definition, and suggested the definition should be based solely on the person’s reproductive genetics at birth.
Gender identities are imaginary, he said.
Wendy Stallings of Exeter said as a mother and educator, scientist, human and Christian, she opposed this bill.
“It is far more likely that our children will be sexually abused in church than in a bathroom by a transgender individual,” she said, noting the bill is discrimination.
“The only way to police this is to sexually molest every person that doesn’t conform to the way a woman looks or a man looks.”
Nancy Brennan of Weare opposed this bill.
“This bill gives people permission to discriminate,” she said.
“Do some research,” she urged and most of all “let’s be kind.”
Sarah Tirrell, who is the mother of a transgender teen said she was overjoyed in 2018 when there was a moment of progress in the state when the existing law was passed and is now horrified to see attempts for parts of it to be torn apart.
She said her daughter wants to use a locker room in peace and is not a predator. The bill will force people into spaces where they don’t feel comfortable, she said.
Aubrey Freeman of Bridgewater supported the bill. He said prisons are the biggest area of concern. If the state is going to incarcerate women then it is the job of the state to safely incarcerate and separate them.
Linds Jakows, who worked to pass the 2018 anti-discrimination law with bipartisan support, opposed this bill as “mean spirited.”
Jakows said there has been no uptick in problems with restrooms and no evidence to support a need for the bill to become law.
Sam Hawkins of the National Association of Mental Illness New Hampshire, is deeply concerned by the bill and is firmly in opposition to any bill that enables discrimination, including this bill.
Zoe Hill of Lebanon opposed the bill saying it specifically targets a small group and will cause harm and is against the state’s Live free or Die motto.