A bill requiring public school students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their birth sex was passed by the South Carolina General Assembly and is now heading to the governor’s desk, but criticsit as an unfair move for transgender students, Greenville News report.
During an April 15 vote, lawmakers voted 77-31 on House Bill 4756, also called the “South Carolina Student Physical Privacy Act,” to accept Senate amendments to the bill, sending it to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk
to sign. The legislation says that public schools or universities should not use state funds to operate bathrooms or changing facilities that don’t comply with biological sex restrictions, in addition to requiring each school to have single-user bathrooms or changing rooms available.Institutions that fail to comply with the bill risk a 25% cut in state funding.
The bill, which also creates an opportunity for litigation against a school if someone is using a bathroom and sees someone of the opposite sex using it, has received support from other elected officials like Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson. Wilson, who is running to replace McMaster, praised the bill’s passing as a day-one supporter.
“Our state’s women and girls rely on the privacy of these spaces and the assurance that they are safe from any potential harm when using them,” Wilson said in a statement.
“I am proud that South Carolina is taking this necessary step to keep men out of women’s spaces.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, also a Republican gubernatorial candidate and vocal opponent of transgender rights, praised the bill, calling it “common sense” in a statement posted on her website. “Men don’t belong in women’s bathrooms. Men don’t belong in women’s locker rooms. Men don’t belong in women’s sports. This is common sense,” the congresswoman said on her website.
“I’ve led this fight at the federal level and will follow suit as Governor. Protect our daughters. Sign this bill into law.”
But not everyone supports the sentiments of the Republican leaders.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Sen.
Brad Hutto says the legislature should focus on more important issues than bathroom restrictions, such as the rising cost of gas and the fast-growing pace of the Palmetto state. “We’re the fastest growing state in the country, we’re at war, we’ve got people paying over $5 for diesel, we’ve got all sorts of issues that we could deal with,” Hutto said.“…And this is the most important thing we could put on special order?”
South Carolina Speaker Pro Tempore and state Rep. Tommy Pope called the move “sad,” according to WBTV. While he supported the bill, Pope said the point was to find common ground for everyone. “It’s sad to think that we’re in a situation where we’re having to legislate issues like this, that they just can’t be resolved that can accommodate everybody,” he said.
“We want to respect that, but not to the detriment of every other I keep saying, female, male, female, every other individual on the team — their privacy being jeopardized, or their rights being jeopardized.”
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