NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Controversy is growing around the so-called Bathroom Bill, which Tennessee lawmakers are considering.

The measure, House Bill 2414 and Senate Bill 2387, would require that students use restrooms and facilities based on the sex listed on the student's birth certificate. It's sponsored by state Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Old Hickory, and state Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville.

Transgender advocates say the measure puts transgender students at increased risk of bullying, physical violence and even suicide.

"Going to the bathroom for trans people is already an issue of anxiety and stress," said Marisa Richmond, a lobbyist for the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, "and this would make things worse because they would be targeted by people for harassment and people trying to block their use of public facilities."

South Dakota's governor recently vetoed similar legislation, and the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, urging him to do the same.

Supporters say legislation is needed to protect the safety of children, although there have been no known incidences of a transgender individual violating another person in a facility. There have, however, been reports of transgender people being attacked or ridiculed when forced to go into a bathroom that is not the gender with which they identify.

Gretchen Peters' son was born as a female. At 3 years old, he told her he was a boy, and she admitted it took her awhile to understand his perspective.

"I was confusing it with sexual preference and, really, gender identity is a completely separate thing," she said. "If you think about a 3-year-old who says that he's a boy, that has nothing to do with sex. That has to do with who he is."

According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), transgender people should be referred to as the gender with which they identify and the name they choose to be called. Peters said legislation that dictates where a transgender person goes to the bathroom could be particularly traumatic for school-age children.

"Puberty is a very traumatic time for a transgender kid, because it feels like their body is betraying them," she said, "and to have this kind of indignity heaped upon them to basically say to them, 'We don't believe who you say you are,' I think it's very dangerous."

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality and The Task Force, a gender civil rights group, 90 percent of transgender people report experiencing harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job. Forty-one percent report attempting suicide.

The text of HB 2414 is online here, and the text of SB 2387 is here.


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The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas says it is monitoring protests at college campuses, after almost 60 students protesting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were arrested during a demonstration at the University of Texas in Austin.

State troopers on horses and in riot gear were called in to control the crowd. ACLU Staff Attorney Brian Klosterboer said students planning to participate in peaceful protests should know their rights.

"We encourage everyone to follow the guidance of law enforcement even if they believe that law enforcement might be violating their First Amendment or constitutional rights," said Klosterboer. "It's important that people try to stay safe. Remember, they also have a right to remain silent. You can ask if you are free to leave."

Charges were dropped against the protesters in Austin. Students also held a sit-in at the University of Texas in Dallas and a walkout was held at the University of Texas in Arlington.

Following the arrests of the protesters, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on the social media platform X that the students belonged in jail, and accused them of hate speech.

Klosterboer said when state officials attack free speech, they undermine the core of democracy.

"Texas public universities were specifically designated by Gov. Abbott as traditional public forums," said Klosterboer. "That's where students and others who are engaging in any kind of speech, whether it's passing out Bibles and religious literature or engaging in protests for human rights. That's where free speech is at its apex."

He added that if someone feels their civil liberties have been violated, they can file a complaint on the ACLU website.

The demonstrations in Texas are part of nationwide protests calling for a ceasefire between the Israeli forces and Hamas.





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The Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed class-action lawsuit challenging a measure barring people from listing a gender on their birth certificate other than the one they were born with.

Montana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 280 in 2021, which requires a court order to change gender on a birth certificate. A state court issued an injunction against the measure but now the state health department has put a total ban on changes to sex designations on birth certificates.

Akilah Deernose, executive director of the ACLU of Montana, called the measure part of a "concerted and unrelenting attack" on the civil rights of people who identify as transgender.

"We've previously sued on the birth certificate issue," Deernose pointed out. "Once again, we're seeing the state implement laws and rules and policies that unfairly target transgender people."

On the other side, some people argued birth certificates contain vital statistics and should be based on the facts at the time of birth. The suit awaits action in state court.

Deernose noted beyond privacy rights, the birth certificate measure has the potential to force a person to declare themselves to be someone other than who they are, based on their declared identity.

"And who they know themselves to be," Deernose observed. "That puts them at risk of discrimination and also forces them to out themselves every time they share those identity documents."

The suit also challenges a motor vehicle department policy forbidding changing sex designations on driver's licenses.

New York state lawmakers have appointed members to the Community Commission on Reparations Remedies, created through legislation Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in 2023.

Its goal is to examine the legacy of slavery and its continuing impacts on black New Yorkers. The commission will develop a report outlining recommendations for addressing these inequities.

Linda J. Mann, co-founder of the African American Redress Network, said there is one problem facing the commission: a lack of funds.

"It is absolutely imperative that funds for these types of task force, because of the amount of research that's going into it, is an imperative," Mann emphasized.

While the bill had plenty of Democratic support, it drew the ire of Republican lawmakers.

Many areas of the country are determining how to redress past disparities Black people face. A recent report found philanthropies have received millions in funds stemming from depriving Black people of opportunities to build wealth similar to those of their white counterparts.

The New York commission will have to present its findings in 2025.

A 2021 Pew Research survey showed three-quarters of Black Americans surveyed support reparations, while only 18% of white Americans support it.

Along with the U.S., countries worldwide are navigating reparations, with Mann noting they are not always compensatory.

"We're not talking about just altering economic wellness," Mann pointed out. "There's other ways in which historical harms have led to disparities in education, in health, in housing."

Beyond New York, California is the only other state to have created a reparations commission. California's reparations task force recommended some compensatory reparations based on factors such as health harms, mass incarceration and over-policing, housing discrimination and the devaluation of African American businesses. But, it wasn't certain how much all of this would amount to.