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On November 18, 2024, Nancy Mace introduced an anti-transgender bathroom bill in the US House of Representatives to ban newly elected member Sarah McBride from using bathrooms other than those of her sex assigned at birth. Two days later, US House speaker Mike Johnson declared that Mace's ban was being ushered in. [1]
Mace stated her intent for the bill to act as a litmus test for male Republican politicians. [2]
On November 18, 2024, Mace introduced a resolution to ban transgender people from using bathrooms other than those of their sex assigned at birth at the U.S. Capitol, in anticipation of the swearing in of Sarah McBride, who is the first trans person elected to Congress. [3] [4] Mace misgendered McBride in several repeated statements, and said that it was “offensive” for a trans woman to think of herself as her equal. [3] [5] She confirmed that McBride was "absolutely" the target of her bathroom resolution. [6] Talking to Leland Vittert, Mace announced that she will "fight like hell" to exclude McBride from women's restrooms on the Capitol. [7] Mace's 2024 House resolution would prevent McBride from using "single-sex facilities". H. Res. 1579 was entitled, "Prohibiting Members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes." [8] [9] Mary Miller and Matt Rosendale co-sponsored her bathroom resolution. [10] Mace also said, "Men that want to use women’s restrooms are threatening to kill me over this issue," Mace told NewsNation. [11]
Mike Johnson's bathroom ban extends to trans and non-binary staff members, interns or even visitors from the public. [12] The ban was renewed when the 119th United States Congress convened on January 3, 2025. [13]
Critics of the ban and its Republican supporters accused them of hypocrisy since Donald Trump and some potential members of his administration have been accused of sexual assault. [14] Additionally, critics have decried that transphobia has become a central GOP policy. [15] [16] Jen Psaki has urged Democrats to confront bigotry head-on. [17] [18]
Trans-rights activist Stephanie Wade has criticized Representative-elect Sarah McBride for her acquiescence to follow the rules of the house, arguing that it ignores the dignity and safety of gender minorities. [19]
Demonstrators protested the Capitol bathroom ban that requires birth-based bathroom usage on December 5, 2024. Capitol Police arrested 15 people protesters including Chelsea Manning [20] [21] and Raquel Willis. [22] Manning went on to say, "I'm here today because every person deserves dignity and respect, both in daily life and in more symbolic places like the U.S. Capitol." [23] The protesters chanted, "Democrats, grow a spine!" [24] Willis noted, "In the 2024 election, trans folks were left to fend for ourselves after nearly $200 million of attack ads were disseminated across the United States." [25]
In mocking the protesters with a transphobic slur, [26] [27] Nancy Mace posted on X, "The trannies came, they saw and they did not conquer during their protest," [28] which has been labeled as "hateful conduct" [29] by the X staff despite Musk's personal expression of support for Mace's efforts. Mace also yelled slurs at the protestors with a bullhorn. [15] [30] [ better source needed ]
Congress | Short title | Long title | Bill number(s) | Date introduced | Sponsor | # of co-sponsors | Latest status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
118th Congress (2023–2025) | Protecting Women's Private Spaces Act | To prohibit individuals from accessing or using single-sex facilities on Federal property other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes. | H.R.10186 | November 20, 2024 | Nancy Mace | 5 | House - Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. |
One day after the bathroom bill, Marjorie Taylor Greene expressed her chagrin that Mace's bill did not go far enough. Greene misgendered McBride and told reporter Pablo Manríquez, "I support a resolution that keeps all biological men out of women's bathrooms, locker rooms, and private places. Not only here in the Capitol complex, our office buildings, but all taxpayer-funded facilities." [31] Two days later, Mace announced a new expanded House resolution to ban "Biological Men from Women's Spaces on All Federal Property." [32] The broader bill was "H.R.10186 - To prohibit individuals from accessing or using single-sex facilities on Federal property other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes." [33] Michael Rulli and Marjorie Taylor Greene announced their support with co-sponsorship. [34]
In other interviews, Mace belittled and misgendered McBride repeatedly, saying, "...I'm not into pronouns. I don't care... I'm not going to play into this gender ideology." [35]
However, reported studies do not support the claims that trans women endanger cis women and girls in restrooms; the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law found "there is no evidence that letting transgender people use public facilities that align with their gender identity increases safety risks." [36] [37] According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, research shows that "trans and gender non-binary teens face greater risk of sexual assault in schools that prevent them from using the bathrooms...consistent with their gender identity, according to a recent study." [38]
The chair and co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Mark Pocan and Becca Balint, criticized the House Speaker's bathroom ban. [39] Balint said the bill was an "incredibly craven and cruel attack" on McBride, intended to "dehumanize" her. [40] Other politicians who have also criticized Mace's comments and actions include Eric Sorensen, [41] Robert Garcia, [42] Tammy Duckworth, [43] Hakeem Jeffries, [44] Sara Jacobs, [45] and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. [46]
Mace has also been criticized in the media. On The View, Sara Haines said Mace was a bully. [47] The Daily Show co-host Desi Lydic said Mace was "trying to get actual predators into the highest levels of government". [48] [49]
Ana Kasparian of the The Young Turks criticized Mace for attacking and misgendering McBride in an interview. [50] On the basis of Mace's Human Rights Campaign Scorecard, an LGBTQ Nation analysis suggested she was "always a transphobic extremist." [51]
In response to the bathroom ban, GLAAD issued a press release stating, "'Biological sex' is not an accurate nor a scientific term, but is used by opponents of transgender people to dehumanize them and deny their equal access to society." [52] Advocates for Trans Equality criticized Mace's measures, saying they were "designed to divide us" and "unfairly single out a vulnerable community". [53] Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the policy was "cruel and discriminatory" and affected "all trans and nonbinary people who work and visit the Capitol". [54]
Elon Musk tweeted his support for Nancy Mace with a meme with the text: "your mental illness is not my new reality." [55] Megyn Kelly misgendered McBride and said she must use "the men's bathroom". [56]
Whereas most of Mace's tweets relating to the topic were promoted, two received a warning label from X for hate speech on December 5, 2024. Mace denied the assertion, writing, "It's not hate speech." [57]
Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to social gender roles. Transphobia is a type of prejudice and discrimination, similar to racism, sexism, or ableism, and it is closely associated with homophobia. People of color who are transgender experience discrimination above and beyond that which can be explained as a simple combination of transphobia and racism.
Nancy Ruth Mace is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Violence against transgender people includes emotional, physical, sexual, or verbal violence targeted towards transgender people. The term has also been applied to hate speech directed at transgender people and at depictions of transgender people in the media that reinforce negative stereotypes about them. Trans and non-binary gender adolescents can experience bashing in the form of bullying and harassment. When compared to their cisgender peers, trans and non-binary gender youth are at increased risk for victimisation and substance abuse.
Matt Walsh is an American conservative political commentator and podcast host. He hosts the podcast The Matt Walsh Show, and regularly appears on the American conservative website The Daily Wire. Walsh has authored four books and starred in The Daily Wire documentary films What Is a Woman? and Am I Racist?
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the United States face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents and can widely vary by state. The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the United States were among the most advanced in the world until the beginning of the second Trump presidency, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s.
Unisex public toilets are public toilets that are not separated by sex or gender.
In the United States, the rights of transgender people vary considerably by jurisdiction. In recent decades, there has been an expansion of federal, state, and local laws and rulings to protect transgender Americans; however, many rights remain unprotected, and some rights are being eroded. Since 2020, there has been a national movement by conservative and right-wing politicians and organizations against transgender rights. There has been a steady increase in the number of anti-transgender bills introduced each year, especially in Republican-led states.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Montana may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Montana since 1997. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples, as same-sex marriage has been recognized since November 2014. State statutes do not address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. A number of cities also provide protections in housing and public accommodations.
Sarah Elizabeth McBride is an American activist and politician who is the U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Delaware Senate from January 2021 to January 2025, representing the state's 1st senate district. Prior, she was the national press secretary of the Human Rights Campaign from 2016 to 2021. McBride is the nation's highest ranking openly transgender elected official and the first openly transgender member of the United States Congress.
A bathroom bill is the common name for legislation or a statute that denies access to public toilets by gender or transgender identity. Bathroom bills affect access to sex-segregated public facilities for an individual based on a determination of their sex as defined in some specific way, such as their sex as assigned at birth, their sex as listed on their birth certificate, or the sex that corresponds to their gender identity. A bathroom bill can either be inclusive or exclusive of transgender individuals, depending on the aforementioned definition of their sex.
Title IX of the United States Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination "on the basis of sex" in educational programs and activities that receive financial assistance from the federal government. The Obama administration interpreted Title IX to cover discrimination on the basis of assigned sex, gender identity, and transgender status. The Trump administration determined that the question of access to sex-segregated facilities should be left to the states and local school districts to decide. The validity of the executive's position is being tested in the federal courts.
Gender Justice League (GJL) is an advocacy group for transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming individuals in Washington State in the United States. The group advocates for transgender legal, political, and medical rights as well as participating in protests, awareness raising, and fundraising events.
The Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition is a transgender and LGBTQ civil rights organization in the state of Tennessee in the United States of America.
Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters is a 2020 book by Abigail Shrier, published by Regnery Publishing, which endorses the controversial concept of rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD). ROGD is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by any major professional institution nor is it backed by credible scientific evidence.
Evan Greer is an American activist, writer, and musician from Boston, Massachusetts. They are the deputy director of the nonprofit advocacy group Fight for the Future. Greer identifies as nonbinary.
"'We're being pressured into sex by some trans women'" is the original title of a BBC News article written by Caroline Lowbridge and published on 26 October 2021. Produced by the BBC's regional service in Nottingham, the article reports that lesbians are being pressured into sex by a small number of transgender women and non-transgender 'activists'. The article received widespread criticism among the LGBT community as transphobic. It drew particular attention for the inclusion of comments from American pornographic actress Lily Cade, who wrote a blog post after the article's publication calling for the "lynching" of high-profile trans women. Cade's comments were subsequently removed from the article.
Transphobia in the United States has changed over time. Understanding and acceptance of transgender people have both decreased and increased during the last few decades depending on the details of the issues which have been facing the public. Various governmental bodies in the United States have enacted anti-transgender legislation. Social issues in the United States also reveal a level of transphobia. Because of transphobia, transgender people in the U.S. face increased levels of violence and intimidation. Cisgender people can also be affected by transphobia.
Kellie-Jay Nyishie Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, is a British anti-transgender and gender-critical activist. She is the leader of the political party Party of Women. She describes herself as a woman's rights activist, but says that she is "not a feminist". She is known for popularising the anti-trans slogan "adult human female".
Zooey Simone Zephyr is an American politician and university administrator who represents Missoula in the 95th district in the Montana House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected in the 2022 election to represent the 100th district in the Montana House of Representatives, making her the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Montana Legislature. She was sworn in as a representative on January 2, 2023. In April 2023, Zephyr was permitted to speak and later banned from the House after speaking out against multiple anti-LGBT bills and criticizing their supporters. In November 2024, Zephyr won re-election to the House in the 95th district, which she ran in due to redistricting.
"Protect trans kids" is a slogan used in support of the transgender rights movement with a focus on transgender youth. The phrase is often used in protests by transgender rights activists, being placed on signs and shirts. Professional athletes and entertainers have also been documented using or wearing the phrase in support of pro-trans rights sentiments.