A Virginia lawmaker says he wants to protect the physical privacy of people using bathrooms and locker rooms.
Bob Marshall, a Republican from Northern Virginia, has proposed legislation that would regulate transgender facilities use in public buildings, including schools.
The bill defines sex as the "physical condition of being male or female as shown on an individual's birth certificate."
Under that definition, state-owned buildings would have to create and enforce separate facilities for each sex. The bill would allow people to sue and possibly even collect damages for physical and emotional pain if they encounter someone of the opposite sex in a public facility.
"The benefit is that women aren't going to be scared to hell to go to the bathroom, to change their clothes or to be on a swim team in a public school," says Marshall. "Common sense used to prevail in these things, but apparently common sense is not so common anymore because we have adults in this society who don't know the difference between male and female."
Critics have likened the proposal to North Carolina’s controversial “Bathroom Bill.” James Parrish is with Equality Virginia.
"At a time when our own state is facing a billion dollar budget shortfall, there’s many more priorities around transportation one education and jobs that our general assembly should be dealing with and not targeting our transgender community," says Parrish.
The bill in unlikely to go anywhere. Last year a similar measure died in committee, and Governor Terry McAuliffe has already made it clear he would veto a measure like this.