A federal judge blocked Idaho on Tuesday from enforcing a new law that would have made it a crime to use public restrooms or changing facilities that do not align with one’s sex assigned at birth, ruling that key provisions of the measure were likely unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Amanda Brailsford issued a preliminary injunction preventing Idaho’s House Bill 752 from taking effect July 1 while a lawsuit challenging the measure proceeds through federal court, marking a win for the transgender Idahoans who brought the case forward. The judge also provisionally certified a class of transgender Idaho residents, extending the injunction beyond the six plaintiffs who brought the case.
The law, signed by Gov. Brad Little (R-ID) in March, would have made it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly use a restroom or changing facility in a government building or place of public accommodation that did not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. A first offense carried a penalty of up to one year in jail, while a second offense within five years could have been prosecuted as a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Idaho lawmakers said the measure was intended to protect privacy and safety in sex-segregated spaces. During court proceedings, state attorneys argued the legislature had a legitimate interest in maintaining separate facilities for men and women.
Brailsford, however, found that portions of the law were likely too vague to be enforced consistently. Her ruling focused on exceptions allowing a person to use an otherwise prohibited restroom when another facility is not “reasonably available” or when a person is in “dire need” of using one. The law does not define those terms, leaving significant discretion to law enforcement officers, the judge wrote.
The judge also questioned how authorities would determine a person’s sex assigned at birth when enforcing the law. During earlier court arguments, state attorneys suggested DNA testing could be used in some circumstances, an issue Brailsford cited while discussing the law’s practical enforcement challenges.
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The lawsuit was filed in April by six Idaho residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal. The plaintiffs argued the law violated constitutional protections, including due process and equal protection guarantees.
The ruling is the latest legal setback for state efforts to regulate access to bathrooms and other sex-segregated facilities. Idaho’s measure was widely viewed as one of the strictest such laws in the country because it applied to both government buildings and many private businesses and included criminal penalties for violations.