"An Act relating to public health; prohibiting use of certain facilities under certain circumstances."
These are the words a state lawmaker is using to introduce what many have called a "Bathroom Bill."
Sen. Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow, is the author of Senate Bill 1014 and is trying to pass a law that would require people to use the restroom that matches the gender on their birth certificate. The law explicitly states, "It shall be unlawful for a person to use a gender-specific restroom when that person's biological gender is contrary to that of the gender-specific restroom."
While passage of this law would not affect the majority of people, it would have major consequences for the LGBT community.
A number of people within the LGBT community identify as gender queer, transgender or gender fluid. This means that while their birth certificates may list them as a female, they may feel more comfortable using a male restroom.
The implementation of this bill would not allow that to happen. At this point, the one page proposal does not fine or penalize people who break the law.
Instead, Silk calls on the State Board of Health to create rules that would enforce this bill.
Silk calls for the bill to be effective starting this November.
The Senate will have their first session of the year on February 1st. At that time, Silk will be able to formally present the bill and have it go through the law making process.
While there is no promise that it will pass, it's sure to stir up conversation across the state.
You can read the whole bill here.
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