Bonneville Elementary School 5th grader Graham Beeton, is interviewed during a block party supporting trans and non binary students and staff Monday, April 29, 2024, in Salt Lake City. Utah will become the latest state to implement restrictions for transgender people using school bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools and government-owned buildings when key components of a law passed by the Republican controlled Legislature take effect May 1.
Utah state Rep. Kera Birkeland, a Morgan Republican and the bill’s primary sponsor, has argued it’s a necessary safeguard against people who might claim they’re transgender to infiltrate a gendered space. She pitched the law as a safety measure to protect the privacy of women and girls without citing evidence of threats or assaults by trans people against them. Trans residents say she has used a hypothetical to justify exclusion.
The law requires schools to create “privacy plans” for those who do not feel comfortable using group bathrooms, but Graham Beeton, 11, said such accommodations can be isolating. The Salt Lake City fifth grader, who uses he/they pronouns, said he feels loved by his classmates and does not understand why the government cares which bathroom he uses.
Draped in an LGBTQ+ pride flag with rainbows painted on his cheeks, Beeton beckoned his classmates to a block party held just across the street from Bonneville Elementary School on Monday afternoon. With teachers in all Salt Lake City schools set to present about the bathroom law, his mom and many other parents pulled their kids out early and threw a party in support of affected students and staff.
Fourth grade students Lila and Sophia left the presentation confused about why the law existed and worried that it might make some of their peers feel bad about themselves. They were told to approach a teacher with any questions about which bathroom they should use and to report instances of bullying, according to a copy of the presentation obtained by The Associated Press.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: sdut - 🏆 5. / 95 Read more »