Transgender activists have flooded a Utah tip line created to alert state officials to possible violations of a new bathroom law with thousands of hoax reports. The primary impact for transgender and non-binary youth will be in public school bathrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms. Outside of K-12 public schools, the bill's impact will only be in changing facilities in government owned buildings, most often found in recreation centers owned and operated by cities and counties.
Utah's online snitch form for people upset about transgender individuals using public bathrooms hasn't been able to find a single legitimate violation despite receiving over 10,000 complaints. Transgender people in Utah pushed back against the bill, saying it unfairly targets them. Under HB275, schools, government agencies and other state-run entities are required to contact law enforcement if they receive a complaint or allegation of law-breaking in a state-run "privacy space," such as a bathroom or changing room.
A hotline set up to enforce Utah's transgender bathroom ban backfired when activists flooded it with thousands of bogus complaints. Photo by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash A hotline was set up to. Utah's new tip line for enforcing the state's transgender bathroom law is receiving a deluge of hoax reports, mirroring challenges seen in other states with similar reporting platforms.
Why it matters: Problems with the online form is the latest example of Utah Republicans' hasty implementation of HB 257, which bars trans people from using public facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms. Utah's public schools, state agencies and other publicly owned or controlled facilities must now start complying with Utah's new law that restricts transgender people from accessing the bathrooms and locker rooms of the gender they identify with. The Utah state auditorsaid it received five complaints that appear to be legitimate among the 12,000+ fake reports in state's bathroom law tip line.
Transgender activists have flooded a Utah tip line created to alert state officials to possible violations of a new bathroom law with thousands of hoax reports. As the AP reports, it's an effort. SALT LAKE CITY (AP).
